Rome was a most religious place at that time, not only in its enduring associations, but in the temper of the people. One in large measure responsible for its spirit of penance5 and prayer, and loving charity to the poor, was then living at San Girolamo, opposite the old English hospital, now turned into a College: this was St. Philip Neri, the most venerated6 and endearing figure in all the great city. He knew the successive little English bands; when he passed them in the streets, cheerful St. Philip used to smile tenderly, and give what must have[77] been to them a thrilling greeting: “‘Hail, Little Flowers of Martyrdom!’” the opening line of the Breviary Hymn7 for Holy Innocents’ Day. Parsons and Campion, and the secular4 clerics associated with them, may have originated the custom of going over to San Girolamo for a special fatherly blessing8 before setting forth9 to almost certain death. There is a tradition (mentioned by Newman) that one of that company did not care to seek St. Philip’s prayers, and that afterwards he failed to persevere10. This is thought to be the lay student, John Paschall, or Pascal, who was apparently11 of an unstable12 disposition13, and is known to have forsworn the Faith, when his great chance came to profess14 it.
The Pope, Gregory XIII, showed untiring and fatherly interest in all the missionaries15, and their travelling funds were his personal gift. He wept over them in bestowing16 his parting benediction17. Campion set out this time with seven English priests, Ralph Sherwin, a former Fellow of Exeter College, among them; also with two lay brothers, and two students. Others joined[78] them from Rheims and Louvain, some of them advanced in years and well known. The party adopted the novel and almost daredevil fashion of going on foot; but, mounted and riding privately18 in advance of it, were its two eldest19 members. One was the holy octogenarian Thomas Goldwell, the Lord Bishop20 of St. Asaph, who had been offered by Queen Mary a transfer to the See of Oxford21, and refused it. He was destined22 to be the last survivor23 of the deposed24 and scattered25 Catholic hierarchy26 in England, who had all but one refused the unheard-of Oath in 1559, and had all been deprived of their Sees that same year. Bishop Goldwell now, twenty years afterwards, was one of two who were living; and his colleague, Watson, Bishop of Lincoln, was in prison. The other senior missionary27 was his companion, Dr. Nicholas Morton, Canon Penitentiary28 of St. Peter’s, who had done something already towards the making of English history. The first little Jesuit group of three was commanded by Fr. Robert Parsons, a born organizer, a man of splendid resources, afterwards[79] celebrated29, and much loved and hated. For convenience, as for safety, they all put on secular dress. Campion, however, would buy no new clothes, but arrayed himself in an old buckram suit, with a shabby cloak. When rallied on his highly inelegant appearance, he remarked with the gay spirit so like that of another “blissful martyr,” Sir Thomas More, that a man going forth to be hanged need trouble himself little about the fashion!
The roads were bad beyond any modern idea of badness, and it poured rain for the first nine or ten days. Campion, the least robust30 of the party, and the most poorly clad, fell ill under such combined discomforts31, and while crossing the Apennines had to be lifted into the saddle of one of the very few horses which had been brought along for the sake of the infirm. As soon as he was well enough he resumed his daily habit of saying Mass very early, and of walking on, in the later morning hours, till he was a mile ahead of the rest, to make his meditation32, read his Office, and say the Litany of the Saints, before he should be[80] overtaken. He and his comrades planned their spiritual life, day by day, with the most careful regularity33. Their talk was always of souls: “the Harvest” was their word for England, or else “the Warfare34.” In the chilly35 spring twilights Campion would push on ahead again, “to make his prayers alone, and utter his zealous36 affections to his Saviour38 without being heard or noted39.”
The route lay through Siena, Florence, Bologna. In the latter city there was a week’s delay, due to an injury to Fr. Parsons’ leg. The band of twelve was entertained by the Cardinal40 Archbishop of that See, who was the historian of the Council of Trent: Gabriel Paleotto. Like Avellanedo, like many another Italian, Paleotto loved the English. “Were he a born Englishman, he could not love them more,” wrote Agazzario to Allen, at that time when the national temperament41 was much more expressive42 and responsive than it is now. At Milan, in the early part of May, the future confessors and martyrs43 were to find another and a greater, also “much affectioned”[81] towards them, who received them most hospitably44, and even asked the English College for other relays of guests in the future. This was the great Archbishop, St. Charles Borromeo. Bishop Goldwell, who had passed through Milan days before the walkers reached it, had been, in 1563, Vicar-General to St. Charles, and would have bespoken45 his interest in the little party. The reverend host complimented Ralph Sherwin by asking him to deliver a sermon before him, and as for Campion, he was required to discourse46 daily after dinner. St. Charles himself, all the while, whether vocal47 or silent, was acting48 upon the pilgrims as a Sursum corda. “Without saying a word, he preached to us sufficiently,” says the ever-appreciative Parsons, “and so we departed from him greatly edified49 and exceedingly animated50.” How charming is the forgotten use of the last word, meaning “souled,” or, as we still say, “heartened,” “inspirited!” Such indeed is the true function of the saints.
