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. XXXIII. (Book 33)

Of what happened to some other Persons, who together with me were enlarged at the Act of Faith.

TWo Young Gentlemen married about Bacaim, who served the King of Portugal in his Navy, took care of a young Portugueze Souldier, who waited on them. These Messieurs being at Goa at the end of the Campagin, and desiring to go and pass at their Houses the Rainy sea∣son, which is called Winter in the Indies, left this young Souldier at Goa, where he pretended to have some business, and therefore would follow them some days after. This young Man immediately after the de∣parture of these Gentlemen married in Goa, from whence he departed two days after his Marriage, and arrived at Bacaim four days after his Masters, to whom he gave no account of what he had done in their ab∣sence. A little while after a Match being offered to him, which seemed advantageous to him, he resolved to make use of the occasion in mar∣rying himself a second time. To this end his Masters were desired to certifie to the Curate that he was a single Person, which they did, not knowing that he was already married: Not long after this second mar∣riage he had a desire to see his first Wife at Goa; whither the Brother of the second Wife being resolved to follow him, he found out his first Marriage, and accused him to the Inquisition, who caused him to be apprehended, and knowing who they were that had certified him to be a single man, sent order to the Commissary of Bacaim to seize them, So these two Gentlemen, more unhappy than guilty, were sent to Goa with Irons on their Feet, and shut up in the Prison of the Holy Office. Ha∣ving remained there 18 Months, they were at last produced in the Act of Faith, and were condemned to a triennial Banishment into the Coasts of Africk; and he who had been married twice, was banished into the same quarter for seven years, after which he was to return to and live with his first Wife.

One of these Gentleman was of the race of New Christians; and as these unhappy persons are always suspected to be bad Christians, the Inquisitors examined him at the Audience, to know if he were not a

Iew; and if he had not had some knowledge of the Law of Moses? This poor Man stupi••ied with these questions, and fearing that the un∣happiness of his Birth would draw upon him, in this occasion, some mis∣fortune; and besides not very well instructed in the Christian Religion, imagining himself to say one of the finest things in the World, and most proper to justifie himself, blasphemed against Moses, and said that he had nothing to do with him, and that he knew him not; which his Judges laughed at very pleasantly.

Among those who were enlarged at the Act of Faith, I observed one who had a Gag in his Mouth, fastned to his Ears with Packthread. I learned from the reading of his Process, that this punishment was in∣flicted on him for having used diverse Blasphemies in play. This Blas∣phemer, besides the shame of appearing in this Equipage, was more∣over condemned to a banishment of five years.