THE EUROPEAN LAW OF TORTURE. 651 



scribed form of physical pain. An engraving shows one of the 

 moderate methods. . The victim's wrists are crossed behind the 

 back and tied with a strong cord attached to a rope which passes 

 over a pulley in the ceiling and down to a windlass. The Henkers- 

 Tcnecht, or hangman's assistant, turns the windlass and the arms 

 are strained upward, while the Scharfrichter (sharp judge, execu- 

 tioner) fiercely propounds the list of questions laid down in the 

 code. In a trial for poisoning, for instance : 



" Did you or did you not administer the poison that killed 

 A. B.? 



" When and where did you do it ? 



" For what reason ? 



" Who assisted or advised it ? 



" Who was present at the time ? 



" What sort of poison was it ? 



" Where and how did you procure it ? 



" Did the apothecary know your intended purpose ? 



" Have you ever poisoned others, or attempted it ? 



" What were the effects on the deceased ? 



" How long did he live after it ? Was the body swollen ? Did 

 the nails turn blue or black ? Did he froth at the mouth ? " Et 

 cetera. 



The person undergoing torture (der Inquisit} of course stoutly 

 denies each charge ; so the servant gradually hoists him till he 

 swings clear of the floor, with his arms undergoing backward dis- 

 location, and the questions are thundered in his ears again and 

 again as he whirls in dizzy agony. If able to persist in denial 

 he is lowered for a brief rest, then raised again with a twenty-five- 

 pound weight attached to the cord that bound his ankles, and the 

 questions are repeated. If the man has unusual strength of body 

 and will, he may still remain obdurate ; in which case Theresa's 

 code requires a third hoisting with a forty- six-pound weight 

 added. This may or may not draw from his screeching lips words 

 of confession, which the eager scribe will record, to seal his fate 

 on the gallows or at the stake ; but it can hardly fail to cripple 

 him for life. 



This is but one of the many ways enacted and vividly de- 

 picted in this code for " tearing out the truth," or " putting him 

 to the question," as Shakespeare and other English writers de- 

 nominate similar practices of our ancestors ; for qucestio (seeking 

 or inquiry) was the mild legal term for such proceedings ever since 

 the days of ancient Rome. Wherever Roman conquests spread 

 and the code of Justinian was fastened upon new possessions, there 

 the torture system was ingrafted. Perhaps it was nothing new to 

 the Gauls and Germans, but Greece and Rome are generally held 

 responsible for its wide prevalence in ancient times. 



