Literary cadet, and Saturday evening bulletin. [volume] (Providence, R.I.) 1826-1827, 1826-09-16

this, declared with one voice that he was
trif1ing with the court, and gave orders Tor
the rack. They would however, tor the
last time demand Of him, if he knew who it
was that did poison Josepha! to which he
answered without hesitation, that he did
know, but that no tortures should force him
to declare it, and they might dispose ofhim
as they saw fit; he could not die IN greater
tortures than he had lived.
They now. took this obstinate recusant,
and stripping him of his upper garments
laid him on the rack; surgeon was called
in, who kept his fingers on his pulse; and
the executioners were directed to begin
their tortures: they had given him one Sc
we're stretch by ligatures affixed to his ex-
tremities, and passed over an axle which
was turned by windlass, the strains upon
his muscles and joints by the action OF
this internal engine was dreadful and ma
ture spoke her suferings by horrid crash
in every limb; the sweat started In large
drops upon his face and bosom, yet the
man was firm amid the agonles oil the ma
chine, not groan escaped, and the fiend
who was superintendent Of the hellish
work, declared they might increase his tor
lures upon the next tug, for that his pulse
had not varied stroke, nor abated OF its
strength in the smallest degree.
The tormenters had now begun Sc
cond operation with more violence than
! the former, which their devilish ingenuity
had contrived to vary, so as to extort acu-
ter pains from the application OF the en-
gine, to parts that had not yet had their
iulI share in the first agony: when sudden-
ly monk rushed into their chamber, and
, called out to the judges to desist IRON tor
turing that innocent man, and take the
confession Of murderer from his own
lips. Upon signal from the judges, the
eXecutioners let 60 the engine at once,
and the joints snapped audibly inlhelr SOCK
cts, with the elasticity OF bow. Nature
sunk under the revulsion, and Don Juan
tainted on the rack The monk imme-
dlately, with loud voice. exclaimed, SIN
human wretches, delegates of hell and
agents of the devil, make ready your en-
gines for tho guilty, and take off your
bloody hands from the innocent: for be-
hold; (and so saying he threw back his
cowD behold the father and the murderer
of Josepha. +"
The whole assembly stood with aston
ishment: the judges stood aghast, and
even the demons of torture rolled their
eye-balls OH the monk with horror and
dismay.
eff you are willing" said he to the
judges, "to receive my confession whilst
your tormentors are preparing their rack
for the viest cri imlnal ever stretched on 1t,
hear me! ii not, Sc. your engine to work
without further enquiry, and glut your ap-
petites with human agonles, which once IN
your lives you may inhict with justice"
proceed" said the senior Judge.
"Ihat guiltless sufferer, who now lies IN
sensible before my eyes," said the monk,
sis the son Of an excellent father who was
once my dearest friend: he was conhded to
my charge, being then an infant, and my
friend followed his fortunes to our settle
ments in the BraziIs, he resided there twen-
ty years without visiting Portugal once in
the time; he remitted to me many sums of
money on his sons account. AT tins time
hellish thought arose in my mind, which
the distress Of my affairs, and passion for
extravaganza inspired, Of converting the
property ofmy charge to my own account.
l impaired my suggestion to my unhappy
wife who is now at her account; let me do
her justice to confess she wlthstood 1t firmly
for time. Still fortune frowned upon me
and l was sinking IN my credit every hour:
ruin stared me in the face, and nothing
stood between me and immediate dis
grace, but this infamous e&pedient.
AT last, persuasion, menaces, and the
impending pressure Of necessity conquer
ed her virtue, and she acceded to the
fraud. We agreed to adopt the infant as
the orphan son Of a distant relation OF our
own name. l maintained correspond
encc with his father by letters pretending
to be written by the son, and supported
my family in a splendid extravaganza from
the assignments received from Brazils.
At length the father of Don Juan died, and
by will bequeathed his fortune to me, in
failure Of his son and heirs. had already
advanced so far in guilt, that the tempta-
ton OF this contingent met with no resist
ance in my mind, and determined upon re-
moving this bar to my ambition, and pro-
posed to my wife to procure the prize that
fortune had hung within our reach, by the
assassination oft heir. She revolted from
the idea with horror, and for some time her
thoughts remained in SO disturbed state,
that | did not think it proper to renew the
attack. After some time the agent of the
deceased arrived in Lisbon from the Bra
| Zils, and as he was privy to my correspon-