The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1882-08-26
The Good Old Times.

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cient punishment. There is scarcely sin
gle part of the body that has not been
subject to separate and special torture;
the eyes, mouth, tongue, ears, teeth, arms,
hands, feet and heart have been so many
sources of suffering by fire and iron. Blind
ness, resorted to under the first two races
of French Kings, was inflicted by Princes
upon high personages whose attacks they
feared, but whose lives they dare not take.
Blindness was applied to Bernard, King of
Italy, grandson of Charlemagne, and the
Parliament of Senlis in 873 ordered that
the rebellious son of Charles the Bald
should be deprived of his sight
A red hot iron passed before the eyes
until, to use Joinville's expression, they
were cooked; steel point, which was
plunged in the center of the organ; the
plucking out from the socket-such were
the instruments and means resorted to by
justice and revenge, which in barbarous
ages were often sonfounded.
The tongue has in all times been prac-
ticed upon by the law Louis TX ordered
that blasphemers should be marked on the
brow, that their lips should be burned, and
their tongue pierced with red-hot iron.
For this purpose he einvented round-shaped
iron, which the executioner applied to the
lips of the culprit, after heating it.
Louis XII, the ''father of the people"
enacted that whoever uttered eight bias
phemies should have his tongue torn out,
and Louis XIV. re-established the law.
Among the Huguenots burned alive on
January q, 1885, in the presence of the
King, was man named Antoine Pole,
whose tongue was pierced and attached to
his cheek with an iron pin. The infiction
usually teok place before church.
The amputation of theear was a common
punishment in the middle ages 1t was
practiced on the serf who displeased his
master. Sanval gives the following ac-
count of it 1.-THE amputation Of one ear
was inflicted ON dishonest servants, and cut
purses; a second offense cost them the other
ear; death was the penalty of the third Of
Tense. When the first larceny was consid-
erable 1t was the left ear which was cropped
Teeth also were within reach of the ex-
teeth of jews to make them give up their
money, and Louis XI. after the death of
Jaques d Armagnac, whom he caused to be
skinned alive, ordered that his children
should be taken to the Bastile and have
their teeth extracted. Amputation of the
feet was common, as well as the hands
They were simply chopped off with sword
or axe, and the stump plunged in boiling
oil or cauterized with an iron These pun
ishments were frequently inflicted on wo-
men.
Pouring boiling oil on the feet was a
common form Of torture. Death was caused
by pouring boiling oil into the cans, the
nostrils and the throat. Molten lead was
applied to the same purpose. One execu-
toner received liberal reward for invent
ing crescent shaped knife, by means of
which a criminals heart might be ripped
out so rapidly that he had not time to die
under the operation.
Gases were common in which the victim
had his lips Topped off one by one, and be-
ing ripped open and disemboweled before
the death stroke was given.
1t would take voDame to enumerate
the tortures the deyilish ingenuity of man
was father to in those CHASTITY times. The
Parliament of Pgis applied only two kinds
water and tae boot Ia Brittany the
sufferer WIS Eed TO an iroa chair and his
legs bseagaat5 t5 deg=ses in contact with the
FIRE. AZ sSueon the horse, which con-
sisted Of mouSting the victim on log
garnished with spoSes, was in use. Estra-
pade prevailed at Orlsans. At Rouen, the
thumb, fingers and leey were crushed.
The boot was an instrument consisting
of four planks pierced with holes, Though
which ropes were passed to hold then. to-
gether. Between the two innerm0st piss:iss
the victims leg wes fitted Tn exesE-s
ti,.I,1I tslgll drove wedges between Elspt.fet
oaes Ordinary torture included foHr
wedges, but on extra occasions eight were
nsed. At any rate the leg was reduced to
pulp of riven flesh and muscle and splin-
tered bone
Torture by water consisted in seating the
culprit on stone STOOL, after his sentence
had been read to him. His wrists were
attached behind his back to two iron rings
distant from each other. All the cords
tSsn entwiaed round his limbs and body
were Saen pulled as much as possible, and
when the body of the sufferer could not be
stretched any more trestle was placed
under his back, The questioRaire held
horn in one hand, and with the other he
poured water in, and obliged the criminal
to swallow four pints in question oteiiaaire
and eight pints in question: ertrdordiaaire.
Death was commonly the result of this tor
ment.
Torture comprised several graduated
torments inflicted upon prisoner, either
to compel him to confess his crime or to
obtain the name ofhis aecomplices, While
he was subjected to these sufferings Judge,
standing close to the torturer or question
aire, called upon the accused to say the
truth, and wrote down his declarations,
whence the name of question which was
given to this torture, Question was of two
sorts, either definite or preliminary. These
two categories were subdiyided into qWes-
ton orcliRaire and e.rtroordiaaire Through
the INST u was souSht 70 exact irom the
accused the confession of his guilt; through
the accused it was endeavored to discover
the names of the accomphces who had
helped him in the preparation of his crime.
Torment carried to certain limit constitu-
tel question: oT1iaaire, it vas doubled IN
question ertraordiaesre, which, asa ru.s.
was only inflicted upon eulprits psev,ously
sentenced to death Yet there are people
who regret the "good old times Y
O,.;oriu of tha Posa