The Sun.
London, England, 1863-07-06 00:00:00

WAS NERO A MONSTER ?

Tho poisoning of Britannicus is doubly interesting. It
is one of the most notorious of murders ; and has, I believe ,
never until this day found any one to question it since Ta-
citus and Suetonius first circumstantially related the details.
Yet a verdict more flagrantly in defiance of common sense
and science has seldom been given. Nero, we are told, hated
Britannicus because of his sweet voice, and feared him as a
possible pretender to the throne. Here are the motives ima-
gined ; let us now see them in operation. The tyrant, we
are told, unable to bring any accusation against him (which
in those days of conspiracy was surely strange) secretly
resolved to murder him; and this secret resolve be-
comes known to the narrators, but how they gained the
knowledge is not mentioned. It was confided to Julius
Pollio, tribune of a prwtorian cohort, who at that
moment held in prison, under sentence of death,
Locusts, notorious for her crimes—mu/ea seelerton fame.
She was ordered to prepare a poison—this position was ad-
ministered to Britannicus—but it was too slow in its opera.
tion—and Nero, sending for her, beat her, and vowed that
she had supplied an antidote, Whereupon she prepared
before his own eyes, and in his own room, a deadly poison,
the strength of which was essayed on a pig, whose instant
death satisfied Nero that now he had got what he desired.
The banquet was prepared. Britannicus was seated at a
separate table magnificently served, in presence of his re-
latives and several young nobles. A slave stood at his
side to taste of every dish and every beverage, as a pre-
caution against poison ; and this slave it was necessary to
spare, otherwise his death, occurring at the same time,
would betray the murder. To avoid this betrayal, the follow-
ing expedient was imagined. A beverage was presented to
Britannicus, after having been tasted, too hot to be drunk ;
to cool it, a little cold water was poured in, and this cold
water contained the poison. No sooner had the prince tasted
it than he fell lifeless. The guests were alarmed ; some rose
to fly; but those who clearly understood it all sat still, their
eyes fixed on Nero, who quietly assured them that it was
only an attack of the epileptic fits to which Britannicus
was sulject, and that it would soon be over. " After a
while the gaiety of the banquet was resumed ; post breve
silentiuntrepaita contivil Britannicus was hastily
buried the next day. According to Dion Cassius the face
of the corpse had become quite black from the poison; to
conceal this Nero whitened it with chalk, but the falling
rain washed away the chalk and disclosed the crime which
had been thus clumsily concealed. As for Locusta she wasnot
only rewarded with a free pardon and a grant of land, but
" Nero placed some disciples with her to be instructed in
her art I" This is the story. The first remark which
Science suggests is that the sudden death of Britannicus may
very probably have been due to epilepsy, but cannot have
been due to poison, since there was no poison known to the
ancients capable of such instantaneous effects. In our own
days the only poisons known to take effect in a few seconds
are prussic acid, oxalic acid, strychnine, woorara, and the
venom of certain snakes ; and these were not known in
Rome. Aconite, which on good grounds is believed to have
been a common poison employed in Rome, requires from one
to three hours to produce fatal effects; and the majority o
mineral poisons require several hours. Secondly, Scienc
knows of no poison which instantaneously blackens the face
of the victim. There are certain mineral poisons which,
taken slowly, will slowly discolour the skin, but not one
which, acting rapidly on the organism, rapidly betrays its
presence by such discoloration. Having dismissed Science,
we now request Common Sense to step into the witness-box,
and she plainly tells us that, as Nero, Locusts, and Pollio
were toe deeply interested in these transactions to have
volunteered a confession of their acts, and as no such con-
fession was publicly extorted from them, there is some diffi-
culty in ascertaining from whom such circumstantial narra-
tives were obtained, and what guarantee they offer for the
truth of their narratives. Moreover, supposing it to be a fact
that Locusts was pardoned, and had a grant of land—a fact
which requires proof—the fiction which connects her withd
Nero's criminal pntposes is betrayed in the mythicala di.
her
tion of the disciples placed with her to be instructedn
no
att. Had Nero been the monster he is painted, be would
o.e r
re t
hwaaysedhoenset,taatnead twohdeensttrhotyirsutcehsteimololenay mguesi
g aevidence
It is thus perfectly clear that, according
whentb e t
dheniouts.
k
poisoned, it was under very different
that
but the general
now accessible, Britannicus was not poiseoirnteacudnia:oNytreenirfeoeh,ssefwsruoeiriei.
those r arrated ; and it is no lees clearhin,
posed the young man',
suspicion
nartehaint
htheemnaTdhearvreesvrtsieohnendofter
death,—From the July No. of the Cornhill Magazine.

the c of
see the
NousELIOLD CAVALRY.—We are glad to
2d Life Guards decidedly looking up. It is now just
nmONavndingolli
four ”"Gntlis wince there was a change oft,cixont
regimental establish-
cerg, and already the regiment has got its lull -
complement
tt‘hvoismwoirlle maktel the
of subalterns. Instead of one cornet—,‘
2d," as he was usually called—there are ornet the
indication of the
genetaen are (.) • belonging
nly Waiting to
to a restoration of the
tobe thez regiment;ttedan d
tnent of officers complete. It is a striking
beneficial effects produced by a eh
thought the essential preliminary change 'which we long
corps to its old footing.--„dr, i
I/ OM Z'avy fitizetle.