“I got acquainted with several jewellers and other persons of credit in Lisbon, whose generous offers I accepted, having a prospect of supporting my family and of a competency, could I but have escaped the cruel inquisitors. They have assumed so formidable a power in Spain and Portugal, as to encroach on the privilege of kings, and stop, at the post-office, the letters of all whom they suspect. In this manner I was served a year before the inquisitors ordered me to be seized, in order to discover the secrets of freemasonry. They did not find that it struck at the Romish religion, or tended to disturb the government—still they concluded to seize one of the chief freemasons of Lisbon; and I was pitched upon as master of a lodge, and Mr. A. J. Mouton, a diamond cutter, born at Paris, and a Romanist. He had been six years at Lisbon, a housekeeper in the city, where his integrity gained him the approbation of all.
“We did not know that our art was forbidden in Portugal, and we were discovered by the barbarous zeal of a lady at confession. The officers of the Inquisition engaged a jeweller, a familiar of the Holy Office, to send for Mr. Mouton on pretence of mending a diamond weighing four carats. This was a mere pretence to know the person of Mouton. I happened to be with him, which gave the jeweller the highest joy. He made his report to the inquisitors; and, two days after, Mr. Mouton went alone to fetch the diamond, computed to be worth a hundred moidores. This familiar had five subalterns of the Inquisition with him; and having ledhim into the back shop, they seized him as a prisoner in the king’s name.
“Being sensible that he had not committed any crime, so as to incur his Portuguese majesty’s displeasure, he gave up his sword, when several familiars fell upon him, and declared that they arrested him in the name of the Inquisition. Forbidding him to murmur, they dragged him to a small chaise at the back-door, and conveyed him to prison in the Inquisition, and spread a report that he was gone off with the diamond. His friends, shocked at the slander, went and offered full payment to the jeweller, who declined the amount, pretending that the owner was very wealthy.
“Four days after, I was betrayed by a Portuguese friend, and nine officers of the Inquisition seized me, March 5, 1743, pretending I had passed my word for the diamond which Mr. Mouton had taken. In vain was my attempt at justification: the wretches took away my sword, handcuffed me, and forced me into a chaise. They commanded me not to open my lips; but I called aloud to a friend. They forced me into the prison, and delivered me to one of the officers of the pretended holy place. This officer bid the guards to search me, and take away all the gold, silver, papers, knives, scissors, buckles, &c., about me. They then led me into a lonely dungeon, expressly forbidding me to speak loud. It was then that, struck with all the horrors of the place, I plunged into the blackest melancholy. I passed a whole day and two nights in these terrors, heightened at every interval by the complaints, the dismal cries, and hollow groans, echoing through these dreadful mansions, of several other prisoners, my neighbours, and which the silence of the night made infinitely more shocking. These threescore hours appeared to me like so many years. However, I endeavoured to arm my soul with patience. I considered that, being a Protestant, I should inevitably feel all that rage and barbarous zeal could infuse into the breast of monks, who cruelly gloried in committing to the flames great numbers of ill-fated victims, whose only crime was differing from them in religious opinions.
“In a few days, after having been shaved, and had my hair cut by their order, I was led, bareheaded, to the president and four inquisitors, who bid me kneel and swear to speak truly to all questions they should ask. They informed me that the diamond was only a pretence to get an opportunity of seizing me. I now besought them to let me know the true cause of my imprisonment; that having been born and educated in the Protestant religion, I had been taught to confess myself to God and not to man. They declared that a confession would be forced from me. They gave orders for my being conveyed into another deep dungeon; I was overwhelmed with grief, and gave myself up entirely for lost.
“During my stay in this dungeon I was taken three times before the Inquisition, and I fell sick. A physician visited me, and another prisoner was sent to attend me in another dungeon, into which some glimmerings of daylight were admitted. Having recovered, I was sentenced to suffer the torturesemployed by the Holy Office. I was conveyed to the torture room, where no light appeared but what two candles gave; and, to prevent the dreadful cries and shocking groans of the unhappy victims from reaching the ears of the other prisoners, the doors are lined with a sort of quilt.
“I was seized with horror, when, at my entering this infernal place, I saw myself surrounded by six wretches, who stripped me naked all to my drawers, and laid me on my back. First, they put round my neck an iron collar, which was fastened to the scaffold; they then fixed a ring to each foot; and this being done, they wound two ropes, the thickness of one’s little finger, round each arm, and two round each thigh, passing under the scaffold, through holes, and drawn tight by four men. My pains were intolerable; the ropes pierced through my flesh quite to the bone, making the blood gush out of eight different places. I persisted in refusing to discover any more; the ropes were drawn together four times; but suspended at intervals, by order of the physician and surgeon in attendance.
