THE SPANISH INQUISITION.
During the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, and in the Pontificate of Innocent VIII. the Inquisition was established for the prosecution of heretics. It was originally intended to take cognizance of only the Jews and Moors—but so rapidly did it extend its influence, that during the sway of Torquemada, the first Inquisitor-General, it was calculated that 6000 persons were burnt by his order; and upwards of 20,000 fell victims in various other ways. From the above period to the present time, it is impossible to calculate the number of persons who have fallen victims to its horrid cruelties. The late revolutions in Spain have abolished the Inquisition, opened the doors of its prisons, and set the captives free. This measure alone is a subject of the highest congratulation to the friends of freedom throughout the world.
[N. Y. D. Adv.
Mr. Ellery.—The venerable Mr. Ellery, the subject of the extract which we give below, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and upwards of ninety years old when he died. The writer of the letter is a gentleman of Rhode Island, of much distinction, who was intimately acquainted with the deceased.
Extract of a letter, dated Newport, (R. I.) March 14, 1820.
"Old Mr. Ellery died like a philosopher. In truth death, in its common form, never came near him. His strength wasted gradually for the last year, until he had not enough left to draw in his breath, and so he ceased to breathe. The day on which he died, he got up and dressed himself, took his old flag-bottomed chair, without arms, in which he had sat for more than half a century, and was reading Tully's Offices in the Latin without glasses, though the print was as fine as that of the smallest pocket Bible. Dr. W. stopped in on his way to the Hospital, as he usually did; and on perceiving the old gentlemen could scarcely raise his eyelids to look at him, took his hand, and found that his pulse was gone. After drinking a little wine and water, Dr. W. told him his pulse beat stronger. "O yes, Doctor, I have a charming pulse. But," he continued, "it is idle to talk to me in this way. I am going off the stage of life, and it is a great blessing that I go free from sickness, pain and sorrow." Some time after, his daughter, finding him become extremely weak, wished him to be put to bed, which he at first objected to, saying he felt no pain, and there was no occasion for his going to bed. Presently after, however, fearing he might possibly fall out of his chair, he told them they might get him upright in the bed, so that he could continue to read. They did so, and he continued reading Cicero very quietly for some time; presently they looked at him and found him dead, sitting in the same posture, with the book under his chin, as a man who becomes drowsy and goes to sleep."
[National Gazette.