From the last page of the preface, in Illorente's History of the Inquisition of Spain;
Twenty-one prisoners were found in it, not one of whom knew the name of the city in which he was : some had been confined three years, some a longer period, and not one knew perfectly the nature of the crime of which he was accused. One of these prisoners had been condemned, and was to have suffered on the following day. His punishment was to be death by the Pendulum. The method of thus destroying the victim is as follows : — the condemned is fastened in a groove, upon a table, on his back ; suspended above him is a Pendulum, the edge of which is sharp, and it is so constructed as to become longer with every movement. The wretch sees this implement of destruction swinging to and fro above him, and every moment the keen edge approaching nearer and nearer : at length it cuts the skin of his nose, and gradually cuts on, until life is extinct. It may be doubted if the holy office in its mercy ever invented a more humane and rapid method of exterminating heresy, or ensuring confiscation. This, let it be remembered, was a punishment of the Secret Tribunal, A. D. 1820 ! ! !