“While thus suffering, they barbarously declared that, if I died under torture, I should be guilty of self-murder. And the last time of suffering I fainted, and was carried to my dungeon unperceiving it. Finding that the more they made me suffer, the more I supplicated patience from heaven, these barbarians exposed me to another kind of torture. They made me stretch my arms so that the palms of my hands were turned outwards; when, by a rope that fastened them together at the wrist, and which they turned by an engine, they drew them in such a manner that the back of each hand touched; both my shoulders were dislocated, and a considerable quantity of blood issued from my mouth. This torture was repeated thrice, after which, the physician and surgeons, in setting my bones, put me to exquisite pain in my dungeon.
“Two months after, being a little recovered, I was again conveyed to the torture room, where they turned round my body a thick iron chain, which, crossing my stomach, terminated at my wrists. They next set my back against a thick board, at each extremity of which was a pulley, through which there was a rope run, that caught the ends of the chains at my wrists. These ropes, by means of a roller, pressed or bruised my stomach, so that my wrists and shoulders were put out of joint. The surgeons set my bones presently, and the barbarians made me undergo this torture a second time, which I bore with equal constancy. I was remanded to my dungeon, attended by the surgeons, who dressed my bruises; and here I continued till theirauto da fé.
“Nine different times they put me to the torture, when most of my limbs were put out of joint, and bruised in such a manner that I was unable, during some weeks, to lift my hand to my mouth. I fear that I shall feel the effect of this cruelty so long as I live; being seized from time to time with thrilling pains, with which I never was afflicted tillI fell into the merciless and bloody hands of the inquisitors.
“The day of theauto da fébeing come, I was made to walk in the procession with the other victims of this tribunal. At St. Dominic’s church my sentence was read, of being condemned to the galleys during four years. Four days after I was conveyed to the galleys; and joined, the next day, in the occupation of my fellow-slaves. However, the liberty I had of speaking to my friends, after having been deprived of the sight of them during my wretched abode in the prison of the Inquisition, the open air, and being freed from the apprehensions which always overspread my mind, made me find the toil of the galley more supportable.
“By the tortures inflicted on me in the Inquisition, I was unfit for the painful labour allotted me, viz., the carrying water to the prisons of the city; but fear of the inhumanity of the overseers caused me to exert myself, and I fell sick. I was then sent to the infirmary for two months; when I was visited by the first friars of the convent of Corpo Santo, who offered to get my release, provided I would turn Roman Catholic. I assured them that I expected my enlargement from the Almighty; and having leisure, I desired a friend to write to my brother-in-law, Mr. Barber, informing him of my deplorable state, and entreating him to address the Earl of Harrington in my favour, he having the honour to live in his lordship’s family. This nobleman spoke to his grace the Duke of Newcastle, secretary of state, supplicatingleave from our sovereign that his minister at Lisbon might demand me, as a subject of Great Britain.
“His majesty was so gracious as to interpose in my favour. Mr. Compton, the British minister at Lisbon, demanded my liberty of the king of Portugal, in the name of his Britannic majesty; and I obtained it in the latter end of October, 1744. The officer took me from the galley by order of the inquisitors, and brought me before them, when the president told me that Cardinal de Cunha had ordered my release, but I must return in three days.
“I could perceive that the spies of the Inquisition followed me. I waited upon our envoy, and our consul; and five days after I returned to the inquisitors, when the president declared that the tribunal would not permit me to continue any longer in Portugal, and that I must name the city and kingdom whither I intended to retire. I replied that, ‘as my family is in London, I design to go thither;’ and they bid me embark in the first ship that should sail for England.”
Mr. Coustos was kindly received by the Dutch admiral on board his ship, then in the port of Lisbon, and he permitted him to send for his friend, Mr. Mouton, being affected with the relation of their sufferings. They arrived in London, December 15th, 1744. He adds,
“I here return thanks, with all the power of my soul, to the Almighty, for his having so visibly protected me from that infernal band of friars,who employed their various tortures to force me to apostatise from my holy religion. I return our sovereign, George II., the most dutiful and respectful thanks for his so graciously interposing in favour of an ill-fated galley-slave. I shall retain, so long as I have breath, the deepest sensation of affection and loyalty for his sacred person, and will ever be ready to expose my life for his majesty and his august family.”
Mr. Bower.—Mr. Archibald Bower was not so much a victim as to be subjected to the torture, as he was enabled to escape from the power of the inquisitors; but his biography illustrates the character of the Inquisition. He was born in 1686, near Dundee, in Scotland. His parents being Roman Catholics, sent him, at the age of five years, to an uncle in Italy, for education. First at Douay, and then at Rome, his progress was uncommon. He became a Jesuit, and was appointed professor of rhetoric and logic, in the college of Macerata, in Italy. In this city he became intimate with the inquisitor-general of the Holy Office, from whom he received preferment as a counsellor to the Inquisition. There were twelve counsellors, each of whom had a residence, with about £200 per annum, besides extensive privileges.
