The New Orleans bulletin., 1876-03-26
THE ART OF POISONING IN THE
REIGN OF LOUIS XIV

THE ART OF POISONING IN THE
REIGN OF LOUIS XIV
To stavs of bankruptcy, pour com,bler le
deficit, kings and ministers had recourse to
strange expedients. Even Louis XIV was
sadly pinched for want of money; and, since
alchemy was the order of the day, he caught
. batch of alchemists and sent them to the
Bastale to work under government surveil.
lance. They were allowed as much sulphur,
antimony, arsenic, and anything else as they
wanted, and they were expected to give gold
ia return. Hence one of the most notable
discoveries of that time; of course the police
found no gold, but they found (what they
had long suspected) that these seekers for
the philosophers stone were poisoners, and
that their customers were to be found in the
highest ranks of society.
Arsenic, which is often said to kill by ac-
emulation Of many small doses, was in
capable of detection in those days, when post
mortems we're unknown; and thus poulre de
succession became . favorite way Of getting
rid of any one who stood between man or
woman and the estate or the human being
whom they coveted. We, have all heard Of
the Brinviliers. Voisin was plebeian imi-
tator of hers, doing for the common people
what the other did for the 'aoblesse, to which
she hersek belonged. The humber artist did
heE work in just as artistic style =. did the
Marchioness. A butcher in st. Antoine "ad-
ministers correction to his gad-about wife;
she goes off straight to Voisin and quietly
buys packets Of powder, which make her in a
few weeks frolicsome widow.
A carpenter, dying, leaves . little money;
mother and son can't agree about it; the
mother goes to Voisin and gets powder, but
before she has come for the next the son has
been there too. Voisin keeps them both in
hand, determined that whoever pays her
highest shall win; the mother gains the day.
Besides poisoning, Voisin was ready for every
other kind of villainy. She and midwife
named Lepere are stated to have procured
abortion in 1O,0 900 cases, and tho number of
newborn children burned by Voisin in her
magical rites il reckoned at $500. The whole
story is 90 horrible that, were it not legally
attested in these archives, one could not
credit it.; it is worse than the worst of the
foul dreams Of witches. The confessions of
Voisin and her accomplices were made long
before they were tortured, yet one would fain
hope that some of the revolving details were
due to diseased Imagination.
Spiritualism is contemplate enough; We
may be thankful that it is only contemplate
when We read of the methods which these
wretches used to call up the Devil and to win
from him for the dupes ''the flying dollar,
which was no sooner spent than 1t found its
way back into its owners pocket. To drape
. room in black cloth, and on . black altar,
lighted with black candles, to slay newborn
babe, while priest (for priests were found to
lend themselves to the work) went through
vile travesty of the Mass, was one of the least
horrible Of the ceremonies; some are too bad
even to hint at. 1t is a little consolation that
voisin, who had made 100, 900 crowns, and
was leaving France under false name was
caught, tried, and at last burned February,
168O.) She supped gayly the night before,
and sang parodies on the Church hymns.
ssgave her soul to the Devil in good style"
(qentiment,) as Madame de Sevigne has it.
But all Voisin's clients were not butchers
and carpenters wives and lewd young women
Of the baser sort who had "got into trouble"
Marie Mancini, Countess Of Soissons, was
convicted of having gone to her in order TO
get rid of La VAlliere, her successful rival in
Louis XIV's affections. There was no doubt
about it; the proofs are on record. The or.
der was issued to arrest the Countess, but
Louis told the Duke Of Bouillon to give her a
hint, and she escaped. Nor was she the only
one who escaped; for there vas such an cpl
demic Of poisoning that the Magistrate de la
Reynie besitated to 60 on with his inquiries;
he found they were likely to compromise
very exalted peraonages indeed. In very
short time he had 147 prisoners on his hands,
and he questions 'whether it is for Gods
glory and the Kings interest, ]. e., the inter
est of the State, or even of justice, to publish
abroad such terrible and enormous crimes.
Writing to Louvois, the Prime Minister, in
1851, he says: "But for the confession of
the criminals should scarcely be able to
credit the existence of such traffic in poi
sons. Poisoning is the common remedy for
family troubles. Human life is put up to the
sale daily" Zone poisoner among the poor
actually undertook the job for the tri1ing
charge of thirty sous) There was such q
panic tn It people gave up using metal drink.
ing cups and took to glass; metal might be SO
prepared as to poison the drink poured into
it. At dinner every guest had his own silver
plate, brought and carried home again by
confidential servant The linen was washed
at home and "got up" under the housewives
own eyes, for fear the masters shirts should
infected as if it had been time of plague; and
ladies gave up accepting bouquets, because
people had been known never to recover after
smelling ct poisoned flower
Even Racine, the good and truly pious, the
bet character, perhaps, of all the writer's
WHO adorned that brilliant court, was at one
time suspected of being prisoner. These
archives show that inquiries were secretly set
on foot about him, and that his innocence
was indisputably proved. Indeed, among
the motley crew who dabbled in poisons there
was not single literary man of the slightest
pretensions to fame. Voisin was burned alive
in February, 1880. Mime. de Oarada, wife Of
"master of woods and forests" had her
hand cut off year after. Between these two
good many met their just punishment; and
then the trials suddenly ceased. and the
cha,nbre ardente left off its Investigations
Louis made up his mind that De Ia Reynie
was right, and that to 60 further would bring
scandal on the whole nation.
Other grand court favorites besides the
Countess of Scissors were compromised. Be-
sides the villainous priests who were executed,
there were many other clergymen involved
more or less deeply in the ssme impieties
The King. who. in spite Of his free life. was,
after his own fashion, highly religious man.
did not like to strengthen the hands Of the