Litchfield enquirer., 1869-03-25
TRAGICAL CLOSE OF AN ILL
 .ly99 STARRED LIFE.

Harry M. Steele was a native of Balti. more, and belonged to one of the most aris. tocratic families of the Monumental City, his mother having been sister of Philip Barton Key, and he was also by the mar. riage of Hon. George Fl. Pendleton with the Key family, nearly connected to that distinguished gentleman. Not .only born of stately lineage but endowed from his cradle with pecuniary competence, Steele, yesterday at the age of B years, found a life which seemed cast in pleasant places to be no longer endurable, and by sending a bullet crashing through his brain, ended it. All of Wednesday afternoon all that was left of him sat upright on sofa in room on the fourth floor of No l, Irving place, a bloody disfgured corpse, the right hand still tightly grasping the pistol, the bullet from which had changed the young, ath- letio man into the frightful thing encum- bering the sofa. The details make it one of the most remarkable, as it is one of the most sorrowful on record.
 When about entering upon manhood young Steele became enamored of beau tiful girl and married her. For short time the pair enjoyed rose-tinted life, but soon disagreenents came, then quarrels, and finally separation. The details of this domestic inquietude are scarcely now public property, and it is only necessary to state that the friends of Steele saw that his trouble had in degree changed his nature, for he, as many had done before him, sought the wine cup. As time pas sed this habit grew upon him, and he be- came at last the slave and victim of strong drink. Not that he was ever riotously drunk, not that his life was marred by any of the unseemliness of debauchery, but his friends apprehended, and he seemed to know that he was sapping his physical strength, and undermining his mental wig or by his constant resort to stimulant i- quors. He often made promises of refor- nation, and sometimes attempted to keep them, but always relapsed into his former habits, despite his own sense of his danger, and the protestations of his friends. r . tt
 Years ago he came to this city, and be- came engaged at first with Opdyke & Co.,, 101 Reade St. as commission salesman, but it is not necessary to give full knowl- edge of the case to state his business apti- tude or successes. Constantly for about six years past he has boarded at the ele- gant establishment, No. Irving place, and on the morning of the suicide appeared as usual at the breakfast table, and after par taking of the meal, went out. He was at the store of Forstman & Go. during the morning, but only remained few minutes and then entered carriage and drove to the store of his brother-in Jaw, Jacob P. Barton, in Maidenlane. Upon entering he told Barton that he had been very low spirited of late, and that on the previous evening he had made up his mind to kill himself, and had written him note which he had left on the bureau in his room, ''but," concluded the wrecked misanthrope, "I got afraid of the other world, and hadn't the nerve to do it." MT. Barton was somewhat startled by his wild talk, as well as by the earn estness of of the speaker, and told Steele, at once, and. de- cidedly, that he must quit drinking, and proposed that he should go to his house at Astoria, and remain there until he should recover his health and spirits. Steele instantly, and seemingly with great pleasure, acceeded to the proposal, and the two gentlemen entered the carriage and drove ito No. Irving-place, with the design of getting Steeles portmanteau, and going at once to that quiet re- treat which Barton had offered and Steel had accepted. On reaching the house at l1.30 o'clock, they passed up stairs to his room, on the 2d floor, and on enter ing it Steele at once sat down on sofa placed against the westerly wall. Barton busted himself in preparations for the in- tended journey,and taking Steele's travel ing bag placed it on trunk against the easterly wall and immediately opposite to where Steele sat- Baston then turned to the bureau standing between the trunk and the sofa, as he did so Steele said, ''There's that note wrote you last night. Don't read 1t now, but put it in your pock ct and we'll look at it when we've more time. '" Barton did as he was told, and opening drawer took out some shirts and laid them on the trunk beside the bag. He then opened another drawer and finding more shirts, was taking them out, when Steele laughed joyousiy, and said, "Am I to wear nothing but shirts out at your house?" Barton replied that they would take everything. and turned his back again to Steele to lay the shirts upon the trunk k As he was In the act of doing so he heard a suspicious clicking sound, and wheeled swiftly around just in time to see Steele, who still sat upon the sofa with his right hand upraised and the muzzle of small Derrlnger pistol, which he held in it, pres sed against his head above and little for W@4N O1 oAS OeAs ~ ACHuACu UuU lu lQSGduG of time for Barton to bound across the room but that instant sufficed for Steele to discharge the weapon, and in that instant was compressed the flash, the report and the spqrt of blood from the bullets orfice. Barton bounded up only to a disfgured reddened corpse.
 He did not tarry then to learn how ef- fectually the bullet had done it's work, but rushed down stairs and into Fourth ave nue, just at hand, for medical aid. A phy- sician accompanied him to the room, but only to give that negative shake of the head freighted with sad meaning that so many millions of mankind have known so well how to interpret. Steele had died al. most at the very instant be had pulled the trigger of the pistol.
 The most singular part of the tragedy yet remains to be told. When Barton heard that ominous click, he turned around Steele was sitting in slightly reclining posture, with his left arm over the sofa cushion, with his right hand raised as de- scrlbed, and his feet crossed, resting upon the floor. His head was entirely unsup. ported, not resting against the wall, nor upon the sofa. He passed from throbbing life to bloody death without change if posture save that the right arm fell to, his side, but upon his leg, and his hand sank little to the left. Sitting thus upright, fully dressed, with the face and breast