Portuguese "holy tribunal"—imprisonment of Dellon in
the Inquisition at Goa—preparations for celebrating an
auto-da-fé—order of the procession—Dellon's sentence mitigated,
and publicly read—penances enjoined upon him at his liberation.
There are some shades of difference between the procedure of the
Inquisitors in Spain, and that of those in Portugal. To enumerate
these, however, would afford little gratification to the reader. We
shall therefore now proceed to give some account of the sufferings
of Dellon, a French gentleman, who was imprisoned in 1673, in the
Inquisition at Goa, a city in the East Indies, which will throw
sufficient light on the Portuguese holy tribunal.
After giving a detailed account of his sufferings, from the period of
his arrest, on the 24th August, 1673, at Damaun, till he arrived at
the Inquisition in Goa, he informs us, that immediately upon entering
the audience chamber, he cast himself at the feet of the Inquisitor,
with a view of affecting the feelings of his judge by his suppliant
attitude. He was, however, commanded to rise; and after being asked his
name and profession, he was interrogated if he knew the cause of his
arrest, which he was exhorted freely to confess, as the only means of
obtaining a speedy discharge. Dellon informed the Inquisitor, that he
believed he did know the cause of his imprisonment, and promised with
tears, that if his judge would give him a patient hearing, he was ready
to become his own accuser. The Inquisitor calmly replied, that there
was no haste, that he had other matters more important to attend to and
that he would let him know when he should have leisure to attend to his
case. This finished the first audience, on which Dellon was remanded
to his cell, where he was searched, and every article of value taken
from him. It is true, that an exact inventory, as usual, was taken of
his property; but this was merely a form, nothing of any consequence
being ever restored, though faithfully promised by the secretary of the
Inquisition.
"Immediately after I was shut up in the prisons of the holy office,"
he says, "I was informed that when I wanted any thing, I had only to
knock gently at the door, and the guards would attend, or to ask for
it when my meals were served; and that if I wished for an audience, I
was to address the alcalde, who, as well as the guards, never speaks to
the prisoners without a witness. I was also taught to believe that my
liberation would be the consequence of confession, which caused me to
importune those officers to take me before my judges."
This favour, however, notwithstanding all his entreaties, was not
granted till the 31st of January, 1674. On that day, he was desired by
the alcalde to follow him to the chamber of audience. He immediately
obeyed, and having entered the presence of his judge, he fell on his
knees, with the view of touching him with compassion. But without
deigning to take the smallest notice of his grief, he was ordered
to sit down on a bench at the end of the table next the Inquisitor.
Here he was first ordered to swear to declare the truth, and preserve
secrecy, and then asked if he knew the cause of his imprisonment,
and had resolved to confess the truth. Having intimated that he was
ready to do so, he minutely detailed the particulars of several
conversations in which he had engaged respecting baptism and the
worship of images, but concealing that he had advanced something
concerning the Inquisition, which at that moment, he says, he did not
recollect. The Inquisitor then asked him, if he had any thing further
to say; and being answered in the negative, he terminated the audience
by addressing Dellon in the following words "You have very properly
resolved to become your own accuser; and I conjure you in the name of
our Lord Jesus Christ, fully to confess all that you know; that you may
experience the goodness and mercy extended by this tribunal towards
those who appear to be truly sorry for their offences, by making a
sincere and voluntary acknowledgment."
Dellon's next audience took place on the 15th of February, when he was
interrogated anew, if he had any thing further to say, and exhorted to
conceal nothing, but candidly to confess all his crimes. He replied,
that after the closest consideration, he could recollect nothing more
than what he had already declared. The Inquisitor then asked the names
of his relatives; whether he was baptized the eighth day after his
birth; by whom he was baptized; and finally, if he had been confirmed,
and by what bishop. Having returned answers to all these inquiries, he
was ordered to kneel down, to make the sign of the cross, to repeat the
Lord's Prayer, the Ave Maria, the Creed, the commandments, &c., when
the audience concluded, as formerly, with a conjuration, "by the bowels
of the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ," to make immediate confession.
