orce it. Those who are confined in the
dungeons of the Inquisition are kept separate; it is a very uncommon
thing to put two together: it is only done when it is considered that
the prolonged solitude of the dungeon has created such a depression
of spirits as to endanger the life of the party. Perpetual silence is
enjoined and strictly kept. Those who wail or weep, or even pray, in
their utter darkness, are forced by blows to be quiet. The cries
and shrieks of those who suffer from this chastisement, or from
the torture, are carried along the whole length of the corridors,
terrifying those who, in solitude and darkness, are anticipating the
same fate.

The first question put to a person arrested by the Inquisition, is
a demand, "What is his property?" He is desired to make an exact
declaration of everything that he is worth, and swear to the truth of
his assertions; being informed that, if there is any reservation on
his part (although he may be at that time innocent of the charges
produced against him),--he will, by his concealment, have incurred the
wrath of the Inquisition; and that, if discharged for the crime he is
accused of, he will again be arrested for having taken a false oath to
the Inquisition; that, if innocent, his property will be safe, and not
interfered with. It is not without reason that this demand is made. If
a person accused confesses his crime, he is, in most cases, eventually
allowed to go free, but all his property becomes confiscated.

By the rules of the Inquisition, it is made to appear as if those
condemned have the show of justice; for, although two witnesses are
sufficient to warrant the apprehension of any individual, seven are
necessary to convict him; but as the witnesses are never confronted
with the prisoners, and torture is often applied to the witnesses, it
is not difficult to obtain the number required. Many a life is falsely
sworn away by the witness, that he may save his own. The chief crimes
which are noticed by the Inquisition are those of sorcery, heresy,
blasphemy, and what is called Judaism.

To comprehend the meaning of this last crime, for which more people
have suffered from the Inquisition than for any other, the reader must
be informed, that when Ferdinand and Isabella of Castile drove all the
Jews out of Spain, they fled to Portugal, where they were received on
the sole condition that they should embrace Christianity: this they
consented, or appeared to consent, to d