AD. THE ENGLISH VOYAGES 



1575- 



were in England, and how we had bin taught, & also 

 what we thought or did know of such of our owne 

 company as they did name unto us, so that we could 

 never be free from such demands, and at other times 

 they would promise us, that if we would tell them 

 trueth, then should we have favour & be set at libertie, 

 although we very wel knew their faire speeches were 

 but means to entrap us, to the hazard and losse of 

 our lives : howbeit God so mercifully wrought for us 

 by a secret meanes that we had, that we kept us still 

 to our first answer, & would stil say that we had 

 told the trueth unto them, and knew no more by our 

 selves nor any other of our fellows then as we had 

 declared, and that for our sinnes and oifences in England 

 against God and our Lady, or any of his blessed Saints, 

 we were heartily sory for the same, and did cry God 

 mercy, and besought the Inquisitors for Gods sake, 

 considering that we came into those countreys by force 

 of weather, & against our wils, and that never in all 

 our lives we had either spoken or done any thing 

 contrary to their lawes, and therfore they would have 

 mercy upon us. Yet all this would not serve ; for stil 

 from time to time we were called upon to confesse, 

 and about the space of 3 moneths before they proceeded 

 Our men are to their severe judgement, we were al rackt, and some 

 cruelly rackt. enforced to utter that against themselves, which after- 

 wards cost them their lives. And thus having gotten 

 from our owne mouthes matter sufficient for them to 

 proceed in judgement against us, they caused a large 

 scaffold to be made in the middest of the market place 

 in Mexico right over against the head church, & 14 

 or 15 daies before the day of their judgement, with 

 the sound of a trumpet, and the noise of their Attabalies, 

 which are a kind of drummes, they did assemble the 

 people in all parts of the citie : before whom it was 

 then solemnely proclaimed, that whosoever would upon 

 such a day repaire to the market place, they should 

 heare the sentence of the holy Inquisition against the 



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