<h2>CHAPTER V</h2>
<p class="center"><small>POISONING PLOTS</small></p>
<p><span class="smcap">The</span> use of poison as an instrument
for political purposes during
the Middle Ages soon spread
over Europe, and the dread of
wholesale poisoning caused
numerous panics. Some of these
alarms may probably have been
circulated by unscrupulous
traders who had articles to sell,
or some business interest to forward,
but of others authentic
records exist.</p>
<p>June 6 is still kept as a public
holiday in Malta. Upon that
day, a century and a half ago,
while the island was still possessed
by the Knights of St.
John, a Jew waited on the
Grand Master, and revealed to
him a plot that had been planned
for exterminating the whole
population at a stroke. This
man kept a coffee house frequented
by the Turkish slaves,
and understanding their language,
he had overheard suspicious
remarks among his customers.
The Grand Master, believing
the truth of the man's
statement, took immediate action.
The slaves indicated were
at once seized and put to torture,
and they confessed a design of
poisoning all the wells and fountains
on the island, and to make
the result surer, each of the
conspirators was to assassinate
a Christian. One hundred and
twenty-five were found guilty.
Some were burnt, some broken on
the wheel, while others were
ordered to have their arms and
legs attached to two galleys
which, on being rowed apart,
would thus dismember them.
Whether these frightful punishments
were carried out it is
impossible to say, but the fact
remains that the people of Malta
still commemorate their escape
from poisoning to the present
time.</p>
<p>Wholesale poisoning appears
to have been a common practice
in Eastern countries, especially
in India and Persia. The wells
or other water sources were
usually chosen as the medium
for disseminating the poison,
and in this way whole villages
have often been destroyed by
some miscreant. Another extraordinary
poisoning plot was discovered
in Lima towards the close
of the eighteenth century. During
the insurrection of 1781, a rich
Cacique, who professed loyalty,
went to a chemist's shop and
asked for 200 lb. of corrosive
sublimate. He was willing to<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_44" id="Page_44">44</SPAN></span>
pay any price. The chemist had
not anything like that amount
in stock, and not wishing to send
such a good customer away,
substituted 200 lb. of alum.
On the following day all the
water in the town was found to
be impregnated with alum. An
examination being made of the
reservoir, it was found that the
fence round it had been broken
down and the banks strewn with
alum, and the water rendered
undrinkable.</p>
<p>England has remained practically
free from crimes of this
kind. In 1530, a case occurred
which caused great public indignation.
Fisher, Bishop of
Rochester, was accustomed to
entertain a number of poor
people daily. One afternoon a
large number of his humble
guests, together with some
of the officers of the household,
were taken ill. Two died, and
after an examination of the food
had been made, it was declared
the yeast had been poisoned.
Parliament took up the investigation,
and the bishop's cook,
one Richard Rowe, was found
guilty. He was tried, and sentenced
to be boiled alive as a
terrible example to others.
Boiling seems to have been
a favourite punishment for
poisoners during the Middle Ages,
a fact which, doubtless, shows
the abhorrence in which crimes
of this kind were held.</p>
<p>It is further recorded that
"On March 17th, 1524, Margaret
Davy, maid, was boiled in Smithfield
for poisoning three households
she had dwelled in."</p>
<p>Among Queen Elizabeth's
statesmen, poison would appear
to have been regarded as almost
a legitimate weapon of defence.
Her favourite Leicester, to whom
we have already alluded, was
often called "The Poisoner."
This propensity was probably
largely due to the fact that most
young Englishmen of rank were
sent to Italy to finish their
education, and there were introduced
to the Italian methods of
poisoning so much in vogue.</p>
<p>The Duc de Guise, in his
memoirs, relates in a most
matter-of-fact way, how he requested
the captain of his guard
to poniard a troublesome demagogue
at Naples. The captain
was shocked. He would poison
any one at his Grace's command
with pleasure, but the dagger
was a vulgar instrument. So
the duke bought some strong
poison, the composition of which
he describes at length, and it was
duly administered. But Gennaro,
the intended victim, had just
eaten cabbage dressed in oil,
which is said to have acted as an
antidote, and so he lived after all.</p>
<hr class="chap" />
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_45" id="Page_45">45</SPAN></span></p>
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