"On the third day the examination was renewed, and Beatrice was condemned to the _tortura capillorum_. 'At a given signal, the satellites of the tribunal carried Beatrice under a rope suspended from the ceiling, and twisting into a cord her long and beautiful hair, they attached it, with diabolical art, to the rope, so that the whole body could by this means be raised from the ground. The frightful preparations over, and her protestations of innocence again disregarded, she was elevated from the ground by the hair of her head; at the same time was added another torture, consisting of a mesh of small cords twined about the fingers, twisting them nearly out of joint and dragging the hand almost from the bone of the arm. The wretched girl screamed with agony, while the judge stood by, commanding the suspended rope to be tightened, and raising the body by the hair from the ground gave it a sudden jerk, exhorting her to confess. She cried out in a convulsion for water, rolling her eyes in agony, and exclaiming, 'I am innocent.' The torture being repeated with still greater cruelty, and the fortitude of the young girl remaining unshaken, the judge, believing it impossible that a young female could resist such torments, concluded, with the superstition of the times, that she carried about with her some witchcraft; he ordered her to be examined, and finding no cause of suspicion, was about to have her hair cut off, when it was suggested the torment of the _tortura capillorum_ could not then be renewed; her hair was again fastened to the rope, and for a whole hour she was subjected to such a succession of cruelties as the heart shrinks from narrating: but not a word escaped from her lips, that could compromise her innocence. "In the mean time Lucrezia, Giacomo, and Bernardo were taken into the hall Erculeo, and in their presence a repetition of the torture was ordered, to so awful an extent, that she fainted and lay senseless. A new cruelty was devised--the _taxilla_,--her feet were bared, and to the soles was applied a block of heated wood, prepared in such a way as to retain the scorching heat; then did the unhappy girl utter piercing shrieks, and remained some minutes apparently dead. These accumulated tortures were repeated, until her relations, who were handcuffed lest they should render her any assistance, began to implore her with heart-rending tears and entreaties to yield. To this the judge mingled threats and the application of further torments, and enforced them with such rigour, that the victim shrieked in agony, and exclaimed, 'Oh! cease this martyrdom, and I will confess anything.'