Page:Biographia Hibernica volume 2.djvu/147

 FITZSIMONS. 143 almost to desperation; and Fitzsimons, aware, that from the encouragements he had held out to the rebels, he was an object of peculiar odium to the conquerors, was forced to f l y for shelter. Woods and mountains now became his dwelling, and h e was frequently compelled t o change them, through fear o f the English soldiers. At length, i n the beginning o f 1643, worn out with the fatigues his advanced age was s o i l l able t o bear, he retired for refuge t o a shepherd's cot, n o better than a hovel, situated i n a bog. His only bed was a pad o f straw, which was fre quently wet with the rain, which the shattered and imper fect state o f the walls freely admitted, and the damp which rose from the morass. Yet amid this scene of misery, with n o one comfort around him, h e preserved his cheerfulness unimpaired, and was always ready t o console others i n their miseries, continuing still t o instruct them and their children. Nature, however, was unable long t o support such extremes o f misery, and h e was a t length with some difficulty conveyed away by those who had profited b y his exertions t o a more comfortable situa tion, where h e expired o n February 1, 1643-4. By his death, the catholics lost one o f the firmest pillars o f their church; his zeal, learning, and eloquence, rendering him the greatest defender and most able support o f their reli gion i n his time. I n addition t o the tracts mentioned above, h e published “A Justification and Exposition o f the Sacrifice o f the Mass,” i n two books, which was printed i n 1611; “Bri tannomachia Ministrorum i n Plerisque e t Fidei Funda mentis e t Fidei Articulis Dissidentium,” printed a t Doway, i n 1614; and “A Catalogue o f the Irish Saints,” Ant werp, 1621. We are informed b y Ware, that h e also wrote a treatise t o prove that Ireland was anciently known b y the name o f Scotia; but h e doubts whether this was ever published. -