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the cords disappear: but this is only the beginning and least part of the miserable creature's torment. The torturer then throws over his mouth and noftrils a thin cloth, fo that he is scarce able to breathe: in the mean while a fmall continued ftream of water like a thread falls from on high upon the mouth of the perfon lying in this miserable condition, and finks the cloth to the bottom of his throat, so that there is no poffibility of breathing. By this means the poor wretch appears as in the agonies of death. . When this cloth is drawn out of his throat, as it often is, that he may anfwer to the questions afked of him, it is all wet with blood, and is, as the sufferers fay, like pulling their bowels through their mouths. The frequent repetition of these agonies is, almoft literally, dying many deaths; or, as Shakespear expreffes it on another occafion, "dying many times before their death." -We talk of hell and devils.-Can any hell, except in duration, be a place of worse torments than an holy inquifition? And can any devils, without exception, be more wicked and cruel than these religious inquifitors?

AMONG the many inftances which might be given of the sufferings of particular perfons in the inquifition, I fhall mention but a very few. WILLIAM

WILLIAM LITHGOW, a Scotchman, being on his travels for curiofity, was fo unhappy as to fall into the hands of this tribunal. After having endured great mifery of divers kinds, and been moft terribly tormented upon the wooden horfe, he was condemned to be burned alive for a heretic: but thofe mifcreants, the inquifitors, not fatisfied with fentencing this poor innocent man to fo painful a death, they also condemned him firft to fuffer eleven moft cruel torments; one of which was fo remarkable and barbarous, as related by himself, that it well merits a particular defcription. "First

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he was ftripped naked, put upon his knees, "and his hands lifted up by force; after "which, opening his mouth with iron in"ftruments, they filled his belly with water " 'till it came out of his jaws: then they tied "a rope hard about his neck, and in this "condition rolled him feven times the whole length of the room, 'till he was almost

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ftrangled. After this they tied a small "cord about both his great toes, and hung "him up thereby with his head towards the "ground, and then cut the rope about his "neck, letting him remain in that condition. " till all the water discharged itself out of his "mouth; after which he was laid on the ground as juft dead." But beyond all expectation,

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pectation, and by a very fingular accident, he was delivered out of gaol, efcaped death, and returned to England.

A CERTAIN pious matron, with her two daughters who were virgins, and her niece who was married, were put into the inquifition at Seville for herefy, Various kinds of tortures were made ufe of to constrain these women to betray thofe of their own religion, and especially to accuse one another; but in vain. The inquifitor, obferving this, commanded one of the daughters to be brought to him, and difcourfed with her alone, pretending to be much grieved at her afflictions, and endeavouring to comfort her. After he had by these means, and mourning over her, induced the poor girl to believe, that he was really and with a fatherly affection concerned for her and her family's calamity, and would fincerely endeavour for their liberty; he then began to perfuade her to confefs what related to herself, and difcover all the knew concern→ ing her mother, fifters, aunt, and fome others who were not yet apprehended; promifing upon oath, that if she would faithfully make this confeffion and discovery to him, he would find out a method to relieve her from her misfortunes, and to fend them all back to their houses. This wheedling effected what torturing could not: the young woman was

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by these promises, and repeated oaths to perform them, allured to give fome account to the inquifitor of what he wanted to know. When the perfidious, perjured villain had fo far obtained his point, he put the poor girl to the most extreme tortures, even those of the rack and the wooden horfe above-mentioned, in order to extort what she might have omitted in her former confeffion: the then accused her mother and fifters, and fe veral others alfo, who were upon this taken up and tortured likewife; after which they were all burned alive in the fame fire with the girl.

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HORRID as this inftance of complicated wickedness is, the following will not fall fhort of it, and in fome circumstances may perhaps be thought rather more cruel.

A NOBLE lady, named Boborquia, wife of the lord of Higuera in Spain, tho' about fix months gone with child, was taken up by the inquifition, only because a young lady, her fifter, who was also imprisoned as a heretic and afterwards burnt, had in her torture declared, that he had converfed with her fifter on her own doctrine. Lady Boborquia was delivered of her child în prison; fifteen days after which he was close shut up, and underwent the fate of other prifoners. In fo dreadful a calamity fhe had only one com

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fort, that a certain pious young woman, who was afterwards burnt for her religion by the inquifitors, was allowed her for a companion, But this comfort was foon changed into a grievous affliction: for this poor creature was in a little time taken out of prison to be tortured, and when brought back, with all her limbs disjointed, afforded a most dismal fpectacle to this young lady of what she herself was likely to suffer. And accordingly, when the girl had but just began to recover, Boborquia was carried out to endure the fame mifery, and was tortured with fuch diabolical cruelty upon the rack, that the rope cut to the very bones of her arms, thighs, and legs, the blood running copiously out of her mouth: they had, fays my author, undoubtedly burst her bowels. In this manner she was brought back to prifon, as if just ready to expire; and in fact did die the eighth day following. And to fill up the full measure of inquifitorial wickedness, it afterwards appeared, that this lady was intirely innocent of what she had been accused, and was fo pronounced to be by the inquifitors themfelves, after they had thus barbaroufly murdered her by torture.

Ir has already been observed, that without diftinction of age, quality, or fex, all perfons, before they are tortured, even the most virtuous matrons, or chafte and modeft vir

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