Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1854-06-27
A DEN Of Horrors.

DEN Of Horrors.
Kirwau. in a recent volume of travels, in
Europe, gives the following account of a fear
ful chamber in the castle of the Duke of Baden
Baden in Germany.
Eve made a morning call at the castle of
the Duke, which surmounts the hill, and were
shown through all the apartments. As if for
our accommodation, he had just retired from
his breakfast-room that might the ia
BILE at which a reigning Prince slipped coffee.
We have seen the breakfast room and table of
many in America more richly furnished. The
apartments wore quite an air of poverty, after
having seen those at Versailles, the Quirinal,
and Turin. But the underground apartments
possess a fearful interest. With lighted tor
ches we went down into the cellar of the pal
ace, thence by spiral inclined plane, We
went down, down, until by door formed of
one huge flag, and fitted to its place with re-
markable exactneSs, we entered small oval
room, perhaps ten feet in diameter, and hewn
out of solid rock. The door was shut behind
us, and we were buried alive under the noun
tain! A ray of light came from above, and
we could look up as through narrow CHM
ney; a stone was moved beneath our feet, and
we could look down perhaps two or three hun
dred feet, and could see glimmer oflight up
on dashing current, whose murmurings came
to us from beneath. And all around the room
were seats cut out from the rock. And what
was the knowledge and history of this awful
room?
Its history, as given us by our guide, and
within its walls, is briefly as follows: In the
days Of feudal clemency and inquistorial pie
ty, those suspected of political religious
heresy were suddenly seized and confined in
one of the adjacent cells. The little room
above described was the room of judgement,
and the judges were let down by machinery
through the opening above. The accused
were then introduced, and that heavy stone
door was shut. And there shut out from eve
ry eye save that of God and their judges, they
were tried and condemned. If not guilty, the
accused were hated or feared, which made con-
demnation worse than guilt. When condemn
ed, they were next ordered to kiss the image
of the virgin in the apartment; in the move
ment, they touched springs, which caused her
to embrace them, and in the embrace, to
pierce them through with daggers. Then a
trap was sprung beneath their feet, which let
their bodies fall upon wheel armed with
knives, which was kept in constant revolution
by stream of water by these knives they
were cut in pieces, and the mutilated frag-
ments fell into the stream below.
And there we were receiving this awful mar
ratlve, in the very apartment where these
atrocities were committed in the name of JUS
tice and Religion, with the tunnel beneath u.s.
through which the bodies of their victims
were let down for mutilation, so as to be be-
yond the reach of recognizance For a mo-
ment our blood ran cold, and we were filled
with horror! Oh! if those stone seats, and
those walls of solid rock could speak-if the
injunctiOns of perpetual secrecy were remov-
&c by him who upheaved the mountain, what
an awful narrative they would give of the
scenes of treachery, hatred. and blood, there
perpetrated in the name of God and Religion.
The stone door swung open and We CROPPED
our way through labyrinth of chambers and
passages dark midnight into the open air.
We all breathed easier and a feeling of fear
gave way to one of security. We were soon
on the railway from ort-on-the-M Main,
deeply affected by the beauty and wickedness
of Baden-Baden, thankful that its days of pc
nal tyranny were at an end.
We look with horror upon time and creed
which could enact such terrific scenes as are
described in the above article.
Let us for moment look at thT spiritual
evils of our day and cree d. - my
mind this moment, one of iful
of all my girlhood's frien q ic
beauty and swee'nesss and
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