"From the beginning of my confinement," says he, "I had been greatly
distressed, and had wept incessantly; but on returning from this
audience, I entirely abandoned myself to grief, being convinced
that what was required of me was impossible, as my memory did not
furnish what I was solicited to avow. I attempted to put an end to my
existence, by fasting. I received, indeed, the food which was brought
to me, because I could not refuse it, without being liable to be beaten
by the guards, who carefully notice, when the dishes are returned,
whether sufficient nourishment has been taken; but my despair enabled
me to deceive all their caution, and I passed several days without
tasting any thing. This extreme fasting deprived me of rest, and my
sole employment was to weep. At length, having made a more particular,
or rather more happy recollection of what I had said or done, during my
residence at Damaun, I remembered that I had used several expressions
respecting the integrity of the Inquisition. I immediately demanded
audience, which, however, I did not obtain until the 16th of March.
"When summoned, I had no doubt that my business would be dismissed
the same day, and that after the confession I was prepared to make, I
should be discharged but at the very moment that I fancied I was on
the accomplishment of all my wishes, I suddenly found these delightful
hopes destroyed; for having detailed every thing I had said about
the Inquisition, I was coolly informed, that that was not what was
expected; and having nothing more to communicate, I was instantly
remanded, without even taking my confession in writing."
Dellon now regarded liberty as a blessing which he could never hope to
enjoy; and abandoning himself to despair, he twice attempted to put
an end to his sufferings by committing suicide. In his endeavours to
effect his purpose, he was, however, providentially frustrated by the
appearance of his keepers while he lay in his cell weltering in his
blood. But, instead of exciting the sympathy of the Inquisitors, these
guardians of the faith ordered him to be loaded with irons. This tended
still further to increase his irritation; and throwing himself on the
ground, and dashing his head against the pavement, he would soon have
destroyed himself, had he not been watched by his keepers.
Perceiving that in the present case all measures of severity were
unavailable, the Inquisitors changed their mode of procedure. They
ordered his irons to be taken off; made large promises of a speedy
deliverance from confinement, changed his cell, and gave him a
companion, who was made responsible for his safety.
After lying eighteen months in the prisons of the holy office, the
Inquisitors, being informed that Dellon was able to appear, again
brought him before their tribunal. Having asked him if he had resolved
to declare what was required; and on his replying that he could not
recollect any thing further than what he had already confessed, the
proctor of the Inquisition presented himself with the informations
laid against him. He had formerly been called to accuse himself; but,
on this occasion, he was formally impeached, and a time was allotted
for making his defence; his own confessions being included in the
depositions.
On reading the informations, the proctor stated, that, in addition to
what he had admitted, he was accused and fully convicted of having
spoken contemptuously of the Inquisition and its officers, and even
with disrespect of the Sovereign Pontiff, and against his authority;
and concluded, "that the contumacy which he had hitherto displayed,
by neglecting so many delays and benignant warnings which had been
given to him, was a convincing proof that he had entertained the most
pernicious intentions, and that his design was to teach and inculcate
heretical opinions; that he had consequently incurred the penalty of
the greater excommunication: that his property was confiscated to the
crown, and himself delivered over to the secular power, to be punished
for his crimes according to law;" that is, to be burnt.
Dellon was confounded at these denunciations: but, conscious of his
innocence, he made a spirited reply to the fresh charges which were
brought against him. He acknowledged that he had expressed himself
too freely respecting the Inquisition, but was surprised to find that
what had been so slightly treated when he acknowledged it a year and a
half before, should now be attributed to him as a grievous crime. As to
what related to the Pope, Dellon declared that he did not recollect of
ever having mentioned his name in the manner stated in the accusation;
but, he added, if the Inquisitors would detail the particulars,
he would speak honestly and truly to the charge. To all this the
Inquisitor coolly replied, that he should have full time allowed him
for considering the article which related to the Roman Pontiff.
In less than a month afterwards, Dellon was summoned to three or four
audiences, with the view of inducing him to confess what he had been
accused of respecting the Pope; but all proved of no avail. As he
now heard every morning the cries of those who were subjected to the
torture, he began to fear that he should soon be treated with the same
severity. But in this he was happily disappointed, by the celebration
of an auto-da-fé, at which he was condemned to undergo various
penances, and to banishment from the Indies. The following account of
the Act of Faith, at which Dellon was an actor, is given in nearly his
own words.
