On September 17th, 1480, the tribunal was constituted of two Dominicans and two other ecclesiastics appointed by the Crown, and was ordered to commence operations at Seville without delay. The civil authorities were instructed to lend the assistance of the secular arm to the Judges; but, owing to the opposition which the latter at first encountered on the part of the high-spirited Castilians, they were obliged to confine their activity for a while within those districts of Andalusia which depended directly from the Crown. However, limited as the field at first was, it proved more than sufficient for the purpose. The new year, 1481, was inaugurated with an edict, published on January 2nd, bidding all true Catholics to aid the tribunal in the fulfilment of its mission, by indicating any person that might be known as, or suspected of, entertaining heretical opinions. The result was a monster hunt with men for quarry and hounds, and Satan for their master. Soon the number of victims grew to such an extent that the court was obliged to exchange its seat in the monastery of St. Paul, within the city of Seville, for the larger castle of Triana, in the environs. There it established its headquarters and blasphemed the Deity whom it professed to serve by the following inscription, engraven over the portal: _Exsurge, Domine; judica causam tuam; capite nobis vulpes_, “Arise, O Lord; judge thine own cause; capture for us the foxes.” Day after day the Satanic sport went on, and the number of “foxes” increased apace. The Jews were not even allowed the privilege accorded to the animal. Flight was forbidden under penalty of death, and was prevented by guards posted at the gates of the city. None the less, some of the victims succeeded in escaping to Granada, France, Germany, and Italy, where they made an appeal to the Holy See from the barbarity of the Holy Office. Sixtus IV. contented himself with a gentle rebuke of his subalterns for their excessive zeal, soon followed by a request for more strenuous “purification,” addressed to Ferdinand and Isabella. Never, perhaps, since the fall of the Roman Empire did the detestable trade of the informer flourish so lustily as it did during the ensuing years in Castile. Bigotry, malice, cupidity were all invited to contribute to the havoc, and, as the accuser’s identity was sedulously concealed from the accused, the last motive for self-restraint was removed. A new coat or a clean shirt on Saturday morning, a cold hearth on Friday evening, avoidance of food popular among the Christians, or a taste for a kind of drink affected by the Jews, a visit to a Jewish house,--these were some of the proofs of Judaism accepted as conclusive evidence by this model court of justice. The grave itself afforded no refuge from its clutches. A person who was observed to turn his face to the wall when dying was at once pounced upon, and his body shared the fate of living heretics.