" 'Who sent you into England?' they asked.
" 'To bring back stray souls to their Creator.'
" 'No, no,' said they; 'you were sent for matters of State; and to lure people from the obedience of the Queen to the obedience of the Pope.'
" 'As for matters of State,' I replied, 'we are forbidden to have anything to say to them, as they do not belong to our Institute. This prohibition, indeed, extends to all the members of the Society; but on us Missioners it is particularly enjoined in a special instruction. As for the obedience due to the Queen and the Pope, each is to be obeyed in that wherein they have jurisdiction; and one obedience does not clash with the other, as England and all Christian realms have hitherto experienced.'
" 'How long have you been doing duty as a Priest in this country?'
" 'How, and where, did you land, and where have you lived since your landing?'
" 'I cannot in conscience answer any of these questions,' I replied, 'especially the last, as it would bring mischief on others; so I crave pardon for not satisfying your wishes.'
" 'Nay,' said they, 'it is just on these heads that we chiefly desire you to satisfy us, and we bid you in the Queen's name to do so.'
" 'I honour the Queen,' said I, 'and will obey her and you in all that is lawful, but here you must hold me excused: for were I to mention any person or place where I have been lodged, the innocent would have to suffer, according to your laws, for the kind service they have done me. Such behaviour on my part would be against all justice and charity, and therefore I never will be guilty of it.'
" 'You shall do so by force, if not by goodwill.'
" 'I hope,' I said, 'by the grace of God, it shall not be as you say. I beg you, therefore, to take this my answer: that neither now nor at any other time will I disclose what you demand of me.'
"Thereupon they wrote a warrant for my imprisonment, and gave it to the pursuivants, bidding them take me to prison. As we were leaving, he who is now Chancellor said that I must be kept in close confinement, as in cases of high treason. 'But tell the gaolers,' he added, 'to treat him well on account of his birth.' It seems, however, that the head gaoler gave orders at variance with this humane recommendation: for I was lodged in a garret,(59) where there was nothing but a bed, and no room to stand up straight, except just where the bed was. There was one window always open, through which foul air entered and rain fell on to my bed. The room door was so low, that I had to enter, not on my feet, but on my knees, and even then I was forced to stoop. However, I reckoned this rather an advantage, inasmuch as it helped to keep out the stench (certainly no small one) that came from the privy close to my door, which was used by all the prisoners in that part of the house. I was often kept awake, or woke up, by the bad smell.