Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-08-03
STRANGE BAPTISNAL SCENE.
A Lunatic Tries to Drown Her
self.
A Sad Case.
From the Knoxville Press and Herald.

From the Knoxville Press and Herald.
On Sunday afternoon a most melan-
choly spectacle was witnessed at the
river bank, just below the mouth of FIRST
Creek.
The congregation Of the Baptist Church
of this city, under the leadership of Rev.
Mr.. Lloyd, together with two or three
hundred other persons, had gathered
there for the purpose of attending to,
and witnessing the administering of the
ordinance of baptism. just at the
time the religious services were commenc-
ing, attention was directed to the singu~
lar conduct of
A WOMAN,
who, walking deliberately down the
steep embankment that leads from the
intersection of State and Front streets to
the river, proceeded directly to the wa
ter's edge, at the site of the old bridge,
a few rods below, and without looking
to the right or left,
WALKED INTO THE RIVER.
with the evident purpose, if any purpose
she had at all, of drowning herself. AS
soon as the alarm was given several per-
sons rushed TO her rescue, and before she
had reached dangerous depth she was
seized and brought all dripping to the
shore, and taken to the house of Mra.
King, near by. For time the exciting
episode interrupted the religious exercises,
and the worldly portion of the assembly
manifested more curious interest in the
conduct and appearance of the unfortu-
nate woman who seemed to have caught
the spirit of the occasion, and ventuIed
upon perilous baptism of her own, than
in the solemn ceremony that was shortly
after proceeded with, a short distance
above, SIS though no interruption had Oc-
CURED. After the religious exercises were
concluded the
DRRANGED WOMAN,
for such she is ard has VIGOROUSLY been
for months-was assisted to her home on
State street. near its intersection with
Church street, followed by her elder sis.
ter, who suspectiDg her designs, had fol-
lowed her to the river, but not in time TO
prevent the plunge into the water. A
rude crowd of struggling boys aud girls
and even older persons with worse than
childish gaze brought up the rear. The
spectacle was a sad one.
THE ATTEMPT REPEATED.
On Monday the attempt was repeated
In the afternoon about the same hour as
on the preceding day the woman broke
away from her home, and rushed to the
river bank at the same place, but being
intercepted was prevented from casting
herself into the water. Her condition
was pitiable to behold-her head ridicu-
lousy decorated with flowers, her person
scarcely half clad and her demonstrations
of the most violent character. She pro-
tested that her bath of the previous after
noon had been refreshing and beneficial
to her and would not leave until she had
another. To pscify her she was led into
the river and permitted to again avail her
self of the healing ard cleansing power
of her own style of baptism. She was
AGAIN TAKEN HOME,
escorted By the same retinue of vagrant
boys aud girls and men and women. We
will not venture to speak of this case as
We would be justified in doing. Many
of our city readers have become sadly
familiar with it, and yet, although for
months it has been understood, nothing
seems to have been done, aside from the
attentions of the police and few kind
hearted persons, who are forced
to remove the unfortunate woman from
the streets, sometimes almost in q state
of nudity and nearly alwas in condition
not fit for public view. She has
NO HOUSE MATE
or guardian but her elder sister, who is
herself worn almost to state of mental
and physical helplessness by her atten-
tons. These two maiden sisters, born
and raised in our midst, are the last of
highly respected family, with no faint
upon their honor to mark them for so
melancholy condition, and yet by some
unsccountsble perVersity of fortune, they
seem to be LEFT to occupy the old home
stead alone, and to look out in sadness
from their solitude upon busy, forgetful
and unfeeling world. "a
THE HEAD OF THE FAMILY
heir father-was for years an honest
Justice of the Peace in our city, and Ia
one time, we believe, the Chairman of
our County Coult. He has gone to his
long home years since, and is it not some
thing TO rebuke our humanity, to say
nothing of our Christianity, that his
daughters-tbe one in her WEAKNESS, the
other in her lunacy-should be permitted
to waste away, feeling and signing in
their loneliness,
80 1t is pitiful,
In g whole city fuli,
Friends We have nOne?''