midnight
Nothing can be more dreadful than the system of torture employed . The accused person is carried off to prison , often without knowing the crime he is accused of , or his accusers . He is tortured to make him confess . The torture takes place at midnight in some gloomy dungeon , dimly-lighted by torches . The victim , whether man , woman , or tender virgin , is stripped naked , and stretched upon a wooden bench . Water , weights , fires , pulleys , screws , all the apparatus by which the sinews can be strained without cracking , the bones bruised without breaking , and the body racked without giving up the ghost , is now put into operation . If the victim , to escape further torture , confesses , he is at once carried off to execution ; if not , he is restored to prison to recover somewhat from the effects of the torture , when he is again brought back to suffer , in the hopes of extorting a confession .