The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1888-07-28
THEY POISONED the MEN.
How the Women Of Ancient Rnmn RA.
venRed Their had Treatment.

venged Their bad Treatment,
In the year 331 B. C. many OF
the Roman citizens, and especially
many of the Roman mobiles, were
attacked by an unknown disease.
which showed the same symptoms
in all, and nearly all perished. The
cause was wrapped in obscurity,
but at length a maid-servant went
to "curule aedile" and said that
she could explain the origin of the
disease, but would not do so unless
security were given her that she
would suffer no harm in conse-
quence. The curule aedile brought
the matter before the Consuls, the
Consuls consulted the Senate, and
resolution was passed guaranty
ing safety to the maid-servant.
Whereupon she declared that the
deaths arose from poison; that the
matrons were in the habit of COM
pounding drugs, and she could take
the officials to a bouse in which
they would come upon the matrons
while engaged in the operation.
The officials accepted her offer,
followed her and found, as she said,
the matrons compounding drugs.
About twenty of them were con-
veyed to the forum and were SUBJ
jected to an examination on their
doiEgs. Two of them, of noble
family, and with patrician names,
Cornelia and Sergia, affirmed that
the drugs were perfectly wholesome.
That could be easily tested, and
the two matrons were requested to
prove their truthfulness by drink
ing the mixture. The two matrons
begged for few moments of rri-
vate talk with the rest of their as
sociates, but within sight of the
people. Permission was granted,
few words were exchanged, and
then all the twenty matrons came
back, boldly quaffed the liquor, and
died in consequence. Then search
was made for all the matrons who
had been engaged in this conspira-
cy and 10 of them were found
guilty. The men explained the
occurrence by asserting that the
women were infatuated, but proba-
bly, they knew we'll why recourse
was had to such violent measures,
and that Roman matrons were not
likely to be subjected to tyranny
without making an effort in one
way or another to put an end to it.
An occurrence of similar nature
took place in $50 B. C. In this
case there can scarcely be a doubt
that a real plague ragged, for it
lasted for three years and decimated
Italy. But the women were ell
ragged with the men for the harsh
measures which had been taken
against them in connection with
the Bacchanalian mysteries. and
they seem to have regarded the
plague as affording favorable op-
portunity for the use of poison.
In $50 B. C. the Prator, the Consul
and many other illustrious men
died. A judge was appointed to
inquire into these deaths, and es-
pecially to examine if poison had
been employed. The historians do
not narrate the results of this in
vestigation, but we are told that
the wife of the Consul was tried and
condemned to death. Thirty-six
years after this two men in con-
sular rank were poisoned by their
wives. In subsequent times the
use of poison became frequent; ;
and particularly in the early days
of the empire the matrons about
the court were accused of having
constant recourse to it to get out
of the way men whom they did not
like, husbands and sons and others
connected with them as well as
strangers. And one writer remarks
that wherever there were irregular
tiles there were poisonings. Some
historians have rejected these tales
of poisoning as the inventions OF
credulous annalists, | think, with
out good reason. But whether the
stories are true or false, the Ro-
mans believed them,. and they en-
body the Roman belief in regard to
what women could do. And 1t
seems to me that we must regard
them as indicating that the Roman
matrons felt sometimes that they
were badly treated, that they ought
not to endure the bad treatment,
and that they ought to take the
only means that they possessed OF
expressing their feelings and wreak-
mo venreance bv emplo Ying poi