New-York tribune., 1902-04-23
PRISONERS.
THINGS THEY HAVE AND HAVE NOT
DONE IN THE HISTORIC PAST.


Andrew Lang. in The London Morning Post
The more the science of chemical analysis has
advanced the less DO We hear that every inn
portant person who dies dies of poison. OF old
q statesman prince could not die a natural
death in public opinion He, or she, was always
safd TO have been taken off by poison or witch
craft A. the same time, II was believed that
poisons of exceeding subtlety existed A person
could be poisoned with fan, rose, glove,
handkerchief. (in the case NJ Queen Eliza
bethD with saddle. Then there were the poison
rings. A Borgia would shake hands with car
dinal, the Borgia's ring would slightly scratch
that dignilied victim. he would go home, make
his WILL and expire. What has modern science
TO say about poison rings? Could believers in
vaccination vaccinate nti-vaccinationists by
this picturesque method? Probably such tales
are romances. like the fans, and handkerchiefs,
and roses. and saddles, and gloves Of tradition,
and the poisoned book which killed Charles IX.
1t seems obvious that when no chemical analy-
sis existed. when poison could not be detected,
there need Of the extreme subtleties at
tributed 20 Florentine and French poisoners-
Medical science was so backward. diseases were
SO little understood. d natural death was
deemed unnatural in age when steel and
rope were such common causes OF decease, lhat
every important death down TO those of Charles
ii and his sister Madame was attributed TO poi
son. In some cases the records enable US TO
say that the suspicion was certainly false.
Madame died of peritontis. not of a poisoned
cup containing chicory water Madame had
tafhed when overheated and in bad health.
She was dying before she drank the chicory
water Her brothers death was quite as nat
sonjng is fairly certain. Several ladies Of the
Drummond family died after meal one OF
them was endeared to James ": probably some
accident or untidiness in the kitchen was the
cause A number Of Scottish ENJOYS France
l5JSl died. and the rest were very Ill after a
fish dinner at the seaside their homeward
way 1t is probable that bad oysters. as in the
recent case of fatal bali supper al Stirling.
were the Of the calamity The Earl OF
Morton, about 1873, was accused of poisoning
the Earl of Athol, who died after dining with
Morton But, examining the letters of the
period we find that after a political dinner,
both host and guests hahitually nearly died of
eurfeit They ate and drank far too much and
narrowly escaped with their lives. Sometimes,
like Athni they did not escape at all. and then
srose the cry of Poison" which could not be
detected If really used Apparently people who
die deal in poison knew Of nothing better than
vulgar arsenic. Now Eahnemann, in times
relatively recent, could not detect less quanti-
ty Of arsenic than ten grains. Black could spot
a single grain ami the of detection and
defence has beaten the bowling"
At various times and places IN the seventeenth
century society startled by the sudden ap
parition of swarms Of pretty young widows a
little widow is dangerous thing" and society
Was alarmed. At Rome in 1863. Alexander VII
be,ne Pope. young widows were in great force
and number. ] cite Mr.. Bisset's essay the
death of Prince Henry. elder brother OF
Charles J. For his dates cannot be RESPONSE