Inquisition at Goa

8/7/2019 Inquisition at Goa

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1adlon'~ACCOUNT

OF THE

INQUISITION AI' GOA

A ,'EW TRANSLATION, FROM THE FRENCH.

WITII

AN APPENDIX,

CONTAINING

.-\n A C C O U D tof the EscAPE of AacKIBUD Bo~ (0118 of theInquisitors, from t e III ition at as:erata in Italy.

THE SECOND EDITION, CORRECTED.

PRINTED FOR BALDWIN, CRADOCK, AND JOY,

47, PATERNOSTER-ROW,

AND I. WILSON, HULL.

1815.


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c. "aldwin, Printer,Jill., ."~8trect, LoJUlon.


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'A D V E R TIS E lVIE N rTO THE FIRST EDITION.

THE Translator, having been forciblyimpressed by the interesting narrative inDr. Buchanan's "Christian Researches inAsia," of his intrepid attempt to explorethe secrets of the Prison House of theI 1 a Goa. ina tQ makesome inquiry for the work of the SieurDelIon, 80 frequently referred to in thatrelation. He was so fortunate as to procurea copy by the intervention of a friend., The recent evidence given to the world

upon the subject of the Inquisition.r" theprovidential train of events, which appears

See "The Narrative of the Persecution of H. J."Da Costa, imprisoned and tried in Lisbon by the

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to have placed the power of its extinctionin the hands of a Protestant nation; andthe collateral connexion of the subjectwith some of the most important questionsnow in agitation ;-all seem to unit~ inrendering a translatioeof J\t Dellou's work

/ likely to prove acceptab~o the public.The Tribunal 0 . the .Inquisition still

exists with dormant but not stifled ener-

gies;. and continues to act with..undirni-nished ibcstility to, 'Iiterature, reason, andliberty, e.ven in modern Europe; thoughwith Jess ostentatious publicity, than inDello~l's~ time in' Asia.. The same' spirit

evidently perVa\iet:-tbe s~ " ttre samelaws and maxims regulate its action.

"Inquisition} for the pretended Crime of Free Ma-.. SOlH'y,"-in July., 1802;-and, "A Letter upon the

" mischievousInfluence of the Spanish Inquisition, as" it actually exists in the Provinces under the Spanish" Government," translated from " El Espanol," a pe-riodical journal now publishing in London. Also see" Buchanan's Memoirs."


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It is surely' with, reluctance that thepeople of the. 19th century must admit thefact; that the illumination and liberality of the Christian world have not long since

t devoted the Inquisition and its practices to

the page of history alone! But what willftlture ages say, when it is recorded in theannals, of imperia ritain, that even atthis period, the tower of Juggernaut, andthe dens of the Inquisition, were supportedby her protection?

The Translator is sensible of the defectsof his performance; but he may be per-mitted to palliate the objection, j( notexcuse the fau t,' Y observing that it wasexecuted amidst very different avocations;and with more anxiety, perhaps, for itscompletion, than Its excellence. H epre-tends to no other merit than that of

fidelity. In no instance, to the best of his judgment, has he deviated from, oraltered, the meaning of the Author; buthe has sometimes found it necessary to


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divide one sentence into several; and hethought it would tend only to increase thesize and expense of the book, if he retained

. the account of the different places visitedby IVI.Dellon."-That the task had fallen

into abler hands he sincerely wishes; buthe preferred to incur the charge of impru-dence Q,D hi own ount, rather than risk the non-appearance of a work, which hebelieves capable of subserving the best

interests of humanity.Some pains have been taken to obtain

information respecting the Author; butwithout being able to collect more thanhas been urui ed b Dr. Bucha 11. Thework is dedicated to a lady of the FrenchCourt, but with such excess of the charac-teristic adulation of that country, that theTranslator conceives it might disgust the

blunt frankness of an English reader.

,. The chapters omitted are the sd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th,.8th, ~d aad 45d.


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Who, after perusing the following pages," 'could suppose that ail the Author's suffer-ings were, richly repaid by the opportunityafforded to lay the relation at the feet of the beautiful Mademoiselle Du Cambout

de Coislin, (whose portrait is judiciouslyprefixed!) or that its circulation was lessto be desired for the sake of the infor...mation it conveyed, than to preserve her

, illustrious name, and remain a proof of his

eternal respect, &c. &c.It remains only to add, that the copy

from which this 'I'ranslation is made wasprinted at Paris in 1687, and is, as well aa Translation b J i n f Howing

year, extremely scarce.

The " Account of Bower's escape fromthe Inquisition at Macerata," which isannexed, came into the hands of the Trans-lator several years ago. To pretend to


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vouch for the veracity of the relation 'would be too perilous an undertaking, indefiance of the generally received opinionof the Narrator's character; but of its,authenticity, as related by himself to a

lady, (from a copy of whose minutes theTranslator's was made.) there is little roomfor doubt,

He believes that the story. in suDstanceat least, has been already published; but

as it possesses much interest, and, in manypoints, corroborates Dellon's account of the principles and practice of tile Inqui-sition, it is presumed that it may be thoughtno unsuitable companion to it.

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ADVERT ISEMENT

BY THE AUTHOR.

IT is but too common, to find books whosepompous titles promise a great deal, butwhich, deceiving the reader's expectation,

,contain any thing but what they profess,A different method has been adopted inthe present work; and those who will takethe trouble to peruse it will confess that thetitle iuadeqpately ~~ twicontents.

I have confined myself to giving a faithfulrelation of what I have observed in the'Inquisition, without interrupting it ~y manyremarks; leaving my readers at liberty tomake them for themselves. Those who

have some slight knowledge of the HolyOffice will have no hesitation to believeall that I relate, and that I have 110t ex-~rated .any thing; and however extra-


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ordinary the proceedings and formalities of-the Inquisition may appear, the reader maybe assured that I have stated nothing butwhat is strictly tr,ue.

II do not pretend to censure- the Inqui-sition itself; I am even willing to admitthat the institution may be good; and itis ,certain that in those .places where itoriginated-, 80 mueh severity has not beenexercised as in Spain and Portugal, and inthe countries dependant on those crownswhere it has been planted; but, like allhuman establishments, which, though purein design, are subject to relaxation andabuse, it is not surprising that these havealso found their way into the Tribunals of the Holy Office.

It is then the abuse only of which Icomplain; yet the Inquisitors, who affectsuch profound secrecy as to every thingrespecting their Tribunals, may be dis-.pleased at tbe liberty of exposing matters,the concealment of which so materiallyconcerns them; but, besides that the dis-closure may. if they choose, be advantage-


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ous to themselves, I have considered it myduty no longer to withhold from the publica communication which must be of thehighest utility to it: in fact it is impor-tant that those who, from curiosity or theiravocations, reside in places where the Holy

Office exercises its jurisdiction, should be_ informed what they ought to avoid or to do,

in order to elude its power, and to preventthe experience of a misfortune like thatwhich is the subject of this narrative.


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INQUISITION AT GOA."


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tribunal. Its officers are too deeply interestedin maintaining its jurisdiction, to withdraw theveil; and as to those who having had transac-tions with them are acquainted with their prac- Itices, and may have reason to be dissatisfied withthem, the dread of the horrid tortures inflictedon those convicted of breaking the oath of se-crecy imposed before their liberty is restored,r~ the ~ 1M I..qumtion SQ lin-penetrable that it is aJrDost impossible ever tolearn the truth, without bein~ so unfortunate as

to be conducted into its prisons, and thus ac-ftUiring ex~imental knowledge; o rfrom theinformatIon of one who haS "ppDt Mt sunk under that misfortune, and who when en-closedin the frightful solitudes of the H cH YOffice hascarefully uottxlall 'that occurred .ae~~tition, 1Iff8 fiftft his DbeHBon 'aftrelate in9afety what he fta9~nffeTedantl observed .

. These various reasons operate to preventmany persons from being acquainted with thetransactions of this formidable Tribunal. And

as, next to the duty we ow~ to God, w ehavenone more incumbent than -:that of serving oneneigltbour, and more especially the p'ublic" Iconceive myself bound to present it'witli a re-cital of my sufferings and observations in the

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prisons of the Inquisitioll; to which I shallsubjoin what I have been told by persQns wor-thy of credit, whom I have known 'inti'mately,both during the period of my incarceration andsince my release.

I have long hesitated as to the publication oftb,:isaccount; for eight years have elapsed sincemy return to France, and upwards of foul'sincethe account was written. I was afraid to offendthe Holy Office and to break my oath; and myapprehension was increased by some ,pious but

timid people who entertained similar sentiments.Oth , eqUally religious, but whom I thoughtmore enlightened, afterwards convinced me

.that it was important to the public in many-re-_.lttp::IJe-tflO6OlighJy to fjisTribunal, an t a , 0 might even beserviceable to the Gentlemen of the Holy 0-flee, if they knew how to profit by it, and .stillmore so to those who have the power to regul~teits proceedings and restrain its jurigdiction: andthat with regard to an oath so unjustifiably ex-

torted as that exacted by the Inquisition underthe dread bf being burnt, general utility was asufficient dispensation to the conscience of theparty taking it, and consequently imposed a sort

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of obligation upon him' to. communicate. whathe knew. . _ ,i fl '('

Such a(eth~ motives whiCh .have induced meto withhold" and at length to publish, tbisaccount; and if the retention .has deprjved the

.world of ~ particle of useful information, it willat least excuse me from the cllarge ofprecipi-tation, and prove that the recital is not -influ.e~ ~ the ' s~ped.

