After this, my wife went to London, and spoke to the king, laying before him my long and unjust imprisonment, with the manner of my being taken, and the justices’ proceedings against me, in tendering me the oath as a snare, whereby they had premunired me; so that I being now his prisoner, it was in his power, and at his pleasure, to release me, which she desired. The king spoke kindly to her, and referred her to the lord-keeper; to whom she went, but could not obtain what she desired; for he said, “the king could not release me otherwise than by a pardon;” and I was not free to receive a pardon, knowing I had not done evil. If I would have been freed by a pardon, I need not have lain so long, for the king was willing to give me pardon long before, and told Thomas Moore, “that I need not scruple being released by a pardon, for many a man, that was as innocent as a child, had had a pardon granted him;” yet I could not consent to have one. For I had rather have lain in prison all my days, than have come out in any way dishonourable to truth; wherefore I chose to have the validity of my indictment tried before the judges. And thereupon, having first had the opinion of a counsellor upon it (Thomas Corbet, of London, whom Richard Davies of Welchpool was well acquainted with, and recommended to me), an habeas corpus was sent down to Worcester to bring me up once more to the King’s Bench bar, for the trial of the errors in my indictment. The under-sheriff set forward with me the 4th of the 12th Month, there being with us in the coach the clerk of the peace and some others. The clerk had been my enemy all along, and now sought to ensnare me in discourse; but I saw, and shunned him. He asked me, “what I would do with the errors in the indictment?” I told him, “they should be tried, and every action should crown itself.” He quarrelled with me for calling their ministers priests. I asked him, “if the law did not call them so?” Then he asked me, “What I thought of the church of England? were there no Christians among them?” I said, “they are all called so, and there are many tender people amongst them.”