The Republican journal., 1922-11-30
.HIST1RY'S
MYSTERIES
"THE RIDDLE OF THE POISONED
GLOVES"
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THE author of even the most sem
satlonal type of detective stories
would probably balk at introducing
into his fictional romances the means
of murder generally supposed to have
been used to accomplish the death of
Jane queen of Navarro, for here was
an instrument of death worthy of the
Bcrgias-a pair of poisoned gloves
which left not the slightest trace Of
their deadly purpose.
Just previous to her death. the queen
came to Paris to attend the ceremonies
connected with the marriage of her son,
the prince Of Navarro, to Margaret,
sister Of the French king. While en-
gagged with preparations for the ap-
preaching ceremony, Queen Jane was
overtaken with malignant fever
which ended her life after an Illness
of only five days, and Nathaniel Wrax-
well. in his Memories Of the Kings
Of France" writes: "The Multitude,
ever disposed to attribute the death
Of great personages to unnatural
causes, held to the belief that poison
had been used in this case. A per
fumer named Rane, who had followed
the queen mother from Florence, Of
which place he was a native, was ac-
cused as the author of the crime, and
It Is stated that he even avowed him
self as such, and boasted Of 1t pub
Iicly-declaring that those who had
instigated the crime would protect him
from punishment.
Some perfumed gloves, which Queen
Jane had purchased from this Floren-
tine, are generally credited with hav-
ing been the medium through which
the poison was administered. and Cath
crime de Medici was freely named as
the instigator of the murder, though
no direct proof that she was ever con-
nected with the affair has ever come to
light.
Wraxwell, continuing his account of
the strange Illness of the queen, states
that "Davilla asserts, in the most posi-
tive terms, that the queen of Navarro
was poisoned. The deadly dose was
administered, 1t was reported, in the
trimming of a pair of gloves, but in
manner so imperceptible and In so
nice a proportion that after having
worn them for only few days the
queen mother was seized with a vio-
lent fever, which put an end to her
life in five days"
When news of the death of the queen
mother reached the Huguenots. whose
cause Queen Jane had espOused, they
instantly made the charge of foul play,
and the king, cognizant of the fact
that the poison had left no traces, or
dered the body to be publicly exam
ined. Historians whose accounts are
accepted as authoritative declare that
the two persons who examined the
queens body were not permitted to
touch her head, where 1t was supposed
that traces of the poison were still WIS.,
ible, and D'Aubigne makes no secret
of the statement that the queen was
murdered-though he Is rather vague
as to the means used.
During her entire life Queen Jane
had been subject to violent head
aches, attended by an extreme itch
ing sensation, and repeatedly ex-
pressed the wish that the cause OF
this malady might be looked into,
with the intention of relieving her
children if they should be subject to
the same disorder. This may have
explained the reluctance of the king
to permit an examination of the head
of the queen mother, though popular
opinion at the time lays 1t to fear of
the discovery of the poison used to
hasten the death of strong-minded
woman who was extremely antagon-
istic to many of the ruling Catholic
families of Europe.
In spite of the death Of Queen Jane,
the royal nuptials were celebrated at
the cathedral of Notre Dame, Margaret
of Navarro being in the full bloom OF
her youth, and just at the completion
of her twentieth year, inheriting the
full charm Of her grandmother, Mar
garet of Valois, the mother of the
queen, whose death Is attributed to
the pair of poisoned gloves. Apart
from the unusual instrument supposed
to have been used in this case. mystery
also surrounds the type of poison used.
for there is no chemical known to SCI
ence which would produce death
without trace merely by application
to the outside of the skin, and the
tragedy took place several centuries
before the discovery of the existence
of bacteria-though the Borgias are
commonly credited with having known
more about some types of poisons and
germs than even the scientists Of mod
ern times.