It remainsonlyto"uvt, ,t~)ud Illiaveto say of the Inq~isition of Goa ought-to be

understood of those of Portugal and Spain;for though the latter is less'crrel than the twoothers, inasmuch as the public nenQtums calledActs of Faith' ate less frequent in that country;and though~.ignoranee-, is more prevalent -in theID~~ iWi f \ > .tp tU,;}:t;t it .hm a~~ ~~rell itr: dlerGaZette'of France of the 22d of A\igust; J~ fhat the .same spirit, thesame ru)es,..and the Same'zigour,direct all the executioas of the Inquisition ineach of those countries; ~ince . there are cir.

cumstances there stated even more horrible. thanthose of the. Act of Faith in which ":1bore a -part.


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'. CHAP. uOstensible Causesqf my Imp1'isont1lent.

I WAS staying at Dam~un, a town in the.Bait IOdieg, in possessionof the Portuguese, totest from the fatigues I had endured in variol,lsvoyages,. and to recnIit myself fot the more ..ample gratification of lIly passion for travelling;but where I had 'hoped to find repose, I en-countered the commencement of troubles inti-nitely gtatertbRn those which I had previouslyborne.

An unfouDded jealousy imbibed against mebJ ' Go eraat' ' f I f D a1D ao ll .. _cnaecause of the from

ehe ministers of the Inquisition. It lIlay easilybe suppcued that this was not alleged iii thea~u.tttion b ought agllin~t me; but, to servethe rgyenge' of the Governor, other pretexts.were us~JaQd the meatfs- at bingth contrivedto baaish me from the Indies, in Which I'mightelse have passed the remainder of my life.

It must be aILAvedtbat thougb th.e avowedgrounds inigh t be unsatisfactory ii> persons in..1trUeted~in the faith and the facts, they , . . $ 1 "

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.quite sufficient with a people actuated by suchprejudices and principles as the Portuguese;in which light they appeared to be so plausible,that it was not until the conclusion of the affairthat I discovered the real motives of my arrest.

The first opportunity which I gave to my

enemies to resort to the Inquisition for my ruin,was a conversation with an Indian priest, aTheol9iall tJle rder of St. Dominic:-But,befe I proetQfl5' I ~t to.. ~

. my conduct might not be entirely conform-able to the sanctity of the religion in which Iwas baptized, I have ever been attached tothe faith of my ancestors, that ii, te. theCatholic, Apostolic,' and Roman Church; andthat God hath endowed me with more respectfor its doctrines, than the generality of Christ.

iane. aeeJlIl &etM,.~_.~~l~&"~Ysdelighted in hearing and reading, and neverread any thing with more enthusiasm thintheHoly. Scriptures, as well the Old as the NewTestament, which I usually carried about myperson. I had taken pains to acquire a know-ledge of scholastic theology, because ip e:Uen-sive travels all descriptions of men, of everyreligion and sect, are to be met with; and Idisputed freely with Heretics and Schismatics.

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I possessed several books upon the subject,and had received much information, both'Tromdiscourse and study, during the leisure affordedby my voyages, and my residence in variousparts of India. I therefore conceived thatI was 'able to enter the lists with even pro-

fessed Thenlogians, and innocently fell into thesnare with this priest. I lOdged With the Do-minicans, at' he r {fressifig invitation, and welived together in great kindness and familiarity.I had even rendered them services on severaloccasions, to prove my gratitude for the lionourthey Mlif8dne me, and the friendship they testi-fied. We frequently 'entered into conversation,and that which I had with the priest I haveDam.. u dpow die ~ft 'Of GptimJ.-\Ve agree -the

Catholic Church acknowledges; and it wasmerely for the sake of argument, and not fromdoubt, t I proposed to deny the efficacy of that which is called Ftaminis ; and to supportmy opinion, I add"uced the passage, "E,vcept aman be litJrn o f water and o f the Spirit, !tco"(John iii. 5.) I had scarcely ceased -'Speaking-when the good father withdrew without makingany reply, as if he had been called away by someurgent business, and, as it appears, went to

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denounce me to the Commissary of the HolyOffice. I was often afterwards in his company,and as he showed flO ~lness t()wtrds me, IWI;\S far from thinking him ulJfriell4ly.

I have frequently been where Iittl~ cabinets,on which are painted the figures of the Holy

Virgin, or some other saint, have been cardedround. The Portuguese ~ie accustomed to ~.lute tl~ image, and those who are devoted totbe fraternity place their almsin tHelJdl.tw~person is at liberty to give or not; but the kisscannot be dispensed with, without offendingjhe assistants. I ~ then only twenty-fouryears of age, and had not all _ ~eewhich a.person ought 10 hve who lives amongststrangers, to whose customs he should conform

. asmuch as p~ssible; and as I ha n . eased@ IiSe;, ......... _~ .to receive and kiss the cabintt,-whenee it wasconcluded (surely too rashly!) tbat espisedthe image, and was consequently heretical.

I once happened to be at the house of aPortuguese gentleman, whose son was to bebled for some indisposition; and I obserred that ~

I .the youth had an ivory image of the Holy Vir.gin in his bed, which he reverenced much, andoften kissed ~I,}daddressed himself to it. ThiJ


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out delinquency to all sorts of excess? Pray,Sir, entertain moreelevated sentiments. of theDeity.and do not fan~y lPata Ill~nd.er veil canconceal our sins from the eyes of, God. whoclearly penetrates every. secret of our ~.Is this crucifix more. than a piece of ivory?"

Here we ended; and my neighbour, on re-tiring, .acquitted himself of his supposed duty ~~y denoun,if.__~_,,~.~.,.p~rson resident in places subject to.~he .HolyOffice i~ obliged, under .pain of the greaterexcommunication, reserved to the Grand Inqui-sitor, to denounce, within thirty djYIJ "'__ " ' 1 1 'he has heard or ~ on- matters withinthe cognizance of the tribuna1:-and becausemany do not fear the penalty, or doubt whether

they hav~ in~ -~"'_~_ ~!e~op~ to pay impli.t obedienee to this com-mand, tAt'!Inquisitor. hav~ declared, .that thosewho fail in making thU denunciation within thetiIr1~ prescribed shall be reputed guilty, aadpunished asil they had themselves committedthe crime they have not revealed.: . The cOIise-

,guence of' which is, thai; friendS biltJay theirfriends, fathers their c-.bildren, and children,through zeal without discretion, forget the duty


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which God and ruitilie impress' upon theintowards those from' whom they derive exist-ence .. r - ', '

( 1i'be robstinacy with'wbich I objected to weara rosary contributed 'to . confirm the belief of my heresy, no less thanmy refusal to-salute the

images. But what tended more than any thingto . Jtiy imprisonment .and condemnation was.at, bei.JJg in a C # lIq p M tJwhere md.-taljusticewas "treated of, I said; " that it deserved ratherthe term of injustice;' since man, judgingfrom appearances which are often deceptiees,

~e to make iuequitable decisions ; andthat' God only know,lng things as they are, healone could be called truly just," Some oneFesent obseri'ed " t lB .apeakiDJ'what' . nwas

, to be made ;-for if true justice was not to befound in France, they'~liad the advantage of aTribunal whose decrees were not less just, norIt;8S infallible than those of' Jesus Christ."Well knowing'that be alluded to the Inquisi-tion; I ~~;' "if he thought the Inquisitors

less human, or less subject to their passions,than other judges?" ." Do not answer me inthat manner," replied the le(~nder of theHoly Office; "if the Inquisitors composing'


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the' Tribunal are infallible, it is beeausetheHoly Ghost perpetually dictates their decisions,"I could not long endure a discourse which ap-peared to me "to/be 80 iJ7fatIDnaI;and to proveto him by example that the Inquisitors "\F6l'8.8D1thing but what he repsesented them to bel I

related to him the adventures of Father Ephraimde Nevers, a Capuchin, and Apostolic Missir.,.:aryin the Indies, who, as M. de la Boulaye .:.1. ~areested by the Inqui$ititJa, &om pu~ malioeabout seventeen years before, and had beenconfined ind ill treated for a length of time;aad I concluded by teUiDA'him, that ~ _ deubt that this ,no- IIIOre viriuou& andmore enlightened than those who had oausedhim to be immured in a prison,' without permisaiOIieftIl

eJ"ed~"'.~ht;itwafDrtlmatefor Prallc. that this ~ '1"ribuDalbad notbeen introduced there, and' ost happy for my-self that I was not subject to its jurisdiction.This 'conversation was exactly repolt-ed to iheFather Commissary; 3Dd, added to what I Jtadbroached before, ultimately occasioued the pro-cess against me .


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[The followingare th~ titles ol~eI'lI III. to VIIL of theoriginal; but which are omitted fromthe Translation, as .~ed ill the Advertisement.]

III. A concise Description of the Cape da Verd,the Cape of Good Hope, and the Isle of

Boomoil. '

PV: De~Offt)' e:ISle 0 D4nphiny, or St-. Lawrence.

v. Departure f1'01Dthe Isle of DauplWiy :tOr

.e '~Desctipl1fJnof MosambifIue,the

.IsI&o f So'cotota, and the Red Sea.

vn: Ctmcerning the different Kingfloms ofMa.Jabar ,between Ceylon and Cape Cooiorin'alit!' Goa.

VllF. 1\:n{tbtidged Deseription ef tile Cit, ofGoa, C~aouJ,. Besseee, Damauo, and othersmaIlTOWM.


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IS

CHAP. IX.-Visit to the CommissiHjj tJj the InlJuisition, to

prefer m y oam Accu!a~ion, and. rCfjutlt hisAdvice. '.:

N OTWITHST ANDING the inviolable secrecywhich the Inquisition exacts upon oath froma Uwho ap raach its 'Tribunal, some rOtJl!>llrr~Meofd1e ';and the dread of falling into the hands of theHolyOffice, impelled.me to, go to the Commis-

sary, oom whom I expectedcounsel and pro-tection, because I had. been iI\t;~1w;_~_1Ilby persons of respectabiJity~ and he had alwayspretended friendship to)ll .. e from the time of my arrival at Damaun.

