The excellency of a gracious spirit Delivered in a treatise upon the 14. of…The excellency of a gracious spirit Deliuered in a treatise upon the 14. of…

1. They bring him to a very private place, in a Chapel or Oratory, where the knife lies wrapped up in a cloth, with an Ivory sheath, with divers characters, and Agnus Dei upon it; they draw the knife, and bedew it with holy water, and hang on the haft of it some Beads consecrated with this Indulgence, That so many blows, as he gives in the killing the King, so many souls he shall save out of Purgatory: then they give the knife to him, commending it to him in these words; O thou chosen son of God, take to thee the sword of Jephthah, Sampson, David, Gideon, Judith, of Machaheus, of julius the second, who defended himself from the Princes by his sword: go and be wisely courageous, and GOD ⟨p. 102⟩strengthen thy hand; then they all fall upon their knees with this prayer; Be present, O ye Cherubins and Seraphims; be present ye Thrones, Powers, holy Angels, fill this holy vessel with glory, give him the crown of all the holy Martyrs; he is no longer ours but your companion; and thou, O God, strengthen his arm, that he may do thy will; give him thy helmet and wings, to fly from his enemies; give him thy comforting beams, which may joy him in the midst of all his sorrows; Then they bring him to the Altar, where the picture of Jacobus Clemens is, who killed Henry the third of France, the Angels protecting of him, and then they show him a crown of glory, and say, Lord respect this thy arm, and executioner of thy justice; then four Jesuits are appointed privately to speak with him; they tell him that they see a divine lustre in his face, which moves them to fall down and kiss his feet, and now he is no more a mortal man; they envy ⟨p. 103⟩his happiness, every one sighing and saying, Would to God I were in your room, that I might escape Purgatory, and go immediately into Paradise; but if they perceive him to shrink and be troubled after all this, they will sometimes affright him with terrible apparitions in the night, and sometimes have the Virgin Mary, and the Angels appear before him, &c. Thus you see, how the Devil will have mens spirits fit for their work, and when they are fit, then he uses them, and not before;

1. They bring him to a very private place, in a Chappell or Oratory, where the knife lies wrapt up in a cloth, with an Ivory sheath, with divers characters, and Agnus Dei upon it; they draw the knife, and bedew it with holy water, and hang on the haft of it some Beads consecrated with this Indulgence, That so many blowes, as he gives in the killing the King, so many soules hee shall save out of Purgatory: then they give the knife to him, commending it to him in these words; O thou chosen son of God, take to thee the sword of Iephte, Sampson, David, Gideon, Iudith, of Machaheus, of julius the second, who defended himself from the Princes by his sword: goe and bee wisely couragious, and GOD