The Washington bee., 1910-10-15
The KEY OF TEBALDO
Curious Messenger of Death In
vented by an italian.
TRAGIC LEGEND OF VENICE.
Unique Weapon With Which the Man
of Mystery and Murder Sought to
sIay His Way to the Hand of the
Woman He Loved.


tury a certain stranger, a man of dark
and sinister aspect, arrived in the city.
His name was TebaIdo. He appears
to have been a man Of unruly passions,
Of great intellectual power, but one
whose talents found their chief outlet
In crime.
One day he observed a beautiful girl
leaving church, attended in a manner
which showed she belonged to a family
Of high degree. She was, in fact, the
daughter Of an ancient and noble
house. He fell violently in love with
her. Though far removed from him in
station, his blind passion took no count
Of this fact, and he determined to sue
for her hand.
There proved to be, however, a more
linsuperable obstacle to his suit The
girl was already betrothed to another,
a young nObleman Of almost equal
rank and fortune. The knowledge did
not deter TebaidO, who boldly present
ed himself before the girls parents In
the capacity Of a suitOr for her hand
AS might have been expected, he met
with a curt and unceremonious rebuff.
The repulse ranked in his mind. En-
ragged beyond measure, he shut himself
up in his own house and there secretly
studied a means Of revenge. Pro-
fOundIy skilled in the mechanical arts,
he allowed himself no rest until he had
Invented a most formidable and death
dealing weapon. This was a large key.
fha HaudIa Of which yUoo ca oo-pctry1of
ed that it could be turned at will.
When it was thus turned a secret
! spring was disclosed, which, on being
| pressed, launched from the key head a
fine needle or lancet The latter was
OF such delicate construction that it
penetrated the body Of the victim and
buried itself deep in the flesh without
leaving any external trace.
The marriage of the betrothed cou-
| pie was fixed to take place in the prin-
cipal church in Venice on a certain
t1ay. Before the ceremony Tebaldo,
cb' nuingly disguised, stationed himself
at (he church door armed with his dia-
bOlic,al weapon As the bridegroom
was about to enter the building the
concealed watcher pressed the spring
and sent the deadly steel lancet into
the breast of his victim. The young
Gobleman had no suspicion Of injury
at the moment. In the midst Of the
ceremony, however, he was seized
with a sharp spasm of pain and sank
tainting on the steps Of the altar. He
was hurriedly conveyed to his home,
where the leading Venice physicians
were summoned to attend him. In
spite Of their unremitting efforts he
sank and died, nor were they able to
discover the nature Of the mysterious
and fatal seizure.
With the removal Of his rival, Te-
baIdo once more presented himself be
fore the girls parents and renewed his
request for her hand. Their refusal to
listen to him sealed their doom. In
what manner he accomplished It is not
known. but within a few days both
had been done to death in the same
sudden and mysterious fashion.
The exalted rank Of the victims Gre
ated a profound sensation, and when,
! on examination Of the bodies, fne
steel instrument was found in the
flesh terror became universal. The cit
lzens feared for their liTes. The ut
most vigilance was exercised on the
part Of the authorities, but as yet no
suspicion fell upon Tebaldo.
| The bereaved girl retired to a con-
vent, where she passed the first months
Of mourning In sOrrOwful seclusion.
Tebaldo, however, sought her out in
her retreat and begged to speak to her
through the grating.
His dark, evil face had always been
displeasing to her, but since the death
of her betrothed and parents it had be-
come repulsive When, therefore, in
the course Of the interview he pressed
her to fly with him he met with an In
slant and indignant refusal. Her scOrn
gtung him to the quick. Beside him.
self with rage, he brought his deadly
weapon once more into play and sue
lceeded in wounding the girl through
the grating. the obscurity Of the place
/ preventing his action from being OBJ
70 served.
! On her return to her room the girl
t felt a sharp pain in her breast. Examt-
= nation Of the spot showed that it was
1 dotted with q single drop Of blood.
7 Physicians were hastily summoned.
Taught by past experience, they vast
ed no time IN vain conjecture, but cut
into the flesh and extracted the slen-
+ der steel, thus saving the girls life.
o The dastardIy attempt Occasioned a
v public outcry. The visit Of TebaldO to
s the convent became known and caused
y suspicion to turn upon him. The en-
: lssaries of the law descended suddenly
o upon him, his house was searched, and
/ there the abominable invention was
{ discovered. Swift justice followed
and he ended his days upon the scat
fold.
The key is still preserved in the ar
senal at Venice.-Chambers Journal.