I related to him. .Ii.. tty:wMt bad ~ ~uested bewould i1lsttuct IlffllJoW I shDUld \Jehave myself in future: assuring him that I had n~ bad .in-tention, that I was ready to correct myself,and to retract whatever I might have advanQedwhich he deemed to be improper. ... The good father confessed that my:PffiCeed-

ings had offended maAy, that he was convincedthat my intention had not been bad, and that

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there was not even in what I had said any thingpositively criminal; but he advised me, never-theless, to accommodate myself a little to thehabits of the people, and to speak less freely of such subjects; and particularly respectingimages,which 'I had repeatedly declared, and had at~

tempted to prove by reference to the Scripturesand the Fathers, oug~t not to be worshiped;that the ~I~ it. ~ Due; were led away bysome slight errors, which passed for genuinereligion, but that it did not become me to un-dert~e to COr~anQ reform them.

Ie :tha~ t~ ~ssary for his good ad-vice, and left him w.ith much ~atiSfaction;. be-cause I .knew that, being my own accuser be-fore .i was arr~~ I~ :lbythe Jaws,of th ~. . I was

also extremely delighted' with the justice andiBt~rity of this good father, who, not thinking, me culpable, had .freely given me directions~"\V. to. conduct myself with such caution fortlw f~te, q not to give occasion for the slight-

, est swwow of suspicion.


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CHAP. x.

Containing tke real Cause of my De~enti(J1l, and.the Manner of my Arrest.

ALTHOUGH what I have stated in the pre-ceding Chapters was IOOre than sufficient formy destruction, according to the maxims of theJ.p.' i i i ' ~ .er~oal_~lIf.>t~ ... " - .1matters would not have' ptdfteded eitber sofar, or so hastily, if the GOvetnor of Damaun,Manuel Fwtado de Menh;za,had not been in-~tigated by the jealousy to whicll I havelllWIled.His dissimulation Alth J t he appearedto. be one of my best friends, though secretlypressing the Commissary of the Holy Office to

Wlite to tI;l.eJu...... : t i ! ._l"~_rt~ll.Ilcate to it tfl#; ex 1 Uf used; bm.gdetermined Dot to sui&r' the. 0 tty toescape, which I had iaadvertently affOrdedhim, of making sure of'lIle, and driving mefrom Damaun for ever. The cause of Ute ~vernor's jealousy was the frequent but innocentvisits which I paid to a lady whom he admired,(and by whom he was truly beloved, which 1then knew not,) and, as hejudged from appear-


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ances only, he imagined I WM more favourablyreceived than himself

A plack priest, Secretary, to the Holy Office',who lived opposite the lady's house, was asmuch enamoured as the Governor; and had re-peatedly solicited her to gratify his infamouspaseio.o,even when at confession, as the ladyherself informed me.

On noticing my attentions, he became asjealous as the Governor; and although he had

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hitherto been on friendly terms with me, and

I had even done him some important services,he eagerl, joined with Don Manuel Furtado inoppressing me.

The rivals, thus united, urged the Commis-sary so unremittingly, that up6t) the infOrms-tion which, at f lit efII~, n i!"s ttt to Goa,he received an order from the Inquisitors formy arrest; which was executed in the eveningof the 24th -t\ugust, 1673, on my return fromthe .house of a lady of great respectability,called Signora Donna Francisca Pereira, the

wife of one of the principal gentlemen of thetown, Manuel Peixotte da Gama;' This lady,who was about sixty years of age, consideredherself indebted to me for the lives of her eldestdaughter, and her grand.daughter j and indeed

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I was so fortunate as to be of service. Thedaughter fell sick when the mother was fromhome, and the unskilfolness ofaPundit, or Indianphysician, had reduced her to the last extnhnity,when I was' called in. I treated the disorderas I thought proper, and she recovered. Onthe mother's return, (overjoyed at the restorationof her beloved daughter,) her grand-child, whowas; if.possible, more endeared to her, becameindispbsld, 11 d was in grel n taunt had been; but, as before, I was not sm1t

for to the little invalid at first, but delayeduntil her case was desperate. I found herin a high fever, and although Ob ~of delirium, the Indian physician, instead of letting her blood, had covered' her head withpepper, which I immediately caused to beremoved. :Myappli


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accosted me, and commanded me to follow himto the prison; whither he conducted me withoutdeigning to acquaint me by what authority,until after I entered it.

Great as was my surprise when this-officerarrested me, yet, as I felt conscious of no crime,and believed that at the most I had been appre-hended for some lil~ht matter, I imagined(with sufficient reason) that Manuel Furtado,who had always professed much regard for me,would not suffer me to remain all night in pri-

son; but when my conductor told me that itwas by: oM.er of the Inquisition, my astonish-ment was so extreme that I was for some timemotionless. On recollecting myself a little. Irequested to speak to the Commissary, but, tocomplete' my distress, they told me b ehad seto~ that day for Goa. So that no comfort wasleft me but the hope which everyone encou-raged, that I should be soon discharged; be-cause the Holy Office was not only just in itsdecisions, but it was infinitely more disposedto mercy, and especially towards those whoconfessed their faults with a good grace, with-out long solicitation.

All these fine speeches did not prevent myfeeling my present misfortune very sensibly,


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and the company of my friends, who failed not to visit me, so far from consoling, afflicted me

the more, by the comparisons I drew betweentheir condition and my own. .

As I had no enemies but concealed ones,they easily intermixed with my best friends. The

Governor and the black priest, who wished fornothing so much as my being taken away, -wen kn e..w to dissemble their jealousy andmalice; the ronner!tof his household to assure me that he parti ..cipated in my distress, and to offer me any thingthat was in his power: and the other by comingto the gate to shed a few falaetean, . joyrather than condol ce caused to flow

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en 1 " .XI.lkSlTiption if the Prison O f Damaun. IflJrite to

the Inqtlisitof'B withOtltSutress. The N"~Min:ry oj de Prisoners.

THE prison of Damaun is adjacent to, butbelow the lexel ~iAe rivex, andis consequentlydamp and unhealthy. A few years since itwas inundated, by a hole which had een madein the wall bl some prisoners for the purposeof i

he walls are very thick. The prison con.sists of two large halls on the ground floor, andope above; the mea be.ioIC(mDned jn thelower, and the women . story. The

largest of the lower halls is about forty feet inlength, by fifteen feet in,breadth, and the lesserone is about two-thirds of those dimensions.A ut forty persons were confined in thisspace, without any other place for answering

'the ordinary demands of nature; and wherethe collected water formed a pool in the centreof the apartment. The women had no othereonvenienceon their fleor ;but with this advan-tage. that the water I~~ '0 1 1 'from their hall and

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filtered through the boards into ours, whichthus became the reservoir of both. The onlyreceptacle for our other excrements was alarge tub, emptied but once a week, and en-genqering an immense quantity of. :worms,which crawled over the floor, even upon our

beds. -Whilst I continued in this prison, the painswhich I took to have it cleansed rendered itratb'er dis~rtg ; nobliged them to throw on even fifty bucRets of water in a day, the stench was intolerable.

So soon as I was immured in this melancholjabode, and seriously contemp1at~ , is-chance, I readi disco\' Its occasion, andresolved to omit nothing which was likely tobring it to atermination.

My mends P-e~ltf m ,best and surest mode of regaining my libe ywas to make a voh.tntsry confession of what Imight even conjecture only to De th~ ground ofaccusation aga:instme. Willing therefore~to avail myself of their counsel, I wrote to theGrand Inquisitor at Goa; I told him diildidlyevery thing of which' I supposed i ~ight beaccused, and beseeched him to b neve that ifI had erred, it was'ratller fib'nilent}" and im-

1


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27I ~ * J'

prudence, thafl from any ill intention. Myletter was faithfully delivered; but, contrary tomy wishes, and the hope of my friends, I re-ceived no answer, and was allowed to languish:in this noisome and dark dungeon, albng withseveral blacks, who, as weJI as In yself, had beenarrested by order of the Holy Office.

The considerate benevolence of the gene-rous DOnna Pta cisca, hich was undimini hedduring the whole period of my imprisonmentat Damaun, made it rather more supportable.

That noble lady was not content with send-ing me mere neeessaries only, but I daily r -ceived from her sufficient to maintain four per-sons, both plentifully and luxuriously. heJi~rself took the koubl 0 ptepate III ictuals,and the slave ho th as regularly

accompanied by one of her grandsons, to wit-ness the delivery, lest any of her domestics, orthe gaoler, might be subo'rned to .poison me :and, as she could not personally visit me, shecaused her husband, her children, o.r her sons-in-law, to come to me every day.

The other prisoners were not so fortunate.As there is no appointed subsistence for them,the magistrates refer the charge to the charityof those who may be disposed to bestow it; and'

e 2


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there being but two persons m the townwho distributed food to them regularly twice aweek, (the greater patt !laving nQthing duringthe remainder.) they were reduced t.(J lK>pitifula condition, as to contribute, in 1JO Mllalldegree, to increase my own affliction.

