Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 December 1893 — Poisoned Through a Letter. [ARTICLE]

Poisoned Through a Letter.

Veratrine is a vegetable powder, nearly white, very acrid and poisonous, which is obtained from a genus of plants called veratrum sabadilla. It is a subtle and dangerous poison, the odor of which mounts to the brain and is very liable to produce death or insanity. One day in 1870 Prince Bismarck received a letter marked “private.” ft was opened by his confidents secretary, who had read but a few lines when he fell into a swoon. Another clerk who tried to read the letter was seized by the same symptoms. A physician saved their lives, but only after a hard struggle. It was afterward ascertained that the letter had been poisoned with veratrine, evidently intended for the famous German Chancellor.