Ofalia's Reply Was, That Immediate Measures Should
Be Taken For My Liberation, And That It Would Be My Own Fault If I
Remained In Prison.
He forthwith ordered a juez de la primera
instancia, a kind of solicitor-general, to wait upon me, who was
instructed to hear my account of the affair, and then to dismiss me
with an admonition to be cautious for the future.
My friends of
the embassy, however, had advised me how to act in such a case.
Accordingly, when the juez on the second night of my imprisonment
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.
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