Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1849-05-19
fnE INauIsrrIoN AT ROME.
sTARTLINc prscLosrRrs.

tnsnean vaults Of the Holy Office, and
not little horrified al what saw with
own eyes, and held in my own hands.
Though have been familiar with every
ing in and about Rome for quarter Of
rntury, confess never had any curiosity
visit the Inquisition, taking it for granted
hat every thing was carried on there fairly
and honestly, as was led to believe by peo-
pie worthy in other respecss Of implicit trust.
Besides, the place itself is out Of the beaten
track Of all strangers, and in . sort Of eul de
soe behind St. Peters, where it naturally re-
tired 10 perform its bushing operations, and
do good by stealth" was struck withihe
outward appearance of civilization and COM
fort displayed BY the building. which owes
its erection TO Plus v, author Of The last creed;
but, on entering, the real character Of the
concern was no longer dissimuIated.
A range Of strongly barred prisons formed
the ground-aoor Of quadrangular court, and
these dark and damp recep,acles found
were only the preliminary stage of proba-
tion, intended for newcomers as yet uniniii-
ated into the Eleusinian mysteries Of the es-
tabIishment. Entering passage to the left
you arrive at a smaller courtyard, where
triple row of small barred dungeons rises
from the soil upwards, somewhat after the
outward look Of three-decker, 'accommo-
dating" about sixty prisoners. These barred
cages must have been often fully manned,
for there is supplementary row constructed
al the back Of the quadrangle, on the ground
floor which faces large garden. All these
cellular coniIivances have stiong iron rings
let into the masonry, and in some there is
large stone firmly imbedded i'll the centre
with a similar massive ring. Numerous liz
scrip,ions, dated centuries back, are diniy
legible on the admission of light, the general
tenor being assertion Of innocence: "Iddio Ct
liberi di lingva ealumnictriee.' "IO Domsnieo
Ga=.oli rissi q,ti ami 49, "Columnia,arss
mendaees e1terminc5untur.' | read another
somewhat longer, the drift Of which is, 'The
caprice or wickedness Of man can't exclude
me from thy Church, o Christ my only
hope"
The officer in charge led me down to
where tine men were digging in the vaults
below; they had cleared downward flight
of steps, which was choked Up with old rub.
under the vaults deeper still, and which i'm
mediately brought 10 my mind the prisons of
the Doge under the canal of the Bridge of
Sights at Venice, only that here there was
surpa.sing horror. saw imbedded in old
masonry, unsymmetricaly arranged, FIVE
skeletons in sarion. recesses, and the clear
ance had only jus, begun ihe period of their
insertion in this spot must have been more
than a century and a half. From another
vault, full Of skulls and scattered human re-
mains, there was shaft about four feet
square ascending perpendicularly 10 the floor
OF the building, and ending in a passage off
the hall OF the chancery, where trap-door
lay between the tribunal and the way into
suite of rooms destined for one of the officials.
The object OF this shaft could admit OF but
one surmise. The ground OF the vault was
made up of decayed animal matter, a lump
OF which, held imbedded in j: a long silken
lock Of hair, as found BY personal examina-
ton, As it was shovelled up from below
Why or wherefore, with large space OF va
can, ground living outside the structure, this
eharnel-house should be conirived under the
dwelling, passes my ken.
But that is not all; there are two large SUBJ
terranean lime-kilns, il may so call them,
shaped like beehive in masonry, filled
with LAYERS Of calcined bones, forming the
subsiratum of two other chambers on the
ground floor in the immediate vicinity OF the
very mysterious shaft above mentioned.
know not what interest you may attach 10
what looks like chapter from Mrs. Rad
ellie. but had not the evidence of my own
senses, I would never have dreamt of such
appearances in prison OF the Holy Office
being thoroughly sick of the nonsense tha;
has for years been put forth on that topic by
partisan pens. But here the thing will be-
ulation of Rome is publicly invited by the
authorities 10 come and see with their own
eyes, one of the results of entrus,ing power
to clerical hands Libels OH the clergy have
been manifold during the last four months
and have done their work among the masses
But mere talk is nothing 10 the actual view
IF realities.
Segnius irriiant ani,nos demissa per sures
Guam qus suni Oculis subiecta ideibus.
The archives lwanting the very recen
mes onlyl have been overhauled, and Sc
eetioa will be forthwith Published. Tbs
:ases are Of the mos, intense interest. reach
ng from Galileo's time down TO modern
ays; and here most disgraceful letters from
he Sandman and Neapolitan courts, inclu
ling choice correspondence from the Duke
Modena, will be given verbatim, in e.
mso. Laiferly the concern had become al
,osi exclusively political, and only busiec
self with ''carbonarin and ssfreemasons.
nder which terms every aspirant after
e. ,S. =