The Water Torture. The prisoner was tied with ropes to a sloping ladder or surface so that his head was lower than his feet. In this position, a cloth was forced down into his mouth, and water was slowly poured down his throat with a pitcher so that he swallowed it until it burst. Facsimile of an engraving from "Praxis Rerum Criminalium", by J. Damhouder". Antwerp, 1556. "Moeurs, usages et costumes au moyen-age et a lepoque de la Renaissance", by Paul Lacroix. Paris, 1878.