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

A Dem Of Horrors.
Kirwan, in a recent volume OIL travels, In
Europe, gives the following account of fear
fnl chamber in the castle of the Duke of Baden
Baden in Germany
.We made morning call at the castle of
the Duke, which surmounts the hill, and were
shown through all the apartments. AS II for
our accommodation, he had just retired from
his breakfast-room that we might see 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 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 a 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 oflght 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
room7
| Its history, as given us by our guide, and
within its walls, is briefly as follows: In the
days of feudal clemency and inquisitorial 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
rative, in the very apartment where these
atrocities were committed in the name of JUS
tice and Religion, with the tunnel beneath US,
| through which the bodies of their victims
were let down for mutilation, to be be-
yond the reach of recognizance! For mo-
ment our blood ran cold, and. we were filed
with horror. OH if those stone seats, and
f those walls of solid rock could speak-if the
, injunctions of perpetual secrecy were rernov-
ed 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 a labyrinth of chambers and
passages dark as midnight into the open air.
We all breathed easier and feeling Of fear
gave way to one of security. We were soon
on the railway from Frankfort-on-the-M Main,
deeply affected by the beauty and wickedness
of Baden-Baden, thankful that its days of pc
nal tyranny were at 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 the spiritual
evils of our day and creed. / have in my
mind this moment, one of the most beautiful
of all my girlhood's friends-one of angelic
beauty and sweetness, and yet
A creature not too bright and good,
L For humen natures daily food
She loved a young man worthy of her, ex-
cept in his misfortunes, and dearly did he love
her. They were pledged to each other; but
the father, man of iron will, who had sthe
good of his family at heart determined to
break up their union. By means of forged
letters, and in other ways he succeeded, and
his daughter smarried well.' That is, she mar
ried man with property, for whom she had
no love. Her brief life was a too long cruci-
fixion. Daily and hourly the wheel of torture
revolved, and the knives entered her spirit,
till the work of death was done. I stood by
her bedside, when the poor father closed her
eyes, knowing that he had consented to her
torment and death.
In the coffin she was beautiful as seraph,
and shed no tear for her. smiled then !;
: and when the turf covered the cold bosom, and
the no longer aching heart, rejoiced.
ssIn Short-ladies and gentleman" said an
| oyerpOwered orator ssJ can only say-J ba,