On being installed into office, he received a manuscript book of directions for inquisitors, for his private guidance. These rules required the extremes of inhumanity; and his attendance on the trials of the Holy Office he found most agonising, so that he frequently uttered exclamations of horror.Though not suspected, the inquisitor-general, on one occasion, in great warmth, striking the table, remarked, “Mr. Bower, you always object to the evidence.” At another time, looking on the face of a wretched victim undergoing the torture, he perceived symptoms of death, and fainted, when he was carried out of the hall; and on his return he was reproved by the chief-inquisitor, alleging that “what is done to the body is for the good of the soul.” Mr. Bower excused himself, urging “the weakness of his nature, which he could not help.” “Nature!” exclaimed the inquisitor, “you must overcome nature by grace!” But the colloquy ceased, as the miserable victim died at that moment under the torment!
While considering how he might escape from this horrid office, Mr. Bower was required to “conquer nature,” by the arrest of a nobleman, who was a personal friend. His alleged crime was some trifling expression regarding the particular garb of two friars, one of whom denounced him to the Inquisition. Being ordered to arrest his best friend in Macerata, he remonstrated with the inquisitor-general, urging, “My lord, you know the connexion—;” when the inquisitor, with all the sternness of his official character, interrupted him,—“Connexion! what, talk ofconnexionwhen the holy faith is concerned?” And, as he withdrew, he ordered, “See that it be done; the guards shall wait without;” adding, “this is the way to conquer nature, Mr. Bower.” Unable to save or to warn his friend, he proceeded with the guards, obtainedadmittance to his residence and to his bed-room, and found both the nobleman and his lady asleep. The lady awaking, shrieked on seeing the strangers, when one of the ruffian officers gave her a blow on the head, which was followed by blood. The nobleman was astonished at being thus arrested by his friend, but dared not to reproach him; while Bower could not look him in the face, in performing so shameful an act.
Mr. Bower announced the arrest, next morning, as he delivered the key to the chief-inquisitor, who commended him,—“This is done like one who is desirous of conquering the weakness of nature.” The nobleman was soon subjected to torture by the pulley, and died in three days after its infliction. His estates were then confiscated to the Inquisition, a small pension only being allowed to his widow, to whom the inquisitor wrote, desiring her to pray for the soul of her deceased husband, at the same time warning her against complaining of injustice or cruelty against the Holy Office.
Mr. Bower could endure his situation no longer, and he resolved on attempting his escape from Italy. He, therefore, solicited permission to make a pilgrimage to the house of the Virgin Mary, at Loretto; and this being granted by the inquisitor-general, he proceeded with his portmanteau, on horseback, concealing his valuable papers. He took his course through the Adriatic States for Switzerland; but the papers that he had taken with him were soon missed by the inquisitor-general, who offered a reward for his head of about £600 inEnglish money, or £800, if brought alive to the Inquisition. His danger became imminent through this proclamation; as he found in a post-house a copy of it, and two of his countrymen, to one of whom he was known. He challenged the man, and threatened him; and mounting his horse, escaped, so that after many difficulties he reached Calais. At the hotel he found two Jesuits, who wore the red cross of the Inquisition; when he hastily left the room, and found that the packet would be three days before it sailed for England. He applied to a fisherman, who dared not venture to cross the Channel; and he was in agony, especially when on his return he was told by his hostess, in reply to his inquiry for the Jesuits, “Oh, Sir, I am sorry to inform you that they are upstairs, searching your portmanteau.” At that moment he heard voices talking loudly in another room, and, supposing them to be English, he entered, and recognised in one Lord Baltimore, whom he had seen at Rome. He entreated his protection, but that nobleman exclaimed, “Mr. Bower, you are undone; I cannot protect you: they are searching your apartment.” However, he and his friends guarded him to their boat; and, with four pairs of oars, soon reached a yacht that was taking a short cruise; and the wind being fair, they conveyed him safely to Dover.
Mr. Bower now relinquished his former religion, conformed to the church of England, and married. He became tutor in the family of Lord Aylmer, and found a generous patron in Lord Lyttleton. Numerous enemies from among the Catholicsbrought grievous accusations against him; but he vindicated himself from their slanders, and gained himself a high reputation by several literary works, especially his “Lives of the Popes,” in seven volumes quarto. He died in England, in the year 1766, as is believed, a sincere Protestant.
State of the Inquisition of Goa—Dr. Dellon’s sufferings in the Inquisition—Dr. Buchanan’s visit to Goa.
