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. XXXI. (Book 31)

Containing some Observations upon all that hath been hitherto said.

BEfore I continue the account of my adventures, I believe it will not be unreasonable to make some reflexions upon all which hath been said. I will begin then by the consideration of the principal Acts of In∣justice committed in the Inquisition; of which the first is the Treason of the Commissary of Daman; who, after I had confessed to him what I had said, and what relateth to the Holy Office, gave me so insincere ad∣vice, that he ceased not to arrest me to satisfie the passion of the Go∣vernour, although the Inquisition is not wont to apprehend those who voluntarily accuse themselves, before they are put in Prison. I am not ignorant of what this Father said to defend himself from this imputati∣on, that I had not accused my self in due form; but any one may easily perceive that this is a new trick, for he ought to have taught me the form: I was young, and a stranger, and should immediately have satisfied him, but it was necessary for him to make use of this miserable pretext to sa∣tisfie the Governour.

The second thing of which I think my self to have reason to complain, in respect of the same Commissary, is, That he maliciously kept me at Daman till the month of Ianuary; instead of which, if he had sent me to Goa, immediately after my imprisonment, my case might have been examined and ended before the end of November; and I should have

been enlarged at the Act of Faith, which was performed that very year, in the beginning of December; whereas not sending me to Goa, till the Act of Faith was ended, I was forced to stay in the Prisons of the Holy Office two years longer than I should have done; because scarce any enlargement of the Prisoners is ever made, but at that terrible Ceremo∣ny, called the Act of Faith; and as that is performed but from two to two, or from three to three years, it is a double unhappiness for those that are shut up in these Holy Prisons, to be carried thither immediately after this Goal-delivery, because they are obliged to wait there till there be a sufficient number of Persons to render the Act of Faith more il∣lustrious .

The refusal which the Inquisitor made at my third Audience to re∣ceive my confession, touching what I had said concerning the Inquisiti∣on; and his injustice, in daring to maintain that I had not confessed this Fact, which he made my Crime so long time after, was one of those things which most afflicted me, during my imprisonment, and is none of the least grievances which I have to complain of against the•• Messieurs.

I might also justly complain of this, that the Inquisition desiring to lay a new snare for me, when I accused my self of what I had said con∣cerning the Holy Office, and what had happened a long time before to Father Ephraim Nevers; asked me if I would defend the errors of that Monk; but although I knew very well that the innocence of this Father had been fully manifested, and that he had been arrested meerly upon Envy; I answered that I pretended not to defend any person, be∣ing sufficiently troubled to defend my self.

I had moreover methinks all reason to believe, that they had an inten∣tion to please the Viceroy, and Governour of Daman his Cousin, in send∣ing me into Portugal, since of more than 200 Persons who went with me out of the Inquisition, I alone was obliged to leave the Indies and go for Europe.

The cruelty of the Guards, who often used very rude words to me, and forced me unwillingly to eat my Meat, and take remedies when I was sick, deserves also in my mind some consideration; for although the Guards have reason to force the accused Persons to eat their Meat and take Remedies, they might use in respect of them the same method which is used in respect of other sick Persons, who are not wont to re∣ceive the Stirrup Leather, or Bastinadoes, to make them take the Pre∣••criptions of their Physicians.

I will add, that although the Inquisition granteth something of safe Conducts to those, who being in a place of Security, will come and ac∣cuse themselves; yet it is best not to trust them too much, since they make no great scruple in this Holy Tribunal, to violate the promise

which they have made, and when they have a mind to it they will find pretexts enough not to keep it, which I will prove by an example.

I knew at Surrat a Religious Person of the Order of St. Dominick, cal∣led Father Hyacinthe, who for many years had quitted his Convent and his Habit, living in a very dissolute and scandalous manner. It happened afterwards that a Woman with whom he had lived a long time, and by whom he had diverse Children, dyed; this loss touched him, and pro∣duced in him a resolution of changing his Life. He resolved then to return into his Convent at Bacaim, but because all the Portugueze, and above all, the Priests and Religious Persons, who have passed any consi∣derable time among the Infidels, are obliged in returning into the Portu∣gueze Dominions, to present themselves to the Inquisition, and make there an exact declaration of the manner of their past life, if they would prevent their being compelled to it by force. This Religious, whose conscience perhaps was touched with something relating to the Holy Office, before he left Surrat, wrote to the Inquisitor at Goa for a safe con∣duct, that so he might come to present and accuse himself, which was granted him; with this poor assurance he departed and came to Bacaim, where he was not suffered to resume the Religious Habit, without ha∣ving first cleared himself before the Inquisitors, upon which he went to Goa, presented himself at the Table of the Holy Office, whither he was several times called, and at last having been sufficiently examined, he was absolved and sent back to the Vicar General of his Order, who resto∣red him the Habit, and again authoriz'd him to discharge the Functions of a Preacher and Confessor. He thinking all was over, prepared for his departure to Bacaim, where was his first Convent, when being just ready to imbark in a Galliot, he was hurried away to the Prisons of the Holy Office, whose Ministers had not so easily granted him Absolution, were it not the easier to perform their design, that it might not be said they had violated their word, and the safe conduct they had given him; at the same time they spread about a report, that since his Absolution, dis∣covery had been made of Crimes of which he had not accused himself.

This Religious, who was clapped up a few days after me, remained there after I got out, as appears by his not being mentioned in the Act of Faith, and his Process not being read, which would certainly have been done, had he died in Prison, so that in all probability he must con∣tinue there till the next Act of Faith; I had this relation from a Religious Person of the same Order, who visited me after my delivery. And this example ought to teach those who travel, or live in those Countries where the Inquisition is Established, not only to be circumspect in their words and actions, but also never to rely too much on assurances, of

safe conducts, granted them by the Inquisitors, or their Commissaries how little soever occasion of mistrust they may seem to have.