"I remembered," says he, "that I had heard it mentioned before I
entered the prisons of the Holy Office, that the auto-da-fé was
usually celebrated on the first Sunday in Advent, because, in the
service for that day is read a portion of the gospel which describes
the day of judgment; and the Inquisitors affect that this ceremony
is its lively and natural prototype. I was also confident that there
were several prisoners; the dead silence which reigns in this mansion
having afforded me opportunity to ascertain, with tolerable exactness,
how many doors were opened at the hours of repast. In addition to
this, I was almost certain that an archbishop had arrived in the
month of October, (the see having been vacant nearly thirty years,)
from the extraordinary ringing of the bells of the cathedral for nine
days successively; to which period, it is neither the custom of the
churches in general, nor of that of Goa in particular, to extend the
solemnization of any remarkable feast; and I knew that this prelate
had been expected before my imprisonment. From all these reasons I
inferred that I should be released in the beginning of December; but
when I saw the first and the second Sundays in Advent pass, I began
to fear that my liberation or punishment was postponed for another
year.—Nevertheless I found, at a time when I least expected it, that I
was likely to be set at liberty.
"I remarked, that on Saturday, the 11th of January, 1676, as I gave
my linen as usual to be washed, the officers declined taking it till
the next day. On reflecting upon this unusual circumstance, and not
being able satisfactorily to account for it, I concluded that the
celebration of the auto-da-fé might take place on the morrow; and my
opinion was the more confirmed, or rather converted into certainty,
when immediately after vespers had chimed at the cathedral, the
bell rang for matins, which had never happened before during my
imprisonment, except on the eve of the feast of the holy sacrament.
It may be supposed that joy would have begun to resume its place in
my heart, when I believed that I was on the point of leaving the tomb
in which I had been buried alive for two years; but the terror which
was occasioned by the dreadful denunciations of the proctor, and the
uncertainty of my fate, augmented my anxiety and grief to such a
degree, that I passed the remainder of the day and part of the night
under feelings which would have excited compassion in any but those
into whose hands I had fallen.
"About midnight I was awoke by a noise occasioned by the guards in
drawing back the bolts of my cell. I was surprised by the approach
of persons bearing lights, to which I was unaccustomed, and the hour
contributed to increase my alarm. The alcalde gave me a garment, which
he ordered me to put on, and to be ready to follow him when he should
call for me; and then retired, leaving me a lighted lamp. I had neither
power to rise nor to reply; and when left alone, I was seized with so
general and violent a trepidation, that, for more than a quarter of an
hour, I could not summon resolution even to look upon the dress which
had been brought. At last I arose, and prostrating myself before a
cross which I had scrawled upon the wall, I recommended myself to God,
and resigned my lot into his hands: I then put on the dress, which
consisted of a jacket with sleeves down to the wrists, and trowsers
hanging over the heels; both being of black stuff with white stripes.
"I had not long to wait after I had dressed myself. The gentleman whose
first visit was made a little before midnight, returned about two
in the morning, and conducted me into a long gallery, where a great
number of my companions in misery were already assembled, and arranged
against the wall. I took my place in the rank, and many others arrived
after me. Although there were nearly two hundred men in the gallery,
every one preserved profound silence; as in this great number, there
were only about a dozen whites, who were scarcely to be distinguished
amongst the others; and as all were habited in black, these persons
might have been mistaken for so many statues placed upon the wall, if
the motion of their eyes, the use of which alone was allowed them, had
not shown that they were alive. The place in which we were was lighted
by a few lamps, whose gloomy rays displaying so many black, sad, and
devoted objects, seemed an appropriate prelude to death.
"The women, who were apparelled in the same stuff as the men, were in
an adjoining gallery, where we could not see them; but I observed that,
in a dormitory, at a little distance from that in which we stood, there
were also several prisoners, and some persons clothed in black dresses,
who occasionally walked about the apartment. I did not then know what
this meant, but a few hours after I learnt that the persons in that
apartment were condemned to be burnt, and that those who walked were
their confessors.
"Being unacquainted with the forms of the Holy Office, although I
had before so anxiously wished to die, I imagined that I was amongst
the number of the condemned; but was somewhat encouraged by the
observation, that there was nothing in my habiliments different from
the rest, and that it was improbable that so many persons as were
dressed like myself would be put to death.