Portuguese bigotry completely triumphed in Goa. In its prosperity, nothing in India could be compared with it in grandeur. The capital was a city of churches: one of which was erected with extraordinary magnificence, in honour of Francis Xavier, “the Apostle of the Indies,” as he is called by the Romanists, as he died there,A.D.1552.
This once celebrated city is now nearly deserted by all except the priests; and the country, once populous, is reduced to a few thinly inhabited villages. Their inhabitants are mostly baptised into the Romish faith: and a pagan native, or Mohammedan, is not suffered to live in the city; but the wretched people, sunk in superstition, are deplorably ignorant of Christianity.
Already we have seen (Chap. VIII.) how theInquisition was established at Goa, by Cardinal Henry, at the request of Francis Xavier, under John III., king of Portugal. Its operations, in cruelty and terror, were like those of kindred establishments in Europe, sacrificing multitudes of its victims in prison, and many in public, by theauto da fé. But these will appear best in their true character, from the account given by Dellon.
Dr. Dellon was a French physician, who travelled in India. For some time, in the year 1673, he resided at Damuan, a city of Goa, belonging to the Portuguese. From his conversation, he was found to be not a strict Catholic; and he was, therefore, accused to the inquisitors. Apprehending that a process would be issued against him, he waited on the commissary, accused himself, and professed his desire to conform to the wishes of the holy court. He was known to that officer, and treated by him with courtesy; so that he was led to suppose that he was in no danger; but the priests contrived his ruin, through jealousy of him, in visiting a lady of that place, a favourite of the governor of Damuan, and also of the black priest, the secretary to the Inquisition.
Dellon was arrested by the inquisitors, and thrown into prison. In vain he made application to be informed of the cause of his arrest, or to obtain release, or a trial. No attention would be paid to his case until after theauto da fé, then about to be celebrated. He was designed for the next horrid festival, in about three months; and accordingly he was kept in the damp and loathsomeprison, which was destitute of conveniences, and swarmed with vermin. From this place he was taken on board of a galley, loaded with irons, and conveyed to Goa, where he was secured in the prison of the Inquisition, which is thus described by Dellon:—
“The Palace of the Inquisition, called by the Portuguese, ‘Santa Casa,’ or ‘The Holy House,’ is situated on one side of the great square, opposite to the cathedral dedicated to St. Catherine. It is extensive and magnificent; in the front are three entrances, of which the centre is the largest, and opens upon the grand staircase ascending to the hall. The two other portals severally lead to the apartments of the inquisitors, which are sufficiently commodious for considerable establishments. Within are various apartments for the officers of the house, and passing through the interior there is a vast edifice, divided into distinct masses, or squares of buildings, of two stories each, separated by small courts. In each story is a gallery, resembling a dormitory, containing seven or eight small chambers, ten feet square; the whole number of which is about two hundred. In one of these dormitories the cells are dark, being without windows, and smaller and lower than the rest; as I had occasion to know, from the circumstance of having been taken to see them, on complaining that I was too rigorously treated, in order to satisfy me that I might fare worse. The rest of the cells are square, vaulted, whitewashed, clean, and lighted by a small grated window, placed at a height above the reachof the tallest man. All the walls are five feet thick. Every chamber is secured by two doors, one opening inwards, and the other without; the inner door is made in two divisions, is strong, well-fitted, and opened by the lower half, in the manner of a grate; in the upper part there is a little window, through which the prisoners receive their food, linen, and other things. There is a door to this opening, guarded by strong bolts. The outer door is neither so thick nor so strong as the other, but it is entire, and without any aperture. It is usually left open from six o’clock in the morning till eleven, in order to ventilate the chamber through the crevices of the inner doors.”
Dellon, on entering the Inquisition, had his irons taken off; and shortly after he was called before the inquisitor, seated at a table with his secretary, in the audience chamber; at the end of which was a large crucifix, reaching to the ceiling. Dellon cast himself at the feet of the dread officer, to move his pity, but in vain. He bid him rise, and take his seat; and then inquired his name and profession, and whether he knew the cause of his imprisonment? Dellon stated that he supposed he knew the cause, and would acknowledge it; but the inquisitor put him off for a more leisure season, as matters of greater consequence claimed his present regard. He was led to his cell; and his chest being brought, an inventory was made of the several articles of his property. Everything was taken from him, except his clothes, and a few pieces of gold, which he had sewed up in his garters; buthe was assured that all would be restored on his release. In his cell he was not allowed the use of any book, or any means of amusement; though he was supplied with sufficient food, and the guards, who watched by day and night, sleeping in the galleries, were ready to attend at his calls.