. I gave them all I cowd spare from my al-lowance; but some of these poor wretches, whow~re ij4) g~JlfWe.din the same apartment, were8& hmlgu .,1_~_,"""*your their own excrements. Upon this occs- Ision I learnt that, some years before, aboutfifty M~lllbar pirates having been taken andthrown into this prison, ~e h~ 4twhich they BUifeftd indtmed tO P tyof. ~em tostrangle themselves with the linen of theirturbans. ~

~~~ I >-~.'i_hMlIIl~ ~.write to the Governor 3nd the prineipal: peoplein the town, wh() at hmgth had the kindness tosend some relief to the wretched victims of thQHoJy O!fice.


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The Retiirt: of the FathelCommissaJ~., " Removat to Goa.

" TUB''Flttter Cotnrtti86aty, as I have already!!lf~ltf a nothing cri'm H ia tin tbe tOhfession I'

V()~e:a 'ltfm; and th(Wgh it hadbeen otherwise, I ought, according to the lawsof the Inquisition, to have remained at large;

but u.MIt was nbl t~ intention of the GOver f ,O~Illieibliok P i8llt, the gc:5Odfather, super.seding the law t it ftt\tOlli', had aeeu ed meas a ~Jn azm ghetetrc.' He might-hate sent t e.-m I ~

i bkfhave b~n liberated three months afierwards,at the-Act -of Faith in December; but it notaccording with the viev s -of my rivals that I:dK tuid-be W e eS& soon, the Commissary, sofa" fr'ijftl t~g ib eto Goa, went thitherllimse ,

tb avoid my remonstranees :rn apeti-. s, 3tuf did not retHmuntil Mter tfte eele-

ation of the et oFaith, fFrat fir,towards theF ead ef Decembet. WHether he might

not employ the fOtJf ~ (jf. his absence in


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30

representing me to the Inquisitor as a very badand dangerous man, whom it was necessary toremove out of the Indies, I am ignorant; but Ihave reason to suspect he did so, from the af-fected severity of my sentence, which was con-sidered to be extraordinary, even in Portugal.

The' Commissary returned on the 20th of December with the flotilla, which, at that sea-son, usually; escorts merchant ships from Goato~t

The Father, who had an order to cause allthe prisoners of the Inquisition to embark in the

. galliots", gave me notice to be ready to departwhen the fleet returned from Cam~


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31

About this time, a Portuguese, called ManuelVas, with whom i was intimately acquainted,being accused' of having a wife in Portugal,waS ;arrested 'by an order of the Holy Officefor having married a second at Dainaun, a n dwas lodged in the same prison with me'

., My beaevolent protectress being informed .that: l 'Wasto be transferred to Goa, was notnCfgllectf\d:~ _ i aIRe with proViSiOtrssuffici-ent" f.or a much longer voyage than that I wasabout to take. Part of the fleet returning fromC;unbay r on the last day of December, theCommissary sent chains and fetters for the pri-soners who were to depart with it. The blackswere chained together two and two, but some of them were so debilitated by hunger, that their

\feet, whiCh tlley had DO power to use, were

unloosed o ntheir embarking. The Portu- ,guese and myself were honoured with separateirons; and the Commissary had the politenessto intimate that I might have the choice of those destined for his countryman and myself.To profit by his civility, I chose the most com-modious, though the heaviest; and was 'con-veyed with my feet in fetters in a palanquin tothe banks of the river, where I met several of my friends, whom I was allowed to embrace on


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32

exchanging our adieus. The


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33

CHAP. XIII.

Bepm'turefrom Damaun. Arrival at Basseen,a~d Ahode there. Arrival at Goa.

AI;:nioUGH-several of the galliots and vessels

JIad If()t yet arrived from Diu and Cambay, the~r8l, . de :Mello,lIIade m eBigtlal forthose which were at Da~aun to sail on the 1stday of the, year 1674, for Basseen, to wait un-til the mpainder of the fleet should join. As

w was fair~ and We had only twentyIeaguesi to tr.werse~ we reached Basseen theday following; and, immediately after the en-chors ~dropt, 4lle priaoDeIf were JaBflett,andlcond.titSIl:CiJth ~_ , IJilstthefleet continued in the port. I was taken there-with 'the rest; and a friend of mine, who hadrecently settled at Basseen, havin~ unsuccess~fully attempted to obtain permission to visit me,"expressed in a Ietter, which he had considerabletrouble to get conveyed to me, bow much he

commisemted my fate.The prison of Basseen is more spacious and

less filthy than that of Damaun. We foundthere many Companions is misery, whom the


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34

Commissary of the Inquisition at that town

had detained for some time, in expectation of 'an opportunity. to send them to Goa. r '

They were all chained as we were. We re-. embark,~~ 5'~'the seventh, and all ~q\\fleetbeing assembled, and provided with necessaries,we weighed anchor and sailed the next day,

Nothing remarkable occurred d~ing, therest of the voyage; we were always WIthin sightof laN lll, ~.with a ~ur'Ni\l~"dk~_~~1fAon the fourteenth on the bar Qf G oot ,

Our Captainshaving previously apprized the

Inquisitor, we were landed the next day, andled by his order to the Inquisition; but. .~li.llil&.being an audie~e ~ ~Q,t48 o~t6 con-ducted us to the prison of the Ordinary, thatis, of the Archbishop of Goa, called- by~ the

:p-Qr~s~Al J(JUV(I,J'.

I iWM'oneD r:s .t.

who entered it, and afterwards sawall ourunfortunate company ,which had been dispersedduring the voyage, come in by degrees,

This prison was mote foul, dark, and .hor-rible than anyone t had seen,' and I doubtwhether there can be one more nauseous andappalHng. It is a sort of cavern, w~re' theday is but just distinguishable through an ex-tremely narrow aperture, where the subtlest


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sun-beam can scarcely penetrate, find where aclear light is never beheld. ,

The stench was excessive; for there was noother place for the necessities of -the .prisoners .than a .wellsunk in the floor, in the midst of the cavern" which it required so~e resolution to

approach; from which cause part of the ordureremained -upon the brink, and the greatest partothe ptisquersdicl..opteven go so ~, but madetheir evacuations all around. When night ap-proached, I durst not lie down for fear of theswarms of vermin, and the filth which every

wller~ abounded, but I was constrained to re-cline against the wall. Yet, shocking as is theAl Jouoar, I would have preferred it to the neatand light cells of the Ho13 Inqui,ition; ~se.here I had the ~ ~ ~tJ:;r.lld conver-sation, but in the prisons of the Holy Office Iwas informed those ,enjoyments were debarred.


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CHAP. XIV.

36

The Mf11tnerin which I !!'d8 t~ue#eI:-"'he In-quisition, and the OlJaet''OUnce8ftlt4thin to-: 'lvards Prisoners 1m their E;france. .

I HAD begun' to flatter myself that-I shouldbe permitted to remain in the At J fJ U V tw ,until

. sefll......... :.........during hat day and-the U1I't Might b liillmy hopes vanished, when an officer came aboutefgbt o'clocK in the morning of the 16th of Jattuary, with an order to take us to'.ti11li_liJC'astl, wfiicb .. on .account of my fetters, it was with great diffieultytJiat I reached the place to which I was COIf.'

du yet '\TiQiothese,.tlI4llJ_,,_~_fMij.obliged w walt fioO IfttH cAl Jwrt'OiW' 40 the I...quisition , and, having been assisted in ascend-

. ing the steps, I entered, along with my compa-nions, into the great hall, where some smithsattended to knock off our irons. I was the first:person summoned to the audience.

After crossing the hall, I was ushered intoan antichamber, and thence into the apartmentwhere my JUdge was seated. This place, which

6


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is called by the Pertuguese, ikfesa do SantaOjJici(l,which signifies " the Board of the HolyOffice/' was adorned with tapestry, composedof. taffety in stripes of blue and citron colour,At one extremity, was a large crucifix in relief,reaching almost to the ceiling. In the centre

of the r-oomwas a platform, upon which stooda table, about fifteen feet in length, and fourbroad, ""th several armed chairs placed aroundit, At one end Of this table, and on the sameside as the crucifix, the Secretary sat on a fold.ing .stoo]. I was placed opposite to him. Near

en ltbe right, in an armed chair, was theGrand Inquisitor of the Indies, Francisco Del.~o Ematos, a secular priest, about forty yearsof~. lie :\VatlIJoae,'**use the .eeoDd of the~oI~ G~,and

who is always a religious of the Dominican order,had recently gone to Portugal, and his successorhed notbeen appointed.

I ediately upon entering the audiencechamber, I eastmyself at the feet of my Judge,with the design of affecting his feelings by mysuppliant attitude; he wou'ld not softer it,ad commanded me to rise. Having asked myJWne and profession, he interrogated me if Iknew t .l Moccasion of my arrest, exhorting me


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38

. .

to confess it freely, as the only means of obtain~ .ing a prompt discharge. Mter, satisfying himas to the two first inquiries, I told him that I be-lieved I did know the cause of my detention, andthat if he would have the goodness to'l! r me,I was ready instantly to become my own ac-

cuser. I added tears to my entreaties, and againprostrated myself before him; but my Judge,:without the ightest emotion, said, that 'therewas no ; 'tb~;flftr1Dih."'~"_""~important than mine to attend to, and that' hewould let me know when he should have leisurefor it; and taking up a little silver bell, whichwas laid before him, rang for the i4 1 !d rij' _;'tiWGaoler of the Hoi , ho came in andled me into a long gallery, not far distant, intowhich the Secretary almost directly followed us.

M tJt:mk CW8lL bnmght in .presence. I was thoroughly searched, flUevery thing about me was taken away, even tosome buttons, and a ring which I wore on myfinger, without leaving me any thing. but myrosary, my handkerchief, arid some pieces Ofgold which I had sewn into one of my garters,and which they neglected to examine, An exactinventory was immediately taken of the rest of my property, but which has since proved to


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39

have been wholly useless, as nothing of valuewas ever restored to me, although the Secretarythen declared that every thing should be givenback upon my release; and the Inquisitor him-self often afterwards reiterated the same promise.

The inventory being finished, the Alcaide

took me by the hand, and led me, bare-headed,to a little cell, about ten feet square, in which Iwas locked up alone, and saw no on; until mysupper was brought in the evening. As I hadeaten nothing either that day or the preceding, Igladly took what was given to me, which enabledme to take some rest during the night. Whenmy breakfast was brought the next morning, 1requested to' be allowed some books, and mycombs-, but hnbooD ere not per-mitted tw; "! Breviary

