Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1865-04-15
witch Bursing IN France

IL uili hardly be credited az this late day how
cruelty even the civilization Of France carried
out. At one time. the IDEAS OF sorcery. and the
moral necessity OF getting rid OF Il by destroy
ing the sorcefers Tie following bit OF history
will illustrate the extent Of this cruelty. Among
the mertori0Us acts performed by Louis XIV ,
ne may place in the first rank the edic, issued IN
1872, which prohibited the burning OF sorcerers
aud witches, unless they bad been proved guilty
OF poisoning. La truth il vas time for such a
decree; and the reader recoils in horror from the
list Of victims burnt in the fifteenth and siI
toenth centuries under the pre- ext Of magic To
furnish an idea OF the number and importance of
the executions we will first mention two inquis-
itors Who acquired awful reputation witch
burners. The first Que, Cumanus. commenced
his exploits by burning. 10 1855. in the small
county OF Bulen, forty one women az witches.
Not finding the evil they cut away at the roots.
de pronounced 30 many condemrations that the
people emigrated en- masse Ailrat, bis worthy
rival. performed his feats 10 Piedmont. He be-
gan With a master stroke and burned one hun
bred and fifty sorcerers in an immense auto dd
f. The next year two hundred fresh victims
we're given TO the flames; but the people revolt
ed, expelled tie burner, aud delivered the poor
wretches.
In l4s6, Innocent VIII. issued a bull. by
which be invited the iuqulsitors 20 redouble their
zeal in detecting aud Furnishing persons indulging
ia witchcraft The consequences of this bull
were terrible, and pYres were everywhere burned.
Spain, France, Italy. Germany. were literally
decimsted. To 1924, in the little town Of Como,
no less than twelve hundred persons were burned
on account of witchcraft. and we almost fancy
we must be dreaming when we find men like
Toreno, Nicholas BENZ, (the intimate friend Of
the Dude of Lorrane,) Del Rio, Bodin, and
R0uget, boss'ing OF having burnt, the FIRST, 100
sorcerers. the second and third, 900 each. the
fourth, 6U0, and the last. 500. In 1870. one
Forimond de Remond. councillor OF the parlis-
ment of Bordeaux, after he had tortured and
roasted snme hundreds of wretches declared that
he should give up condeming people, who sp-
peared 10 arise from their ashes. =" lt is very
sad" he said. simply. =" on going home, after
having sentfOu or i've sOrcerers male or female.
20 the stake TO reflect that il will be necessary TO
do il all over again the next day"
In 1914 the year OF 81. Bartholomew, one Bo-
| din. species OF IDIOT who wrote tissue OF so-
surdites under the title Ut D monology, asserted
that the number Of sorcerers acknowledged by
the wretched Dee Echelles. when executed, was
800 200: and that there would be 10 happiness
for France until they were exterminated TO the
! last.
In 1888. two months before the assassin alton
OF Henry Ill. the parliament OF Paris had 10
Try forty persons of both sexes. formally accused
OF having Intimate relations with the demons.
Fortunately, the parliament Confined 4 few en-
! lghtened men, who came TO the conclusion that
the prisoners we're suffering from hallucinaiions,
and required dose OF hellebore rather than the
stake. Unfortunately, ere twenty years elapsed,
4 fresh accusations Of sorcery dcsollted France
and if the Bearnais had listened 10 the advice OF
the witch finders, three icurths OF his subjects
would speedily have been roasting. At about
the same period, 6 500 persons were burnt Tor
wltchcraft in four wears in the little electorate OF
/ Treyis; in the Netherlands. 4 O0O and in Swift
zerland. , 800. In the last century. at the era
when the Eneycops dis was publishing. witch
| fres still blazed in Bavaria and Germany; while
in Spain they were not extinguished until the
French invasion placed King J Joseph on the throne
/ OF the descendants OF Charles V