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bones, I pitifully remained, still roaring, howling, foaming, bellowing, and gnashing my teeth, with insupportable cries, before the pins were undone and my body loosed.

True it is, it passeth the capacity of man, either sensibly to conceive, or I patiently to express, the intolerable anxiety of mind, and affliction of body, in that dreadful time I sustained.

At last my head being by their arms advanced, and my body taken from the rack, the water regushed abundantly from my mouth; and they re-clothing my broken, bloody, and cold trembling body, being all this time stark naked, I fell twice in a sounding trance, which they again refreshed with a little wine and two warm eggs, not for charity done, but that I should be reserved to further punishment, and if it were not too truly known those sufferings to be of truth, it would almost seem incredible to many, that a man being brought so low with starving hunger, and extreme cruelties, could have subsisted any longer reserving life.

And now at last they charged my broken legs, with my former eyefrighting irons, and done, I was lamentably carried on their arms to the coach, being after midnight, and secretly transported to my former dungeon without any knowledge to the town, save only these my lawless and merciless tormentors; where, when come, I was laid with my head and my heels alike high on my former stones.

The latter end of this woful night, poor mourning Hazier, the Turk, was set to keep me, and on the morrow the governor entered my room, threatening me still with more tortures to confess; and so caused he every morning long before day his coach to be rumbled at his gate, and about me where I lay a great noise of tongues and opening of doors; and all this they did of purpose to affright and distract me, and to make me believe I was going to be racked again to make me confess an untruth; and still thus they continued every day of five days till Christmas.

Upon Christmas day Mariana, the ladies' gentlewoman, got permission to visit me, and with her licence she brought abundance of tears, presenting me also with a dish of honey and sugar, some confections and raisins in a great plenty to my no small comfort, besides using many sweet speeches for consolation's sake.

She gone, and the next morning of Saint John's day come, long ere day the town was in arms, the bells ringing backward, the people

shouting, the drums beat, whereon my soul was overjoyed, thinking that the Moors had seized upon all; and in the afternoon the Turk coming to me with bread and water, being by chance the second day, I asked him what the fray was? who replied, Be of good courage, I hope in God and Mahomet that you and I ere long shall be set at liberty, for your countrymen the English armada, and mine the Moors, are joined together, and coming to sack Malaga. And this morning post came from Allagant (Alicant) to premonish the governor thereof; whereupon he and the town have instantly pulled down all the coppet shops and dwelling houses that were builded without the shore side adjoining to the town's wall; but yet, said he, it is no matter, the town may easily be surprised, and I hope we shall be merry in Algiers, for there is above a hundred sail seen coming hither; and therewith, kissing my cheek, he kindly left me.

Indeed, as for such news from Allagant, the detriment of twentyeight houses, the shore-planted cannon, the suspicion they had of the English, and the town four days in arms, were all true, save only the confederacy of the English with the Moors, that was false.

Witness Sir Richard Halkins, and the captains of his squader, who a little after Christmas, coming to the road, went to the governor to clear himself and the fleet of that absurd imputation laid to their charge. The twelfth day of Christmas expired, they began to threaten me on still with more tortures, even till Candlemas: in all which comfortless time I was miserably afflicted with the beastly plague of gnawing vermin, which lay crawling in lumps, within, without, and about my body: yea, hanging in clusters about my beard, my lips, my nostrils, and my eyebrows, almost inclosing my sight.

And for a greater satisfaction to their merciless minds, the governor caused Areta, his silver-plate keeper, to gather and sweep the vermin upon me twice in eight days, which tormented me to the death, being a perpetual punishment; for mine arms being broke, my bands lucken, and sticking fast to the palms of both hands by reason of the shrunk sinews, I was unable to lift mine arms to stir my fingers: much less to avoid the filthy virmin: neither could my legs and feet perform it, being impotent in all. Yet I acknowledge the poor infidel, some few times, and when opportunity served, would steal the keys from Areta, and about midnight would enter my room, with sticks and burning oil,

and sweeping them together in heaps, would burn the greatest part, to my great release; or doubtless I had been miserable, eat up, and devoured by them.

And now, some eight days before Candlemas, the slave informed me, that an English seminary priest, born in London, and belonging to the Bishops' College of Malaga, and a Scottish couper [dealer] named Alexander Ley, born in Dunbar, and there married, were in translating all my books and observations out of English, in the Spanish tongue, bringing every other day's numbers of wrote papers to the governor, and for their pains had thirty ducats allowed, and that they were saying, I was an arch heretic to the pope, and the Virgin Mary.

Having redounded him concealed thanks, I was assured of their bloody inquisition, preparing myself in God, with faith and patience, to receive and gainstand it; for my spiritual resolution was surely founded; being sightless of company, and humane faces, I had entirely the light of my soul celebrate to God Almighty.

