But in the circumstances Elizabeth did not dare yet to proceed to extremities with Spaniards; and one case amusingly shows that these high political considerations somewhat bewildered administrative officers, who could not follow such frequent changes of attitude. A Portuguese ambassador, Giraldi, had been for some time in England endeavouring to arrange some open questions relative to the depredations of the Protestant privateers; and late in 1576 the Recorder of London, Sir William Fleetwood, a zealous Catholic-baiter, with the Sheriffs, considered it his duty to surround with his posse the house of the Portuguese envoy for the purpose of catching and arresting unauthorised persons there hearing Mass. They forced an entry after a stiff fight with the Portuguese porter, Mr. Recorder Fleetwood being rather seriously mauled in the affray, and loudly broke in upon the sacred service by summoning all English people to come out in custody. Immediately the foreigners present, indignant at the interruption, drew their daggers and swords, and made as if to attack the officers, but were appeased by the sheriffs until the ladies had withdrawn. Having allowed the members of the embassy to depart, the officers then examined the other foreigners: “and trulie they most despitefully against all civilitie used such lewd words in their language against us, that if our company had understande them there might have chanced great harm. ‘Sirs,’ I saide to them, ‘I see no remedie but you must goe to prison, for most of you be free denizens.’ And then I willed the officers to lay hand on them, and immediately every man suddenly most humbly put off his cap, and began to be sutors and sought favour; and so on their submission we suffered them to depart, all save Antonio de Guaras, who was not willing to go from us, but kept us company.” After sending the English subjects off to prison and scolding some of their own constables for accepting “singing cakes” from the priest at the altar, Fleetwood and Sheriff Barnes stood in the gallery looking down upon the altar. “And then Antonio Guaras tooke me by the hand to see the altar how trim it was. And I said to Guaras, ‘Sir, if I had done my duty here to you and to the Queen upon All Hallowes Day last I had taken two hundred, and as many more on All Souls.’ ‘Ho! Sir,’ said Guaras unto me: ‘become of this religion, and surely you will like it well, and I will be readie means to make you a good Christian.’ And so we went near the altar, where neither he nor I touched any manner of thing; and so we bade the priest farewell, who gently saluted us, and I suddenlie looked back and saw the priest shake his head mumbling out words that sounded like _Diable_ and _male croix_, or to that effect. Then said I to Mr. Sheriff, ‘Let us depart, for the priest doth curse us.’ And so we departed, and Antonio Guaras brought us to the utter gate, where the Sheriff and I invited him to dynner with us; but he departed