St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-07-20
POISONED SIX HUNDRED.
The Terrible Work Of a Professional
Italian Murderess.

Italian Murderess.
DETECTION LONG DELAYED.
Young Women Sought Tofana to Relieve
Them Of the Husbands Forced Upon
Them, and She Supplied
the Poison.
Chambers Journal.
In the annals of most lands we gen.
orally find some period when the lust OF
shedding human blood was rampant;
but few can point to a worse condition
of existence than that which prevailed
in the Italy of the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries. the Italy OF the
petty republics and municipalities, when
the most brutal seltishness and most
bringing servility went hand in hand.
When baseneSS. deceit, cruelty and sell
fshness are combined in the character
of public men, the profession OF secret
murder becomes one Of the fine arts; in
fact, SO callous do people grow that they
cease to think of killing as murder, but
simply as the removal of hateful OBJ
ject.
The most remarkable of these pro-
feSSiOnal prisoners was woman, by
name TOfana. native of Palermo. This
monster, while still young girl. by
some means or other became possessed
of the recipe for mixture of which
from four to eight drops were fatal.
This liquid. which has become known
under the name of "Tofana water"
has been described as clear, tasteless,
.colorless and odorless. 1t was of such
a nature that it baffled the cleverest
medical men of the seventeenth CEN
fury, and the acutest analyses were ut
terly unable to testify to its presence in
the organs of one of its victims after
the most searching post-mortem exam
ination. 1t was, in TACT, the pOisOner' S
beau ideal of a poison.
Doubtless, off some modern TOlana
were to make use of this sO-called
water" she would not have the same
guarantee of absolute security which
sesSed. In the period in which she
f1ourished, chemistry had scarcely risen
to the dignity of science; but in this
nineteenth-century it is not only an ex-
pertinent. but also a mathematical
science. Our anaiyste can speak with
as absolute certainty of most infiniteSl-
NAL quantities as others can of tons ;they
are accustomedto weigh with balance
which indicates the tenth of a MILL
gramme THAT is, the .OO154 of graiD
with perfect distinctness; while many
of their tests are sufficiently delicate to
point out without the shadow of doubt
the presence of even the millionth part
OF grain.
Effects of the Poison.
In the Italy of the period in question
women we're but little better than the
slaves of their male relatives; they we're
married or divorced in the most reckless
way TO promote political or social alli-
ances, and generally discovered their
places to be occupied by some other
fair ones, who, though more favored,
were, perhaps, neither more nor less
frail than themselves. 1t was to such
wretched women that the Infamous
Tofana sold her secret, and, with So
ciety IN such state, there were only
too many fair ones who thought they
could be benefited by the removal OF
some hard OF faithleSS lord or some
more favored rival.
The first dose, administered i'll wine
or tea. OF some other liquid by the fiat
tering traitress, produced but scarcely
noticeable effect; the husband became
a little out of sorts. felt weak and Ian
guild, so little indisposed that he would
oil lint
he did it was oniv to be told it was a
mere nothing, which a draught Or two
would put to rights. After the second
dose OF poison this weakness and Ian
guor became more pronounced, and the
doctor would begin to think that, after
all, the patient required to be put on a
course of diet and rest. 5
The beautiful Medea who expressed so
much anxiety for her husbands indis-
position perhaps would scarcely be an
object of suspicion, and would prepare
her husbands food, as prescribed by
the doctor. with her own fair hands. In
this way the third drop would be adj
ministered and would PROSTATE the Wig
orous man. The doctor would be COM
pletely puzzled to see that the appa-
to his drugs. and while he would be
still in the dark as 10 its nature, other
doses would be given, until death would
claim the victim for his own.
Decefving the Authorities.
Then, when too late, the dreadful
word poison would be uttered; upon
which, of course, to save her fair fame.
the wife would demand a post norton
examination. Result. nothing; except
that the woman was able to pass as
slandered innocent; and then it would
be remembered that her husband died
without either pain, Inflammation, fever
OF spasms. If after this, within year
or two, the woman formed new con-
nection, nobody could blame her; for.
everything considered, it would be a
sore trial for her to continue to bear the
name of a man whose relatives had ac-
cused her of poisoning him.
While still at Palermo TOfano became
acquainted with an old sorceresS, Her
onyma Spara, to whom She impaired
her secret. The two worked together
until the number of deaths among the
young married men began to attract at
tention, whereupon Tofana started for
Naples, while Spara betOok herself to
the Eternal City. At Rome Spara be-
gan operations on an extended scale.
She formed band of prisoners, the
principal OF whom was a woman named
Gratiosa. for, be 1t remembered. Spara
was we'll up in years. Spara's method
of working seems to have been this:
She gave herself out as sorceress and
fortuneteller, and in this capacity
wOrmed the secrets out of the hearts of
the silly women who consulted her.
She would then cleverly inSinuate
that in three or four days the cruel hus-
band or the faithless man. as the case
might be, could be removed with the
most absolute safety. A bargain was
struck, mutual promises of the most
profound secrecy were exchanged. and !,
within the week there was a new widow
in Rome. If the discontinued wife
were member of the middle classes, 5,
Spara artfully contrived that the dan
gerous portion of the negotiations I
should be carried on by some of the