The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1904-01-27
The SPANISH ENQUISITION.
Another Interesting Article from the Pen
of Henry Wolf.
THE CAUSES THAT LED TO IT.
The Punishment Inflicted, the Most Brutal, In.
natural, and Devilish Conceivable by
Human Deprayiiy.

Ferdinand and Isabella had es-
tablished u Christian kingdom
upon the ruins Of the Moorish
one in Granada: but the mixture
of the different uationalities, Gus
toms and religions had not yet
crystalllzcd itself into a solid, uni
form, Catholic Spanish nation of
one faith and one language, which
formed the dreams and hopes of
the two Catholic monarchs. AL.
though the swol d Of persecution
mad driven many families INTO AT
frica, nevertheless the greater
part Of the population-loth to
leave their lovely native land
bought the privilege of staying
with a pretended conversion to
the Christian faith, but at the
same time worshipped Moham-
med and Moses at the Christian
altars. AS long as they directed
their prayers toward Mecca,
Granada renamed unconquered /;
as long as Christians in the pri-
vacy of their houses became Mus
sulmans and Jews, they were as
unsafe subjects Of the throne of
the king as that Of the Pope
Now the problem was how to
establish the Catholic faith--nOt
only in an outward form, and yet
hiding beneath a burning Volcano
which might at any moment
belch forth disaster to king and
Pope-but to dig deep down into
the very hearts aud thoughts of
men and tear out every root of
heresy and disloyalty to church
or state. To further this project
Cardinal Ximeues in the year
1850 advised the sovereigns tC
employ the inquisitlon III such a
new form as to meet all cases N
this process of purgiug the faith
and loyalty of all their subjects.
Henceforth Ximenes put his fer
tile mind to work, and the result
was the most debased, most uu.
natural, most horrld and Satanic
invention ever known in the
Christian world. At the head of
this institution was placed Tor
quemade, monk Of the order of
the Dominicians, with the title of
Grand Inquisitor, and so were all
officers and every one connected
with it chosen from the monks.
These monks We're creatures who
had by sacred oaths severed
themselves from all temporal af-
fairs, and seemed to have lost all
tender feelings for sex, or family,
or relatives, or friends, or neigh
bors, or native country, or even
the whole human race; some
turned out to be but spiritual and
mental monstrosities, and be.
came the blind tools of their su-
perlors, having no more will Of
their own, asking no questions,
conscience silent, devoting their
whole lives to the upbuilding Of
their orders and the Roman hier-
archy.
Dark, damp dungeons were
constructed deep down in the
earth beneath the strongest cas-
ties, where no ray Of sunlight
could penetrate, or the consoling
sound of the human voice could
reach. There on the bare ground
between cold stone walls, with
out the least furniture or bed
ding, the unhappy victim was
thrown. The access TO this dis
NAL place was through an open.
ing in the ceiling of the vault,
through which by the aid of
rope the prisoners daily allow.
ance of coarse bread aud u cruise
OF water were let down. Here
the prisoner was kept for months
and even years without knowing
even what crime he was charged
with. To express one word Of
doubt regarding the infallibility
Of the Pope was considered a
crime as heinous as parricide; to
find fault with church or state
was classed with high treason,
and Imprisonment and execution
was the penalty. In all cases of
capital punishment confiscation
of all the victlm's earthly posses
sions followed 10 till the Golfers