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JOHN


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JOHN


he embalmed their fading images with facility and a faithful regard to accuracy that preserved the bour- geois type of old Middle Georgia. His style was serene and facile, mingling humour with moral philosophy. As a critic he had poetic sympathy with wise discrimi- nation.

Jolinston became a Catholic in 1875, accepting the truth after long hesitation. His wife Frances Jlan- field, of old New England stock, had been received into the Church six months previously. He relates that he was thirty years old when he first saw a priest, antl that liis first investigations into the Faith were during the " Know-Xothing " campaign of 1855, when he read some of Bishop England's and Newman's works to confute a political opponent. With his con- version the attendance at his school, which was long associated with Baptist patronage, declined, and he gave it up and devoted himself entirely to literature — his popiilarity as a story writer ha\'ing steadily in- creased — and to lecturing on literary topics. His pub- lished works include: " Dukesborough Tales" (1871- 81), in which the impressions of his early school days in Georgia were elaborated; "Old Mark Langston" (ISS-l); "Two Gray Tourists" (1SS5); "Mr. Absalom Billingslea and Other Georgia Folks" (1SS8); "The Primes" (1891); "Widow Guthrie" (1890); " Ogee- chee Cross Firings" (1889) ; " Old Times in New Geor- gia" (1897); a "Life of Alexander H. Stephens" with whom he had been associated in law practice (1878). A collection of "Essays" was published in ISSl and he prepared an " Historical Sketch of English Litera- ture " (1872), a text-book for advanced students, used in Johns Hopkins University, and other institutions at which he gave lecture courses.

.■Vrmstrong. in The Catholic World Magazine (New York, November, 1898); Allibone, Dictionary of Authors, supple- ment, s. V. ; National Cyclopmdia of A merican Biography, s. v. ; The Catholic News (New York, September, 1898), files.

Thomas F. Meehan.

John Stone, Blessed, English martyr, executed at the Dane-John, Canterbury, probably in Decem- ber, 1539, for denying the royal supremacy. He was an Austin Friar of Canterbury, and a doctor of divinity. He is probably the Austin Friar of whom Bishop Ingworth complaineil on 14 December, 153S, that " at all times he still held antl still desired to die for it, that the king may not be head of the Church of England ". When in prison before his martjTdom " after an uninterrupted fast of three days, he heard a voice, but without seeing the presence of anyone, calling him by name and exhorting him to be of good courage and not to hesitate to suffer with constancy for the truth of the opinion which he had professed ".

Camm, Lines of the English Martyrs, I (London, 1904-5), 269; Gasquet, Henry VIII and the English Monasteries (London, I'dO^), 221 \ ^T ?MTOii, Menology of England and Wales (London and New York, 1887), 228, 647.

John B. Waineweight.

John Story (or Storey), Blessed, martyr; b. 1.504; d. at Tyburn, 1 June, 1571. He was educated at Oxford, and was president of Broadgates Hall, now Pembroke College, from 1537 to 1539. He entered Parliament as member for Hindon, Wilts, in 1547, and W'as imprisoned for opposing the Bill of Uniformity, 24 Jan. -2 March, 1548-9. On his release he retired with his family to Louvain, but after the accession of Queen Mary he returned to England (Aug., 1553), and became chancellor to Bishop Bonner. From 1553 to 1.560 he sat for one or other parliamentary division of Wiltshire, and in the latter year he incurred the dis- pleasure of Elizabeth for his out.spoken opposition to the Bill of Supremacy. He was committed to the Fleet, 20 May, 1.500, but escaped, was re-arrested and impri.soncd in the Marshalsea (1563). He once more made good his escape to Antwerp, where he renounced his English allegiance and became a Spanish subject. Under the Duke of Alva he held a position in the cus-


toms of Flanders until August, 1.570, when he was kid- napped at Bergen-op-Zoon by Cecil's agents. He was brought to London and imprisoned in the Tower, where he was frequently racked, and on 26 May, 1571, he was indicted in Westminster Hall for having con- spired against the queen's life and for having while at Antwerp assisted the Northern rebels. The saintly martyr bore his tortures with fortitude, asserted over and over his innocence of the charges, but refused to make any further plea, on the ground that he was a Spanish subject, and that consequently his judges had no jurisdiction. The spectacle of this trial moved Edmund Campion, who w-as present in the Hall, to re- consider his own position and opened his eyes to his duty as a Catholic. Blessed John Story was con- demned 27 May, and spent his last night in the Tower, preparing for a death which his persecutors made as barbarously cruel as it w-as possible.

Camm, Lives of the English Martyrs, II (London, 1904-5), 14; PoLL-utD in Diet. Nat. Biog., s. v.

John B. Wainewright.

John Talaia, Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria

(481-482) at the time of the Monophysite troubles. He had been a monk in the Canopis and administrator {/i^as oiAo>'6^os) of the diocese under the Patriarch Timothy Salofaciolus, who had sent him with Cien- nadius of Hermopolis as legate to the Emperor Zeno (474^91). Zeno was on very good terms with Jolin Talaia, in whom every one foresaw the future Pa- triarch of Alexandria (Evagrius, "H. E.", HI, xii; Felix III. Ep. i, 10, ii, 4, m Thiel, "Epist. Rom. Pont.", Braunsberg, 18(37). It was said by his ene- mies that he was vain and ambitious, that he spent large sums of money in bribing courtiers and behaved as if he were already patriarch. He quarrelled with Acacius of Con.stantinople (471-489) however, who became his implacable enemy. Acacius afterwards said that Talaia had sworn that he would not accept the patriarchate. Just before his death, Timothy Salofaciolus again sent John Talaia to Con.stantinople with the petition tliat when he, Timothy, died he might have a Catholic (Chalcedonian) successor. This time, too, Talaia enjoyed the Emperor's favour. Zeno promised all he asked and spoke with great admira- tion of Timothy's pious legate. But Talaia ignored Acacius, who shut himself up and awaited his chance of revenge. Talaia made friends among the court- iers, ingratiating himself especially with a certain II- lus, administrator of the palace. As soon as Timothy died (481) the Catholics of Alexandria chose John Talaia to succeed him. LTnfortunately the new pa- triarch then offended the emperor and gave Acacius his chance. He announced his succession at once to Rome and Antioch, according to custom. But he sent no announcement to the Patriarch of Constanti- nople, only writing to Illus begging him to tell the emperor. Illus was away at Antioch; so people at Constantinople heard the news before the official an- noimcement arrived. This Zeno took as a personal affront. Acacius stepped in to take advantage of the situation. He persuaded Zeno that Talaia had broken his oath in accepting election and had advised his clergy to restore the name of the great Monophysite champion, Dioscorus, to their diptychs. This accusa- tion was sheer calumny. Talaia was always unim- peachably orthodox. Zeno then refused to acknowl- edge Talaia and supported his rival Peter Mongus.

Peter Mongus (Mo77(5s, hoarse) was a Monophysite who had already been set up as patriarch by his party when Timothy .\iluros died (477). During the life of Salofaciolus he had not made much headway; but now he was again brought forward by the Monophysites as rival patriarch to Talaia. Acacius had formerly been an enemy of Mongus; now he and the em|)ernr sup- ported him. The situation was further complicated by the pubUcation of the famous "Henoticon" (482),