"When we were all arranged against the wall of the gallery, a yellow
wax-light was given to each; and some bundles of robes made like
dalmatics or large scapularies, were brought in. These were made of
yellow stuff, with crosses of St. Andrew painted in red both in front
and behind. It is thus that those are distinguished who have committed,
or are judged to have committed offences against the Christian faith,
whether Jews, Mahometans, sorcerers, or heretic apostates. These
vestments are called sanbenito.
"Such as are considered as convicted, and persist in denying the
charges against them, and those who have relapsed, wear another kind
of scapulary called samarra, the ground of which is of a grey colour.
A portrait of the wearer is depicted on both sides, placed on burning
firebrands, with ascending flames, and surrounded by demons. Their
names and crimes are inscribed beneath the picture. Those who have
confessed after sentence has been pronounced, and before leaving the
prison, have the flames on their samarras reversed, which is called
_fogo revolto_. The sanbenitos were distributed to twenty blacks
accused of magic, to one Portuguese who was charged with the same
crime, and was moreover a new Christian; and, as half measures would
not satisfy the revenge of my persecutors, who were resolved to degrade
me as much as possible, I was compelled to wear a garb similar to those
of the sorcerers and heretics, although I had uniformly professed the
Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman faith, as my judges might have been
easily informed by many persons, both foreigners and my own countrymen,
to whom I had been known in various parts of India. My apprehension
now redoubled; conceiving that if, amongst so great a number of
prisoners, twenty-two only received these disgraceful sanbenitos, they
must be those to whom no mercy was intended.
"When this distribution was made, I noticed five pasteboard caps,
tapering to a point like a sugar loaf, and entirely covered with devils
and flames of fire, with the word "_Feiticero_," (sorcerer) written
round the fillet. These caps are called _carochas_, and are placed upon
the heads of the most guilty of those accused of magic: and as they
happened to be near me, I expected to be presented with one. This,
however, was not the case. From that moment I had no doubt that these
wretches would indeed be burnt; and as they were as ignorant as myself
of the forms of the holy office, they assured me afterwards, that they
themselves had also thought their destruction inevitable.
"At length the day dawned about five o'clock; and the various emotions
of shame, grief, and terror with which all were agitated, might be
traced in our countenance; for though each was joyful at the prospect
of deliverance from a captivity so severe and insupportable, the
sentiment was much alloyed by the uncertainty of his fate.
"The great bell of the cathedral tolled a little before sunrise, as a
signal to the multitude to assemble for the august solemnity of the
auto-da-fé, which is the triumph of the holy office; and we were then
commanded to go forth one by one. When I got into the street, I saw
that the procession was headed by the community of the Dominicans, who
have this privilege, because St. Dominic, their patron, was also the
founder of the Inquisition. They were preceded by the banner of the
holy office, in which the image of the founder was represented in very
rich embroidery, with a sword in one hand and an olive branch in the
other, with the inscription, '_Justitia et Misericordia_.'
"These Religious were followed by the prisoners singly, each holding a
taper, and having his godfather by his side. The least guilty marched
first, and, as I was not reckoned as one of the most innocent, more
than a hundred went before me. Like the rest, my head and feet were
bare, and I was greatly annoyed during the procession, which continued
upwards of an hour, by the small flints with which the streets of Goa
are covered, causing the blood to stream from my feet.
"We were led through the principal streets, and every where regarded
by an immense crowd, which came from all parts of India, and lined all
the roads by which we passed; notice having been given from the pulpit
in the most distant parishes, long before the act of faith was to be
celebrated.
"At length, overwhelmed with shame and confusion, and fatigued by
the walk, we arrived at the church of St. Francis, which had been
previously fitted up for the celebration of the auto-da-fé. So soon
as I was seated, I attended to the procedure observed as to those who
followed me. I remarked that those to whom the horrible carochas had
been given, marched the last of our party, and immediately after them
a large crucifix was carried, with the face towards those who preceded
it, and was followed by two persons and the statues of four others,
as large as life, accurately executed, and which were placed upon
long poles, accompanied by the same number of chests filled with the
bones of those represented by the statues, and each carried by a man.
The front of the crucifix being turned upon those who walked before,
signified that mercy had been extended to them, by their deliverance
from the death they had justly merited; and, on the contrary, that
those behind had no favour to hope for. Such is the mystery which
pervades every thing in the holy office.
