Chapter II: Part I

POISONS IN HISTORY AND ROMANCE
CHAP. PAGE
I POISONS USED BY ANCIENT AND PRIMITIVE RACES 15
Poisoned Weapons—Poisons employed by Primitive
Peoples—Malay, African and Indian native Poisons—The
Upas Poison—Ordeal Poisons.

II POISONS USED BY THE EGYPTIANS, GREEKS, ROMANS, HEBREWS,
CHINESE, PERSIANS, AND HINDUS IN ANCIENT TIMES 26
A Babylonian Poison Goddess—Poisons in Mythology—Poisons
in Ancient Egypt—The State Poison of the Greeks—The
Death of Socrates.

III ANTIDOTES TO POISON IN ANCIENT TIMES 40
Poison Laws in Ancient Times—Antidotes and
Alexipharmica—Theriaca and its History.

IV PREVENTIVE METHODS AND SUBSTANCES USED AGAINST POISONS 49
Terra Sigillata—How it was Tested—Toad Stones—Unicorn’s
Horn—Rhinoceros Horn and Assay Cups—Bezoar Stones.

V SUPERSTITIONS CONNECTED WITH POISONOUS PLANTS 63
Mandrake—Aconite—Hellebore—Opium—Henbane.

VI THE POISON LORE OF TOADS AND SPIDERS 84
Poison extracted from the Toad—How an Italian Doctor
proved his knowledge of Medicine—A Mysterious Chinese
Poison prepared from Toads—Venomous Spiders—A Romany
Poison.

VII SOME CLASSICAL POISONS AND THEIR HISTORIES 88
Arsenic—Mercury—Antimony.

VIII ROYAL AND HISTORIC POISONERS 101
King John and Maud FitzWalter—The Abbot of Westminster
poisoned—The murder of Sir Thomas Overbury—The Earl of
Leicester and his Victims—Mysterious death of the son of
Peter the Great—The Gaekwar of Baroda tried for attempt
to poison Colonel Phayre.

IX POISONS TRIED ON HUMAN BEINGS 109
Vivisection of Criminals—Poisons and Antidotes
administered to Criminals—Brassavola and Fallopius—A
Charlatan’s Challenge at Oxford—English Experimenters.

X THE SLOW AND TIME POISONS OF MEDIÆVAL TIMES 113
Early Records of “Slow” Poisons—Attempt to poison Queen
Elizabeth—Death of Macchiavelli—Death of Elisabetta
Sirani.

XI THE ITALIAN SCHOOL OF POISONERS 120
The Venetian Poisoners—A Professional Poisoner’s
Fees—The Poisoners of Rome—Toffana—La Spara.

XII THE MYSTERY OF THE BORGIAS 128
History of the Family—Pope Alexander
VI—Cesare—Lucrezia—Preparing the Poison—Death of
Alexander—Death of Cesare—The Borgia Poison.

XIII POISON MYSTERIES IN EARLY SCOTTISH HISTORY 142
Earl of Moray—The Duke of Albany and Margaret
Drummond—Jean Douglas and James V—Mysterious death of
the Earl of Atholl—The death of Robert Stewart, Earl of
Orkney—The Earl of Dunbar and Secretary Cecil.

XIV HISTORIC POISON CASES IN FRANCE 145
Francis II and Mary Queen of Scots—Catharine de’
Medici—Mysterious death of Gabrielle D’Astrées—Death of
the Duchess of Orléans—Glaser and Exali—The Mania for
Poisoning in France—The Marquise de Brinvilliers and her
Crimes—Sainte-Croix—_Chambre de Poisons_—Le Vigoreux, La
Voisin and Le Sage—Maréchal de Luxembourg, Duchesse de
Bouillon and Comtesse de Soissons tried—Attempted
Poisoning of Louis XVIII—Poisons employed in France in
the XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries.

XV THE MYSTERY OF AMY ROBSART’S DEATH 164

XVI A POISON MYSTERY OF THE XVIITH CENTURY 171
The strange case of Sir Euseby Andrew.

XVII A MYSTERY OF THE AUSTRIAN COURT IN THE XVIITH CENTURY 178
Leopold, Emperor of Austria and Giuseppe Francesco
Borri.

XVIII POISON PLOTS 186
Dread of Wholesale Poisoning—The Poisoning of the Bishop
of Rochester’s Guests—The Act of Henry VIII making
poisoning equivalent to High Treason—Poisoners to be
boiled alive—Poison Plot at Malta—Attempted Wholesale
Poisoning at Lima—Plot to poison Ministers of
State—Austrian Army Poison Plot—Plot to Poison the
Commissioner of Police.

XIX CURIOUS METHODS EMPLOYED BY SECRET POISONERS 198
Poisoned Food and Wine—Women Poisoners—The Poisoned
Goblet—Poisoned Shirts—Poisoned Robes—Poison in
Boot-Blacking—Poison Rings—Poison by Injection—Poison in
a Wooden Leg—Poisoned Torch—Poisoned Candle—Poisoned
Flowers—Poisoned Bed.

XX LOVE-PHILTRES AND POISONS 211
_Pocula Amatoria_ of the Greeks and Romans—Ovid on the
Love-Philtre—Mysterious Substances employed—Love-Philtre
used by Eastern Nations—Belief in Love-Philtres at the
Present Day—Love-Philtres used by African native Tribes.

XXI POISONS IN FOOD 216
Poison in Beer—Poison in Food—Poison in Honey—Poison in
Cocoa and Chocolate.

XXII POISONS USED IN WARFARE 223
Poison Gas—Poison and Disease Organisms dropped by
Aircraft.

XXIII CRIMINAL POISONING WITH BACTERIA 230
A Petrograd Poison Mystery—Criminal use of Diphtheria,
Typhoid and Cholera Organisms.

XXIV POISON HABITS 238
Opium—Morphine—Chloroform—Ether—Chlorodyne—Cocaine.

XXV HASHISH AND HASHISH-EATERS 248
Ganja and Bhang—Use in Antiquity—Hashish and its
Effects.

XXVI POISONS IN FICTION 254