to Rome and there to encounter with the adversary of Christ Thither they came and after a few daies two of them behaving themselves modestly did in secret manifest to some there the truth of the Gospell who being betrayed were imprisoned and put to death without any further adoe The third having resolved to act his part in publique gave over himselfe to suffer all the extremities the wit of man could invent It came to passe one day that this man espying the Pope in the middest of his massing devotion stept quickly unto him plucked the consecrated Host out of his hands cast it to the ground trod it under foot uttering invective spéeches against the Masse and Antichrist The people in a rage fell upon the Englishman who being altogether bruised with their fists and féet said you hangman finde out as many forments as you can the hand of the Almighty will shew it self the more gloriously My soule is resolved to vanquish death valiantly He was forthwith bound and set upon an Asse sixe Torches were lighted and from stréet to stréet the erecutioners bare them by him burning therewith his face mouth and tongue first for he had said before to one of the formentors thou hast no power over my soule thou wretch knowest thou not that God understands the voice of my secret thought and complaint When the flames came overthwart his chéekes he was heard to cry Lord forgive these men for they know not what they doe After they had burned all his face put out his eyes scorched and rosted his body in the end they consumed it wholly to ashes The learned author who set forth this History in a notable work of his notes neither the yeare nor the names of these Englishmen It should séeme to be about the time of Pope Clement the eighth in Anno 1595. for in his ample discourse he mentions an old wise man le sage veillard burned at Rome after these English men who before he went to the fire spake with such efficacy to his confessor sent unto him who also left him not till he yéelded up his spirit in the middest of the flames into the hands of Christ that this confessor going the next day into the Pulpit maintained tâ—â—â—rause of the old wise man with such boldnesseâ—nd zeale that all the audience hearing him attentively without any resistance understood his meaning and never accused the Preacher But in Lent following a Capuchin Fryer An admirable Eapuchin preaching before Pope Clement the eighth called him Antichrist and during that Lent ceased not to Preach the truth of the Gospell in the Chaire of postlience under the robe and habit of a Liar c In the same work my author saith our Historian mentions another Italian preacher called Nâ— Montalchin who in describing his History hath these words The Pope perceiving that by executing the Martyrs thus opénly in the sight of the people in stead of terrifying them thereby many were the more encouraged he resolved with himselfe thenceforward to conceale his open violence out of the sight of the Sun and to exercise it rather in the dark and in the night season The inquisitors who had Montalchin in their hands were preparing a way to murther him privâ—ly according to the Popes intention It so fell out that the Iaylour smelling the injustice which these reverend Fathers were devising against the poore prisoner adventured to give him notice of it to the end he making his peace with God might fit himselfe for death This experienced souldier of Iesus Christ plotted a way under hand by a spirituall wile to catch the wise in their craftinesse faining therefore a repentance he called for his judges telling them he was now minded to revoke his errors after they had pronounced sentence against him and would in the hearing of all recant what he had in publike maintained against the truth His Iudges beléeving he had spoken in good earnest promised him his life upon those tearmes Now that they might the rather satisfie their pride they made known to every one the time and place appointed for his abjuration All the city assembled together to take knowledge of this so unexpected a novelty Montalchin was brought and placed on a scaffold for that purpose He stood there in his shirt holding in his hands two torches lighted then silence being obtained he began to speake to the people as followeth Deare brethren and Children I have a long time taught you such a doctrine as hath troubled you I am now brought hither to open my minde unto you Montalchin is a sinfull man and therefore may erre But lend me your attention a while and I will let you sée the difference betwéen both opinions Thrée words seul seule seulement will serve to distinguish betwéene falshood and truth 1 I have taught you that Christ is our only sacrifice our only priest who only was once offered for us But the Doctors teach the contrary to wit that the true body of Christ without bread is offered up for the living and for the dead that the priests ought daily to offer up the naturall body of Christ really in the Masse 2 I have taught that in taking the visible signes in the Sacrament we doe therein by faith only take the spirituall and heavenly bread of our soules The Doctors say that Christs body is taken flesh and blood into the mouth and belly of the communicant 3 I have preached that Iesus Christ is our only mediator and that by him alone we have accesse unto the Father But the Doctors goe further and will have us to come to the Virgin Mary making her and all the Saints departed our Mediators and Intercessors 4 I have declared that we are justified only by faith in Iesus Christ and that the frée mercy of God is the foundation of our salvation The Doctors would have us