"I do not intend," I replied; "especially with money. But to
return to more important matters: - of what crimes did this holy
house of Cordova take cognizance?"
"You are of course aware of the matters on which the holy office
exercises its functions. I need scarcely mention sorcery, Judaism,
and certain carnal misdemeanours."
"With respect to sorcery," said I, "what is your opinion of it? Is
there in reality such a crime?"
"Que se io {12}?" said the old man, shrugging up his shoulders.
"How should I know? The church has power, Don Jorge, or at least
it had power, to punish for anything, real or unreal; and as it was
necessary to punish in order to prove that it had the power of
punishing, of what consequence whether it punished for sorcery or
any other crime."
"Did many cases of sorcery occur within your own sphere of
knowledge?"
"One or two, Don Jorge; they were by no means frequent. The last
that I remember was a case which occurred in a convent at Seville:
a certain nun was in the habit of flying through the windows and
about the garden over the tops of the orange trees; declarations of
various witnesses were taken, and the process was arranged with
much formality; the fact, I believe, was satisfactorily proved: of
one thing I am certain, that the nun was punished."
"Were you troubled with much Judaism in these parts?"
"Wooh!
