St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1880-01-10
The Days of French Poisoning.
Thomas J. Bowditch in Troy On. " Times |

ried on to large extent. Wives nun
dered husbands, sons killed fathers
The poisoners worked almost in broa
e4nylight. Some passed themselves OF
| for alehemists, and while preparing
mineral and vegetable poisons in secret
| in public showed alembics filled wit
innocent Installations. Colbert just tIel
was paying great attention to fouudn;
glass factories in France, and many o
the prisoners went to work in the roya
glass works, so that they were absolute
ly supported by the state, while the,
sold their poisons at high prices. Som,
of these wretches gave lessons in pre-
pairing pOiSOns, and kept professional
schools, where the whole business was
taught in d most thorough manner
With this horrid school of professional
poison makers there was migrated
belief in sorcery. Fantastic legend:
more or less diabolical, seized hold Of
the minds of the common people, anC
there is no doubt lhat children were
sacrificed during certain nominations
The crimes pcrpetrated by the Frcnci
ut this period, i'll the middle of the It'll
century, are so horrible, that they had
ees de Brinyilliers tlourished, lovely
lover, and had been sent to the Bastile
at the request of her father, who was
panied at his daughters disgrace, though
unfortunately such occurrences were
frequent then and there. On his release
St. Croix told Drinvillicrs that he had
learned how to make poison, Whereupon
she resolved to destroy her father, but
first experimental with the death deal
ing liquid on the sick people in the
hospital of the Hotel Dieu. She resolved
not to be detected, and devoted eight
months to the dosing of her father. No
suspicion was aroused. and she removed
her two brothers, and sisters by the
same means. Next she tried to poison
her husband, but he escaped by taking
antidotes supplied by st. Croix, who
feared he should be compelled to marry
the widow. St. Croix died in March,
1879, while he was preparing poison.
His mask fell off and he was poisoned
by the fumes. Among his papers We're
documents inculpatlng the marchion
ees. She escaped to England, but was
eventually taken to Paris. On trial,
a general confession y in her hand
writing, found among her papers, was
brought against her; but she declared
it had been written during the insanity
caused by fever. The torture, freely
two centuries ago, forced
a confession from her, and she was be-
headed July is, 1876.
La femme VOisin had been at first a
midwife, but found fortune telling more
lucrative. Then she took up the poison
trade, and at one time was chief pro-
lessor in that line in Paris. The transi-
ion from dealing i'll love potions and
.ortune telling to poison was easy
enough. If a customer had a trouble
some husband, how natural to foretell
lis death-for a hundred or two pistols.
Aud once the death foretOld, her repu-
alton was increased in making pro-
,hesy and fact accord. La Foisin pois- |
med her husband, Il jeweler with a
inch of diamond powder-the cant
ERIN at that time for arsenic. She
'oisoned off the husbands of good |
many others, and the number of wild
TVS among the accused in the La EOisin |
fair is very significant. The manner
f administering the poison was either
4 broth, in wine or i'll water. To do
his it was Necessary to make use of |
ervants, and La Voisin had conse-
uently established an immense con
ection among the servants of great
L administration
t her p0isons. The first design she
as charged with was connected with
ne project revealed by letter found in
pine. She had formed plan for put
re King; but no sooner was La NOisin
rrested than she determined to impli-
ate as many, high and low, as she pos
bly, could. She accused Racine of
an actress. Two hundred
nd forty persons were arrested, and
mong them were some who bore the
cry highest names in France. The
ontesse de Rome and Mime Polignac
ere denounced by her as contriving to
bison VALERIE, the Kings mistress.
ut the greatest ladies implicated were
le Contesse de scissors, the mother of
rlnce Eugene OF Savoy, and the Du-
less de Bouillon, two OF the nieces of ;
azarin, the Princess de Fingres, one
the Queens ladies of honor, the
rince of Clermont and Boutteyille. i
ontgomery, the famous Duke of Lux {
nbourg, againt whom suspicion was i
strong that he was at once shut mn /;
the Bastile. La Voisin went on de-
,uncing right and left at such fu- 1
ons pace that it seemed most advisa- a
e to stay her tongue and get her trial t
lished off before those of others. She c
as accordingly condemned to make CON i
ssiQn on her knees in front Of Notre t
anle in her shift, with torch in her
nd (the amende hoporable,l then her e
nd cut off and nailed to the stake. d
d then to be burned alive on the 22d n
February, 1880.
The Partisan world at this time was n
en- ready to laugh when pretty wife s.
t rid Of an old and ugly husband by d
cans OF few grains of health powder; il
t many people of a timid character. il
re not exactly comfortable. Believ- IL
: that glass would show traces Of poi h
! better than goblets of gold, silver il
pewter, nobody drank but out of B
ISIS. Clothes were washed at home, f,
der the eye of the mistress of the ic
use letters were disfnfected for fear ir
poison, and pretty women would ii
" receive bouquets Of flowers with w
utmost circumspection. Invitations m
sup were accepted with a certain fc
cunt OF suspicion, and the conduct til
the host was closely watched, and til
at he ate and drank was keenly OBJ d.
bed by the. guests. After pleasant T
lie supper, the least SYMPTOMS arising re
m natural causes, as from Indigestion, re
re looked upon with fear and tremb- 10
2, and it was the custom, Immediately ne
arriving home from IL feast, for the W
ssts to take emetics and drencles, in Sc
tt,. ,eot Mt bar coir | vi