ich is
constructed on the outside, opposite the Waag or Weigh House.

As associate of one of the Magistrates, I often visited the Dungeons
beneath the Stadt House, which are hermetically Sealed unto all
Strangers. As places of Confinement, nothing can be more secure; as
places of punishment, nothing more Horrible. Here, by the faint light of
a Rush Candle, you gaze only on Emaciated Figures, while out of the Dark
Shadows issue faint but dismal Groans. Some are here condemned to linger
for Life; yet have I known convicted Creatures in this Rat's hole as
merry as French Dancing-Masters, whistling, trolling, and gambolling in
the Dark; while in the next cell were a number of Women, who, like the
general of their sex when in Durance, did nothing but Yell and tear
their Clothes to Pieces. But 'tis true that all confined in these
dreadful places had committed crimes of a very Malignant nature, and
which heartily warranted their being thus cut off from Light and Air,
and immured in Regions fit only to be Receptacles for the Dead. Under
the Hall of Justice is likewise the Torture Chamber, where Miserable
Creatures, at the bidding of their Barbarous Judges, undergo a variety
of Torments; one of which is to fasten the Hands behind the Neck with a
cord through pulleys secured to the vaulted Ceiling, so as to be jerked
up and down. Weights of Fifty Pounds each are then suspended to the
Feet, until anguish overpowers the senses, and a Confession of Guilt is
heard to quiver on the lips. Public Punishments are inflicted only Four
Times a Year, when a vast Scaffold is erected in the Space between the
Stadt House and Waag House, as before mentioned. Those that are only to
be Whipped endure that compliment with Merciless Severity, and are not
permitted to Retire till those who are to Die have suffered, which is
either by Decapitation or by the Rope. And this acts as a Warning as to
what will happen to 'em next time. On this occasion the Chief
Magistrates attend in their Robes. But though Strict, they are mighty
Just in administering their Laws, and will not permit the least
deviation or aggravation of the Sentence meted out. I did hear of one
jocular Rogue, that was condemned, for the murder of half-a-dozen women
and children, to have his Head severed from the Trunk at one stroke of
the Sword. This Mynheer Merry-Andrew, previous to quitting the Prayer
Chamber, lays a Wager with a Friend that the Executioner should not be
able to perform