made his appearance at the prison, and summoned me before him, I went, but on his proceeding to question me, I absolutely refused to answer.  “I deny your right to put any questions to me,” said I; “I entertain, however, no feelings of disrespect to the government or to yourself, Caballero Juez; but I have been illegally imprisoned.  So accomplished a jurist as yourself cannot fail to be aware that, according to the laws of Spain, I, as a foreigner, could not be committed to prison for the offence with which I had been charged, without previously being conducted before the captain-general of this royal city, whose duty it is to protect foreigners, and see that the laws of hospitality are not violated in their persons.”

Juez.—­Come, come, Don Jorge, I see what you are aiming at; but listen to reason:  I will not now speak to you as a juez but as a friend who wishes you well, and who entertains a profound reverence for the British nation.  This is a foolish affair altogether; I will not deny that the political chief acted somewhat hastily on the information of a person not perhaps altogether worthy of credit.  No great damage, however, has been done to you, and to a man of the world like yourself, a little adventure of this kind is rather calculated to afford amusement than anything else.  Now be advised, forget what has happened; you know that it is the part and duty of a Christian to forgive; so, Don Jorge, I advise you to leave this place forthwith.  I dare say you are getting tired of it.  You are this moment free to depart; repair at once to your lodgings, where, I promise you, that no one shall be permitted to interrupt you for the future.  It is getting late, and the prison doors will speedily be closed for the night.  Vamos, Don Jorge, a la casa, a la posada!

Myself.—­“But Paul said unto them, they have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily?  Nay, verily:  but let them come themselves and fetch us out.”

I then bowed to the juez, who shrugged his shoulders and took snuff.  On leaving the apartment I turned to the alcayde, who stood at the door:  “Take notice,” said I, “that I will not quit this prison till I have received full satisfaction for being sent hither uncondemned.  You may expel me if you please, but any attempt to do so shall be resisted with all the bodily strength of which I am possessed.”

“Your worship is right,” said the alcayde with a bow, but in a low voice.

Sir George, on hearing of this affair, sent me a letter in which he highly commanded my resolution not to leave the prison for the present, at the same time begging me to let him know if there were anything that he could send me from the embassy to render my situation more tolerable.

I will now leave for the present my own immediate affairs, and proceed to give some account of the prison of Madrid and its inmates.