The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-03-04
THE POISONER.

i nave sald llttle ABOUT poisoning, re-
marks M. de Goron, ex-chief of detect
ives Of Paris, in his recently published
"Memoirs," not because the crime is
less common than formerly, but because
science has made it SO difficult Of detec-
ton and chance so seldom puts proof
into the hands Of the police.
1t was chance, however. that permit
ted me Oh one occasion to detect poi
soner.
A commercial traveller, M. x. had his
letters addressed post restante at the
Theatre Francois bureau. One morning,
unexpectedly called back to town, he
was astonished to see at the postoffice
on little blue envelope handwrit-
ing unfamiliar to him. Opening it, he
read:
MY WELL Beloved havo seen your hus-
band and have observed with satisfaction that
the disease has made serious progress. His
lips are quite white, his eyes hollow, his coun-
tonance ashen. think we can hope to be rid
Of him in month
P. SIN bring another little packet tomor-
row.
The poor drummer at first thought it
a hoax, but rejecting that chance might
have put into his hands the proof of an
adulterous crime which would have had
sinister end, he hurried to the office of
the surete bearing the title blue accuser,
which he handed to me.
I turned it over in my hands, surpris-
ed that criminals who could plan such
an infamous crime should forget the
elementary precautions.
wondered if it were not a practical
joke, merely to make work for the po-
lice. Then I reflected that most big
crimes are discovered by the criminals
imprudence, and I resolved to investi-
gate.
My duty was to solve the mystery. I
had the postoflioe watched.
Early next morning "a pretty young
woman called to get the letter.
She was frightened when an officer
very politely took her by tho arm and
led her to carriage.
No one saw the arrest. Tho carriage
was already on its way when the wom-
all demanded:
"Where are you taking me, sir?'
"To the chief Of detectives, madam"
She fell back and said no more, but
her hands shook nervously and her lips
were bloodless. q
Large, graceful, beautiful, still
young, the woman was dressed with the
severe elegance Of the prosperous bour-
geoise. She was blond, whose blue
eyes, marked round with blister, and
whose mobile features seemed to mirror
all her reflections.
BY the manner in which she entered
tho Office I knew she was a woman of
the world. She sat down, nervously
beating on the table. Her gesture was
abrupt, her voice hoarse, and there was
an odd look in her eye.
"What do you wish?" she said.
"Why am I, an honest woman, brought
here?"
tried to calm her, but her voice be-
came harsher as she cried: cts infa.
nous! need not tell You my name"
Then, with due regard to dramatic
effect, handed her the blue envelope.
She fell en- her knees, crying in o
voice broken by sobs: Mercy! Mercy!
! am an unhappy woman! l am poi
soner! Yes, wished to kill my hus-
bandl But alone am to blame. He had
to obey mo. Punish no one but me.
"If you knew" she went On, chow l
hate my husband To see him there, al
ways near me, is torture worse than
death. love tho young man who wrote
that note with all my soul. With him
l am in heaven. But to 60 home and
endure my husbands embrace, his lips
upon my cheek-it is like fire. At any
cost he must die! prefer crime to that
agony of every minute, every second.
But swear alone am guilty Punish
me. I have merited death, but spare
him, pray you"
Almost ut the moment she seized
pair of scissors from my desk and would |
have stabbed herself had not her hand
been staid. !
I forced her to sit down and told her
how much better ii was that the crime
had been discovered and by gonslo /
means l got from the weeping woman
the name and address of Ter lover. Then |
1 babe her wait in neighboring room
under guard.
sent ont agents to arrest the lover
and meanwhile questioned her again. !
She said she didn't know what the Iow-
der was. The lover had sent it at her
request for souething "sow and sure"
Two b.urs later the EN- brought in
M. Leon a., the gayest assassin they !
ever saw, they said. +
"Woll, well" he had laughed as bo
saw the men file in, this is funny. I
never thought 1t would turn cut so ccm.
tcal +" "a ,.,;f ,s5.a 10
And all the way to my Office he