g women had avowed in the
confessional that they had poisoned their husbands with slow poisons. The
Catholic clergy, who in general hold the secrets of the confessional so
sacred, were shocked and alarmed at the extraordinary prevalence of the
crime. Although they refrained from revealing the names of the penitents,
they conceived themselves bound to apprise the head of the Church of the
enormities that were practised. It was also the subject of general
conversation in Rome that young widows were unusually abundant. It was
remarked, too, that if any couple lived unhappily together, the husband
soon took ill and died. The papal authorities, when once they began to
inquire, soon learned that a society of young wives had been formed, and
met nightly, for some mysterious purpose, at the house of an old woman
named Hieronyma Spara. This hag was a reputed witch and fortune-teller,
and acted as president of the young viragos, several of whom, it was
afterwards ascertained, belonged to the first families of Rome.

In order to have positive evidence of the practices of this female
conclave, a lady was employed by the government to seek an interview with
them. She dressed herself out in the most magnificent style; and having
been amply provided with money, she found but little difficulty, when she
had stated her object, of procuring an audience of La Spara and her
sisterhood. She pretended to be in extreme distress of mind on account of
the infidelities and ill-treatment of her husband, and implored La Spara
to furnish her with a few drops of the wonderful elixir, the efficacy of
which in sending cruel husbands to "their last long sleep" was so much
vaunted by the ladies of Rome. La Spara fell into the snare, and sold her
some of her "drops" at a price commensurate with the supposed wealth of
the purchaser.

The liquor thus obtained was subjected to an analysis, and found to be, as
was suspected, a slow poison; clear, tasteless, and limpid, like that
spoken of by the Duke of Guise. Upon this evidence, the house was
surrounded by the police, and La Spara and her companions taken into
custody. La Spara, who is described as having been a little ugly old
woman, was put to the torture, but obstinately refused to confess her
guilt. Another of the women, named La Gratiosa, had less firmness, and
laid bare all the secrets of the infernal sisterhood. Taking a confession
extorted by anguish on the rack at its true value (nothing at all), t