Great Britain -- History -- Elizabeth, 1558-1603 -- Fiction
Sir Nicholas and the party were lodged at East Grinsted the night of
their arrest, in the magistrate's house. Although he was allowed privacy
in his room, after he had given his word of honour not to attempt an
escape, yet he was allowed no conversation with Mr. Stewart or his own
servant except in the presence of the magistrate or one of the
pursuivants; and Mr. Stewart, since he was personally unknown to the
magistrate, and since the charge against him was graver, was not on any
account allowed to be alone for a moment, even in the room in which he
slept. The following day they all rode on to London, and the two
prisoners were lodged in the Marshalsea. This had been for a long while
the place where Bishop Bonner was confined; and where Catholic prisoners
were often sent immediately after their arrest; and Sir Nicholas at any
rate found to his joy that he had several old friends among the
prisoners. He was confined in a separate room; but by the kindness of his
gaoler whom he bribed profusely as the custom was, through his servant,
he had many opportunities of meeting the others; and even of approaching
the sacraments and hearing mass now and then.
He began a letter to his wife on the day of his arrival and finished it
the next day which was Saturday, and it was taken down immediately by the
courier who had heard the news and had called at the prison. In fact, he
was allowed a good deal of liberty; although he was watched and his
conversation listened to, a good deal more than he was aware. Mr.
Stewart, however, as he still called himself, was in a much harder case.
The saddle-bags had been opened on his arrival, and incriminating
documents found. Besides the "popish trinkets" they were found to contain
a number of "seditious pamphlets," printed abroad for distribution in
England; for at this time the College at Douai, under its founder Dr.
William Allen, late Principal of St. Mary's Hall, Oxford, was active in
the production of literature; these were chiefly commentaries on the
Bull; as well as exhortations to the Catholics to stand firm and to
persevere in recusancy, and to the schismatic Catholics, as they were
called, to give over attending the services in the parish churches. There
were letters also from Dr. Storey himself, whom the authorities already
had in person under lock and key at the Tower. These were quite
sufficient to make Mr. Stewart a prize; and he also was very shortly
afterwards removed to the Tower.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account