not helpless before his
persecution, as he imagined; that whilst I had made surrender of two
chests of papers, I yet retained enough authentic documents--letters in
his own hand--to make my innocence and his guilt apparent in a startling
degree, with very evil consequences to himself.

His answer was to seize my wife and children and cast them into prison,
and then order the courts of Madrid to pronounce sentence of death
against me for the murder of Escovedo. Such were the sops with which he
sought to quench his vindictive rage.

Thereupon the trial proceeded. I prepared my long memorial of the
affair, supporting it with proofs in the shape of those letters I had
retained. And then at last Philip of Spain took fright. He was warned
by one of his representatives that there was little doubt I should be
acquitted on all counts, and, too late, he sought to save his face by
ordering the cessation of the prosecution he had instructed.

He stated that since I had chosen a line of defence, to answer which--as
it could be answered--it would be necessary to touch upon matters of
a secrecy that was inviolable, and to introduce personages whose
reputation and honour was of more consequence to the State than the
condemnation of Antonio Perez, he preferred to renounce the prosecution
before the tribunal of Aragon. But he added a certificate upon his royal
word to the effect that my crimes were greater than had ever been the
crimes of any man, and that, whilst he renounced the prosecution before
the courts of Aragon, he retained the right to demand of me an account
of my actions before any other tribunal at any future time.

My acquittal followed immediately. And immediately again that was
succeeded by fresh charges against me on behalf of the King. First
it was sought to prove that I had procured the death of two of my
servants--a charge which I easily dispersed by proving them to have
died natural deaths. Then it was sought to prosecute me on the charge of
corruption, for which I had once already been prosecuted, condemned, and
punished. Confidently I demanded my release, and Philip must have ground
his teeth in rage to see his prey escaping him, to see himself the butt
of scorn and contempt for the wrongs that it became clear he had done
me.

One weapon remained to him, and a terrible weapon this--the Holy Office
of the Inquisition, a court before which all temporal courts must bow
and quail. He launched its power against me,