soner to fix a charge of heresy. Now he fawns, and then he frowns; now sooths, and then looks dark and angry; sometimes effects to pity and to pray, at other times insults and bullies, and talks of racks and dungeons, flames, and the damnation of hell. One while he lays his hand upon his heart, and sheds tears, and promises, and protests he desires not the death of a sinner, but would rather that he would turn and live; and all that he can do he will do for the discharge, aye, for the preferment of his imprisoned brother. Another while he discovers himself deaf as a rock, false as the wind,and cruel as the poison of asps. To convince the unprejudiced (in which number every one must be included, who is not irrecoverably immersed in the bottomless gulphs of popery, and nursed up in its true spirit of persecution) that this is the genuine character of ministers of that tribunal, we hope the following pages will amply suffice, of whose authenticity there never hath been the least shadow of suspicion. We shall now treat of the inquisitors and their practices, and as we shall state nothing but THE TRUTH, we shall confine ourselves merely to describing the practices of the inquisitors resident at Saragoza, of whose conduct we have the most ample information, founded on facts. The Inquisition of Saragoza is composed of three inquisitors, who are absolute judges; for from their judgment there is no appeal, not even to the pope, nor to a general council, as doth appear from what happened in the time of king Philip II. when, the inquisitors having censured the cardinal of Toledo, the pope sent for the process and sentence, but the inquisitors did not obey him; and, though the council of Trent dis charged the cardinal, they, notwithstanding, insisted on the performance and execution of their sentence. The first inquisitor is a divine, the second a casuist, and the third a civilian. The first and second are always priests, and promoted from prebends to the high dignity of being holy inquisitors. The third, sometimes is not a priest, though he is drest in a clerical habit. The three inquisitors in my time, (says the Rev. A. Gavin, to whom we are indebted for the following account,) were, first, Don Pedro Guerrero, second, Don Francisco Torrejon, third, Don Antonio Aliaga. This tribunal hath a high sheriff, and God knows how many constables and under officers, besides the officers that belong to the house, and that live in it, they have always as many executioners we may say as officers and judges, &c. Besides these, there are many qualificators, and fami liars, of which I shall give an account by themselves. The inquisitors have a despotic power to command every living soul, and no excuse is to be given, nor contradiction to be made to their orders; nay, the people have not liberty to speak nor complain in their misfortunes, and therefore there is a proverb which says, Con la Inquisition chiton, viz. Do not meddle with the Inquisition;-or, As to the Inquisition say nothing. This will be better understood by the following account of the method they make use of for the taking up and arresting the people, which is thus: When the inquisitors receive information against anybody, which is always in private, and with such secrecy, that none can know who the informer is, (for all the informations are given at night) they send their officers to the house of the accused, most commonly at midnight, and in a coach; they knock at the door, (and then perhaps all the family is in bed) and when anybody asks G2 from the window, Who is there? the officers say, The Holy Inquisition. At this word, the person receiving the answer, without any delay or noise, or even the liberty of giving timely notice to the master of the house, comes down to open the door. I say without the liberty of giving timely notice, for when the Inquisitors send their officers, they are sure, by the spies, that the person is within; and if they do not find the accused, they take up the whole family, and carry them to the Inquisition; so the person answered is, with good reason, afraid of making any delay in opening of the the street door. Then they go upstairs and arrest the accused, without telling a word, or hearing a word from any of the family, and, with great silence putting the person into the carriage, they drive off to the holy prison.. If the neighbours, by chance, hear the noise of the coach, they dare not go to the window, for it is well known that |