ast into it a thimble-full of a powder that
Diego Martinez had given him. When secretary Escovedo had taken
some of this food, they found that it contained poison. They
subsequently arrested one of Escovedo's female slaves who must have
been employed to prepare the pottage; and, upon this proof, they
hung her in the public square at Madrid, though she was innocent.

"'Secretary Escovedo having escaped all these plottings, Antonio
Perez adopted another plan, viz., that we should kill him some
evening with pistols, stilettoes, or rapiers, and that without
delay. I started, therefore, for my country, to find one of my
intimate friends, and a stiletto with a very thin blade, a much
better weapon than a pistol for murdering a man. I travelled post,
and they gave me some bills of exchange of Lorenzo Spinola at
Genoa, to get money at Barcelona, and which, in fact, I received on
arriving there.'

"Here Enriquez relates, that he enticed into the plot one of his
brothers, named Miguel Bosque, to whom he promised a sum of gold
and the protection of Perez; that they arrived at Madrid the very
day Escovedo's slave was hanged; that, during his absence, Diego
Martinez had fetched from Aragon, for the same object, two resolute
men, named Juan de Mesa and Insausti; that the very day after his
arrival, Diego Martinez had assembled them all four, as well as the
scullion Juan Rubio, outside Madrid, to decide as to the means and
the moment of the murder; that they had agreed upon this, that
Diego Martinez had procured them a sword, broad and fluted up to
the point, to kill Escovedo with, and had armed them all with
daggers; and that Antonio Perez had gone, during that time, to pass
the holy week at Alcala, doubtless with the intention of turning
suspicion from him when the death of Escovedo was ascertained. Then
Antonio Enriquez adds:--

"'It was agreed, that we should all meet every evening upon the
little square of Saint James (Jacobo), whence we should go and
watch on the side by which secretary Escovedo was to pass; which
was done. Insausti, Juan Rubio, and Miguel Bosque, were to waylay
him; while Diego Martinez, Juan de Mesa, and I, were to walk about
in the neighbourhood, in case our services should be required in
the murder. On Easter Monday, March 31, th