to help out faith and grace by good workes as meritorious causes of salvation 5 You have heard me preach that Christ only gives grace and that he alone pardons this They affirm that the Church hath a Coffer or Chest of which the Pope kéeps the keyes whereinto are put the merits of saints which he largely distributed abroad to such as will buy his pardons Anno 1611. with money 6 I have told you that the Canonicall bookes of the old and new Testament are the onely ground of our faith and salvation The Doctors adde thereto their unwritten verities 7 I have taught you that after this life ended there are only two places prepared for them to goe unto who die and depart out of this world One the place of joy and comfort the other of torment The Doctors say there are foure viz. Paradise Hell Limbus and Purgatory 8 I have preached that the Pope is not a god on earth but only a Bishop and that only of one place if he therein behave himselfe as a good Biship ought to doe The Doctors make him Lord of the world and
by the will of my heavenly Father humbly thanking his Majesty in that hée is pleased to honor me so farre as to suffer any thing for his holy name Let us pray unto him that he would grant unto me the gift of perseverance Then looking upon the said Minister who wept This Merlin was miracylously delivered in the massacre of Paris over him Oh Master Merlin saith he what will not you comfort me Yes sir said he for wherein may you take greater comfort then in calling to mind how greatly God hath alwaies honored you in estéeining you worthy to suffer rebuke for his names sake and true religion The Admirall replied alas if God should deale with me according to my deserts he might have put mée to worse forments then these But blessed be his holy name in that he is pleased to take pity on mée his poore and unworthy servant Be of good chéere sir then said another unto him for séeing God hath spared your more noble part whole you have cause therein to magniste his goodnes In these wounds you have received from God a testimony of his love rather then of his displeasure séeing hée hath preserved your head and understanding safe Then said Merlin sir you doe well in turning your thoughts away from him who hath committed this outrage upon you in looking onely unto God for no doubt it is his hand that hath smitten you therefore for the present cease to thinke on the malefector I assure you said the Admirall I doe fréely forgive him from the bottome of my heart and those also that are his abettors being fully perswaded that none of them all could have done me the least hurt no though with violent hands they had put me to death For what is death it selfe in Gods children but an assured passage to an eternall rest and life Now as the said Minister declared how the evils which happen to the children of God in this present life doe often incite and quicken them up to poure out their prayers into the bosome of the Almighty the Admirall presently with a loud voice and ardent affection prayed thus ¶ The admirals godly and devout Prayer LOrd God and heavenly father have pity upon The admirals godly and debout prayer me for thy goodnesse and mercies sake remember not Lord the sinnes of my life past nor the offences which I have committed against thée for if thou narrowly marke our sinnes the loosenes of our behaviour and distoyalties in transgressing thy holy commandements Lord who shall stand who is able to beare the weight of thy displeasure I renounce all Idoll Gods I acknowledge thée to be the onely true God and worship thée alone O Eternall Father in thine Eternall some Iesus Christ I beséech thée for his sake that thou wouldest give unto mée thy holy spirit and therewithall the gift of patience I put my trust in thy frée mercy for therein consists the stay and prop of all my hope whether I die now at this present or live for the time to come Behold Lord here I am doe with me as it pleaseth thée having this confidence in thée that if I now depart hence thou wilt receive me into the blessed rest of thy kingdome If it please thée to lengthen out my daies here on earth O heavenly Father give me grace that I may spend the residue thereof in setting forth the glory of thy holy name and in maintaining to the utmost of my power thy pure worship and service Amen Having ended this prayer Merlin asked him The Ministers pray with him if it pleased him that the Ministers of Christ should now pray with him and for him To whom hée said yes with all my heart I pray you begion Whilest Merlin pronounced the prayer applying the same to the present occasion the Admirall with his eles looking up to heaven expressed the ardency of his affection in consenting thereunto Prayer being ended Merlin began to propound unto the Admirall the examples of the Martyrs shewing that from Abel to Abraham and consequently hitherto whosoever carried themselves in any degrée of faithfulnesse in the house of God felt at one time or other the smart of afflictions in divers kinds The Admirall answered that when hée called to minde the sufferings of the Patriarchs and Martyrs it much comforted him and helped him somewhat to allay the fartnesse of his afflicted estate The King of Naverre and the Prince of Conde having bitterly bewayled this outrags committed upon the Admirall as you heard before about two of the clocke in the afternoone the King accompanied The King Queene Mother came to visit the Admirall with the Quéene MOther his Brother and other of the Lords went to visite the Admirall The King with teares séemed to be excéeding sorry for that which was come to passe promising him with one