Connecticut western news., 1873-02-28

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 One of the most terrible crimes, one of the worst sorts of murder, is the de- struction of human life by secret poison. There are shades of guilt recognized even by the law, but the taking of life by poisons, so slow in their operation that the gradual ebbing away of exist ence resembles the natural decay of years, is usually unsuspected, and must be persevered in for some time, until the fatal result be produced.
 In fit of passion, or when under the influence of anger, or any other tempor- ary feeling, human life may be sudden ly taken but secret poisoning indicates steady and reticent persistence in de- hberate design-such as, in fact, noth- ing but continuous malignancy could have even conceived. Happily, this most terrible of crimes has declined very much within the last two or three hundred years. .,. It is repeatedly mentioned in the Greek and Latin writers, but did not become regular art until the seven teenth century though in 1529, in the reign of Henry VIII, the English Par lament passed law declaring the en- ployment of secret poisons to be high treason, and appropiating boiling to death as it's peculiar punishment. A century later, in the reign of James I. some cases obtained an unhappy mo- toriety in London =, ..'.- aal --.
 The wife of the Earl of Essex, Q woman of great beauty, loose conduct and bad heart, was offended by some reflections cast upon her by Sir Thomas Overbury, an author and courier, and induced Robert Kerr, Lord Rochester, who then was on far too intimate terms with her, to remove him by secret poi soning, which he did. Some time after this, when Kerr lost his favor at court, he was tried and convicted of the poi soning, but received pardon from the king. It was believed that this was done to prevent his making some crimi- nal disclosures against the king himself!
 It was in Italy and France, however, that this crime was longest and most effectually practiced. Throughout Ital- ian history, from the time of the middle ages, secret poisoning casts a crimson hue upon every page. Men who shrank from assassination did not hesitate to employ poison to remove their enemies or rivals. The Roman family of Borgia used this so largely that their name re- mains associated with it. Caesar Borgia had ring from which started a sharp point, charged with poison, which on such slight pressure as shaking hands, pressed itself into the flesh of the vic- tim, and however slightly the skin might be abraded, leaving only a slight mark as if a pin had scratched it, the poison entered into the victims system and death was the result, without leav- ing sign or mark of the cause.
 It will be remembered that Lord Lyt- ton (who is best known in this country as Lytton- -Bulwer, the novelist) intro duced ring of this kind into his TO- nance of "Lucretia or, the Children of Night" and by it's use, the criminal heroine, then not knowing his identity, poisons her own son. It may be added that Caesar Borgia's father, Q highly distinguished and greatly wicked man, who was believed to have "removed D many persons by foul means, ixvited an old friend to sup with him, intending to poison him by poisoned confections. The guest, however had Q warning of danger, and made point of seeing his hosts carver, who confessed that it was intended to destroy him, but consented, for bribe of ten thousand golden du- cats, so to arrange matters that the box of poisoned confections was placed be- fore the master of the feast instead of before the guest, and the deceiver being thus deceived, the poisoner was poi soned. .......f....-
 In the middle of the seventeenth cen- tury, the large and increasing number of young widows in Rome led to suspi- cion and inquiry, and it was discovered that the husbands had died suddenly that secret society of young wives em- ployed an old ldfortune-teller, named Spa ra, to supply them with poison, impid, tasteless, and clear, which would destroy life slowly or suddenly, at will. The use of this poison continued through several years, until at last Spara and thirteen of her fair clients were arrested, tried, convicted, publicly whipped, and hung, many others, of the highest rank in Rome, being banished and fined. '
 Fifty years after this, it was ascer- tained that a similar system of crime was carried on in Naples, the chief pro moter of which was an old woman named Tofania, who largely manufactured the Spara poison, and sold it extensively, even sending it to various parts of Italy, under the name of Mama of St. Nioo- la of Bari" (the title of miraculous oil said to cure rheumatism), but best known, in our day, as the "Aqua To- fana." On analyzation, it is said to have consisted of crystals of arsenic dissolved in water It produced its effects slowly, by the gradual weakening of the appe- tite and the organs of respiration. After six hundred persons had perished by this poison, Toffaniawas arrested, tried, convicted, and strangled, in 1719. From that time, secret poisoning has hardly been heard of in Italy. ' In the reign of Louis XIV. secret poi soning was carried on to Q large extent in France, the criminals being married women, and the victims being. in most cases their husbands. The suspicions of the Government being excited from certain information, two Italians, named Exili and Chaser, were sent to the Bas- tile, charged with having made and sold the poisons. Glaser died in prison, but Exii became acquainted there with Seigneur de St. Croix, then a prisoner, and taught him how to make the poi.
 sons. ....-... -.rs.. ..-.. -.... St. Croix was the lover of the Mar
 chioness de Brinvilliers, @ lovely and wicked woman, and had been sent to the Bastile at the request of her father, . who was pained at his daughters dis grace, though, unfortunately, such oc- currences were very frequent, then and there. 4 ,-:.. -s-- -,, '.a. ''. Y t... On his release, St. Croix told Brinvil- Hers that he had learned how to make poison, whereupon she resolved to de
 stroy her father, but first eNperimented with the death dealing liquid on the sick eoplpe in the hospital of the Hotel Dieu.
 She resolved not to be detected, and devoted eight months to the dosing o1
 her father. No suspicion was aroused.