iniquitous course to the path of truth, delayed sentence of deposition against him till the close of 1578/9. We make this statement on the authority of a Vatican list of Irish sees, drawn up in 1579 or 1580, which expressly describes the See of Down as vacant, "per depositionem Milerii ab hac sancta Sede factam anno praeterito".

Donatus O'Gallagher was appointed his successor, being translated from the See of Killala to Down, in the first months of 1580. In less than two years he was summoned to his eternal crown, and on 27th of April, 1582, we find the following entry in the consistorial record: "Cardinalis Senonensis proposuit Ecclesiam Dunensem et Connorensem vacantem per obitum, de persona Cornelii O'Duibenid ord. min. de observantia, praesentis in curia". Much might be said of the merits of this great bishop. Whilst as yet a simple religious, he displayed an ardent zeal for the conversion of souls to God. When consecrated bishop, this ardour was increased an hundredfold. More than once he was subjected to the hardships of imprisonment; nevertheless, he lived to witness the triumph of the Irish Church over all the efforts of Elizabeth, and having handed down to more youthful pastors the sacred deposit of faith, his life of devotedness and charity merited for him the martyr's crown, which he happily attained on the 11th of February, 1612.

We must now give a glance at the claims of those whom the Established Church reveres as its first fathers in this ancient see. It suffices merely to state their claims, to discern whether they are to be reckoned amongst the true shepherds of the flock, or amongst those wolves whose mission it is to rend and scatter the sacred fold of Christ.

On the 6th of January, 1565, instructions were sent to the Lord Justice of Ireland to advance James MacCaghwell to the bishopric of Down. It was, however, too perilous an experiment for a nominee of Elizabeth to appear as bishop within the territory of Shane O'Neill; and hence we find Loftus of Armagh, and Brady of Meath, petitioning Sir William Cecil, on 16th May, 1565, to have MacCaghwell provided with some other see, since "he durst not travel to Down through fear of bodily harm"—(Shirley, pag. 192).

For this reason it was not deemed expedient to have MacCaghwell consecrated for the See of Down, and as Dr. Mant, the late Protestant occupant of the see informs us, John Merriman was its first Protestant bishop (vol. i., pag. 296). He was chaplain to Queen Elizabeth, and in 1568 was consecrated by Lancaster of Armagh, in St. Patrick's, Dublin. As there was already a canonically appointed bishop holding the See of Down, no doubt can be entertained as to the true nature of Dr. Merriman's mission. He died in 1572, and Queen Elizabeth wrote to the Lord Deputy Sydney, on 6th November, 1572, commanding him "to prefer one Brown, if he knew no better, to these sees"—(Harris' Ware, pag. 205). Hugh Allen, however, a colonist of the Ards, was the individual selected by the Lord Deputy, and in the month of November, 1573, he was constituted successor of Dr. Merriman. The canonical bishop, however, still held the see, and Dr. Allen must again be stigmatized as an intruder. On his translation to Ferns, in 1582, the crown did not even attempt to nominate a Protestant bishop till the year 1593; and Dr. Mant adds that this vacancy shows "a neglect on the part of the government rather to be lamented than explained".

Thus, then, Dr. O'Deveny was not only the canonically appointed bishop, but was for ten years in possession of his see, and engaged in feeding there the flock of Christ, when Edward Edgeworth was nominated by Elizabeth, in 1593, Bishop of Down and Connor. This dignitary, indeed, seems never to have even seen his see; other crown nominees, however, soon followed in rapid succession—John Charldon, in 1596; Robert Humston, in 1602; and John Todd, in 1606, who, as Ware informs us, was, in 1611, deposed for his public immorality and other crimes, and "soon after died in prison in London, of poison, which he had prepared for himself"—(Harris' Ware, pag. 207). The true pastor, Dr. O'Deveny, was all this time at his perilous post, in season and out of season, ruling, by divine authority, the spiritual fold assigned to his charge; and whilst the Protestant nominee was so unhappily terminating his earthly career, the faithful shepherd was in the very same year laying down his life for his flock. We will conclude this hurried sketch with the words of the Four Masters when commemorating the death of this holy bishop: "There was not a Christian in the land of Ireland whose heart did not shudder within him at the terror of the martyrdom which this chaste wise divine, and perfect and truly meek righteous man suffered for the reward of his soul. The faithful of Dublin contended with each other to see which of them should have one of his limbs; and not only of his limbs, but they had fine linen in readiness to prevent his blood from falling to the ground, for they were convinced that he was one of the holy martyrs of the Lord"—(iii. p. 2,371).