Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-04-16
THE KEY OF DEATH.
The Infamous Invention of Vene-
tian Merchant.

In the collection of curiosities pres
servered in the arsenal of Venice
there is a key, of which the following
singular tradition is related: About
the year 1890, one of those..dangerous
men IN whom extraordinary talent
is only the fearful source of crime and
wlckedneSs beyond that of ordinary
men, came to establish himself as a
merchant or trader in Venice. The
stranger. whose name was Tebaldo.
became enamored of the daughter of
an ancient house, already affianced to
another. He demanded her hand in
marriage, and was, of course. rejected
Enraged at this, he studied how to he
revenged. Profoundly skilled in the
mechanical arts, he allowed himself
no rest until he had invented the most
formidable weapon which could be
imagined. This was kew of LARGE
size, the handle of which was so con-
structed that it could be turned round
with but little difficulty; when turned.
1t discovered a spring, which, on pres
| sure, launched from the other end a
| needle or lancet of such subtle fneness
that 1t entered into the flesh and buried
itself there without leaving external
trace. TebaIdo waited in DISGUISE at
the door of the church in which the
maiden whom he loved was about 10
receive the nuptial benedietion. The
| assassin sent the slender steel unper>
ceived into the breast of the BRIDE
groom. The wounded man had no
suspicious of injury, but, seized with
a sudden and sharp pain In the midst
| OF the ceremony, he tainted and was
carried to his house amid the lamen-
tatlons Of the bridal party. YAM was
all the skill of the physicians, who
! could not divine the cause of this
strange illness, and ina few days he
died. Tebaldo again demanded the
hand of the maiden from her parents.
and received d second refusal. They
too persisted miserably in few DAVIS.
The alarm which these deaths, which
appeared almost miraculous, occasion
ed excited the utmost vigilance of the
magistrates, and when, on close ex-
animation of the bodies, the small in
strument was found in the gangrened
flesh, terror was universal; everyone
feared for his own life. The maiden
thus cruelty orphaned had passed the
! AISb uOhbuS VI Her mourning III a
convent, when TebaIdo, hoping to
bend her to his will, entreated to speak
to her at the gate. The face of the
foreigner haa ever been displeasing to
her, but since the death of all most
dear to her it had become odious Gas
though she had a presumption of his
guilt, and her reply was most decisive
IN the negative. Tebaldo, beyond
himself with rage, attempted to
wound her through the gate, and sue
ceeded; the obscurity of the place
prevented his movement being observ-
ed. On Der return to her room the
maiden felt pain in her breast, and
uncovering it she found it spotted
with single drop of blood. The pain
increased; the surgeons who fastened
to her assistance-taught by the past
wasted no time ia conjecture, but,
cutting deep into the wounded part,
extracted the needle before any mortal
mischief had commenced, and saved
the life of the lady. The state inquisi-
ton used every means to discover the
hand which dealth these insidious
and and irresistible blows. The visit
of Tebaldo to the convent caused sus-
picion to fall heavily upon him. His
house was carefully searched, the in
famous invention discovered, and he
persisted on the gibbet."