Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-04-03
ONE MORE UNFORTUNATE.
Deash by suicide Of Tennesseean tn
Chicago.
W. Cd lie fnlInuinp In The ChIcann

Times of the 31st nit:
During the past year there has been i
the employ Of Ii. Nj. Higgins, piano dealel
: No. l22 Clark street, young man, soIa
thirty years Of age, named Edward Bes
The entire charge of the books, and gen
eral supervision of the store, in the ali
sence Of the proprietor, has lately beel
accorded to Mr.. Best, his apparent faithful
attention to business warranting the conf
dence thus reposed in him. YESTERDAY
morning bis employer and fellow.clerk
were astounded at being informed that Bes
had been found in bis room in dying con
ditioD, and thousand rumors were a
once set afoat concerning the affair. The
coroner having been notified that the
young mau had died few minutes after
being found, proceeded to the former res
dence Of the deceased, No. 2l8 North av.
enue where the following facts were estab.
lished:
1t seems that Mr. Best has for some time
bsen troubled with the heart disease and
asthma to a considerable extent. On
Monday night he returned TO this city
from Valparaiso, Ind, where he had been
visiting with his wife and child, the latter
| an Iul3nt Only biA WcCh5 Oius MI DSSt
retired TO his sleeping apartment about
ten o'clock in the evening, and nothing
was thought of the matter until he failed
to make his appearance at breakfast. After
waiting few hours some of the inmates
endeavored to enter his room, but found
the door locked, with the key upon the in
side. Receiving no answer to their calls,
his friends became alarmed, and sent TO
the North avenue police station, which is
| situated but a short distance from the
building. Serg't. Burns, accompanied by
patrolmap, Immediately hastened to the
house, when the policeman stepped into
chair and looken over the transom.
lie discovered Mr.. Best lying with cloc-
| ed eyes, upon the bed, and stated that he
believed him to be dead. At the sergeanfs
request the other officer then went around
outside of the house to window, which
he broke open, and climbing in unfastened
the door. Ii was discovered that Mr.. Best
was still living. and the nearest physicians
were at once summoned. Drs. Evenener,
Shoppers and Hedges soon reached the
scene, and for time it appeared as though
the life of the unconscious man would be
saved. He rallied little and seemed to
grow partially sensible of what was trans
piring around him, but soon sank again,
and died within an hour after having been
found.
An examination Of the remains was in
stituted, when it was ascertaiued that the
deceased had swallowed a small quantity
of laudanum. 1t was also found that lust
before death supervened, Mr.. Best must
have been suffering acutely from heart
disease. letter was found upon the ia
bic addressed TO his brother, in which
Best stated that his last thought was for
his wife and child, and that when the let
ter was read he would be in another
world. He also said that there WAS "a
note for Lucy on the shelf" but as nothing
Of the kind was found in the place indi-
Gated, il is supposed that he became TOO
weak TO write anything more. This idea
is strengthened by the fact that the pencil
ing of the note in question is 80 Struggling
that it is almost impossible to read il. The
coroner impaneled his Jury at about five
o'clock in the afternoon, when testimony
was given in accordance with the above
mentioned facts. The verdict rendered is
as follows:
1--WE Gnd that the deceased came TO his
death at No. 2l8 North avenue, from
opium administered by himself while he
was in a state of mental alteration brought
on by the asthma"
In will be noticed that in the above
verdict all reference 10 suicide is carefully
abstained from; hut, from the evidence
furnished by the letter which was left BY
the deceased, and several other circum-
stances of a peculiarly painful nature,
there is little doubt but that he voluntarily
sought self-destruction.
The circumstances mentioned will be the
best explained by the following letter, re.
ceived a short time since by Mr.. Higgins,
from well-known New York merchrnt:
"NEw YORK, March 10, 1S69.-Mr.
Higgins-Sir: 1 have had man looking
around down South, and, if reports are
correct, your clerk from the South will |
want careful looking after. You had
better examine all of his accounts and see
that the footing5 are correct. This is
strictly confidential. Yours truly,
81. P. HALE"
As Mr.. Best had formerly resided in |
Tennessee, it was plain that he was the |
party referred to, and careful examina- |
ton of the books, which he had beeu given |
the sole charge OF, was at once commenced. |
The result was the discovery that most Of |
the accounts were more or less incorrect, |
and, in every case where an error occurred, |
it was found that there was a balance |
against the book-keeper. Mr.. Best was |
Informed of the fact that his work was un-
der inspection, and he protested perfect |
willingness to allow the scrutiny to be |
81 IN ia nj nsf "a /
heard yesterday that Best had died by his |
own hand, the accounts were subjected TO |
still more rigid examination, the result |
being that discrepancies of serious ma
ture, extending back for nearly year,
were found TO exist in nearly all of them. |
1t was at first attempted 10 keep the mat |
ter quiet, out Of respect 10 the friends OF |
the deceased, and all parties who we're con-
suited in the affair readily agreed TO do so,
but it was soon ascertained that most of |
the details had already leaked out il was |
seen thai no good could ensue from a
further suppression Of the true facts in the |
case.
Mr.. Best has, for some time, served as
organist in the North Baptist Church, and
was universally esteemed by the members
Of that society, as we'll as by large circle
of acquaintance. His wife was telegraphed
to last evening, and was expected TO arrive
shortly after midnight. She was only in
formed that her husband was quite i'll, no
mention Of his death being sent TO her.
Her case ID an unusually painful one.
Mother of tiny babe, she parted froI her
husband in Valparaiso, Monday morning,
only 10 be summoned within forty eight
hours TO behold hiq corD3e