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Article Untitled Article ← Page 7 of 7 Article SECEET POISONS. Page 1 of 5 →
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Untitled Article
The whole . glittering mass of rare embroidery , rich pipes , odd amulets , and barbaric jewellery , piled up in picturesque confusion on the table of the saloon , lent something of a piratical aspect to the honest little craft which has afforded us such a pleasant home on the
waters , and looked as though we had been on a plundering expedition . But a faint rippling sound called us on deck , and to our delight we beheld various catspaws ruffling the surface of the water . Before turning in for the night the breeze had freshened , but was too much to the eastward of south . ( To be continued . )
Seceet Poisons.
SECEET POISONS .
BY YANE IEETOlSr ST . JOHN . Under the name of secret poisons are included all such as act insensibly upon the system and gradually bring life to a close , as if by a lingering disease .
The diabolical art is not , as supposed by some , of modern invention , for it was in common use among the ancient Greeks and Romans . Plutarch tells us that Aratus of Sicyon was murdered by Philip of Macedon , by means of a slow poison , that occasioned extreme heat , spitting of blood , and at last affected the brain . Quintilian , also , speaks of poisons in such a manner as to prove that they must have been then well known . Theophrastus mentions a liquid which would
by regulation occasion the death of the patient in a month , or two , or even a year , if wanted . It was prepared from aconitum , a plant , which was therefore forbidden to be in the possession of any one . He tells us , also , that Thrasgas discovered a preparation , which , given in small doses , would take effect in any desired time . Thrasgas was a native of Mantinea , a city in Arcadia , and was celebrated for his skill in botany .
This poison was much used at Borne , about two hundred years before the Christian era . In one year so many persons of distinction died , that an inquiry was made , and a maid-servant gave evidence against several ladies of high rank , and at least a hundred and fifty were condemned and punished . But as so many had been initiated
into the secret , the poisoning still went on . Drusus was poisoned by Sejanus , and died as if by consumption . Agrippina , who desired to get rid of Claudius , and did not dare to use open violence , consulted the famous poisoner Locusta , who administered a deadly liquid to him in a dish of mushrooms . It did not , however , take the desired effect , and it was accordingly followed by one of a stronger nature .
Locusta was soon after compelled , by the blows and threats of the Emperor Nero , to prepare in his presence a poison by which to destroy Agrippina ' s son , Britannicus . It was first tried on a kid , but as it took five hours to kill it ; Locusta boiled the remainder a
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Untitled Article
The whole . glittering mass of rare embroidery , rich pipes , odd amulets , and barbaric jewellery , piled up in picturesque confusion on the table of the saloon , lent something of a piratical aspect to the honest little craft which has afforded us such a pleasant home on the
waters , and looked as though we had been on a plundering expedition . But a faint rippling sound called us on deck , and to our delight we beheld various catspaws ruffling the surface of the water . Before turning in for the night the breeze had freshened , but was too much to the eastward of south . ( To be continued . )
Seceet Poisons.
SECEET POISONS .
BY YANE IEETOlSr ST . JOHN . Under the name of secret poisons are included all such as act insensibly upon the system and gradually bring life to a close , as if by a lingering disease .
The diabolical art is not , as supposed by some , of modern invention , for it was in common use among the ancient Greeks and Romans . Plutarch tells us that Aratus of Sicyon was murdered by Philip of Macedon , by means of a slow poison , that occasioned extreme heat , spitting of blood , and at last affected the brain . Quintilian , also , speaks of poisons in such a manner as to prove that they must have been then well known . Theophrastus mentions a liquid which would
by regulation occasion the death of the patient in a month , or two , or even a year , if wanted . It was prepared from aconitum , a plant , which was therefore forbidden to be in the possession of any one . He tells us , also , that Thrasgas discovered a preparation , which , given in small doses , would take effect in any desired time . Thrasgas was a native of Mantinea , a city in Arcadia , and was celebrated for his skill in botany .
This poison was much used at Borne , about two hundred years before the Christian era . In one year so many persons of distinction died , that an inquiry was made , and a maid-servant gave evidence against several ladies of high rank , and at least a hundred and fifty were condemned and punished . But as so many had been initiated
into the secret , the poisoning still went on . Drusus was poisoned by Sejanus , and died as if by consumption . Agrippina , who desired to get rid of Claudius , and did not dare to use open violence , consulted the famous poisoner Locusta , who administered a deadly liquid to him in a dish of mushrooms . It did not , however , take the desired effect , and it was accordingly followed by one of a stronger nature .
Locusta was soon after compelled , by the blows and threats of the Emperor Nero , to prepare in his presence a poison by which to destroy Agrippina ' s son , Britannicus . It was first tried on a kid , but as it took five hours to kill it ; Locusta boiled the remainder a