Great Britain -- History -- Elizabeth, 1558-1603 -- Fiction
"Last night, my dearest, I had a great honour and consolation. I was
awakened suddenly towards two o'clock in the morning by the door of my
room opening and a man coming in. It was somewhat dark, and I could not
see the man plainly, but I could see that he limped and walked with a
stick, and he breathed hard as he entered. I sat up and demanded of him
who he was and what he wanted; and telling me to be still, he said that
he was Dr. Storey. You may be sure, sweetheart, that I sprang up at that;
but he would not let me rise; and himself sat down beside me. He said
that by the _kindness_ of a gaoler he had been allowed to come; and that
he must not stay with me long; that he had heard of me from his good
friend Mr. Stewart. I asked him how he did, for I heard that he had been
racked; and he said yes, it was true; but that by the mercy of God and
the prayers of the saints he had held his peace and they knew nothing
from him. Then he asked me a great number of questions about the _men I
had entertained_, and where they were now; and he knew many of their
names. Some of them were friends of his own, he said; especially the
priests. We talked a good while, till the morning light began; and then
he said he must be gone or the head gaoler would know of his visit, and
so he went. I wish I could have seen his face, sweetheart, for I think
him a great servant of God; but it was still too dark when he went, and
we dared not have a light for fear it should be seen."
This was as a matter of fact a ruse of the authorities. It was not Dr.
Storey at all who was admitted to Sir Nicholas' prison, but Parker, who
had betrayed him at Antwerp. It was so successful, for Sir Nicholas told
him all that he knew (which was really nothing at all) that it was
repeated a few months later with richer results; when the conspirator
Baily, hysterical and almost beside himself with the pain of the rack,
under similar circumstances gave up a cypher which was necessary to the
Council in dealing with the correspondence of Mary Stuart. However, Sir
Nicholas never knew the deception, and to the end of his days was proud
that he had actually met the famous Dr. Storey, when they were both
imprisoned in the Tower together, and told his friends of it with
reverent pride when the doctor was hanged a year later.
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