And hereupon, the second day after Candlemas, the governor, the inquisitor, a canonical priest, entered my dungeon accompanied with two Jesuits, one of which was predicator and Superior of the Theatinean College of Malaga: where being chair-set, candle lighted, and door locked, the inquisitor, after divers frivolous questions, demanded me if I was a Roman Catholic, and acknowledged the pope's supremacy. To whom I answered, I was neither the one, nor did the other. And what power (said I) have you to challenge me of my religion, since it is a chief article of the former concluded peace, that none of our king's subjects should be troubled by your inquisition?, but, as you have murdered me for alleged treason, so you mean to martyr me for religion.

And you, governor, as you have tortured and hunger-starved this helpless body, consumed with cold and vermin to the last of my life, the Almighty God who revealeth the secrets of all things (though I be never relieved) will certainly discover it to my country and to the world. And is this the best of your good deeds you repay to our merciful king, who then being only king of Scotland, in the time of your just overthrow of eighty-eight, gave secourse to thousands of your shipwrecked people for many months, and in the end caused transport them safely to their desired ports. Leaving to the world's memory an eternal stamp of Christian bounty, mercy, and royal charity, and your

acquittance to him is an imputation of treachery to his fleet, detaining and misregarding his letters and seals, and now imposing to a tormented innocent, your lawless inquisition.

To which the governor answered, all that was true, but it was done more through fear than love, and therefore deserved the lesser thanks; but (interim) we will follow the uttermost of our ends. And the Jesuit predicator, to confirm his words, said, there was no faith to be kept with heretics, which, directly or indirectly, is the sublime policy of conquerors, which our mighty and innumerable nation evermore taketh notice of and observeth.

Then the inquisitor arising, expressed himself thus:-Behold the powerful majesty of God's mother, commander of her Son, equal to the Father, wife of the Holy Ghost, Queen of Heaven, protector of angels, and sole gubernatrix of the earth, &c. How thou being first taken as a spy, accused for treachery, and innocently tortured (as we acknowledge we were better informed lately from Madrile of the English intention), yet it was her power, her divine power, which brought these judgments upon thee, in that thou hast wrote calumniously against her blessed miracles of Loretto, and against his holiness, the great agent and Christ's vicar on earth: therefore thou hast justly fallen into our hands by her special appointment; thy books and papers are miraculously translated by her special providence with my own countrymen: wherefore thou mayest clearly see the impenetrable mysteries of our glorious lady in punishing her offenders; and, for a humble satisfaction, repent thee of thy wickedness, and be converted to the holy mother church. And, after many such like exhortations of all the four, the inquisitor assigned me eight days for my conversion, saying, that he and the Tiatines would twice a day visit me in that time, intreating me to be advised again the next morning, of these doubts and difficulties that withstood my conscience.

Then, in leaving me, the Jesuit predicator, making a cross upon my crossed breast, said, My son, behold you deserve to be burnt quick; but by the grace of our Lady of Loretto, whom you have blasphemed, we will both save your soul and body: spewing forth also this feminine Latin; Nam mansueta et misericordiosa est Ecclesia, O Ecclesia Romana! extra quem non est salus. They gone, and I alone all this night, was I instant with my God, imploring his grace to rectify my thoughts, illuminate my understanding, confirm my confidence, beatific my

memory, to sanctify my knowledge, to expel the servile fear of death, and to save my soul from the entangling corruption of any private ends, illusions, or mundane respects whatsoever,

:

The next morning, the three ecclesiastics returned, and being placed with chairs and candles, the inquisitor made interrogation, of what difficulties, errors, or misbelief I had to whom ingenuously I answered I had none, neither any difficulty, error, or misbelief; but was confident in the promises of Jesus Christ, and assuredly believed his revealed will in the Gospel, professed in the Reformed Catholic Church; which being confirmed by grace, I had the infallible assurance in my soul, of the true Christian faith.

To these words he answered, Thou art no Christian, but an absurd heretic, and without conversion a member of perdition; whereupon I replied, Reverend Sir, the nature of charity and religion do not consist in opprobrious speeches; wherefore if you would convert me, as you say, convince me by argument: if not, all your threatenings of fire, death, nor torments, shall make me shrink from the truth of God's word in sacred Scriptures. Whereupon the mad inquisitor clapped me on the face with his foot, abusing me with many railings, and, if the Jesuits had not intercepted him, he had stabbed me with a knife; where, when dismissed, I never saw him more.

164. A DESCRIPTION OF THE MOST NOBLE CITY OF LONDON.

FITZ STEPHEN.

[WILLIAM STEPHANIDES, or Fitz Stephen, a monk of Canterbury, was born in London; lived in the reigns of King Stephen, Henry the Second, and Richard the First; and died in 1191. He wrote a description of his native city in Latin. Stow, the antiquary, printed this very curious tract, with a translation, in his Survey of London;' and it has since been reprinted several times. The translation which we give is more modern than that of Stow; and we take it from a very elegant and accurate edition of the Survey, edited by Mr. Thoms, the learned and accomplished secretary of the Camden Society. There are few things of antiquarian value more curious than this picture of London and its manners, written more than six centuries and a half ago.]

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