After a considerable time, he was brought up again to the audience chamber, having his head, feet, and legs naked. Being sworn to declare the truth, and urged to confess all his errors, he made confession of all that he had spoken against the Catholic forms of religion. He signed this confession, as it had been written down, and then was led back to his cell. Twice more was he brought before the tribunal, but without any advantage to him; and he attempted suicide, by abstinence from food. Recollecting some other expressions that he had used respecting the Holy Office, he obtained permission to declare them; but this not satisfying the inquisitors; he was remanded again to his dungeon. He sunk into despair, and again attempted suicide by various means. Having feigned illness, he was bled by a native doctor; but the black physician having left him, he tore off the bandages for the blood to escape, and sunk almost to death. Of this he repented, and made confession; but he then broke one of his pieces of gold, and, having sharpened it, he opened an artery with it, that he might bleed fatally. This failed; when they put a collar on his neck, and heavily ironed his arms and legs, to prevent such attempts in future. In despair, he dashed his head againstthe ground; but his guards kept watch over him, and soothed him with kind expressions and the hope of speedy release.
Dellon waited in hope of the nextauto da fé; and, after a length of time, he was roused one night by the gaolers, bearing lights. Having dressed himself, and put on a black garment striped with white lines, and a pair of drawers, which they had brought for him, he was led into the galleries, where he joined about two hundred other prisoners, all ranged against the walls. They were mostly coloured men, there being only about twelve white persons among them. There were female prisoners in another gallery; and several men in a cell, with their confessors exhorting them to return to the true faith, as they were to be burnt as heretics. TheSan-benitoesand pasteboard hats were then brought for the several prisoners, each carrying a yellow wax-light. Some bread and figs being supplied to the prisoners while they sat waiting for the procession, but Dellon refusing them, as not being hungry, he was urged by the officer to put them in his pocket, as he would need them before he returned to his cell. By this he was somewhat comforted; as he inferred that he was not doomed to suffer in the fire.
At day-break, the citizens of Goa were summoned to assist in theauto da fé, by the tolling of the great bell in the cathedral; and these being assembled, the prisoners were marched singly through the hall, where each was given in charge to an inhabitant, who was responsible for his safety, as his“godfather.” The procession, headed by the Dominicans, was led through the principal streets of the city; and the ceremonies of this shocking exhibition were similar to those which were used in Portugal and Spain.
Dellon being pronounced guilty of having denied the efficacy of baptism, and of asserting that images ought not to be worshipped, he was sentenced to excommunication, to forfeiture of his goods, to banishment from the Indies, and to slavery in the Portuguese galleys for five years, besides penances at the pleasure of the Inquisition.
Two persons, a black man and woman, native Christians, but accused of sorcery, were burnt on this occasion, besides effigies and the bones offourothers; of whom, one had died in the Inquisition, and another had closed his life in his own house, but having left large property, the inquisitors had his bones disinterred for a trial, when he was brought in guilty of Judaism; so that his property was confiscated. The victims were burnt on the banks of the river, and the rest were conducted back again to prison, to be disposed of in various punishments, by those pretended ministers of the merciful Redeemer.
Dellon, being sentenced, was sent the next day to a religious house for instruction. Penances were prescribed for him by the inquisitors, and he was sent to Portugal, where he was made a galley-slave; but having met with a French gentleman of consequence, he obtained his services in seeking his liberty, which was procured by the government, and he succeeded in escaping back to France.
Dellon’s testimony regarding himself indicates nothing of his being tortured in the prison at Goa; but he states that he could frequently hear the cries of those who were made so to suffer in that horrid Inquisition.
DR. C. BUCHANAN AT THE INQUISITION OF GOA.
Dr. Claudius Buchanan, chaplain to the East India Company, and vice-provost of the college of Fort William, in Bengal, visited Goa in 1808. His objects were,—“1.To ascertain whether the Inquisition actually refused to recognise the Bible among the Romish churches in British India.2.To inquire into the state and jurisdiction of the Inquisition, particularly as it affected British subjects.” On account of his high character, and as a friend of Colonel Adams, the British resident, he was received politely by the Portuguese viceroy, Count de Cabral, and by the Archbishop of Goa. Colonel Adams thought he exposed himself to danger; since everything relating to that court was kept so secretly, that the most respectable of the Portuguese laity were held in ignorance of its proceedings; while the viceroy had no authority over its officers.
Dr. Buchanan proceeded to fulfil his intention; and he was received, January 19, 1808, very courteously, at the convent of the Augustinians, by Josepha Doloribus, the second in dignity of theinquisitors. “Apartments were assigned to me,” he remarks, “in the college adjoining the convent, next to the rooms of the Inquisition. Next day after my arrival I was introduced to the Archbishop of Goa. We found him reading the Latin letters of St. Francis Xavier. On my adverting to the long duration of the city of Goa, while other cities of Europeans in India had suffered from war or revolution, the archbishop observed, that the preservation of Goa was owing to the prayers of St. Francis Xavier.
