K.  1564. 204.'  They  have  executed  14  of  the  English  Catholic  prisoners  in
England,  the  names  of  "whom  I  enclose.*  They  all  died  as  Catholics,
confessing  that  they  died  for  religion's  sake,  and  saying  that  if
they  had  as  many  lives  as  they  had  hairs  on  their  heads,  they  would
spend  them  all  in  the  same  cause.  They  did  not  incriminate  anyone
else.  Ballard  the  priest  was  the  first  one  they  executed,  and  he
exhorted  all  of  them  to  be  of  good  heart,  since  they  who  had  been
Catholics  in  life  should  prove  themselves  Catholics  in  death.  When
Babington's  turn  came  the  rope  broke  and  the  hangman  cut  him
open  alive,  as  is  the  custom,  to  take  out  his  heart.  They  affirm
that  v/hilst  the  hangman  was  in  the  very  act  of  tearing  out  the
heart  Babington  was  heard  to  pronounce  the  word  "  Jesus  "  three
times.  M.  de  Simier,  who  is  hand-in-glove  with  the  English
ambassador  here,  saya  that  he  has  letters  asserting  that  Ballard
confessed  that  he  had  seen  Charles  Paget  and  me,  but  that  neither
Paget  nor  I  knew  anything  about  their  having  conspired  in  England
against  the  person  of  the  Queen,  and  that  even  he  (Ballard)  was
not  aware  of  it.  Since  the  execution,  and  in  order  to  incense  the
people,  they  have  published  tiiat  the  day  the  Catholics  murdered
the  Queen,  they  intended  to  set  fire  to  London,  burn  all  the  Queen's
ships,  and  spike  all  the  guns  in  the  kingdom,  whilst  Babington  was
to  marry  the  queen  of  Scotland  the  next  day.  The  French
ambassador  writes  that  Cecil  told  him  that  he  was  present  when
Babington  was  tortured,  and  that  he  had  confessed  to  him  alone
with  great  secrecy,  that  the  queen  of  Scotland  had  promised  to
marry  him.  This  is  a  very  badly  invented  lie,  as  Babington  was
married  already  and  was  a  good  Catholic.