blasphemous oath upon another to revenge the fact no lesse than if it had béen committed upon his owne person praying him to come and take up his lodging with him in the louvre for his greater security and safety Wherupon the Admirall after some discourse made to the King in secret gave him most humble thankes for so great a favour as to visite him in his owne person Upon the motion made by the King Mazilles his chiefe Physitian was called demanding of him whither the Admirall might safely be removed thence into the Louvre or no His Answer to the King was that it could not be done without danger Some of the Admirals friends thought if fitting to request a guard of souldiers to be assigned by the King unto him for his better security The King answered he liked well of that device being fully determined to provide for the admirals safety as his owne and would preserve him no lesse then the apply of his eie After this the King called for the bullet of brasse wherewith the Admirall was hurt that he might sée it asking whither hée was not put to great paine when his finger was cut off as likewise touching the dressing of his arme Now as Cornaton shewed the bullet having his sléeve all bloudy because he was appointed to hold the Admirals arme while it was in dressing the King asked if that were of the Admirals bloud and whither so much bloud issued out of his wounds adding after Cornatons answer he never saw man in his life shew greater constancy and magnanimity of spirit then the Admirall did Then was the Quéene Mother desirous to sée the Bullet saying I am glad the bullet is taken out for I remember when the Duke of Guise was killed before Orleance the Phisitian told me that if the Bullet were gotten out there was no danger of death though it were poysoned Then Cornaton answered we have foreséene that Madame for being carefull to prevent that danger the 〈…〉 him 〈…〉 the poison if 〈◊〉 any such thing should be Some good hopes of the Admirals recovery The Saturday before the Admirall was 〈◊〉 he
betwéen that evening and the next day There were slaine at that conflict twenty seven persons and among them these which follow Bettino of Azzala sonne of Pietro of age fourty five yéers Perrotta his wife being of the age of fourty Pietro their sonne being of age twelve yéeres Andreino Zopo sonne of Ianotto age fourty Iames sonne of Iohn Domenico Quadernetto age thirty Iohn Monegatti age fifty eight Michaele della Kosa age 38. Iacomena de Burieo age thirty yéeres Iean Moneta age eighty This Woman was oftentimes advised to become a Romane Catholike and to favour her age telling her that if shée would shée should have her life given her but she with great resolution replied God forbid that I who now of long time have had one foote in the grave should come to forsake my Lord Iesus who hath so long time preserved me in the knowledgè and confession of his truth and to put my trust in creatures and to receive in stead of his holy word the traditions of men Upon which words this worthy Matron was instantly slaine Now there is no doubt but in this furious persecution at Bruse and in other places there have béene murdered many good men for the foresaid cause whose names have not been mentioned in this discourse but whosoever they were they have departed with this comfort that they have not suffered as murderers or robbers or malefactors or as busie bodies in those things which belong not to them but as holy Christians who at no hand would worship Images they beleeved that the bloud of Christ hath purged them from all sinne That Christ hath offered one onely sacrifice once for sins that we ought to worship the Lord God alone and onely serve him that wee are saved by grace by the meanes of faith and that not of our selves the same being the gift of God not by workes to the intent none might boast That we ought to worship God in all places holding up cleare hands unto him that every creature of God is good and none to be rejected being used with thanksgiving that mariage is honorable in every sort and condition of persons according to the expresse words of the holy Apostolique Scripture and by reason of this very confession were the inhabitants of Tyrano Teglio Sondro Malenco Berbenno Trahono Morâ—emâ—o Dabino Caspano and Bruso so cruelly persecuted and massacred There was of late time a booke printed in Italy how the pretestants of the abovesaid places should practise to execute upon the Catholiques about the 15. day of August the like which since hath befalne themselves but how divellish a slander and calumny this is may cleerâ—ly be gathered by this that where the protestants of those places are ten the popish Catholiques are a thousand Who then would beleeve that so smal a number should be able to make resistance against so great a multitude and especially against those desperate rebels and outlawd villaines who for their murders formerly committed for their corruptions of the commissaries and transgressions of the commandement of the Magistrate had before beene banished out of the Country being also suspected of sodomy of falsification of money and like ravening wolves being throughly armed entred like a most furious torrent on the sodaine slaughtering the poore naked protestants who suspected no such wrong even in those Churches which before had béen priviledged even among the Barbarous Pagans to the intent that they might put in execution that bloody designe which had béen resolved on about 17. yéeres before according to a Letter intercepted of a principall rebell in this action who is neither afraid nor a shamed to terme the same a holy resolution and an