Page:Vol 2 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/699

Rh, intermingled with Moorish, Jewish, and other elements, the tribunal could not fail to obtain subjects, and a number were soon arraigned. The first auto-de-fé decreed by the court was in 1574, and took place in the small plaza of the marqués del Valle, between the door of the principal church and the marquis' buildings. According to Torquemada, the victims numbered sixty-three, of whom five were burned. It was a most dramatic affair, attended by thousands of spectators from far and near.

The next public affair of the kind was in 1575, when the number of penitentes was smaller. From that year till 1593 there took place seven more, making nine from the installation of the court. The tenth occurred on the 8th of December, 1595, and of this I will give a description. Preparations on a grand scale were made to present to the authorities and people a spectacle worthy of the cause. To increase the solemnity of the occasion, the day fixed upon was that of the immaculate conception; and the place, the chief plaza with its extensive appointments of railings covered with platforms, and thousands of seats or benches arranged as in an amphitheatre, which was used after the celebration as a bull-ring.

The time having arrived, the viceroy, conde de Monterey, accompanied by the justices and officers of the audiencia, the royal treasury officials, military officers, and other members of his suite repaired to the inquisition building, where the inquisitors