“I was then immediately remanded to my prison; and the gaoler came to inform me that the goodness of the lords inquisitors extended so far as to order that I should have, besides the ordinary allowance, some coffee for breakfast, and, in consideration of the state of my health, a daily allowance of wine. The ordinary allowance he spake of was half a pound of boiled meat--the bones enter into the weight of this half pound, and, on some days, this allowance is very scanty--a few spoonfuls of rice, a cup of gravy, and some bread. The only persons who are allowed to have any access to the prisoner, or who can see and speak to him, are the gaoler, and four guards, called the ‘faithful of the prisoner,’ who convey the prisoner backwards and forwards to the audiences, and are at the same time the executioners who administer the tortures. These guards also wait upon the prisoners, and bring them what they want,--such as food, water, &c. But it is necessary to observe here, that these guards are, properly speaking, spies set upon the prisoner, to observe everything in the prisons, and to relate it to the inquisitors, not only what they can gain by listening to the conversation of the prisoners, but also what they can see through small holes they make in the ceiling, just at the corners of the cells.” Da Costa was kept thus in prison for three years, during which period he was tormented by repeated examinations, without sentence being passed upon him. Finding his health decline, he formed the desperate resolution of attempting his escape from prison; and, happily, he succeeded, and at length reached England. The relation of his sufferings in the Inquisition occasioned his friends to request his giving an account of them to the public; and, therefore, he published in London the “Narrative of his Persecutions,” in 1811. CHAPTER XVII. BRITISH VICTIMS OF THE INQUISITION. William Lithgow--Elizabeth Vasconellos--John Coustos--Mr. Bower. Spanish and Portuguese bigotry could not be satisfied with the sacrifice of native subjects. The vengeance of the Inquisition had been wreaked on the helpless of other nations, whom Providence, from time to time, brought within its grasp. To prevent their sufferings had not always been in the power of foreign governments; and even British subjects have been sufferers by this horrid court. The terror of the name of Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector of England, compelled the inquisitors to liberate and to honour the English consul, Thomas Maynard. (See Chapter XI.) But how many have been tortured and murdered in the concealment of the Inquisition cannot be ascertained by us before the day of judgment. A few cases of such sufferers may, however, be given, still further to illustrate the intolerance and cruelty of the papacy.