Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-06-14
DIABOLISM.
The Art of Poisoning in the Reign Of Louis
XIV.

DIABOLISM.
The Art of Poisoning in the Reign Of Louis
XIV.
From Fraser's Magazine
Two stave off neutrality-suspicious. COM
bier 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 Bastile
to work under Government surveillance.
They were allowed as much sulphur,
anthony, arsenic, and anything else as
they wanted, and they were expected
to give gold in return. Hence one of
the most notable discoveries of that
time; ofcourse the police found no gold,
but they found (what they had long
suspected) that these seekers for the
philosophers stone were prisoners,
and that their customers were to be
found in the very highest ranks of
society. Arsenic, which is often said
to kill by accumulation of many small
doses, was incapable of detection in
those days when post mortems were un-
known; and thus poudre de succession
became a favorite way of getting rid of
any one who stood between a man
or women and the estate or the human
being whom they coveted. We have
all heard of the Brinyillirs. Voisin was
plebeian imitator of hers, doing for
the common people what the others
did for the noblesse, to which she her
self belonged. The humber artist did
her work in just as artistic style as did
the marchioness. A butcher in st.
Antions administers correction to his
gad-about wife; she goes off straight to
Voisin and quietly buys packages of
powder, which made her in few weeks
a frolicsome widow. A carpenter,
dying, leaves little money; mother and
son can't agree about it; the mother
goes to Voisin and gets a powder, but
before she has come for the next the son
has been there too. Voisin keeps them
bothin hand, determind that whoever
pays her most shall win; the mother gains
the day. Besides poisoning, Voisin
was ready for every other kind of vii
lainy. She and midwife named
Lebere are stated to have procured
abortion in 100000 cases, and the
number of newborn children burned by
VOisin In her magical rites is reckoned
at $500. The whole story is so horri-
BILE that, were it not legally 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 hope that some of the revolving
details were due to diseased imagina.
ton. 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 their dupes " the flying DOLL" which
was no sooner spent than it found it's
way back into its owners pocket. To
drape room in black cloth, and on
black altar Lighted with black candles.
STAY new born babe, while priest (for
priests were found to lend themselves
to the work. went through a vile traves-
ty to the Mass, was one OF the least horri-
bic OF the ceremonies; some are too bad
even to hint at. It is little consolation
that Voisin, who had made 100000
crowns, and was leaving France under
a false name, was caught, tried, and at
last burned February, 16sO.) She sup
ped gayly the night before, and sang
parodies on the Church hymns; ssgave
her soul to the Devil in good STYLE"
(ge'atamaeaat,) 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 scissors, was
convicted of having gone to her in order
to get rid OF La Valliere, her successful
wal In Louis XLV.'s affections. There
was no doubt about it; the proofs are
on record. The order 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 was such an
epidemic of poisoning that the Magis
trate de la Reynie hesitated to 20 on
with the inquiries; he found they were
likelyto compromise very exalted per-
sonages indeed. In very short time he
had 147 prisoners on his hands. and he
questioned whether itisfor Gods glory
and the Kings interest, q. e., the interest
OF the State, or even of justice, to pub
llsh abroad such terrible and enormous
crimes" Writing to Louyois. the
Prime Minister, in 1851, he saws: g But
for the confessions of the criminals. I
should scarcely be able to credit the
existence of such traffic in poisons.
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
joD for the trifing charge of thirty
sous.) There was such a panic that
people gave up using metal drinking
cups and took to glass; metal might be
so prepared as to posion the drink poured
into ii. At a dinner every guest had
his own silver plate, brought and carried
home again by confidential servant,
The line was washed at home. and "got
up" under the housewives own ewes,
for fear the masters shirts would be
made shirts of Nessas. Letters we're
disinfected as if it had been time of
plague; and ladies gave up accepting
bouquets, because people had been
known never to recover after smelling