In the Royal Palace of the Inquisition of Barcelona, on the fifth day of
August, one thousand seven hundred and fiftysix, the Inquisitor,
Licentiate Dr Joseph de Otero y Cossio, being at his morning audience,
ordered to be brought out of prison, a person calling himself Don
Antonio Adorno, a native of the city of Genoa, aged twentyseven years,
who was sworn to declare the truth, and preserve secrecy as well on this
as on all other occasions, till the decision of his cause.
Questioned, his name, birthplace, age, occupation, and the date of his
imprisonment.
Answered, that he was born, as above stated, in the city of Genoa, that
his age was twentyseven years, that he was a soldier in the infantry
regiment of Asturias, company of Don Jorge Duran, and that he was
arrested on the tenth of the last month.
Questioned, who was his father, mother, grandfather, uncles, &c.
[_Here follows the genealogy of the prisoner._]
Questioned, of what lineage and stock were his abovementioned ancestors
and collateral relatives, and whether any one of them, or he himself,
had ever been imprisoned or put under penance by the Holy Office of the
Inquisition.
Answered, that his family was noble, as above stated, and that neither
he, nor any one of them had ever been punished or put under penance by
the Holy Office.
Questioned, if he was a baptized and confirmed Christian, and heard
mass, confessed, and communed, at such times as the Church directed.
Answered, Yes; and the last time he confessed was to Father Fr.
Antonio ----, (his name he did not know) a barefoot Friar of the Convent
of the Holy Trinity; and that he partook of the sacrament in this
Convent in the city of Valencia, where his regiment was then stationed.
Here the prisoner crossed himself, repeated the _Pater Noster_, _Ave
Maria_, and _Credo_, in Spanish, without fault, and answered properly to
all the questions respecting the Christian doctrine.
Questioned, if he could read or write, or had studied any science.
Answered, that he could read, write, and cipher, having learned of Dr
Francisco Labatra, in Vienna; and that he had studied grammar in the
Colegio de los Praxistas in this capital.
Questioned, what were the events of his life.
Answered, that he was born in Genoa; and while a boy, was carried by his
parents to Vienna, where he followed his studies as above stated. At the
age of sixteen he entered as a cadet in a regiment of infantry. After
serving here till twentytwo, the regiment was broken up, and he remained
with his mother at Vienna for the space of a month. He then set out for
Spain for the purpose of securing some property belonging to him by
inheritance from his ancestors in Bellpuix and other parts of the
kingdom. He landed at Barcelona, and proceeded to Bellpuix, Malaga,
Granada, and Seville; but, failing in his attempts to obtain his
property, he enlisted in the infantry regiment of Asturias then
quartered in this city. In this regiment he visited several parts and
cities of these kingdoms at their respective garrisons, and particularly
the kingdom of Valencia, from whence he proceeded to Reus, where he was
arrested.
Questioned, if he knew or suspected the cause of his imprisonment.
Answered, that he supposed it to be on account of some acts he had
performed to discover certain thieves in his company, which performances
he had executed with a degree of mystery and mummery to create wonder.
The facts were as follows.
In the Guard of the Duke of Berwick, at Valencia, some shirts and
stockings were stolen, and the commanding officer requested the prisoner
to make trial of one of his methods of discovering the thief, he having
before been a witness of the operation of one of them. He accordingly
assembled all the soldiers of the guard in a dark room, and informed
them they must each one put his finger into a cup of water, and that the
water would blacken the finger of the thief. Before the room was
darkened he showed them the cup containing a quantity of clear water.
They all agreed to the proposal, and the room was shut up so as to
exclude every ray of light. The prisoner then conveyed a quantity of ink
into the cup, and after making a preliminary harangue directed every one
to dip his finger within. This they all did except one whom he supposed
to be the thief. He wet his finger in his mouth lest it should be
discovered that he had not complied with the direction.
They now threw open the windows and found every man’s finger black but
that of the delinquent. The prisoner perceiving this and observing the
agitation which he manifested, exclaimed to him, ‘You are the thief;’
and finally compelled him to pay for the stolen articles.
In order more fully to impress them with the belief that this man was
guilty, the prisoner directed the commander of the guard to write the
name of each person on a piece of paper and burn it to ashes, informing
him that this ashes would give the impression of the name of the one who
was guilty, upon his hand. In order to effect this the prisoner wrote
with a certain liquor upon his own hand the name of Juan Antonio ----,
(his other name he did not remember) then showing himself to the company
he washed his hands before them, (taking care, however, not to rub them
much) and observed, ‘You see there is nothing now written upon my hand;
but when this list is burnt it will exhibit there the name of the
thief.’ The paper was then burnt, and he rubbed the ashes upon his hand,
when the letters made their appearance, and the prisoner gained the
reputation of a wizard, more especially in the conception of the said
Juan Antonio.
The prisoner declared that in the harangue abovementioned, he made use
of no prayers, and that the words which he uttered were made use of
solely to astound and amaze the hearers.
He was then informed that in this Holy Office it was not customary to
imprison any one without sufficient information that he had said, done,
or seen, or heard something contrary to the Holy Religion of God our
Lord, and the Holy Mother Apostolic Roman Church, or against the proper
and free jurisdiction of the Holy Office, in consequence of which he was
to understand that he was imprisoned on account of some such
information. Therefore he was exhorted in the name of God our Lord and
his glorious and blessed Mother our Lady the Virgin Mary, to bethink
himself and confess the whole truth in relation to the matter wherein he
felt guilty, or knew of the guilt of others, without concealing anything
or bearing false witness against any one, by doing which, justice should
be executed, and his trial despatched with all brevity and mercy.
Answered, that he recollected nothing more, and that what he had stated
above was the truth. His declarations were then read, and declared by
him to be correctly recorded. He was then admonished to bethink himself
and remanded to prison.
Signed by him,
M. ANTO. ADORNO.
DON JOSEPH DE NOBOA, _Sec’y_.