to priests; and that I should have no use forcombs, as they cut off my hair without delay,which is the pi'actice with all prisoners of what.ever rank or, sex, w soon as they enter theprisons d th~ Holy Office, or the next dayafter at the latest. . .

I shall here break off the recital of whatrelates to myself, for the purpose of briefly de-scribing the house itself, and the regulationsand formalities observed in it.


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40

CHAP. XV.

Description o f the InqttisitiOfltlt ~.

THE palace of the Inquisition, called by the

Portuguese Santa Case, or the Holy House, issituate on one side of the great square, oppositethe c he icated to Saint Catherine. It

... de1.ave a 1D aj_1tttII_"4~three entrances, of whic91 the- cdJtre is thelargest, and opens npon the grand staircaseascending to the hall which I have mentioned.The two other portals severally ,... ::..... "'.,..apartments of tb ~ are suffici-ently commodious for con' rable establish-

"ments, Within, are various apartments fot the

oftieen l' and,.,;:r__ iaIIrA II." 'tx".:iDt t, there is a ~ eGificedivided:ilitodistinct masses or squares f 'J f buildings, of twostories each, separated by small courts. In eachstory i~ a gallery, resembling a dormitory, con..

taining seven or eight small chambers, ten fisquare, the whole number of whicIi is abouttwo hundred. In one Of these dormitc)ries, the-cellsare dark, being without windows, andsmaller _and lower than the. rest ~ as I h~'


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1

. . occasion to know from the circumstance of ,having been taken to see them, on complain-ing that I was too rigorously treated, in orderto satisfy me that I' might fare worse. Therest of the cells are square, vaulted, white-washed, clean,' andlighted by a smarr gratedandopen window, placed at' a height above thereach of the tallest mSII..- ;.til tbe walk are five~t thick. E erycit mbet is secured by twodoors, one opening inwards, and the otherwithout; the inner door is made in two divi.

siens, is strong, well-fitted, and opened b -ythe) half in the manner of a grate; in thupper part is a little window, through whichthe prisoners receive their food, linen,. aDd IUChotl1& necessaryarticl cau J)e 10 veyed.There is a door. rded bystrong bolts.

The outer door is neither so thick nor so.trqn ga s .the other, but it is entire ami withoutany aperture. It is usually left open from .o'cloek in snomiug untif eleven, in order to

ventilate the chamber tlirougb tbe crevices af the inner dOOr.'


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\ CHAP,. XVI.

To eHh person whom misfortune brings

into these Holy Prisons, is given an earthenpot filled with water to wash in; another of abetter ki~ jlled with water to drink. with~ ... ~ ~ .tM ""4 1

earth, common in the Indies, and Which keeps Ithe water fresh, even if retained in it for sometime; a brush to sweep the chamber; a mat tospread on the platform for 81~{_*lJI.close-stool panwidt a.~ iCDVer,whiehis changed

- every fourth day, and serves also for receivingthe filth collected by the broom.

The p:isGners.etolerably wellJ-w tbUe m .oa lsdaily", BreakfBft is hroQghtat six, diDner at ten, and supper at four in the.afternocn,

The breakfast for Blacks is generally cange,,or water thickened with rice; and. their' o~meals always consist of rice and fish.

The Whites are treated more delicately. Inthe morning, a soft roll, weighing about threeounces, with fried fish and fruits; or on Sundays,


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and sometimes on Thursdays, a sausage. Onthe latter days, also, they have meat to dinner,with a roll as in the morning; a dish of riceand some ragout, with abundance of sauce tomix with "therice; which is prepared with waterand salt only. On other days, they have nothingbut fishto dinner. The suppers chiefly"consistof bread, fried fish, a dish of :rice, aDda ragoutof fish or eggs-, the sauce of which may be eatenwith the rice; but not any flesh, not even onEaster-day. I imagine that this regimen i

used as much for the sake of economy, (fish very cheap in the Indies,) as to mortifythose who have incurred the pain of the greaterescommunication ;. and at the same time. itpresew. damli,fr.om fh8 lr d~rder whichthe Indians crall "n from in.

~igestion, and which is frequent and fatal inthese climates, especially in a place where exer-cise cannot be taken.

The sick receive every necessary attentionwith the greatest care. Physicians and surgeonsvisit them when required, and if the diseasebecomes dangerous, confessors are introduced;but the Viatecum and Extreme Unction arenever administered in this house, nor iii eitherSermon or Mass ever heard there.

p ~


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44

Those who die in prison are interred withinthe house without any ceremony, and if, accord-ing to the maxims of the Tribunal, they aredeemed to have incurred eapital pUDilhment,their bodies are taken up, and thein =.remainspreserved to be burnt at the next Act of Faith.

As it is always hot in the Indies, and nobooks are allowed to any person in the Inquisi-

. tioD.. the pQJoners never behold fire or any. CbtIt:~"';;'~ftt!l_"_,*R

are two platforms for the purpose of repoemgupon, as 'it sometimes happens that two per-sons are confined together. In addition to the

.mat which is given to every prisoDea';,oIMlIO"lIIshave a checked' ~lItetpane, which serves for amattress; there being no need of a covering,'except to avoid the persecution of the. mosqui-

tos,. 'WhidIare in meh IlwalJen -.ve__. -ODe!of greatest mcouvenieDcet eudure4 in '

this melancholy abode.


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45

CHAP. XVII.

Of the ii}fermt 0.tficers o f the Inquisition.

ThERE are two Inquisitors at (}ea. Thechi~ ealled the G~nd Inquisitor, is always asecular priest; and the second, a religious of theorder ot St. Dominic. The Holy Office has

also officers denominated Deputies of the HQJyC H & .c e ,who are very numerous, and of all or-ders of religious. They assist at the final deei-sioDof the cases of criminals, and in prepariItgthe acaulAtions agJaizateIllm ~but de b


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to extract their private opinions, and to deceiverather than to defend them; and even if theirfidelity was unsuspicious, their protection would I

.be useless to -the accused, to whom they arenot permitted to speak, except in the presenceof their Judges, or of p~rsons who are sent to

make a report of the conference.The Inquisition has other officers. called

F~~ !){ &l1 Offi.ce,who are, properly"~~~'fi~~~5buIHlilrI"'_ of all ranks, even Dukes and Princes, are prOUdof being admitted to this noble functi~n. Theyare employed to arrest those who are accused,and it is customary to depute a FamilRwl01... 1Tank with the party to be apprehended. Theseofficers have no wages, and they deem them.selvea sufficiently rewarded by the honour con.

:feriecl~~. ~...... ffri......... 'They "ear the honQW'at)Jedimnetion ota gotdmedal, engraved with the arms of the HolyOffice. When ODeof them is ordered to makean arrest, be goes alone; and having declaredto the party that he is summoned by the

1 . -sitors, the latter is obliged to follow him withoutreply; for, OD the slightest resistance, everybody would assist the execution of the warrantsof the Holy Office.


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There are also attached to the institution,several Secretaries, and Marelltios, properlycalled Inspectors; an Alcaide, or Gaoler, andGuards, to watch the prisoners, and carrythemtheir food and other necessaries.


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The Deportment 'o f tlte Officers'!f tN: YliquiBit iontOWIll-tis the Prisoner,.

. As all the prisoners are separated, and itrarely happens that two are confined in theliaJDecell, four persons are more than sufficient

BurG U19 hun". ~ .. dsilence is preserved in the Iaqaisition, and thosewho venture to utter their complaints, toweep, or even to pr~y to God too loudly, areliable to be beaten by the Guards; w,o. onhearing the slightest noise" ~teD to the spotfi'om whence it proceeds, to require silence; andif a repetition of the order be not obeyed, they

!)peD the doors" and strike without meu;,.. -~ not only to correQt.:tbeparty who receiVe{!the chastisement, but also to intimidate theTest; who, from the profound stillness whichreigns around, all hear his cries and the soundof the blows. The AIcaide and the Guards are

aI~ays in the gaUp.ries, and sleep there duringthe night.

The Inquisitor, attended by a Secretary andInterpreter, visits every prisoner about once in

L


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two months, to inquire if any thing is wanted,if the victuals a!e brought at the appointedtimes, and if there are any complaints to bepreferred against the Officers; and as soon asanswers are returned to these-three queStions,the door is instantly closed. In effect, these

visits are made for no other purpose than to display that justice ~d .wodBef8; bf which thereis so much parade .- tu 'FMunah but the,produce neither comfort nor advantage to theprisoners who may bedisposed to complain, notare they ever trea ed with more humanity in~~q\leDce.

Such of the prisoners alJare wealthy have nobetter allowance than those who are poor~ theJ.ttet beiog prDUllMi t. bylevied fJQ Q j ... ely Qf6ce

seldom fails to 'seize all the property, real andpersonal, of those who are so unfortunate as tofalliato its hands.

- ,


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50

Formtllities ohIer'Ced i the InlJuuitN

WIlEN a person isarrested by the Inquisition,he is first asked his name, and profession or

uality, and ~ thtm required to render an aecu-

him to do this tbe more is d;in the name of Jesus Christ, that if he is inno-cent, all that he shall so declare will be faithfullyreturned to him; but otherwise, even *'M aJllbhe should be aequitted, may bediscoveredto belong to him, and not included inthe list, will be confiscated. From the universal

iIat.IIIpilJH_~;*ltTliIRJIl"";j*~fNq1lellt1, ~pens, that a n whose conscience reproacheshim with no crime, and gives him no reason todoubt that his innocence will be acknowledged,and his liberty consequently restored, withouthesitation exposes his most private and import-ant concerns.

It is not, however, without some plausibility,that the public mind is prejudiced in favour of


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1

this Tribunal;. which, considered externallyonly,' dispenses justice with more lenity andcharity; than any other known jurisdiction .TJios~ who voluntarily become their own ac-cusers, and 'testify their repentance beiOre theyare apprehended, are allowed to be at large,

