The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1886-01-20
THE KEY OF DEATH.
Its Infamous Inventor Discovered and
Hanged.

Dl9GOV6E6U
Hanged.
In the collection of curiosities pre-
served in the arsenal of Venice there is
key of which the following singular
tradition, says a contemporary, is re-
lated. About the year 1000 one of those
dangerous men in whom extraordinary
talent is only the source of crime and
wickedness beyond that of ordinary
men, came to establish himself as a mer.
chant or traderin Venice. The stranger,
whose name was Tebaldo, became
enamored Of the daughter of an ancient
house, who was already affianced to an.
other. He demanded her hand in mar.
riage and was Of course rejected. En-.
ragged at this, he studied how to be re-
venged. Profoundly skilled in the me-
chanical arts, he allowed himself no rest
until he had invented the most formida-
BILE weapon which could be imagined.
This was key of large size, the handle
of which was so constructed that
it could be turned round with
little difficulty; when turned it
disclosed a spring, which on press
ure launched from the other end needle
Of such subtle fineness that it entered
into the flesh and buried itself there
without leaving external trace. Tebaldo
waited in disguise at the door of the
church in which the maiden whom he
loved was about to receive the nuptial
benediction. The assassin sent the slen-
der steel unperceived into the breast of
the bridegroom. The wounded man had
no suspicion 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 lamentations of
the bridal party.
Vain was all the skill of the physi.
clans, who could not discover the cause
of this strange illness, and in few days
he died. Tebaldo again demanded the
hand of the maiden from her parents,
and received second refusal.
They, too, persisted miserably in
a few days. The alarm which these
deaths--which appeared almost miracu-
lous-occasioned, excited the utmost
vigilance of the magistrates; and when,
on close examination of the bodies, the
small instrument was found in the gam
| grened flesh, terror was universal; 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 ever displeasing to her; but
since the deaths of all those most dear
to her, it had become odious, and her
reply was most decidedly in the mega.
tive. Tebaldo, beyond himself with
rage, attempted to wound her through
the CRATE, and succeeded. The oh.
security of the place prevented
his movement being observed.
| On her return to the room the maiden
felt a pain in her breast; uncovering it,
| she found it spotted with single drop
of blood. The pain increased; the sur.
| geons who fastened to her assistance
taught by the past-wasted no time in
conjecture, but, cutting deep into the
wounded part, extracted the needle be.
fore any more mischief had begun, and
saved the life of the lady. The State in.
| QUESTION used every means to discover
the hand which had dealt these insidious
and irresistible blows. The visit of re.
baldo to the convent caused suspicion to
fall heavily upon him. His house was
carefully searched, the infamous inven-
ton discovered, and he persisted on the
| gibbet.-San Francisco Chronicle.