From Turin the little company made for Mount Cenis, and young, middle-aged52 and[82] old lustily climbed it; and then among the torrents53 and boulders54 of that glorious scenery, they came down into Savoy. At St. Jean Maurienne they found the roads blocked by the Spanish soldiery, and at Aiguebelle ran across other disturbances55, caused by the wars of religion raging in the Dauphiné. As there was nothing to do but abandon the direct route, they turned aside and entered Geneva, the hotbed of Calvinism, and the home of Theodore Beza, the learned apostate56 who had succeeded to Calvin’s leadership. There was a close community of spirit between Geneva and the English Reformation. However, Switzerland, then as now, had liberal laws, and any traveller, Catholic or Protestant, was free to pass, unmolested though not unquestioned, three days in the city. It looks decidedly like an alloy57 of mischief58 on the part of five of the English that they went to call in a body on Beza! They were admitted as far as the court by Claudine, his stolen wife, whom they had all heard of, and were not ill-pleased to see. When the famous greybeard[83] came out they managed, after passing their compliments, to worry him with some telling controversial shots. Campion knew not how to be rude: but Sherwin found amusement, ever afterwards, in remembering how that honest fellow “Patrick” stood and looked and talked, cap in hand, “facing out” (such is Sherwin’s shockingly boyish language in a private letter), “the old doting59 heretical fool.” The celebrity60 so described behaved rather vaguely61, and, in the course of nature, could not have been sorry to see the last of his besiegers, and of their wits, sharpened with life in the open air. He bowed them out with less abruptness62 than might have been expected—indeed, with a certain show of civility; and went back to his books. Later, Sherwin and two other youngsters, in a midnight discussion with some English Protestant students, actually challenged Beza and all Calvindom to a trial of theologies, with the drastic proviso that the defeated party should be burnt in the marketplace! Meanwhile Campion, in the r?le of “Patrick,” did his share of “facing out”[84] other worthies63 in Geneva, besides finding an old University friend there, who “used him lovingly,” but reported that an alarm had been raised, and encouraged the departure of the paladins. These, halting on a spur of the Jura before nightfall, with Lake Leman spread beneath them, said Te Deum together, that they were safely out of the city. There seems to have been a good deal of curiosity or bravado64 mingled65 with their polemical zeal37, and Campion’s always tender conscience would have readily accepted, if it did not suggest, a suitable penance for the raid. So off they trudged66 nine steep, contrite67, extra miles (“extreme troublesome,” we are told they were) to the nearest shrine68, that of St. Claude, over the French border.
They entered Rheims the last day of May, 1580, for in Rheims was the soul, if not the body, of the College now driven, partly for convenience, partly by force of trouble, out of Douay. That College was never re-formed: but the scholar-exiles lived close together, up and down the street still called Rue51 des Anglais. The travellers[85] were rapturously welcomed by all, especially by the great Englishman whom the old narrative69 quaintly70 calls “Mr. Dr. Allen, the President.” Here at Rheims the venerable Bishop of St. Asaph fell ill of a fever. He was never again to cross the Channel. By the time he had fairly recovered, rumours71 of his movements had naturally got abroad, and the Pope was unwilling72 to imperil so important and precious a person. While still a convalescent at Rheims, Goldwell wrote to his Holiness in person, begging him to listen to no objections, but to anoint at once three or four new Bishops73 to shepherd their own needy74 Church; and he very touchingly75 assures the Holy Father, knowing that the question of a fitting maintenance for them would arise, that God had so inclined the minds of all the English priests whom he knew to put up with their penniless and hunted daily lives, and the vision of the gallows76 always before them, that any of these, once consecrated77, would be entirely78 contented79 to go on as poorly as he had gone heretofore, like a Bishop of the Early Church. The application failed.[86] “Etiquette and routine prevailed,” says Simpson, in summing up this incident.
