“The Palace of the Inquisition, called by the Portuguese, ‘_Santa Casa_,’ or ‘_The Holy House_,’ is situated on one side of the great square, opposite to the cathedral dedicated to St. Catherine. It is extensive and magnificent; in the front are three entrances, of which the centre is the largest, and opens upon the grand staircase ascending to the hall. The two other portals severally lead to the apartments of the inquisitors, which are sufficiently commodious for considerable establishments. Within are various apartments for the officers of the house, and passing through the interior there is a vast edifice, divided into distinct masses, or squares of buildings, of two stories each, separated by small courts. In each story is a gallery, resembling a dormitory, containing seven or eight small chambers, ten feet square; the whole number of which is about two hundred. In one of these dormitories the cells are dark, being without windows, and smaller and lower than the rest; as I had occasion to know, from the circumstance of having been taken to see them, on complaining that I was too rigorously treated, in order to satisfy me that I might fare worse. The rest of the cells are square, vaulted, whitewashed, clean, and lighted by a small grated window, placed at a height above the reach of the tallest man. All the walls are five feet thick. Every chamber is secured by two doors, one opening inwards, and the other without; the inner door is made in two divisions, is strong, well-fitted, and opened by the lower half, in the manner of a grate; in the upper part there is a little window, through which the prisoners receive their food, linen, and other things. There is a door to this opening, guarded by strong bolts. The outer door is neither so thick nor so strong as the other, but it is entire, and without any aperture. It is usually left open from six o’clock in the morning till eleven, in order to ventilate the chamber through the crevices of the inner doors.”