"And the drops?"
"The pope's wine is too strong: I will reduce it a little with this pure
water."(*)
(*) The poison, _Acqua Tofana_, is pure and clear as water,
without taste or smell. It is prepared from opium and
Spanish flies, combined with some other ingredients, which,
however, are only known to the makers of it. That the _Acqua
Tofana_ is made from the foam sometimes found upon the lips
of the dying, is an idle tale. Allessandro Borgia was the
first to bring it into use.
SIC TRANSIT GLORIA MUNDI
On the following day there was a solemn high office in St. Peter's. All
Rome flocked there, to see this great and touching spectacle. A dense
crowd thronged the streets, and all shouted and cried when the pope,
surrounded by his Swiss guard, appeared in their midst in his gilded
armchair, and received the greetings of the people with a bland smile.
Toward St. Peter's waved the human throng, and to St. Peter's the pope
was borne. The features of Ganganelli had an expression of sadness, and
as he now glanced down upon the thousands of his subjects who,
shouting, followed him, he asked in his heart, "Who among you will be
my murderers? And how long will you yet allow me to live? Ah, were I
yet the poor Franciscan monk I was, then no one would take the pains to
assassinate me.
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