Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Instance Of The Severity Of The Penal Laws
rr . ent . Here , at a distance from every friend and connection whose occasional society might have whiled away the tedious hours of captivity , this unfortunate man wore out thirty years of his life . Death at length put him beyond the reach of persecution on the r 5 th day of October 1729 . His remains were removed to Winchester , and interred in St . James ' s church-yard ; where a modest head-stone , with the following inscription , hands down to posterity a notification of his long imprisonment .
H . S . E . R . P . Paulus Atkinson Franciscantts , qui 15 Oct . 1728 , JEtat . 74 . in Castro de Hurst , Vitam finivit postquam ibidem 30 peregerat Annes , R . I . P . The sweetness of Mr . Atkinson ' s dispositionthe goodness of his
, heart , and his unaffected piety , endeared him greatly to the humane commander of Hurst-castle , a Mr . Dore ; who endeavoured to alleviate the horrors of perpetual imprisonment by occasional relaxation . To this end , he frequently allowed Mr . Atkinson to accompany him to a small farm which he possessed in the neighbourhoodwherein the wholesome hospitality of the timeshe
, , , used to regale him with . a pipe of tobacco , and a glass of ale . Some intolerant bigots however , who resided in the adjoining parts , and observed this kindness of the governor , ' took great offence at it ; and threatened to complain of the qualified liberty thus allowed Mr . Atkinson . The patient sufferer , apprized of their indignation ,, determined to avoid in future giving any cause for it ; and from
that moment shut himself up in the little apartment which had been assigned him . Here he remained to the hour of his death , without once leaving it , although the governor frequently requested him to repeat those innocent indulgences which had before so much conduced to his health and amusement . Notwithstanding this abridgment of his little remaining comforts , and the close imprisonment
to which he thus doomed himself , the worthy priest never lost his cheerfulness ; and , perhaps , we cannot easily find a stronger proof , that peace of mind when founded upon a consciousness of rectitude , and aided by the comforts of religion , can be but slightly affected by external circumstances , than the calm serenity which Mr . Atkinson preserved during the tedious term of a thirty years imprisonment , and the resignation with which he bore his misfortunes , and not the malice of his foes—so true is that admirable observation of our great poet ,
" He that has li g ht within his own clear breast , May sit i'ih' centre , and enjoy bright day ; But be that hides a dark soul , and foul thoughts ] Benighted walk under the mid-day sun J Himself is his own dungeon , "
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Instance Of The Severity Of The Penal Laws
rr . ent . Here , at a distance from every friend and connection whose occasional society might have whiled away the tedious hours of captivity , this unfortunate man wore out thirty years of his life . Death at length put him beyond the reach of persecution on the r 5 th day of October 1729 . His remains were removed to Winchester , and interred in St . James ' s church-yard ; where a modest head-stone , with the following inscription , hands down to posterity a notification of his long imprisonment .
H . S . E . R . P . Paulus Atkinson Franciscantts , qui 15 Oct . 1728 , JEtat . 74 . in Castro de Hurst , Vitam finivit postquam ibidem 30 peregerat Annes , R . I . P . The sweetness of Mr . Atkinson ' s dispositionthe goodness of his
, heart , and his unaffected piety , endeared him greatly to the humane commander of Hurst-castle , a Mr . Dore ; who endeavoured to alleviate the horrors of perpetual imprisonment by occasional relaxation . To this end , he frequently allowed Mr . Atkinson to accompany him to a small farm which he possessed in the neighbourhoodwherein the wholesome hospitality of the timeshe
, , , used to regale him with . a pipe of tobacco , and a glass of ale . Some intolerant bigots however , who resided in the adjoining parts , and observed this kindness of the governor , ' took great offence at it ; and threatened to complain of the qualified liberty thus allowed Mr . Atkinson . The patient sufferer , apprized of their indignation ,, determined to avoid in future giving any cause for it ; and from
that moment shut himself up in the little apartment which had been assigned him . Here he remained to the hour of his death , without once leaving it , although the governor frequently requested him to repeat those innocent indulgences which had before so much conduced to his health and amusement . Notwithstanding this abridgment of his little remaining comforts , and the close imprisonment
to which he thus doomed himself , the worthy priest never lost his cheerfulness ; and , perhaps , we cannot easily find a stronger proof , that peace of mind when founded upon a consciousness of rectitude , and aided by the comforts of religion , can be but slightly affected by external circumstances , than the calm serenity which Mr . Atkinson preserved during the tedious term of a thirty years imprisonment , and the resignation with which he bore his misfortunes , and not the malice of his foes—so true is that admirable observation of our great poet ,
" He that has li g ht within his own clear breast , May sit i'ih' centre , and enjoy bright day ; But be that hides a dark soul , and foul thoughts ] Benighted walk under the mid-day sun J Himself is his own dungeon , "