The record-union., 1891-07-20
FROM THE DARK AGES
Horrible Instruments of Torture No,
on Exhibition in London.

on tNnlD1IlOn IN London.
The Earl of Shrewsbury recently pur-
chased the torture implements of the
Castle of Nuremberg, and they are now
on exhibition in London. The most
valuable, as it is the rarest of the whole
collection, is the iron maiden tEiSe7me
JlEnqfr0t0. This terror-inspiring tor
ture instrument is made of strong wood,
bound together with iron bands. 1t
opens with two doors to allow the pris-
oner to be placed inside. The entire door
is fitted with long, sharp iron spikes, so
that when the doors are pressed to these
sharp prongs force their way into various
portions of the victim's body. Two
entered his eyes, others pierced his back,
his chest, and in fact, impaled him alive
in such manner that he fingered in the
most agonizing torture. When death re-
! lieved the poor wretch from his agonies-
perhaps after days--a trap-door in the
base was pulled open and the body was
allowed to fall into the moat or river be-
low. Persons were condemned to death
by the embraces of the iron maiden for
plots against the governing powers, par
! ricide, and religious unbelief. The date
of this rare specimen Is the fifteenth CEN
tury. A great number of torture ma
! chimes were apparently constructed with
such deviliSh ingenuity that they would
twist and rack the delicate human body
to the point of madness, and yet not
actually endanger life.
The torture bench, about ten feet long,
was used for stretching prisoners, the
feet being fastened to one end, the hands
to the other across roller studded with
spikes called a spiked harc.'
The torture-chair, the seat being COM
pletely covered with sharp wooden spikes,
body, arms and legs being strapped to the
chair, and i'll some cases two heavy stone
weights attached to the feet.
The metal boots, which, being placed
on the prisoners feet, molten lead or boil
ing oil was poured into them.
y CHASTITY relic in black box of coffin
like appearance is the dried head of a
child murderess still transfixed on a
rusty spear-head.
There are tOngue-tearerS,t ,thum mb-Screws
mouth gags, Spanish CATERS for squeeZ-
ing the legs to pulp, branding irons, foot
screws, iron chain gloves, to be used when
red-hot; iron nipperS, irOn-wire whips,
heavy stones to be worn around the neck,
thief-catchers, and large number of two
handled eXecutioners' swords. OF the
humorous articleS-if, indeed, humor can
enter into such grim companionship-we
may instance the sham masks, or branks,
worn as signs Of degradation for slight
offenses by men or women, those for the
nobility having visors to them like hem
lets, so that the features We're concealed
| till. the penance was over; wooden col
1d1S, Win DSllS anu ldSSHlS lOG SCOluS:
| ducking- stools and sschurn-shaped boxes,
| known as drunkards' cloaks-an un-
comfortable garment fitting too tightly
around the neck to allow the head to be
withdrawn, and, while too heavy to walk
about in for any great length of time, yet
not quite short enough to permit the
wearer to kneel down in them
Among the pictures is one of Damien,
of whom it may be remembered that,
after four horses had failed to pull him
asunder he was afterward tortured with
boiling oil, and, that not killing him, was
finally bound to a stake and burned to
| death. Appropriately enough, the
instruments are in a series of dungeon
saud have erected in the basement of
their establishment. The two cells
selected for illustration are copied from
the Museum OF Antiquities, formerly the
Prison of the InquisitiOn, in Antwerp,
and have all the semblance of reality.
The first dungeon cell is a small room
about eight feet by five, so constructed
that the air in it could be pumped out, so
that the inmate died slow, suffocating
death; perhaps the refinement in cruelty
was reached in the plausible escape cell.
1t was false beacon TO an escaping pris-
oner, bait to a poor wretch who no
doubt thought he was about to regain his
freedom, may be connivance bought;
he would hurry down the dark stone cor
rldor to where the rusty gate unlocked or
carelessly left ajar would welcome him
to where the bit of shining sky seen
through the barred window would glad
den his heart, and pushing open the gate
with eager hands would at once step into
a deep well of water with perpendicular
sides.