Placed by itself under the heading _L'Inquisition_ in the series of
1859, and preceded by the following note:--'Le baptême des volcans est
un ancien usage qui remonte aux premiers temps de la conquête. Tous
les cratères du Nicaragua furent alors sanctifiés, à l'exception du
Momotombo, d'où l'on ne vit jamais revenir les religieux qui s'étaient
chargés d'aller y planter la croix.' (SQUIER, _Voyage dans l'Amérique du
Sud_.)
Momotombo is a volcano in the state of Nicaragua. E.G.Squier was an
American antiquarian and author who was appointed _chargé d'affaires_
to all the Central American States in 1849. He does not appear to have
written any work with the title quoted by Hugo. The passage quoted
occurs in his _Nicaragua, its people, scenery, and monuments_, published
in 1852. He relates in this book an instance of a bishop being asked to
baptize a volcanic vent which had suddenly opened in a mountain!
_Torquemada_ (1420-1489) was the notorious inquisitor-general of
Castile and Aragon, whose name has become a by-word for relentless
persecution and cruelty.