“On the same day I received an invitation to dine with the chief-inquisitor, at his house in the country. The second inquisitor accompanied me, and we found a respectable company of priests and a sumptuous entertainment. In the library of the chief-inquisitor I saw a register, containing the present establishment of the Inquisition at Goa, and the names of all the officers. On my asking the chief-inquisitor whether the establishment was as extensive as formerly, he said it was nearly the same. I had hitherto said little to any person concerning the Inquisition, but I had indirectly gleaned much information concerning it, not only from the inquisitors themselves, but from certain priests, whom I had visited at their respective convents; particularly from a father in the Franciscan convent, who had himself witnessed anauto da fé.
“January 27th, 1808. On the second morning after my arrival, I was surprised by my host, the inquisitor, coming into my apartment clothed inblack robesfrom head to foot, for the usual dressof his order is white. He said he was going to sit on the tribunal of the Holy Office. ‘I presume, father, your august office does not occupy much of your time?’ ‘Yes,’ answered he, ‘very much. I sit on the tribunal three or four days every week.’
“In the evening he came in as usual, to pass an hour in my apartment. After some conversation, I took the pen in my hand to write a note in my journal; and, as if to amuse him, while I was writing, I took Dellon’s book, which was lying with some others on the table, and, handing it across to him, asked him whether he had ever seen it. It was in the French language, which he understood well. ‘Relation de l’Inquisition de Goa,’ pronounced he, with a slow and articulate voice. He had never seen it before, and he began to read it with eagerness. He had not proceeded far, before he betrayed evident symptoms of uneasiness. He turned hastily to the middle of the book, and then to the end, and then ran over the table of contents at the beginning, as if to ascertain the full extent of the evil.
“It was on this night that a circumstance happened which caused my first alarm at Goa. My servants slept every night at my chamber door, in the long gallery which is common to all the apartments, and not far distant from the servants of the convent. About midnight I was awaked by loud shrieks and expressions of terror, from some person in the gallery. In the first moment of surprise, I concluded it must be thealguazilsof the HolyOffice, seizing my servants to carry them to the Inquisition. But, on going out, I saw my own servants standing at the door, and the person who had caused the alarm (a boy of about fourteen), at a little distance, surrounded by some of the priests, who had come out of their cells on hearing the noise. The boy said he had seen aspectre; and it was a considerable time before the agitation of his body and voice subsided. Next morning, at breakfast, the inquisitor apologised for the disturbance, and said the boy’s alarm proceeded from a ‘phantasma animi,’ a phantasm of the imagination.
“After breakfast we resumed the subject of the Inquisition. The inquisitor admitted that Dellon’s descriptions of thedungeons, of thetorture, of themode of trial, and of theauto da fé, were, in general, just; but he said the writer judged untruly of the motives of the inquisitors, and very uncharitably of the character of the holy church; and I admitted that, under the pressure of his peculiar sufferings, this might possibly be the case. The inquisitor was now anxious to know to what extent Dellon’s book had been circulated in Europe. I told him that Picart had published to the world extracts from it, in his celebrated work called ‘Religious Ceremonies,’ together with plates of the system of torture and burnings at theauto da fé. I added, that it was now generally believed in Europe that these enormities no longer existed, and that the Inquisition itself had been totally suppressed; but that I was concerned to find that this was not the case. He now began a grave narration, to show that theInquisition had undergone a change in some respects, and that its terrors were mitigated.
“I had already discovered, from written or printed documents, that the Inquisition of Goa was suppressed by royal edict in the year 1775, and established again in 1779. The Franciscan father before mentioned witnessed the annualauto da fé, from 1770 to 1775. ‘It was the humanity and tender mercy of a good king,’ said the old father, ‘which abolished the Inquisition.’ But, immediately on his death, the power of the priests acquired the ascendant under the queen dowager, and the tribunal was re-established, after a bloodless interval of five years. It has continued in operation ever since. It was restored in 1779, subject to certain restrictions, the chief of which are the two following:—
“‘That a greater number of witnesses should be required to convict a criminal than were before necessary; and,
“‘That theauto da féshould not be held publicly as before; but that the sentences of the tribunal should be executed privately, within the walls of the Inquisition.’
