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permitted to sell it, instructed and noted
took the least notice of us, as the Mandarins
on such occasions of intrusion by foreigners
into their official residences invariably pretend not to see them. This heedless
to say that we did nothing to interrupt
no proceedings.
After passing through several very
badly lit courtyards, and passages,
we found ourselves in
front of
an open hall or shed in which, without the least
regard to outward appearances,
torture was going on.
The first object that caught our gaze
was the figures of three wretched criminals
who were being tortured on the sanguinary
rack. These men were on their knees
and were laid by their
hands and legs to a sloping bar that
was set in and on the ground behind them, and that forced their bodies back
about 25 degrees
at an
inclination
of
Their legs and thumbs were lashed behind
their backs, and, to compel the prisoner
to keep his head upright, his tail was
made fast through a hole at the top of the rack. The effect of this crucifixion
was such as to throw the whole weight