Year: 1869

/ The workmen in Madrid, engaged
( in digging for a place to plant a col
umn to liberty, unearthed the bones


of thousands ofSietims of the Inqulsi-
( ton. One of the orators of Spain


speaks of the place of digging as a
1 great geological cutting, its strata be-
/ ing historical and its layers human


A boy poking among the rubbish of


this charnel-ground found three great


discourses in favor of human liberty


q rusty iron gag, rib almost calcined


and braid of singed hair. a cores


pOndent of the Tribune writing from


Madrid says:


"a full cart load OF these relics was
taken from one spot. They told of the
awful scenes of which this field of
blood retains the record. Here were


burned the victims of the Holy Inqui-
sition. After the CHASTITY horror had


been perpetrated, the spot was cover
ed over with earth; and as these hOr-
rible sacrifices 10 superstition and
priestcraft were celebrated with some


kind of regard to order, in course of
time q first layer of dead mems re-
mains was formed, then a second,
then a third. 1t is demonstrated be-
yond dispute that the field of the
Quemadero (signifying "a place where
cOnvicts are buried, has been artifi-
cially elevated to its present level, be-
cause the soil is composed of rubbish
mixed with earth; and old wells have
been discovered, the walls of which
have been built up as the surrounding
ground was raised. From these wells,
it is supposed, water was drawn to
give to the victims of the stake. The
last auto dG Je on this lugubrious spot
took place in 1860, on the 10th of May,
when S3 human beings suffered this
awful death. The discovery has crea-
ted a great sensation, and it has been
made at a moment when the clerical
party are struggling to enforce the
unity of the Catholic Church, and
when it is strenuously denying the
horrors of its past history, and assert
ing that Rome has always been the
most tolerant of all other creeds.


This discovery contributed greatly
to the victory of the friends of religious
liberty in the Cortes. Senior Echega-
ry, in a speech hardly less eloquent
than that of CASTELAR,, already printed
in our columns, declared:


"In those alternate layers of the
Quemadero de la Cruz you will see a
stratum of coal impregnated with
human fat, and after that the remains
of calcined bones, and after that a
layer of sand which has been thrown
there to cover up these remains; and
then another layer of coal, and anOth-
er of bones, and then another of sand,
and so continues the horrible mass
Not many days ago, and vouch for
the fact, boy with a stick happened
to be poking into this mass, and drew
forth from these layers three objects
of eloquence-three grand discourses
in favor of religious liberty! These
were a piece of OXydized iron, hui
man rib almost calcined, and braid
of hair burned at one extremity [Sen-
sation. These constitute three very
eloquent arguments! wish the Dep
uties who defend religious unity
would submit them to a severe inter
rogation. l would like them to ask
that hair braid how the cold sweat
oozed from its roots, and how it stood
erect on the head of the victim as the
flames crept up to it. / would like
them to ask that poor rib how the
heart of the unhappy Jew palpitated
against it. 1 would like them to ask
that piece of iron, which perhaps was
q gag. how many dolorous CALCULATIONS,
how many cries of anguish it stifled,
and how it became OXydiZed by re-
ceiving and retaining the blOod-im-
pregEated breath of the victim, so
that even the hard iron had more
bowels of compassion and was more
humane and tender hearted than the
infamous eXecutioner of that infa-
nous theocracy ~