The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-04-06

! cpent'u Co"0 0ne- siNes showing d hoiiOW III
] terror filed with iron spikes. The front o!
| the Instrument represented woman's
form, the b.ce beautiful, cold, implacable.
On the night preceding execution the
/ coDdei nned was taken to the tower of the
/ castle and placed in pillory opposite the
iron N alden. During the long hours OF
! the avn sll might, filled with mental anguish
| and a b Orr or that chills US even to consider
/ it, the ire tch was forced to look upon this
/ instrum vi of bis doom In the morning,
just at d. avn, he was placed within it, his
! body ftt.d perfectly into the hollow The
trout port ion OF the iron maiden being
! closed upcI / him, he died lingering death,
being iters lily impaled alive
Tiendish Ingenuity.
I There wa fiendish ingenuity brought to
the inven.b IN of this CHASTITY relic, for as I
studied it l noticed that, while the sharp
spikes were many, the spot that must come
opposite the heart was bare. so that the vi
tai spot W as untouched and the agony
prolonged After a few days the maiden
was rolled out on the bridge overlooking
the fathorul ess moat, and the body was ig-
nominiousiJ dropped into a shameful grave
in the black waters. And what crimes were
punished by such death: II is a mark OF
1
such monstro us customs hourished to note
! from the lec1 urer's description that, while
murders of a ie worst sort, such as parri-
eide. Were TIM 9 avenged, any plot against
the governmer t, any avowal Of religious
unbelief, also | ed the unfortunate to the
death clasp Of ii lie terrible iron maiden.
A I errible Ordeal.
Scarcely ron iance exists of olden days
of whatever CO untry without some ref
erence to the t. aumbscrews, used to force
confessions from supposed criminals. They
were here in plen Uy-thumb, toe, hand and
leg screws IF a .clan was charged with any
crime or, suppos, d to know of any plot
against the chu ca or government, the
thum bscrew was used TO make him reveal
his secrets and bcSray his confederates. 1t
was not in hu man nature, save perhaps in
very rare cases to stand this ordeal long,
and under its beartbreaking torture who
knows how many perfectly innocent people
confessed to and were convicted OF crimes
they had never thought OF?
Children supposed to conceal evidence
that would help to convict their relatives
often their parentts-Of supposititious crimes
were not spared. No one was spared in
those days Of so allied ''chivalry''-pot the
tenderest youth, lot lisping babes not old
age nor delicate women. 1 shall not soon
forget the shsdowy pain that ran through
me when under one Of the galleries stood
above the cradle of unrest. How fifty and
horribly namedi It Was made of iron, the
rockers very wide, and the interior was
thickly covered with short, pointed spikes
Scarcely had I turpai from this when l
felt soft cloth b,ush my cheek. / looked
up and saw scarlet mantle headed by a
black mask ! was in the shadow of an
executioner's cloak, the sword beside it,
having marks cut upon it proving record
of 200 heads.
No Figure Of speech.
Very curious are the iron gags These
were small and could be placed easily in
the mouth, but so subtly were they ar
ranged by means of springs that they could
be distended to a size which prevented any
utterance.
The rack and the wheel were duplicated
here many times. They were very large,
with variety of ropes and screws attached.
The saying breaking on the WHEEL is
not at all fgurative.
Among other interesting things, not com
ing under the head of torture, yet connected
with them, noticed cordemned's cru
cifix, which criminals innumerable had car
ried on their way to execution. There was
also mask that was worn by one Of the
Judges of the secret trfbunal-the notorious
Vehmgericht-in which all were masked
completely. so that the accused might have
stood for Judgment before his dearest friend
or father. So memorable was the oath of
secrecy regarding the personality of these
judges that they were forbidden to disclose
their identity one to the other, each being
secretly appointed by the crown. Fancy a
prisoner confronting this iron masked tri-
buna!, whose judgment none might gainsayl
The atmosphere of horror and mystery
would have been terrible enough without
further punishment
There was also a witch's idol, carving
of DEVILS head in wood. This was worn
by the supposed witch on her way to be
burned at the stake. Another curious thing
was piece of the cloak worn by the Chris
tian martyr, Johannes Huss. who was
burned at the stake at Constant. / saw also
q veritable hair shirt once worn for penance
by some monk
l saw the lecturer pacing between the !
rows of knotted wire ropes and CHASTITY |
shame masks, and / ventured to ask him |
one question.
Chinese Fine Art.
1.-The world is too enlightened for torture |
of any sort now, is it nots Does it still |
exist anywhere," l asked.
only in China. There they have re- /
duced it to fine art he said, with half |
plying smile. They make no weapons !
such as are here in CHASTITY profusion. |
Those days are forever gone, but as piece
of interesting information let me tell you /