about the beginning of holy week the inquisitors caused to be erected a great scaffold against the large church in the main square, and from it they proclaimed, with much beating of drums and blaring of trumpets, that whoever should come there upon good friday should have made known to them the most just judgments of the holy inquisition upon the english heretics, lutherans, and should, moreover, see the same put into immediate execution. and so now we were face to face with whatever final cruelty these devils in human shape might devise upon us, who were helpless and defenseless in their hands.

there was little rest for any of us on the night preceding the judgments, for there came to each of us officers and familiars of [pg 159]the inquisition, tormenting us with gibes and sneers, and bringing us the san-benitos in which we were to appear in the great square next morning. it was already turning gray in the east when two of these men entered my dungeon, where i lay still stiff and bruised because of the racking which i had undergone a few days before. they woke me rudely and without consideration, caring naught for the woes i had already suffered or the sorrow i was that day to undergo.

“wake, english dog, lutheran, enemy of god!” cried one. “wake and robe thyself to meet thy master the devil. truly the saints will rejoice to see the sight provided for them this day.”

then they hustled me from my straw pallet and bade me dress in the san-benito, which was a garment of yellow cotton having divers devices painted upon it. and this done they took me out into the courtyard of the prison, and there for the first [pg 160]time for some weeks i met pharaoh nanjulian. it was easy to see, even in the uncertain light of the early morning, that he had undergone the same torments which they had applied to me. his face was pinched and thin with suffering, and his great frame seemed to have been crushed and bruised until it had shrunk in height and girth. yet he bore himself with composure and bravery, and i felt at once that, however the rest of us behaved, he at least would not disgrace the name of england.

“heart up, master!” quoth he, as soon as we came within speaking distance of each other. “heart up! let us show ourselves brave men this day. i do not think they can torment us more than they have already done. and what if they kill us? we must all die.”

“did they torture you badly, pharaoh?” i asked, admiring his fortitude.

he shook his head and smiled grimly.

“so badly, master, that it seemed as if [pg 161]every bone in my body was broken and every sinew cracked. but a man may undergo a deal of suffering and yet live. so let us quit us like men and be strong. for truly, though we be in the hands of these devils at present, god is near us, and will maybe be nearer ere the day is done.”

then our custodians separated us again, and for a couple of hours they exercised us in the prison yard, showing us in what order we should proceed to the scaffold, and admonishing us as to our behavior when we had come there. and after that was over, it being broad daylight, they gave us breakfast, which was a cup of wine with a piece of bread fried in honey, and so we were ready for the ordeal.

there were some sixty to seventy prisoners in all, of all nationalities, a considerable number being englishmen, and all of us were dressed in those hideous san-benitos, which make the most shameful garb that a man can wear. being drawn up in single [pg 162]file, our guards fastened a halter round the neck of each prisoner, and afterwards gave to each of us a green wax candle, which we carried, unlighted, in the right hand. two spaniards, well armed, guarded each of us, and so the procession being arranged, the great doors were thrown open and we were led forth into the square.

the crowd in the square was so thick that the guards had much ado to free a passage through it; but ere long we came to the scaffold, and were conducted upon it, seating ourselves on long rows of chairs placed in full sight of the people. we had not long occupied this shameful position when the viceroy and his officers came upon the scaffold by another flight of steps, closely followed by the inquisitors, who took the chief places and made much show of their authority. then three hundred friars, wearing the garb of their various orders, black, white, gray, and brown, were marshaled to their places, and all was ready for the judgments.

[pg 163]

now, we were so sorely exercised in our minds at that time because of the agony of sitting there and wondering when our turn would come and what our fate would be, that i have utterly forgotten many of the names and sentences of my unfortunate companions. some still come back to me, because their sentences were heavier than those which have escaped my memory.

the manner of judgment was after this fashion. the clerk to the inquisitors calling out our names in a loud voice, we were commanded to stand up in our places and hear the judgment of the holy office upon us.

thomas white, cornelius johnson, peter brown, henry more, all englishmen shipwrecked on those inhospitable coasts or captured at sea, were condemned to three hundred lashes on horseback, and to serve in the galleys for ten years.

william collier, thomas ford, john page, two hundred lashes and eight years in the galleys.

[pg 164]

stephen brown and nicholas peterson, a dutchman, one hundred lashes and six years in the galleys.

then came some forty or fifty men whose names i have forgotten, who were condemned to a lesser number of lashes and less servitude in the galleys, and after them some four or five who were adjudged to serve in monasteries for various terms of years, wearing their san-benitos all the time.

and then, after two or three hours of weary waiting, for they did everything with exceeding tediousness and much ceremony, they called upon pharaoh nanjulian and myself, and we stood up together to receive sentence. and then we suddenly knew that god had not deserted us, for the sentence was a lighter one than any that we had heard passed. we were to serve two years in the galleys, submitting ourselves to the chaplain for admonition and instruction. so that was over and we could breathe freely again.

[pg 165]

nevertheless the horrible work of that day was far from over, for it was hardly begun. the torments, the murders, were yet to come.

william moor, john wood, and hans schewitzer, a german lutheran, were brought up for sentence and condemned, being pestilent and naughty heretics, to be burned to ashes.

they lost no time, these villainous spaniards, in carrying out this sentence. in front of the scaffold stood three stout iron posts, firmly sunk in the ground, with fagots already piled about them, and to these the unfortunate men were speedily bound, amidst the silence of the crowd and the cries of the monks and familiars, who pressed upon their victims, bidding them repent and recant ere they were lost forever. but to these murdering villains the three men answered naught, and presently it was all over with them, and there was one more crime recorded against spain.

[pg 166]

then those of us who had been sentenced to so many lashes were led down from the scaffold and placed upon horses, being stripped to the waist, and having by them, every man, an executioner armed with a whip. such of us as had escaped this sentence were arranged in pairs behind, with our halters still round our necks and our guards on either side of us. before the men who were to be whipped marched two criers, crying “behold these english dogs, lutherans, enemies of god,” and at intervals came familiars, such as frey bartolomeo, admonishing the executioners to lay on and spare not. then the procession started, and was conducted by the criers through all the principal streets back to the great square, and at every few steps the executioners laid on with their whips, fetching blood at every stroke, so that to any man having aught of mercy and compassion within him the spectacle was horrible and nauseating, though to the familiars [pg 167]and inquisitors it seemed delightful enough.

now, as we returned to the great square, this bloody work being over, the throng pressed upon us so closely that for some few moments we were unable to move, and while we stood there waiting for what would happen next, there came to our side captain manuel nunez, his evil eyes mocking and sneering at us.

“so, master salkeld,” said he, “it would seem that you have not altogether escaped. our holy office is merciful, master salkeld, yea, sadly too merciful for my liking. but there are those of us, who know not any mercy for englishmen and heretics, as you shall find ere long, both of you.”

with that he vanished in the crowd, and presently pharaoh and i were led back to prison, wondering what his last words meant.