CHOICE OF PUNISHMENTS.
On our arrival at the Nunnery, I was left alone for half an hour. Then
the Bishop came in with the Lady Superior, and the Abbess who had charge
of the kitchen when I left. The Bishop read to me three punishments of
which he said, I could take my choice. First.--To fast five days in the
fasting room. Second.--To suffer punishment in the lime room. Third.--To
fast four days, in the cell. As I knew nothing of these places except
the cell, a priest was directed to take me to them, that I might see for
myself, and then take my choice. At first, I thought I did not care, and
I said I had no choice about it; but when I came to see the rooms, I was
thankful that I was not allowed to abide by that decision. Certainly, I
had no idea what was before me.
I was blindfolded, and taken to the lime room first. I think it must
have been situated at a great distance from the room we left, for he led
me down several flights of stairs, and through long, low passages, where
it was impossible to stand erect. At length we entered a room where the
atmosphere seemed laden with hot vapor. My blinder was removed, and I
found myself in a pleasant room some fifteen feet square. There was no
furniture of any kind, but a wide bench, fastened to the wall, extended
round three sides of the room. The floor looked like one solid block of
dark colored marble; not a crack or seam to be seen in it, but it was
clouded, highly polished, and very beautiful. Around the sides of the
room, a great number of hooks and chains were fastened to the wall, and
a large hook hung in the center overhead. Near the door stood two men,
with long iron bars, some two inches square, on their shoulders.
The priest directed me to stand upon the bench, and turning to the men,
he bade them raise the door. They put down their bars, and I suppose
touched a concealed spring, for the whole floor at once flew up, and
fastened to the large hook over head. Surprised and terrified, I stood
wondering what was to come next. At my feet yawned a deep pit, from
which, arose a suffocating vapor, so hot, it almost scorched my face and
nearly stopped my breath. The priest pointed to the heaving, tumbling
billows of smoke that were rolling below, and; asked, "How would you
like to be thrown into the lime?" "Not at all," I gasped, in a voice
scarcely audible, "it would burn me to death." I suppose he thought I
was sufficiently frightened, for he bade his men close the door. This
they did by slowly letting down the floor, and I could see that it was
in some way supported by the chains attached to the walls but in what
manner I do not know.
I was nearly suffocated by the lime smoke that filled the room, and
though I knew not what was in reserve for me, I was glad when my blinder
was put on, and I was led away. I think we returned the same way we
came, and entered another room where the scent was so very offensive,
that I begged to be taken out immediately. Even before my eyes were
uncovered, and I knew nothing of the loathsome objects by which we were
surrounded, I felt that I could not endure to breathe an atmosphere so
deadly. But the sight that met my eyes when my blinder was removed, I
cannot describe, nor the sensations with which I gazed upon it. I can
only give the reader some faint idea of the place, which, they said, was
called the fasting room, and here incorrigible offenders fasted until
they starved to death. Nor was this all. Their dead bodies were not even
allowed a decent burial, but were suffered to remain in the place where
they died, until the work of death was complete and dust returned to
dust. Thus the atmosphere became a deadly poison to the next poor victim
who was left to breathe the noxious effluvia of corruption and decay. I
am well aware that my reader will hardly credit my statements, but I do
solemnly affirm that I relate nothing but the truth. In this room were
placed several large iron kettles, so deep that a person could sit in
them, and many of them contained the remains of human beings. In one the
corpse looked as though it had been dead but a short time. Others still
sat erect in the kettle, but the flesh was dropping from the bones.
Every stage of decay was here represented, from the commencement, till
nothing but a pile of bones was left of the poor sufferer.
Conceive, if you can, with what feelings I gazed upon these disgusting
relics of the dead. Even now, my blood chills in my veins, as memory
recalls the fearful sight, or as, in sleep, I live over again the
dread realities of that hour. Was I to meet a fate like this? I might,
perchance, escape it for that time, but what assurance had I that I was
not ultimately destined to such an end? These thoughts filled my mind,
as I followed the priest from the room; and for a long time I continued
to speculate upon what I had seen. They called it the fasting room; but
if fasting were the only object, why were they placed in those kettles,
instead of being allowed to sit on chairs or benches, or even on the
floor? And why placed in IRON kettles? Why were they not made of
wood? It would have answered the purpose quite as well, if fasting
or starvation were the only objects in view. Then came the fearful
suggestion, were these kettles ever heated? And was that floor made
of stone or iron? The thought was too shocking to be cherished for a
moment; but I could not drive it from my mind.
I was again blindfolded, and taken to a place they called a cell. But it
was quite different from the one I was in before. We descended several
steps as we entered it, and instead of the darkness I anticipated, I
found myself in a large room with sufficient light to enable me to see
every object distinctly. One end of a long chain was fastened around my
waist, and the other firmly secured to an iron ring in the floor; but
the chain, though large and heavy, was long enough to allow me to go all
over the room. I could not see how it was lighted, but it must have been
in some artificial manner, for it was quite as light at night, as in the
day. Here were instruments of various kinds, the use of which, I did
not understand; some of them lying on the floor, others attached to the
sides of the room. One of them was made in the form of a large fish,
but of what material I do not know. It was of a bright flesh color, and
fastened to a board on the floor. If I pressed my foot upon the board,
it would put in motion some machinery within, which caused it to spring
forward with a harsh, jarring sound like the rumbling of the cars. At
the same time its eyes would roll round, and its mouth open, displaying
a set of teeth so large and long that I was glad to keep at a safe
distance. I wished to know whether it would really bite me or not, but
it looked so frightful I did not dare to hazard the experiment.
Another so nearly resembled a large serpent, I almost thought it was
one; but I found it moved only when touched in a certain manner. Then
it would roll over, open its mouth, and run out its tongue. There was
another that I cannot describe, for I never saw anything that looked
like it. It was some kind of a machine, and the turning of a crank made
it draw together in such a way, that if a person were once within its
embrace, the pressure would soon arrest the vital current, and stop
the breath of life. Around the walls of the room were chains, rings and
hooks, almost innumerable; but I did not know their use, and feared
to touch them. I believed them all to be instruments of torture, and I
thought they gave me a long chain in the hope and expectation that
my curiosity would lead me into some of the numerous traps the room
contained.
Every morning the figure I had seen beside the dying nun, which they
called the devil, came to my cell, and unlocking the door himself,
entered, and walked around me, laughing heartily, and seeming much
pleased to find me there. He would blow white froth from his mouth, but
he never spoke to me, and when he went out, he locked the door after him
and took away the key. He was, in fact, very thoughtful and prudent, but
it will be long before I believe that he came as they pretended, from
the spirit world. So far from being frightened, the incident was rather
a source of amusement. Such questions as the following would force
themselves upon my mind. If that image is really the devil, where did he
get that key? And what will he do with it? Does the devil hold the keys
of this nunnery, so that he can come and go as he pleases? Or, are the
priests on such friendly terms with his satanic majesty that they lend
him their keys? Or, do they hold them as partners? Gentlemen of the Grey
Nunnery, please tell us how it is about those keys.