This news alarmed Agrippina, who decided to anticipate the emperor's project by poisoning him. Since, however, by reason of the great quantity of wine he was forever drinking and his general habits of life, which all emperors adopt for their protection, he could not easily be harmed, she sent for a drug-woman named Lucusta, a recent captive renowned for the desired skill, and obtaining from her a poison whose effect was sure she put it in one of the vegetables called[16] mushrooms. Then she herself ate of the others in the dish but made her husband eat the one which had the poison; for it was the largest and finest of them. The victim of this plot was carried out of the banquet apparently quite overcome by strong drink, but that had happened many times before. During the night the poison took effect and he passed away, without having been able to say or hear a word. It was the thirteenth of October, and he had lived sixty-three years, two months, and thirteen days, having been emperor thirteen years, eight months and twenty days. Agrippina's rapid vengeance had been aided by the fact that before her attempt she had despatched Narcissus to Campania, feigning that he needed to take the waters there for his gout. Had he been present, she would never have done the deed, such extreme care did he take of his master. His death followed hard upon that of Claudius, and he left behind him a reputation for power unequaled by any man of that age. His property amounted to more than ten thousand myriads, and cities and kings were dependent upon him. Even when he was on the point of being slain, he managed to execute a brilliant coup. He had charge of the correspondence of Claudius and had in his possession letters containing secret information against Agrippina and others: all of these he burned before his death. And he was slain beside the tomb of Messalina,--a coincidence manifestly intended by chance, to satisfy her vengeance.