The history of the Inquisition, as it is exercised at Goa written in French, by the ingenious Monsieur Dellon, who laboured five years under those severities ; with an account of his deliverance ; translated into English.

CHAP. XXV. (Book 25)

Of the Preparations to the Act of Faith, and the diverse Ornaments which are distributed to the Criminals, according to the diversity of their Crimes.

I Had not long time to wait after I had taken the habit which was left for me. These Gentlemen, who had come the first time a little be∣fore Midnight, returned at ••o of the Clock in the morning into my Chamber▪ out of which they led me into a long Gallery, where I found a good number of my Companions in Misery, ranged round about a∣gainst the Wall; I put my self into my place, and there came yet di∣vers after me.

Although there were near 200 Men in this Gallery, as all observed a most profound silence, that in this great number there were not above 12 Europeans, who could hardly be distinguished among the others, and that all were as my self, cloathed with black stuff. One might have ea∣sily taken all these Persons for so many Statutes set against the Wall, if the motion of their eyes, the use of which alone was permitted to them, had not testified them to be living Creatures. The place wherein we were thus assembled was enlightned only by a little number of Lamps, whose light was so obscure, that this joyned to so many black, melan∣choly,

and afflicted objects, seem'd to be uo other than a preparation for the Celebration of some Funeral.

The Women who were Vested with the same stuff with us, were in the next Gallery, where we could not see them; but I observed that in a Dormitory a little remote from ours, there were also other Prisoners, and persons Vested in Black, and some in a long habit, who walked up and down. I knew not then what this meant, but I learned after a ••ew hours, that those who were to be burned were there, and that the persons who walked about were their Confessors.

As I knew not then the formalities of the Holy Office, whatsoever de∣sire I had in time past to die, I then fea••ed to be of the number of those who were destined to the Flames; yet I recovered courage in a little time, when I considered that I had nothing in my habit which distin∣guished me from others; and that there was no likelihood that so great a number of persons, who were apparelled like my self, should be put to death together.

After we were all ranged against the Walls of this Gallery, they gave to every one of us a Taper of yellow Wax: They then brought to us other Habits to put over the former, made like Declinaticks, or great Scapularies; they were of yellow stuff, with St. Andrew's Crosses painted on them in red, before and behind. They are wont to give th••se sort of marks to those who have committed, or who are esteemed to have committed Crimes against the Faith of Jesus Christ, whether they be Jews, Mahometans, Sorcerers, or Hereticks, who were before Catho∣licks; they call these Grand Scapularies with these Crosses of St. Andrew Sambenito's. Those who are accou••ted Convicted, and who persist to deny the Facts whereof they are accused, or who are relap••ed, bear ano∣ther kind of Scapulary, called Samarra, whose ground is grey; the Pi∣cture of the Prisoner is represented to the ••••fe upon it, both before and behind, placed upon burning Torches, with Flames ri••ing up, and De∣vils round about; their Names and their Crimes are written at the bot∣tom of the Picture, but those who accuse themselves after Sentence is pronounced upon them, and before they are carried out of their Cham∣ber, being no relap••ed persons, bear upon their Samarra's flames Inver∣ted, which they call fogo Revolto, that is, fire inverted.

Sambenito's were distributed to twenty of the Blacks who were accused of Magick, and to one Portugueze, attainted of the same Crime, who moreover was a New Christian.

As they would Revenge themselves upon me by halfs, and that they were resolved to insult over me to the end, they forced me to pu•• on a like Habit to that of the Sorcerers and Hereticks, altho I had alwaies made Professon of the Catholick, Apostolick, and Roman Faith, that

which my Judges might easily have known from an infinite number o•• Persons, as well Strangers, as of mine own Nation, with whom I had lived in divers parts of the Indies.

My fears redoubled when I saw my self thus habited, because it seem∣ed to me that these being among so great a number of Prisoners, no more than 22 persons to whom these shameful S••mbemto's were given, it might very well happen that these should be the persons to whom no mercy was to be extended.

After this distribution five Bonnets of Paper were brought in, rising up in a point like a Sugar Loaf, all covered with Devils and flames of fire, with a writing round about expressing this word, Feiticero, that is, Sorcerer, they call these Bonnets Carochas; they set them upon the heads of so many persons the most guilty of all the rest among those as were accused of Magick, and as those persons stood very near me, I then be∣lieved they would not fail to present one to me also, which yet did not happen. I did then make no doubt almost but these miserable men were those persons designed to be burnt; and as themselves were no better in∣structed at that time in the formalities of the Holy Office, I was assure•• by them afterwards, that at that moment they believed their destructi∣on to be Inevitable.

Every one being thus adorned according to the quality of his Crimes, we were permitted to sit down on the ground in expecting new Orders; at four of the Clock in the morning the Servants of the House came fol∣lowing the Guards, for to distribute Bread and Figs to those who would accept them; but altho I had not supp••d the night before, I found in my self so small an appetite for eating, that I had taken nothing, if one of the Guards coming near me had not said, Take your Bread, and if you cannot eat it now, put it into your Pocket, for you will be certainly hun∣gry before you return. The words of this man brought great comfort to me, and dissipated all my fears, by the hopes which he gave of my return, which obliged me to follow his advice.

At last after he had waited a long while, the day appeared at five a Clock; and I might then observe upon the faces of every one present, the diverse motions of shame, of grief, and of fear, wherewith they were then tormented: For altho they felt no small joy in seeing themselves up∣on the point of being delivered from so cruel and insupportable a Capti∣vity, yet this joy was very much diminished, by the fear wherein every one was of what would become of himself.