“In this particular, the constitution of the new Inquisition is more reprehensible than that of the old one; for, as the old father expressed it, ‘Nuno sigillum non revelat Inquisitio.’ Formerly, the friends of those unfortunate persons who were thrown into its prison, had the melancholy satisfaction of seeing them once a year walking in the procession of theauto da fé; or, if they were condemned to die, they witnessed their death, andmourned for the dead. But now they have no means of learning, for years, whether they be dead or alive. The policy of this new mode of concealment appears to be this,—to preserve the power of the Inquisition, and at the same time to lessen the public odium of its proceedings, in the presence of British dominion and civilisation. I asked the father his opinion concerning the nature and frequency of the punishments within the walls. He said he possessed no certain means of giving a satisfactory answer; that everything transacted there was declared to besacrum et secretum. But this he knew to be true, that there were constantly captives in the dungeons; that some of them are liberated after long confinement; but that they never speak afterwards of what passed within the place. He added, that of all the persons he had known, who had been liberated, he never knew one who did not carry about with him what might be called ‘The mark of the Inquisition;’ that is to say, who did not show, in the solemnity of his countenance, or in his peculiar demeanour, or his terror of the priests, that he had been in that dreadful place.
“The chief argument of the inquisitor to prove the melioration of the Inquisition was thesuperior humanityof the inquisitors. I remarked, that I did not doubt the humanity of the existing officers; but what availed humanity in an inquisitor? He must pronounce sentence according to thelaws of the tribunal, which are notorious enough; and arelapsed hereticmust be burnt in the flames, orconfined for life in a dungeon, whether the inquisitor be humane or not. ‘But if,’ said I, ‘you would satisfy my mind completely on this subject, show me the Inquisition.’ He said, it was not permitted to any person to see the Inquisition. I observed, that mine might be considered as a peculiar case; that the character of the Inquisition, and the expediency of its longer continuance, had been called in question; that I had myself written on the civilisation of India, and might possibly publish something more upon that subject; and that it could not be expected that I should pass over the Inquisition without notice, knowing what I did of its proceedings; at the same time, I should not wish to state a single fact without his authority, or at least his admission of its truth. I added, that he himself had been pleased to communicate with me very fully on the subject, and that in all our discussions we had both been actuated, I hoped, by a good purpose. The countenance of the inquisitor evidently altered on receiving this intimation, nor did it ever after wholly regain its wonted frankness and placidity. After some hesitation, however, he said he would take me with him to the Inquisition, the next day. I was a good deal surprised at this acquiescence of the inquisitor, but I did not know what was in his mind.
“When I left the forts, to come up to the Inquisition, Colonel Adams desired me to write to him; and he added, halfway between jest and earnest, ‘If I do not hear from you in three days, I shall march down the 78th and storm the Inquisition.’ This Ipromised to do. But having been so well entertained by the inquisitors I forgot my promise. Accordingly, on the 26th of January, I was surprised by a visit from Major Broomcamp, aide-de-camp to his excellency the viceroy, proposing that I should return every evening and sleep at the forts, on account of theunhealthinessof Goa.
“This morning, the 28th, after breakfast, my host went to dress for the Holy Office, and soon returned in his inquisitorial robes. He said he would go half an hour before the usual time, for the purpose of showing me the Inquisition. I fancied that his countenance was more severe than usual; and that his attendants were not so civil as before. The truth was, themidnight scenewas still on my mind. The Inquisition is about a quarter of a mile distant from the convent, and on our arrival at the place the inquisitor said to me, as we were ascending the steps of the outer stair, that he hoped I should be satisfied with a transient view of the Inquisition, and that I would retire whenever he should desire it. I took this as a good omen, and followed my conductor with tolerable confidence.
“He led me first to the great hall of the Inquisition. We were met at the door by a number of well-dressed persons, who, I afterwards understood, were the familiars and attendants of the Holy Office. They bowed very low to the inquisitor, and looked with surprise at me. The great hall is the place in which the prisoners are marshalled for the procession of theauto da fé. At the procession described by Dellon, in which he himself walked bare-foot, clothedwith the painted garment, there were upwards of one hundred and fifty prisoners. I traversed this hall for some time with a slow step, reflecting on its former scenes; the inquisitor walked by my side in silence. I thought of the fate of the multitude of my fellow-creatures who had passed through this place, condemned by a tribunal of their fellow-sinners—their bodies devoted to the flames, and their souls to perdition; and I could not help saying to him, ‘Would not the holy church wish, in her mercy, to have those souls back again, that she might allow them a little further probation?’ The inquisitor answered nothing, but beckoned me to go with him to a door at one end of the hall. By this door he conducted me to some small rooms, and thence to the spacious apartments of the chief-inquisitor. Having surveyed these, he brought me back again to the great hall, and I thought he seemed now desirous that I should depart. ‘Now, father,’ said I, ‘lead me to the dungeons below; I want to see the captives.’ ‘No,’ said he, ‘that cannot be.’ I now began to suspect that it had been in the mind of the inquisitor, from the beginning, to show me only a certain part of the Inquisition, in the hope of satisfying my inquiries in a general way. I urged him with earnestness, but he steadily resisted, and seemed to be offended, or rather agitated, by my importunity. I intimated to him plainly, that the only way to do justice to his own assertions and arguments, regarding the present state of the Inquisition, was to show me the prisons and the captives. I should then describe only what I saw; but now the subject was left in awful obscurity. ‘Lead me down,’ said I, ‘to the inner building, and let me pass through the two hundred dungeons, ten feet square, described by your former captives. Let me count the number of your present captives, and converse with them. I want to see if there be any subjects of the British government to whom we owe protection. I want to ask how long they have been here—how long it is since they beheld the light of the sun, and whether they ever expect to see it again. Show me the chamber of torture; and declare what modes of execution or of punishment are now practised within the walls of the Inquisition, in lieu of the publicauto da fé. If, after all that has passed, father, you resist this reasonable request, I shall be justified in believing that you are afraid of exposing the real state of the Inquisition in India’. To these observations the inquisitor made no reply, but seemed impatient that I should withdraw. ‘My good father,’ said I, ‘I am about to take my leave of you, and to thank you for your hospitable attentions, (it had been before understood that I should take my final leave at the door of the Inquisition,) and I wish always to preserve on my mind a favourable sentiment of your kindness and candour. You cannot, you say, show me the captives and the dungeons; be pleased, then, merely to answer this question, for I shall believe your word:—‘How many prisoners are there now below, in the cells of the Inquisition?’ The inquisitor replied, ‘That is a question which I cannot answer.’
On his pronouncing these words I retired hastily towards the door, and wished him farewell. We shook hands with as much cordiality as we could at the moment assume; and both of us, I believe, were sorry that our parting took place with a clouded countenance.
“From the Inquisition I went to the place of burning, in theCampo Santo Lazaro, on the riverside, where the victims were brought to the stake at theauto da fé. It is close to the palace, that the viceroy and his court may witness the execution; for it has ever been the policy of the Inquisition to make these spiritual executions the executions of the state. An old priest accompanied me, who pointed out the place, and described the scenes. As I passed over this melancholy plain, I thought of the difference between the pure and benign doctrine, which was first preached to India in the apostolic age, and that bloody code which, after a long night of darkness, was announced to it under the same name. And I pondered on the mysterious dispensation, which permitted the ministers of the Inquisition, with their racks and flames, to visit these lands before the heralds of the Gospel of peace. But the most painful reflection was, that this tribunal should yet exist, unawed by the vicinity of British humanity and dominion.
“I was not satisfied with what I had seen or said at the Inquisition, and I determined to go back again. The inquisitors were now sitting on the tribunal; and I had some excuse for returning, for I was to receive from the chief-inquisitor aletter, which he said he would give me, before I left the place, for the British resident in Travancore, being an answer to a letter from that officer.
“When I arrived at the Inquisition, and had ascended the outer stairs, the door-keepers surveyed me doubtingly, but suffered me to pass, supposing that I had returned by permission and appointment of the inquisitor. I entered the great hall, and went up directly towards the tribunal of the Inquisition, described by Dellon, in which is the lofty crucifix. I sat down on a form, and then desired one of the attendants to carry in my name to the inquisitor. As I walked up the hall, I saw a poor woman sitting by herself, on a bench by the wall, apparently in a disconsolate state of mind. She clasped her hands as I passed, and gave me a look expressive of her distress. This sight chilled my spirits. The familiars told me she was waiting there to be called up before the tribunal of the Inquisition. While I was asking questions concerning her crime, the second inquisitor came out in evident trepidation, and was about to complain of the intrusion, when I informed him I had come back for the letter from the chief-inquisitor. He said it should be sent after me to Goa; and he conducted me with a quick step towards the door. As we passed the poor woman, I pointed to her, and said, with some emphasis, ‘Behold, father, another victim of the holy Inquisition!’ He answered nothing. When we arrived at the head of the great stair, he bowed, and I took my lastleave of Joseph à Doloribus, without uttering a word!”
Dr. Buchanan makes various reflections on his detail of the visit which he paid to this dreadful institution. He states, “The foregoing particulars concerning the Inquisition at Goa, are detailed chiefly with this view—that the English nation may consider, whether there be sufficient ground for presenting a remonstrance to the Portuguese government, on the longer continuance of that tribunal in India; it being notorious, that a great part of the Romish Christians are now under British protection. ‘The Romans,’ says Montesquieu, ‘deserved well of human nature, for making it an article in their treaty with the Carthaginians, thatTHEY SHOULD ABSTAIN FROM SACRIFICING THEIR CHILDREN TO THEIR GODS!’ It is surely our duty to declare our wishes, at least, for the abolition of these inhuman tribunals (since we take an active part in promoting the welfare of other nations), and to deliver our testimony against them in the presence of Europe!”