without fear of imprisonment. It is true, thatthose who do not accus~'themselv~ until aftertheir aerest, are deem.d gi:rilty a'*t are con-demned as such; but no one is sentenced to anytemporal punishment extending to death, whois IWt dearly convicted. Two or three wit-__ ~'''~ 88 in lay jurisdictions, are here-considered too few for conviction, and, thoughtwo witnesses are sufficient to obtain an orderfOr,.~ i........

neceSi8l1'Y 1br Howeger

palpable his guilt, or enormous the offence, the1I0ly Office is satisfied with the ecclesiasticalpc.nalty of excommunication, and the confisca-tioJl Qf property; and should the criminal beameaable lD;the civil courts, if he confesses hiscrime. he is, for the fint time, exempt from aUtemporal all' corporal punishment. The HelyOiictl intercedes for him, suspends the seculara t"1 D 7and obtains his pardon, if to be procuredby *'terest or entreaty.


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'It ~ true, that should- he repeat his offellee,he Inquisition cannot again save him; but it

abandons him withr.eludaoce,and only delivershim to the civil Judge, upon his promiaingthatif the relapsed criminal should receive seateaeepf death, it shall be executed without effusion

of blood. Here is tenderness!- .But after saying all that can be alleged in.fiNOUI of the Hal.}': Office~ some particulars

t '".nd extent of this appare'ntiba.dy an4 ~The witnesses are never confronted; all descrip ..tionaof people are received a switnesses, evensi;tG h .. ~interested-.in the dea.th--.li __demnation frf the acc~ . not suffered tomake any remark upon the evidence of personsthe most notoriously undeserving of credit, aDd

.. --. de&tti.ve cir .. ~."~.~!I"nn":-niJle ~ iAea J IlU d uo G ito ~ ~i~ Whieh are iCOIllpreheJiCledsupposed accom.plices, whose depositions are extracted by tor.sure, and who, to save their own lives, avow:what they have not done; and the accused him ...sel~ who, confessing on the J'3


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convicts, who are really il1bocent of the offencesimputed to them, but whom the Inquisition ren-ders effecttiaHy criminal, by Compelling them,either from dread of the stake, or by tor-ture, to accuse the guiltless in order w savethemselves. To make this mystery intel1igible,it should be noticed that, amongst the crimescognizable in the I~iiitiOb, the-fa ate somewhich mlly be comnnfted by one person alone,as blasphemy, impiety, &c.; there are otherswhich cannot be committed without one accom-

plice at the least, as sodomy; and others again,~.aquire several, a! assisting at the JewishSabbath; participating in those superstitiousasaeinbJies which the converted Idolater. 80relu .. ~~r tsh, d"w m c f ljz.f1 ~enomi.Bated magic rlId ie th~ areheld in order to discover secret matters, andpenetrate into futurity by means which cannotllaturally lead to such results.

. . ~ risin' reg*rd to such crimes as eanarotbe perpetdted without one or-more aocomplices.

~ that the proceedings of the Holy Oftiee are themost exttaordinary.The Jews, having been expe1l'eHfrom Spain

by Ferdinand, King of Arragon, and Isabella of CastilJe, his Queen~ sought refuge ill Portugal,


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where they were allowed to settle on the' con-dition of embracing Christianity, at least inoutward profession. As the Jewish name isevery where odious, the Christian 'lin aredistinguished from the converted Jews edescendants, however remote, are termed, evento this day, New Christians ; and as, in course of time, some of them have formed mAtrimonial~ the old Christians, their isSue

which the Portuguese npress bywyiDg, fW.;parte de Cristam novo; so that, though theirgrand-iathers and great grand-fathers may havebeen Christi~llS, these unfortunates ellllllll .. _procure admi' . t mtlDber of Cri3tamvelhos, or Old Christians. The families whichare thus directly or partially descended from

__ .IGf'Iaatied to;-i.-e.~re obliged to associate toge~, for tHe inter-change of mutual services:which they cannot.re- .ceive from others; and this very union increasesthe contempt and aversion which are etained towards them, and is the gtII81'a1__ ioil

eir troubles,


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CHAP. XX.

The Injustice committed in the Inquisition towardsthose accwtd fjf Judaism.

To elucidate this matter, I will suppose thata New Christian mdeed, but bo is lleverthe1essmost sincerely and tnf)ya Christian, though de-scended from one of those unfortunate families,should be arrested by order of the Inquisition,

nd accused not by seven witnesses only, butIifi;y. Such a man, convinced of his owninnocence, which he trusts will be indubitablyackJWwledged, will have no hesitation in pre-senting an _~ inveatory ot III hi pro.perty, relying upoII y restoredto him. Yet the door of his prison will bescarcely closed, before every thing that he hasis sold by auction , for, assuredly, restitutionwill never be made.

Mter some months have elapsed, he is sentfor to the AUilience, where he is asked if heknows the cause of his imprisonment. To this,of course, he answers in the negative. He isthen exhorted to consider seriously, and confess,.as hiJ only chance of p'eedom; and is then

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remanded to his confinement. Some timeafterwards, he is again brought in, and manytimes interrogated to the same purport, with.out producing 811y other answer than before.But when the period o"tbe Auto da F eap-proaches, the Proctor wait~ upon him, and

declares that he is charged by a great numberof witnesses, of having Judaized; which means,having conformed to the ceremonies of theMosaic 1a ; weltIs 1 I t 1 f t . _ 1

ithout scales, &c. of hail g attendeEl tire 'to-lemnizationof the sabbath, having eaten the;R~ .. Lunb,-&t. Heis then conjured" by thebmnfls t4 the mercyof our Lord JeSU IP .._r(for such ale to be used inthis Holy House.) voluntarily to confess hiscrimes, as the sale means to save his life; ana

llttl10lD8re~,~, itpreM'~~ it. The t~~ hit ~ts in deny-ing what he . i s -titgett to 40n&ss; he is, in con.-sequence, condemned asc01}viGtQ negatiVfi,(convicted, but confessing not,) to be deliveredover to the ~ecuJar power, to be punish& jIC_cording to law, that ie, to be bumt.

"'otwitbstanding this, lie is cooti.ooafly es-Ji0l1M to accuse himself, and provided he doesso betbre the eve of the Act, he may escape,


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death. But if he persists in asserting his inno-cence in despite of all exhortation and solici-tation, andeven the torture to which he is sub-jected to compel him to be his own accuser; theorder for his death is delivered to him on-theFriday immediately preceding the Sunday of

the celebration. The, decree is signified in thepresence of a Tipstaff of the Lay Courts, whocasts a cord round the hands ~f the pretendedculprit, to testify that he has taken possessionof him, on his abandonment by ecclesiasticaljustice. A Confessor is then introduced, whoremains with him day and night, and Rersevercsin pressing him. most urgently to confess thecharges against him, in order to save his life.Should he coutiDue in Disdenial until Sunday,he is cruelly exeeutecl. ~ abouId he accusehimself, he is rendered infamous and wretchedfor his whole life. If the advice of his Confessorand the fear of punishment induce him to ac-knowledge crimes which he has not committed,he must demand to be conducted to the audience,which is instantly granted. Being brought

before his Judges, he is first required to confesshis guilt, and then to entreat for mercy, as wellfor his crimes as his obstinate denial of them;and, as they assume the supposition that his

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avowal is sincere, he is obliged to detail allhis faults and all his errors; and the testimonywhich has been deposed against him being com-tnunicated to him, in order to complywith therequisition to the utmost, he repeats antb8t hehears.

He, perhaps, then concludes that he shall bedischarged; but he has other things to perform,-Whichare infinitely less easy than what he hasMtliettti'dQlte; rot "" , :J ljIlM i.... ..begin to urge him in this \lVay-J." If thou haatobserved the law of Moses, and assembled on thesabbath y as thou sayest, and thy accusers haveseen thee there, as appears to have beat_to convince us oftbe'lJinceri\yoftlty pentance,tell us who are thine accusers, and those whohave been with thee at these assemblies."

is not easy to assip tile motive w egeotlemen &f the H&lyOffiCe oblige these pre-, tended Jews to conjecture who arc the witnesses

against them, unless it is that the witnesses of the sabbath are considered as accomplices; buthow is the poor wretch that is innocent todivine who they are? and, though he were guilty,what is the use of naming them to. the HolyOffice, which knows them already, because ithas received their depositions, upon which


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alone he 1Streated as such? In all other cases,the names of the witnesses are concealed fromthe criminal, to screen them from his r.eproachesbut here he is made toguess them. Admit;injJthat they are accomplkes;the Inquisition knowsthem no better by theil: being named, If theyhave been forced to avow their Q .fi'e J ;lc ein theprisons of the InquisitIon, they either ~there stilt, or have been'in them; and the HolyOffice can have no interest -in making the ae.cused name them, which cannot l'eodw hilll

more innocent, nor them less cuJpabJ~. Theofremler and the witness are equally in the power'of the Inquisition ;-what then is the objectof these Jl,lpges? 1f it is o~ to ~mAlfA""t ..impeadi all hIs acco~ical ~ ~ .... ftfJname all his witnesses, that might be of serviceif he were really guilty; but, if he is not, thisimposition is of no other use than to harass theinnocent :-and so it is, for the poor NeroChris-tian being obliged to mention people whom hedoes not know, to the Inquisitor who does,

(for otherwise the avowal of a crime of whichhe is not guilty would avail him nothing,)reasons much in this manner :-" Those whohave accused me must necessarily be myrelations, my friends, and my neighbours; and

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in fine, some of the New Christians with whom

I have associated, for the Ancient Christians are .never apprehended or. suspected of Judaism;and probably, these very persons are placed in .the same situation with myself; I will, therefore,'accuse them in return." Hence, as it is impossi-ble that he should exactly guess those who havedeposed against him, in order to make up the..umber of his six or seven accusers, he names ~.... ~ innecent ~ who ~ye, rthought of m m ~against whom, however, hehimself becomes a witness by this declaration ;)-

upon which they are arrested, and kept in theprisons of the Holy Office until, in course of time, seven witnesses (lite the-O Be I avedescribed) are mustered against them, and.ensure their condemnation.


