"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.