Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
Chapters towards a History of Ireland in the reign of Elizabeth (Author: Philip O'Sullivan Beare)
Chapter 16
On Bishop Cornelius and Dr. Sanders.
WE must not here omit to mention the death of Dr. Sanders. He was seized before the end of this war with dysentery of the bowels. Up to that time he had been healthy, and though in everyone's opinion he was in no danger, yet at the beginning of the night, he thus addressed Cornelius, bishop of Killaloe:—‘Anoint me, my good lord, with the last Unction of the dying, for tonight I am to depart this life, being summoned by my Creator.’ ‘Surely,’ said Cornelius, ‘you are strong in the robustness of your constitution, and do not seem to me to require anointing, or look as if you were dying.’ However, being more
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severely distressed by his illness, he was anointed in the middle of the night, and before cock-crow gave up his soul to the Lord, and on the following night was secretly buried by the priests, being carried to the grave by four Irish gentlemen, amongst whom was my father, Dermot. Many were not allowed to be at the funeral lest there should be anyone who might discover the body to the English, who were wont to display their cruelty even against the dead. Cornelius, the bishop, went to Spain, and ended his days at Lisbon, A.D. 1617. Some years after he is said to have written in the margin of Stanihurst's book on the manners and customs of Ireland, opposite each falsehood, this note, ‘He lies.’