"The manner in which these wretches were clothed, was equally
calculated to excite horror and pity. Not only the living persons, but
the statues also, had each a samarra of grey stuff, painted all over
with devils, flames, and burning firebrands; upon which the portrait of
the wearer was naturally represented on both sides, with his sentence
underwritten in large characters, briefly stating his name and
country, and the nature of the crime for which he was condemned. With
this strange garment, they also wore those frightful carochas, covered,
like the robe, with demons and fire.
"The little chests which inclosed the bones of the deceased, the
proceedings against whom had been conducted either before or after
their deaths, or prior to, or pending their imprisonment, for the
purpose of giving colour to the confiscation of their property, were
also painted black, and covered with flames and devils.
"As the publication of the proceedings against each party commenced,
he was conducted by the alcalde into the middle of the aisle, where
he continued standing with a lighted taper in his hand, until his
sentence was delivered. I was summoned, in my turn, and was declared
excommunicate; my goods were forfeited to the king, and myself banished
from the Indies, and condemned to serve in the galleys of Portugal for
five years; and moreover to perform such other penances, as might be
expressly enjoined by the Inquisitors.
"The ceremony being concluded, and the Inquisitor re-seated, the
wretched victims to be sacrificed by the holy Inquisition were ordered
to advance separately. There were a man and a woman, and the images of
four men deceased, with the chests in which their bones were deposited.
The man and woman were black native Christians accused of magic, and
condemned as apostates; but, in truth, as little sorcerers as those by
whom they were condemned.
"The proceedings against these unfortunates were then read, all of
which concluded in these terms: 'That the mercy of the holy office
being prevented by their relapse or contumacy, and being indispensably
obliged to punish them according to the rigour of the law, it gave
them up to the secular power and civil justice, which it nevertheless
entreated to regard with mercy and clemency these miserable creatures,
and if they were liable to capital punishment, that it should be
inflicted without the effusion of blood.'
"At the conclusion of these words, a tipstaff of the lay court
approached, and seized his victims, each previously receiving a slight
blow on the breast from the alcalde of the holy office, to testify that
they were abandoned.
"How benevolent is the Inquisition thus to intercede for the guilty!
What extreme condescension in the magistrates, to be satisfied, from
complaisance to the Inquisition, with burning the culprits to the very
marrow of their bones, rather than shed their blood!
"Thus terminated the act of faith; and whilst these wretches were
conveyed to the banks of the river, where the viceroy and his court
were assembled, and where the faggots on which they were to be
immolated had been piled the preceding day, we were re-conducted to the
holy office.
"After remaining in the Inquisition until the 23d of January, we were
then conveyed to the hall of the court, and thence separately summoned
to the board of the holy office, to receive from the Inquisitor a paper
containing the penances to which he was pleased to sentence us. I went
in my turn, and was directed to kneel down, after laying my hands
upon the gospels, and in that posture to promise to preserve the most
inviolable secrecy concerning all that had passed, and had come to my
knowledge during my detention. My judge then gave me a writing signed
by his hand, in the words following: 1st. In the three ensuing years he
shall confess and communicate—during the first year, once a month—and
the two following, at the feasts of Easter, Whitsuntide, Christmas,
and the Assumption of our Lady. 2d. He shall, if practicable, hear
mass and a sermon every Sunday and holiday. 3d. During the first three
years he shall repeat, five times every day, the Lord's Prayer and Ave
Maria, in honour of the five wounds of our Saviour. 4th. He shall not
form any friendship nor particular intimacy with heretics or persons
holding suspicious doctrines, which may prejudice his salvation. 5th.
And lastly, he shall be inflexibly reserved as to every thing which he
has seen, said, or heard, or the treatment which has been observed to
him, as well at the board as in the other places of the holy office."
Such is a specimen of the practice of the Portuguese Inquisition, of
which some further account will be given in the following chapter,
from the late visit of Dr. Buchanan to Goa. The celebration of an act
of faith in India, thus described by Dellon, is, as must have been
observed by the reader, in some respects different from that in Spain;
but though the procedure of the holy office in these countries may vary
in some points of little moment, yet all the Inquisitorial tribunals
uniformly agree in this, to sacrifice innocence, piety, and truth, to
avarice, tyranny, and superstition.