In truth, it was not that good-will was lacking. Nobody on the Catholic side believed that the new sad order of things in England was going to last, and consequently, waiting and postponing80 in a matter of this sort, could not seem the disastrous81 mistake which it really was. The upshot, in any case, was that the good Bishop was recalled to Rome, and there died; and that for thirty weary years the poor flock struggled on without any qualified82 prelate to supply their crying spiritual wants and hold them together. Then the first provisional leader, known as the Archpriest, was appointed, and later came Vicars Apostolic. When finally the longed-for mitres were seen again in the land, they had been absent too long. The nominal83 link snapped; the great native tradition was broken; the titles of the ancient Sees, given up, as if in sleep, by their lineal heirs, were never reclaimed84. So far as surface connection goes,—and it goes far indeed with people in general, who neither reason nor read, but[87] get all their ideas from what they see and hear, this was the most tragic85 loss which could possibly have befallen the post-Reformation Church. (The English Benedictines kept the thread of their own dynasty in their hands: but this did not affect the Catholic body, and the lay interest.) The stranger who could not destroy the life and blessing of the firstborn has had possession, for three centuries and a half, by royal grant, of his home and of his very name.
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1
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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reigning
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| adj.统治的，起支配作用的 | |
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seculars
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| n.现世的，俗界的( secular的名词复数 ) | |
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secular
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| n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的 | |
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penance
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| n.（赎罪的）惩罪 | |
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venerated
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| 敬重（某人或某事物），崇敬( venerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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hymn
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌 | |
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blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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persevere
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| v.坚持，坚忍，不屈不挠 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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unstable
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| adj.不稳定的，易变的 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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profess
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| v.声称，冒称，以...为业，正式接受入教，表明信仰 | |
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missionaries
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| n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 ) | |
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bestowing
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| 砖窑中砖堆上层已烧透的砖 | |
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benediction
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| n.祝福；恩赐 | |
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privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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survivor
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| n.生存者，残存者，幸存者 | |
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deposed
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| v.罢免( depose的过去式和过去分词 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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hierarchy
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| n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层 | |
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missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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penitentiary
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| n.感化院；监狱 | |
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celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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robust
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| adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的 | |
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discomforts
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| n.不舒适( discomfort的名词复数 )；不愉快，苦恼 | |
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meditation
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| n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录 | |
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regularity
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| n.规律性，规则性；匀称，整齐 | |
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warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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chilly
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| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 | |
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zealous
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| adj.狂热的，热心的 | |
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zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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saviour
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| n.拯救者，救星 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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cardinal
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| n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的 | |
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temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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expressive
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| adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的 | |
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martyrs
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| n.martyr的复数形式；烈士( martyr的名词复数 )；殉道者；殉教者；乞怜者（向人诉苦以博取同情） | |
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hospitably
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| 亲切地，招待周到地，善于款待地 | |
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bespoken
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| v.预定( bespeak的过去分词 )；订（货）；证明；预先请求 | |
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discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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vocal
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| adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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edified
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| v.开导，启发( edify的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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rue
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| n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔 | |
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middle-aged
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| adj.中年的 | |
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53
torrents
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| n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断 | |
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boulders
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| n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾 | |
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disturbances
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| n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍 | |
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apostate
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| n.背叛者，变节者 | |
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alloy
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| n.合金，(金属的)成色 | |
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mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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doting
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| adj.溺爱的，宠爱的 | |
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celebrity
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| n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望 | |
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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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abruptness
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| n. 突然，唐突 | |
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worthies
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| 应得某事物( worthy的名词复数 )； 值得做某事； 可尊敬的； 有（某人或事物）的典型特征 | |
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bravado
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| n.虚张声势，故作勇敢，逞能 | |
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mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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trudged
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| vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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contrite
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| adj.悔悟了的，后悔的，痛悔的 | |
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shrine
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| n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣 | |
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narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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quaintly
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| adv.古怪离奇地 | |
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rumours
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| n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传 | |
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unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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bishops
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| （基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象 | |
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needy
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| adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的 | |
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touchingly
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| adv.令人同情地，感人地，动人地 | |
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gallows
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| n.绞刑架，绞台 | |
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consecrated
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| adj.神圣的，被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 )；奉献 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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postponing
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| v.延期，推迟( postpone的现在分词 ) | |
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disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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qualified
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| adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的 | |
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nominal
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| adj.名义上的；(金额、租金)微不足道的 | |
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84
reclaimed
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| adj.再生的；翻造的；收复的；回收的v.开拓( reclaim的过去式和过去分词 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救 | |
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tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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