honourable enterprise which it is indéed if to spoile to rob to strangle to massacre to burn to hew in péeces children and women to cast them into fire and water to falsifieÌ„ faith ought to be accounted an attempt of holinesse if it ought to be estéemed a thing honorable and pleasing to God not to suffer the bodies of the dead being buried in the earth and in the Church to rest quietly but to take them up againe and being taken up to handle them in most barbarous manner as very lately had béen done in the Countries of Caspano and Trahone and in other places where the bodies digged out of the ground which before were entire and whole were throwne into rivers and water to be meat for the fishes and having bruised and ground their bones to powder most barbarously to cast them into the fire But here if ever the old tale of Aesop is verified where the poore silly shéepe was accused to have troubled the water of a malitious wolfe although the said shéep dranke below at the foot of the river Therefore it appeareth most clearely every way that the aforesaid persons underwent those sufferings for no other cause but only for the truth of the Gospell even as by the eternall decrée of God the holy Prophets Saint Io Battista the holy Apostles yea even our Lord and head Iesus Christ himselfe and after him those many millions of the elected martyrs in all ages have done before and especially in these miserable last times in Germany France England Scotland Low-countries Bohemia Italie Spaine Portugall c. Which martyrdome they endured willingly rejoycing that they were counted worthy to suffer blame for the name of Christ Iesus remembring the promise of this our Lord Blessed are they who Mat. 5. 10. are persecuted for righteousnesse sake because the Kingdome of heaven is theirs Blessed are you when others shall revile and persecute you and shall falsely speake all evill of you for my sake Rejoice and triumph for your reward is great in heaven for so have they persecuted the Prophets who were before you Reade to this purpose 1 Pet. 4. Verses 12 13 14 15 16. which words of all good Christians are to bee well pondered and weighed For first by such triall we perish not Secondly we are thereby made conformable to Christ our head Thirdly such sufferings cause unto us greater joy than sorrow Fourthly they are infallible markes that the spirit of God rests upon us Fifthly they manifest to all our unfained love to Christ and his Gospell Sixthly hereby wée have good proofe that the Lord doth correct us not as a severe Iudge but as a most loving and tender hearted Father to whom therefore with his blessed Son and holy Spirit be all glory and honour ascribed in all the Churches of the Saints world without end Amen ⧠SIGNES AND PRODIGIES WHICH HAPPENED BEFORE THE MASSAGRE IN THE VALTOLINE THe Protestants having appointed Gards and Sentinels in the stéeples of the Churches of the Valtoline besides others which were commanded to watch in certaine places to give the signe by fire to the intent that the whole Valley being warned partly by the Becons partly by the sound of the bells might together be ready on the suddaine to take armes for their defence against the Spaniard if he should make any incursion upon the Valley about the Calends of May 1620. in Sondres the foresaid Sentinels reported that in a night as they watched they heard in the Church of Gervase a murmuring as it were of many persons with great earnestnesse and vehemency of arguing and contesting among themselves and from the Church there shined upwards through the stéeple a great brightnesse in so much as the Sentinels lighted their torches and assembled themselves to goe downe into the Church to sée what the matter might be But as they were descending downe the staires their lights were put out and returning afresh to light their torches they were put out againe with greater strength and with much astonishment and trembling and the brightnesse which filled the Church suddenly vanished the weights also of the great Clocke fell downe and they heard about ten knells of a Bell in such manner as it useth to ring to give the alarme the which was heard by very many Likewise in Tyrane there were heard the like knells by the great Bell and the Magistratâ— commanded them suddenly to goe and know the cause but he found that it was not done by the act of men and instantly the servants running from the Belfrey and diligently attending to sée this businesse they discerned a thing like a Cat to descend downe into the place Signes and prodigies heard and séene in the Valtoline after the massacre as hath béen affirmed by divers persons of credit being departed from the said Valley and lying in the Valtolinâ— after the massacré In the Evangelike Protestant Church and principally from Teglio and Tyrane a voice hath béen heard to cry woe woe to you The vengeance of God is upon you for the blood of the innocent Moreover there was heard the Bell of the Evangelike Church of Tyrane to ring even at the same time that the sermon was used to be and in that Church a voice was heard like the voice of Senior Anthonio Basse who sometimes had béen there a Minister and was murdered in the said place as if himselfe had béen preaching in the same place In Londres there was séen to descend an army from the Mountains every way furnished which sight was the cause that many tooke their flight and departed out of Sondres but suddenly this apparition vanished like a cloud The which struck a great terror into the mindes of the people insomuch as many departed out of the Valley as men that feared a castigation and punishment from heaven FINIS