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CHAP.. XXI.

The Practices of the Inquisition.

IT may be inferred from what has been said

in the preceding Chapter, that the miserablevictims of the Inquisition reciprocally impeacheach' other; ana tliat, consequently, a man maybe perfectly. innocent, although there are fiftywitnesses against him; and yet, innocent as heis, if he should not accuse himself, or guess

freely, be is delivered up to the executioner asfully convicted; which would happen less fre-quently if the accuser, witnesses, and accused,were confronted.

The practice obserVed tonms personssuspected of Judaism, and what has beensaid in respect to them, is to be understood of persons charged with Sorcery, from having at-

. tended the superstitious assemblies I have men-tioned; .and here the difficulty of naming thewitnesses is increased, because they have not,

like the New Christians, to look for their ac-,cusers and accomplices in a certain class; butmust find them indiscriminately and fortuitouslyamongst their acquaintance, friends, kindred,

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enemies, and persons connected with no sect'

whatever; which is the more embarrassingto the innocent in these casual and extortedaccusations, as h~ must denounce a greaternumber, to recognize in such a croWd of inno-cent persons the witnesses respec.ting- whom heis Interrogated.

The e.Weets.of those who are executed andof those who confess are alike confiscated, .be..~ they ~ ~ ell-uted,(luilty. The In-

. < jQ iS itbrSdo _ SO ~ tle$lretlle deaffi as tileproperty of their victims; and as, according ttY .

. the laws of the Tribunal, apostates, and suchas (lers~vere in denying their accusations, wealone delfvered to the secular arm, ~e)'ndgeSdo every thing in their power (not omitting tor-ture, which they have the goodne.ss to inflict tothe extreme, in order to save their lives) to in-

duce them to conreS$. B~t the true reason,wllich maltes tllem so a~ous that a man shouldbe his own accuser, is that, having declaredhimself to be guilty, the world bps no rightto doubt that his property is justly forfeited,The remission of the penalty of. death- to thesepretended criminals confounds weak minds byan ostentation of mercy and. apparent justice,aDd te~qs not a little t-omaintain the opinion


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of the sanctity and lenity of this Tribunal,

-,which could not long exist without this artifice.fIt may be proper to observe here, that those

who have thus escaped death by their ex-torted confessions are strictly enjoined, whenthey leave the prisons of the Holy Office, to.de~lare tbat they have been treated with greattenderness and clemency, in as much as theirJiYe6,which they ju~tly merited to lose, havebeen spared. Should anyone, who has ac-

, knowledged that he is guilty, attempt to vin-dicate himself on his release, he would be

immediately. denounced and arrested, andburnt at the next Act of Faith, without hope. of pardon.

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Other acts o f Injustice commonly committed by .the Inquisition.

'fHEJudges of the Holy Office might readilyascertain the truth or falsehood of the charge

of Judaism, would they take the trouble to inves-tM ~f . ,.eeptice; "to'con-

sfder that, Of an flundYM' personscondemned to'be burnt as Jews, there are scarcely fourwho pro-

fess that faith at their death; the rest exclaimingand protesting to their last gasp that they areChristians, and have been so duringt~etr W oIe

. lives; that they worship our Saviour as theironly true God; and that on his mercy, and themerits of his adorable sacrifiCe,. alone, tlleyrepose m e irhOlJe;out ttie cries and declara-tions of these unfortunates (if one may so callthose who suffer for not avowing a falsehood)fail to touch these gentlemen, who imaginethat this authentic confession of their faith,

which so many make at the very moment of death, deserves not the smallest consideration;ana who believe that a certain number of witnesses, whom the fear of being burnt only


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obliges them to accuse the innocent, are suffi-

cient to screen them from the vengeance of God.But if 80 many Christians deemed to be Jewsare unjustly delivered to the executioner in allInquisitions, neither less great nor less frequentinjustice is committed in the Indies, towards,those accused of Magic or Sorcery, and con-deMned to be burnt for those crimes.

To place thiS in a proper light, it snould 'bepremised that the Heathens, whose religionabounds with superstitious rites,-( as, for in-stance, to divine the issue of an undertaking or

disease-whether one is beloved by certainperson-the thief who has stolen what is 10st-and other things of the like nature,)-cannot soreaB1 'DOt so entirely forget these ~ butt~nT~tbihem aaet.they are b a J 1 t i e d .This will be thought the less extraordinary, if we recollect that in France, where the Chris-tian -religion has been established for so many

, ages, persons are yet to he found who believein, and practise, many of these impertinent ce-remonies, 1toich even time has not caused to

be forgotten; that the Heathens, so recentlyconverted, have passed the greatest part of theirexistence in Paganism; and that those wholive in the states of the KiDg of Portugal are


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~bjectti or slaves, w h ochange their religiQn illdJ.e expectation of better treatment frQI\ltheirLords or Masters. Yet these.faults, which.jn

ude and ignorant peqp1~ ~ea. rather. to de-serve stripes than the stake, are e~ bythat cruel ,puDishment, by all those who econvicted thereof according to the maxims of this Tribunal.-c-for the second time, if they!lave confessed the first,-or for the first, if

~J'" .. '. d T IYaWs" also~t1~ea.J,lOt Q " tan .Qf areaccused of falling, within the cases under itscognizance, but Mahometans, Heathens, or~ Strangers, of whatever persuasion, whoC01lUl1Uanyof the 1U '~ . ot hGpublicly exercise their 1"eligion in the countriessubject to the King of Portugal; for thoughthat pdnce tolerates libertyof CQIli~~~ ~e

Uoly ~c~ jJe~ ~, thatMDgets m a "lio~ in thw- Qwn Fl\ith..but areliable tobe puuillh.edas criminalaif they practiseits ceremonies.c- And as, in the territories of the Portuguese in India, there are more Maho-metans and Heathens thanChristians , and theInquisition, which p~~ apostate C bristW .n switb death, never seo~ to that penaltythose who have not been blll't~ though they


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should 'relapse a hundred times into the same

errors, but generally commutes it for banish.ment, corporal correction, or the gallies; thedread of being liable to be sentenced to theflames hinders many from embracing Christ-ianity; and the Holy Office, instead of beinguseful in these parts fOFthe propagation of the

Faitb Jt deters people from the Church by ren-dering it au ol;riect of horror t them. Fromthe continual chain of accusations which is thenecessary consequence of what has been stated,and the ease by which any person can denouncehis enemies with impunity, the prisons of theInqoisition are never long empty; and thoughthe Acts of Faith are celebrated, at the latest,ev~ 0 tb;: ~ ears, it fre


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CHAP. XXIII.

Some Particulars relating to the OjJicer, of theInquisition.

TIIERE are four Inquisitions in the Portuguesedominions, viz.-In Portugal, those of Lisbon,Coimbra, and Evora; and, in the East Indies,

_G oa . ~ . Itt appeal in all matter. Withintbe extent

of their respective jurisdictions. The Inquisi-

tion of Goa comprehends all the countries pos-sessed by the Crown of Portugal, beyond ~Cape of Good Hope. Besides these 'tri-bunals, there is a Grand Council of the Inqui-sition, in which the Inquisitor General presides.This Tribunal is the chief, and whatever is clonein the others-is reported there. In addition tothe honour, and unbounded authority and ap-pointments, annexed to the posts of all theInquisitors, they derive very considerable emo-lument in two ways. One arises from the sale

of the effects of the prisoners, in which if anyrare or valuable article should be comprised, theInquisitors have but to send a servant to bid forit, (and few would dare to o~er a greater price,)


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whereby things are often obtained by them for

the half of their real worth. The other mean orprofit is still more important: when the pro-'duce of a confiscation is remitted to the RoyalTreasury, the Inquisitors have the power of sending warrants at their pleasure, and forany amount, to answer the charges and secretoccasions of the Holy Office, which are instantlysatisfied, without anyone daring to inquire theparticulars of these privy expenses. By thesemeans almost the whole of the seizures returninto their hands.

All the Inquisitors are nominated by theKing, and confirmed by the Pope, from whomthey receive their bulls. At Goa, the GrandInquisitor alone baa, or claims, the privilegeof a carriage, and receives mote respect thanthe Archbishop or the Viceroy. His authority

extends over all descriptions of persons, as wellLay as Ecclesiastic; except the Archbishop,his Grand Vicar, (who. is always a bishop,)the Viceroy, and the Governors in case of the

, Viceroy's decease; but he can cause any of these to be arrested, after previously informingthe court of Portugal, and receiving secretorders from the Sovereign Council of the In-quisition of Lisbon, called, Conselho Supremo.


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Tllis 'Tribunal assembles every fifteen. days,unless some extraordinary occasion should re-quire it to be convened oftener; but the inferiorCouncils regularly meet twice a day,from eightto eleven in the morning, and from two to r01,1f inthe afternoon-and sometimes later, especially

previous to the Acts of Faith, when the sittingis often prolonged until ten In the. evening.

On the, final decision of the cases, besides-~tadO.f. ~.uy; t feb.bishops Of Bishops of those places where the.Inquisition is established have a right to bepresent, and preside upon an the judgmentspronounced. But it is time to return to w'hateoncerns myself

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CHAP. XXIV.

Tn 'what Manner I was conducted to the first .dudience, and the Result.

hiltBDr4"ELY after I was shut up in ,tMpriSOtl'Sof the Holy Office, I w~ infurmed thatben:l wanted any thing I had only to knock

gently at the door, and the guards would attend,0r to ask for it when my meals were served;aitla that if I 'wished for an audience, I W8 to

