The Question.

beam, with pulleys and ropes at either ex tremity. But what chiefly attracted the un fortunate captive's attention, was a couple of iron gauntlets attached to it, about a yard apart. Upon the ground under the beam, and immediately underneath that part of it where the gauntlets were fixed, were laid three pieces of wood, of a few inches in thickness, and placed one upon another." The gauntlets being placed upon her hands, which were stretched above her head, and screwed tight, " the tormentor took a mallet and struck one of the pieces of wood from under Viviana's feet. The shock was dread ful, and seemed to dislocate her wrists, while the pressure was increased to a tenfold de gree. The poor sufferer, who was resting on the points of her feet, felt that the re moval of the next piece of wood would occasion almost intolerable torture. Her constancy, however, did not desert her, and after the question had been repeated by Ipgrieve, the second block was struck away. She was now suspended by her hands, and the pain was so exquisite that nature gave way, and uttering a piercing scream, she fainted." Further on we have a description of the torture of Guy Fawkes himself. Ipgrieve proposes to start him with the Scavenger's Daughter and the Little Ease; proceed to the gauntlet and the rack; and finally, if these fail, to try the effect of the dungeon among the rats and the hot stone. The Scavenger's Daughter was a huge iron hoop, which opened in the centre with a hinge — there is one still to be seen at the Tower — which was placed over the prisoner's shoul ders and under his legs in such a way as to compress his body so tightly that he could

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hardly breathe. The Little Ease is described as " a narrow cell about four feet high, one and a few inches wide, and two deep. Into this narrow receptacle, which seemed wholly inadequate to contain a tall and strongly built man like himself, the prisoner was with some difficulty thrust, and the door locked upon him." The dungeon among the rats was a " horrible pit adjoining the river," in which there was at high tide about two feet of water, and which was infested by ferocious and daring rats. The final torture of the hot stone is thus described. " On the fourth day he was taken to another and yet gloom ier chamber, devoted to the same dreadful objects as the first. It had an arched stone ceiling, and at the further extremity yawned a deep recess. Within this was a small fur nace, in which fuel was placed, ready to be kindled; and over the furnace lay a large black flag, on which were stout leathern straps. After being subjected to the cus tomary interrogations of the lieutenant, Fawkes was stripped of his attire, and bound to the flag. The fire was then lighted, and the stone gradually heated. The writhing frame of the miserable man erelong showed the extremity of his sufferings; but as he did not even utter a groan, his tormentors were compelled to release him." But you may say this is out of a story book. True, it is; but it is nevertheless from an historical romance, from the pen of a writer who took pains with his facts and historical references, and it may be fairly taken as a specimen of what took place in humane England when torture was not em ployed in common law, but was reserved as a prerogative of the crown. — Cliambers Journal.