The Statesman.
London, England, 1821-11-06 00:00:00

THE INQUISITION IN PORTUGAL

PROD. A CORRESPONDENT Or THE WEST BRITON.]
Lisbon, Oct. 20, IR2I.
1 send you a description of the Inquisition at this
place, which I have been to visit.—The Cortes
.aire,proceediagtitoadily with the-great-work they have
undertaken ; and I have no doubt that they will form
a Constitutional System of Government equal to any
•in the world. They appear to have the Spanish Con-
stitution and that of the United States of America
chiefly in their view.—A4 the sitting of the Cortes, on
the 10th inst., Senior Figneiras prssentell a letter from
the keeper of the Inquisition, stating that on the build-
ing being opened• for public inspection, the people had
behaved in a very disorderly manner, breaking open
doors and carrying away papers, &c. ;—and that se-
veral persons had actually cried out, that the building
should be burned, whilst they held lighted candles in
th.dr bands, as if about to put their threats into exe-
• cation ; which he stated they would have done, but
for the interposition of the guards. The keeper there-
fore prayed that measures should be taken to prevent
the recurrence of such scenes. Senior Bastos said,
that if any such disorders as bad been described had
occurred. it was owing to the refusal of the keepers to
shew the instruments of torture and the lower cells of
the prison to the visitants.' In his opinion these gen-
tlemen, the keepers, cherished a religious respect for
the tribunal, of which they spoke with apparent vene-
ration. As it was apprehended the people might set
fire to the place, it would be better to suspend lamps in
various parts, and not to allow the visitants to carry
lights. Senior Fernando Thomas, proposed that an
inscription of which the following is a translation,
should be placed on every place occupied by the Inqui-
si:ion in Portugal ;
o May eternal malediction follow every Portuguese
who does not hold for ever in abhorrence all invention
so Infernal." •
On the Bth of October, the Inquisition at Lisbon
was thrown open for public inspection, and for the
first four days the concourse of people of all descrip-
tions that crowded to view it was so great that the
pressure at the entrance rendered it an enterprise of
some risk. The building is a large oblong, with a
gardeu in the centre :—there are three floors, with a
number of vaulted passages, along the sides of which
are cells, of different sizes ; from sis by seven feet, to
eight by nine feet. Each cell hae two doors, the inner
one of iron, the outer of oak, very strong. As there
are no windows in the cells on the ground and middle
floors, no light is admitted when the doors are shut.
'Re cells on the upper floors are larger than the
others, and each has an aperture like a chimney.
through which the sky is visible. These were
appropriated to the use of those whom it was sup-
posed might be liberated. In the roof of each cell,
(for. they are all vaulted) is a small aperture of about
an inch in diameter, and a private passage runs over
each range; so that the persons employed by the
144? Mike, could at any time observe the conduct of
the prisoners, unseen; and if two persons were con-
fined in one cell, hear Omar conve:sation.° Frequently
a familiar of the Holy Office was put into the cell of a
prisoner, as a person arrested, in order to entrap the
unfortunate inmate of this h-arible place into admis-
sions that might afterwards be used against him. 1
saw in several of the cells human skulls and bones ;
Inset of them appeared to have lain there for many
years; as 1 broke some of them easily with my fin-
gers; others were bard and fresh. In a number of
the cells the names of the unhappy inmates were writ-
ten on the walls; some had strokes. apparently marking
the number of days or weeks the victims of this horrid
tyranny bad been confined. On the wall of one cell I
counted upwards of 300 of these marks. On the wall
of another of the cells was written ; " Francisco Joze
Carvalho, entered here the last day of March, 1802,
and'remained as many days as there are strokes in the
wall."—On the wall of another cell was written
" John Laycock ;" the name had been covered with
wiiteviash, which had scaled off. There were a num-
ber of strokes under the name, and the figures 18 were
easily made out, the others were obliterated. Some of
the cells which had not been used for several years
were locked up, but the visitants soon broke then open.
Human bones were found in many of these. In one
was found part of a Friar's habit, with a waist girdle
of rope and some bones. The apertures like cliiinnies '
to some of the cells were closed ; and I have been in-
formed that it was a clonmon mode of putting prisoners
to death,.to place them in these apertures which were
then walled up, and quick lime poured in from the
top. a speedy end was put to their sufferings. The
furniture is very old ; the chair, in the halls are co-
vered with leather, studded all round with very large
brass nails ; 1 send you a piece of leather with one of
Allele nails, taken from one of the best chairs. The
large tables in the balls had drawers for papers ; those
the visitants broke open, every one being desirous of
obtaining some relic of the ones terrible inquisition.
'ln several of the cells there were .mattiassei, *seine of
• them old, others nearly new ; which .Pi•ovea that the
Inqnisition was no bugbear up to a very recent date.
• Besides-she three floors. which I have described, there
• are a number of cells underground, which have not yet
been opened.
..These, it is supposed ' contain the apparatus for in.
flictibg the torture, &c.--.lt is understood that these
OH be-shortly thrown open to the public; when they
ire I shall not fail to visit them, and shall send you a
description. The spot as which the Inquisition stands
wise ..covered with houses. la 1775. when the great
earthquake happened, by which they were laid in
trains; so that the present building has not been
erected more than 60 years ; all the victims that were
immolated in it mask have been sacrificed within that
period. • • • •
• There are sesta in these private passages so contrived
that a person sitdag might inspect two of the cells at the
sane tine, as by a torn of the bud be would as his rye
upon the bole eos either sell at pleasure; or he einald hoar
what was said Is either. Till personsppointed to Mates
to the discourse of tke prisoners wore cloth shoes so that
• their footsteps could nocbe Lard.

•
The Amesbury Chronicle says—" A laughable eir-
commutes took pima Dist week smith. market-place
Cathie town. As a soldier was earrylot, the dinners
beleoglag to his mese from the baker's, owe. of his
eempagotis semis' behlod- him, called est l'Aties-
lion ! when this well disciplined soldier dropped his
bands, and at the same time the &men of his infer-
teams csausdes."
•