The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-12-23
OF
 ASSASSINATION OF THE
 SINISTER WHITE DEVIL

It teas 32T years ago. on Dec. 22, 1885, that the immortal name o1 on Witt orfa. the Duchess of Accoran- boni one of& the most sinister feTni- nine figures in history The ami Versary is of especial interest be- cause recent discoveries of old man uscripts in. Padua, Italy, show that the beautiful Duchess was accused of causing the death of both her first and second husbands, as well as of nurnefotis, other crimes. It was at the moment of her death that the epithr ssE hite Devil'' was applied to the lovely naurderess. Several men effected an entrance into her palace In Padua. and as one of them stab- bed her to death, he cried:
 At last have reached your heart you white devil"
 Some. historians believe that she <sss slatz1bSs a jealous suitor. while others sha1sta srthat the assassin was anirnss&ea pnv by a desire fo mete out Jrsaeea to a murderess.1
 ThelIovely Vittoria came of a poor but noble family of Umbria, and, af- ter a checkered career, married Count Peretti, a Roman ecclesiastical noble who had been captfvated by her. luxurious physical charms, It was not long until she began to re- ceive lovers, and among them was the iEnmensely wealthy and powerful Duke ztr H9iaeciano, owner of estates and Aa agnificent palace. The Duke S-FsssF hs fat and ungainly crea- ture but his wealth attracted the fair vittoria, and she determined to become widow. So she wrote an sffectionate mote to her husband begging him to visit her. While on the way he was slain, probably by the hand of MarcelIo. a brother of cd largely from the lovers he had intro duced to his charming sister.
 The Duke immediately married the beautiful widow. She was his second wife, as he had killed his first because of alleged departures from the path of strict morality The Duke. died suddenly, under suspicious circumstances. after having made a will leaving all his worldly goods to yfttoria- After the lapse of several centuries documents have just been discoy yered tending to prove that the Duke was poisoned by his wife. Nem- esiss overlook the Duchess about six weeks later. when the dagger of an assassin found the ruthless and cruel heart of the White Devil" A fam ouso painting of the time shows the Duchess, almost nude, covering be- fore the assassins who are unaffect- ed by her charms so iberalIy dis played.
 This is the centennial of the death of two eminent Americans, Joel Barlow and Gen. James Clinton, bofh of whom passed away on Dee 22s 181z- Barlow was a poet and au- thor. a native of Connecticut, and a chaplain during the Revolution of the American colonies He made a fortune in speculation in France, and in 1s11 was. appointed United States minister to that country. Napoleon invited him to a conference at Will na and the fatigue and exposure of the journey caused his death in the cottage of a Polish Jew, near Cra- cow Gen James Clinton, who died in Little Britain, N. Y., 100 years ago today, was the fourth son of Charles Clinton. the Irish immigrant, who founded the celebrated American famEly of Clinton. Gen James Clinton was brother of George Clinton. Governor of New York and Nice-President of the United States, and father of Dewitt Clinton. He distinguished himself as a general during the Revolution.