The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1885-05-27
TRADITIONS OF A KEY.
a Little Needle That Carried Dfardss
With ft.

In the collection of curiosities preserved
IN the Arsenal of Venice there is key, OF
which the following singular tradition is re-
lated" About the year 1000 one of those
dangerous men, in whom extraordinary tai
emit is only the fearful source of crime and
wickedness beyond that of ordinary men,
came to establish himself as q merchant or
trader in Venice. The stranger, whose
name was Tebaldo, became enamored OF
The daughter of an ancient house, already
afianced to another. He demanded he,
hand in marriage and was, of course, re.
jected Enraged at this he studied how te
be 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 key
of a large size, the handle of which was so
constructed that it could be turned round
with little difficulty when turned, it dis
covered spring, which, on pressure,
launched from the other end needle OF
lancet of such subtle fneness that it enter
ed into the flesh and buried itself there
without external trace Tebaldo waited in
disguise ut the door of the church in which
the maiden whom he loved was about to re-.
ceiye the nuptial benediction. The assassin
sent the slender steel unperceived into the
breast of the bridegroom.
The wounded man had no suspicion of
injury, but seized with sudden and sharp
pain in the midst of the ceremony, he faint
ed and was carried to his house amid the
lamentations of the bridal party. Vain was
all tho skill of the physicians, who could
not devise the cause of this strange illness j;
and in few days he died. Tebaldo again
demanded the hand of the maiden from hei
parents, and received second refusal
They, too, persisted miserably in few days.
The alarm which these deaths-which ap.
peared almost miraculous-oc ex-
cited the utmost vigilance of the magis-
trates and when, ON close examination of
the bodies, the small instrument was found
in the gangrened flesh, terror was univer-
sal +; every one feared for his own life. The
maiden thus cruelty orphaned had passed
the first months of her mourning in con.
vent, when Tebaldo, hoping to bend her to
his will, entreated to speak with her at the
CRATE. The face of the foreigner had been
very displeasing to her. but since the death
of all those most dear to her it had become
odious (as though she had presumption of
his guilt, and her reply was most decisive
in the negative. Tebaldo, beyond himself
with rage, attempted to wound her through
CRATE, and succeeded the obncurity of the
place prevented his movements being OBJ
served. On her return to her room the
maiden felt pain in her breast, and un.
covering it, she found it spotted with sin.
gle drop of blood. The pain increased i;
the surgeons who hastened TO her assist
ance, taught by the past, lost no time il
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 In.
QUESTION used every means to discover the
hand which dealt these insidious and rresist.
BILE blows. The visit of Tel aldo to the con-
vent caused suspicion to fall heavily upor
him. His house was carefully searched,
the infamous invention discovered and he
persisted on the gibbet."