address the Alcaide, who, as "ell ali the guards,never speaks to the prisoners without a witness.I was also taught to believe that my IiberaUoD"\VOdbe the ~Jlf*ttleDCe of COJtleltiOn, wbicthcaused meto iltlpOr-tuDe'tboae-.o4icerscotate mebefore my Judges; but, after all my tears andentreaties, this favour was not granted until theSIst day of January, 1674. On that day theAJcaide entered with a guard, about two in theafterdoola. I dressed mjself as he directed, andl E ! f f my cell, myhead, legs, and feet, being nakecl

'the Alcaide walked before, and the guard fol-lowed me, in which order we proceeded to thedoor of the audience room; where the Aleaide,advancing a little forwards, made a profound

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obeisance, and withdrew to give me room to

enter alone. I found there, as on the formeroccasion, the Inquisitor and Secretary. I threwmyself on my knees, \Jut was commanded torise, and be seated. I placed myself on a benchat the end of'the table beside my Judge. Near

me, upon the table, was a Missal, upon which,previous to my farther proceeding, I was di-zected to lay my hand, and swear to declare~"~ Qj~~~"'.llSare exacted &om e v .,OIl&:who is b~ J9this Tribunal, either as a witness, or as amenable

to its jurisdiction.I was then asked if I knew the cause Qf my

imprisonment, and had ~~ to confessit; and having signified that I wished to do so,I minutely repeated all that I have already~ tou~g Biptism and the W;~of _,.s; ~t JUeD_~ what I had ad.vanced respecting the Inquisition, .hickat thatmoment I did not recollect. The Judge inquiredif I had not something else to say; and, find-ing that I had related all that I could remember,

instead of releasing me as I had expected, heterminated this fine audience in nearly the foJ.lG W iD gterms :-" That I had very properlyreaolved to become my own accuser, and tb;


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he conjured me, in the name of our Lord JesusChrist, fully to confess the rest that I knew;that I might experience the goodness and mercyextended by this Tribunal towards those who'appear to be truly sorry for their offences, bymaking a sincere and voluntary acknowledg-

ment."My confession and his exbortation being

concluded and taken down in wtiting, theywere "read aloud, and signed by me; afterwhich the Inquisitor rang the bell for theAJcaide to re-conduct me to my chamber.

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CHAP.' XXV.

,My second and third Audiences.

ON the fifteenth of February, I was .againtaken before 'my Judge, without any solicitationon my part; which induced me to concludethat.1 'Wat to ~~. S'dtoem.l en-tered the room, I was interrogated anew if Ihad any thing farther to say, and exhorted toconceal nothing, but to candidly confess allmy sins. I answered that, after the closestconsideration, I could not recollect any thing Ihad not previously represented. My own name,those of my father, mother, brothers, grand-

fathers, great grand-fathers, god-fathers andgod-mothers were required; and whether I wasCristam de oita dias, (an eight-days' Christian,)-for in Portugal children are baptized on theeighth day after the birth, and the mothers donot leave the house to go to church until thefortieth day after their accouchement, if ever sopropitious.

My Judge seemed surprised when I toldhim that in France it was not the custom to


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defer baptism until the eighth day; but thatinfants were baptized there as early as possible.From the observance of these- formal ceremo-nies, it would seem that, notwithstanding thedetestation shown by the Portuguese towardsthe Jews, they themselves possess not genuine

'Christian principles. . But this is not all themischief:-It may often happen that jhe chil-dren die without being regenerated by the sacra-ment of'baptism, and thus be eternally excludedfrom Heaven. And for the sake of the ceremo-nial purification, (which ought to be considered

ashaving been abrogated by the publication of theGospel,) the Portuguese women do not scrupleto break the ordinances of the Church, which'command all Christians to assist at the holysacrifice of the Mass on Sundays and Feasts, ifnot prevented by lawful impediments.

I was next asked what was the name of theClergyman by whom I was baptjzed, and inwhat diocese and town; and finally, if I hadbeen confirmed, and by what Bishop. Havingsatisfied these inquiries, I was ordered to kneel

down, to make the sign of the Cross, to repeatthe Lord's Prayer, the A'qe Maria, the Creed,the Commandments of God and the Church,and the Salve Regina; when the audience con-

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eluded as before, with a conjuration, "by theoOfiJelsqf the me1'cy 'o f OUT' Lord Jesus Christ,"to make immediate confession. This being com-mitted to ~iting, read in m)' presence, andsubscribed with my signature, I was soot away.

From the beginning of my confinement 1

had been greatly distressed, and had wept in..cessantly; but on returning from this secondaudience I entirely abandoned myself to grief,IIieirtg ~ 1~ -'t wu " 'e c lnomme was.impossible, as my memory did not fur-nish wbat I was solicited to. avow. I attemptedto put an end to. my existence hyfasting. Ireceived, indeed, the food which was bcoug4t to'me, because I coulid DOt n&Ie it .witbout being.liable to be beaten by the guards, who care.full,. notice, when the dishes are returned,

wllether sufticient nourishment bas been taken ;bat my despm e n e b & e clme to. decm. all theircaution. I p8 l5se dseveral days wi.thout tastingany thing;, and to prevent its being discovered,I threw part of what w .asgiven me into theclose-stool. ThiS" extreme tastiDg deprivedme of rest; and my sole emplo.yment was toweep. But during these days of anguish, I r reflected on the errors of my past life, andacknowledged the justice of God wbic4 had

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11hurIed me into this abyss of misery .. I evenbelieved that it was intended 'as the mean of myrecall and conversion; and being somewhatrevived by these thoughts, I heartily imploredthe aid of the Blessed Virgin, who is the conso-lation of the wretched, and the asylum and

refuge of the sinner; and whose protection I.have ,so often enjoyed, as well in the prisonas in many other events of my life, that Icannot now repress this public testimony of myexperience.

At length, having made a more particular

or rather more happy recollection of what I hadsaid or done during my residence at Damaun,I remembered the opinions I had asserted re-specting the Inquisition and its integrity. Iimmediately demanded audience, which how-ever I did not obtain until the sixteenth of

. March.When summoned, 1 had no doubt that my

business would be dismissed the same day, andthat after the confession I was prepared tomake I should be discharged; but at the very

moment that I fancied I was on the accom-plishment of all my wishes, I suddenly foundthese delightful hopes destroyed; for havingdetailed every thing I had said about the Inqui-


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sition, I was coolly informed that that was notwhat was expected; and having nothing, moreto communicate, I was instantly remanded, with.out even taking my confession in writing.


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CHAP. XXVI.

Despair impels me to Suicide.

I WAS now arrived at the most insupportable

period of my captivity; for rigorous as it hadhitherto been, I had at least the satisfactionof having borne it with some degree o r patience,and had sought to derive advantage from mymisfortunes. Religion teaches us that thegreatest calamities are real blessings to those

who make a proper use of them; I musttherefore ever deem that portion of my lifealoneinfelicitous, wherein I committed sins so enor-mous 8S not to be justified or extenuated bythe cruelty of those who exacted impossibi-lities from me, under pain of being burnt;for no extremity can exc~lse despair, which isthe greatest and last of evils.

I had determined to omit the mention of mydespondency, and ofthe attempts which I madeto destroy myself. But it has been suggested

to me that the circumstance was material, be-cause the inexcusable rigour of the Inquisitionmay probably drive many into the same state;and because it is of importance to know not


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only the extent of these evils considered in

themselves, but also the shocking consequenceswhich are but too frequent. If rational andwell-educated persons, who know their duties,and keep in the light of the Faith, yield underthese extremities; what may not be apprehendedfrom SO many ignorant people, without instruc-tion, principally recent converts from Paganism,whose doctrines have taught them during al-mest aUtheir es W ..~giU"d~spair as heroism ?I acknowledge that the unpropitious issue of my last audience, the success of which I had

so fully anticipated, was an annihilating stroke jand, regarding liberty as a blessing I could neverhope for, I abandoned myself SO entirely togrief and despair, that I was almost distracted.I had not forgotten that self-destruction is pro-hibited, and had not any intention to zush intoeternal ruin; but I had no, wish to live, a.ndsomuch desire to die,' that my reason was dis-turbed. I imagined that I had discovered amiddle course between the desperate resolutionof a sudden death, and that natural termination

of life for which I could not bear the thoughtsof waiting ; and I hoped for the.divine forgive-ness if I could attain it slowly and by tbf:}minis.tration of another. I therefore feigned .indis,


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position from a feverish attack. A Pundit, orPagan Physician, was introduced, who did noteven take the trouble to count my pulse, andasserted that I was actually in a fever.

He ordered me to be bled five times, on fiveiUCCe.sRVe days; and as my design in using this

remedywas

far otherwisethan

his, (which wasto restore me to health, whilst mine was to finisha miserable life,) the instant I was leftalone, I untied the bandages, and suffered the

-, blood to flow, until it filled a pot which was ca- .pable of containing eighteen ounces. I repeated

these excessive evacuation. after every bleeding,and taking at the same time scarcely any nou ..rishment, I was (as may be supposed) reducedto the mOlt extreme debility.

The .Alcaide, observing the great change inmy appearance, was 'surprised, as well as thePundit, at my distressing condition, from whichthey conceived such slender hopes of my re..covery that they were obliged to report it tothe Inquisitor, who directed them to proposethat I should confess myself; and as I did not

think that I could live, I began to repent of what I had done, and, not wishing to lose bothsoul and body at once, I consented that aConfessor should be sent for. A Religious of the


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order of St. 'Francis attended accordingl

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Inquisition at Goa

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