Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-11-17
c-uRIOsET1Es DE SUICIDE.

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A perfectly healthy mind cannot con
I ceive how any other mind can contem-
I plate suicide. Perfect health and
thoughts Of death in any shape are not
c%ongenial. When the mind broOds con-
tinually on death it is not in q healthy
state, whether OF not ii contemplates
seIf-destruetiOn. That unhealthy BROOD
ing is the route to suicide, and the fan
cies to which it gives rise on the way
are often very curious There is N
thing grotesque in the careful prepare
lions many suicides make for leaving
the world gracefully. There is a sort of
CHASTITY humOr TO their farewell which,
while It may not provoke a smile at the
time, leaves a sort OF an impression OF
buriesque on the memory. All cases of
suicide are successful robberies, and the
rObber leaves himself confessed in the
hands OF society and the law to do with
him what they like. The suicide robs
misfortune and time of their lawful
I prey, and moeks at punishment and re-
tribution.
He thinks to suspend the laws of ma
ture by dying before his time, and proba-
/ bly, r~ejOiees while in the act Of proving
himself an exception to the majority Of
mankind. Some suicides seem TO take
particular pains to work up their cases
into sensations, and make Just enough
doubt and mystery toleave their mourn
full stories intensely interesting. The
different modes in getting cut Of the
world conceived by their minds often
show ingenuity worthy Of encourage
ment, If directed toward some cause in
life. Their last words, if they leave
any, are intended 70 make their friends
Eel 1901 wafaar,hI. anI Wfch ohuvra all
things they had lived. This is an un-
fair advantage to take of the living, and
sometimes suggests that it might have
been the sole object Of the suicide to
make the world feel badly.
Suicides Of different natiOnalities Ak
hibit various methods and traits. Amer
leans have a fancy for hanging, but they
often shoot; the French takes poison,
either in the stomach or lungs; the En-
/ glish rather favor drowning; the Ger
mans are rather undecided about the
best way to do it; they are most sensa-
tiOnRl, and furnish instances of the most
curious suicides on record.
There is always something e~xtraOTdi-
nary about q Germans method of help
ing himself out of the world. He shows
more d~eliberatiOn and active preparation
for the event, and he usually succeeds.
He looks upon failure as entirely mex
cusable, when the thing a be made 50
sure. The Germans have lately taken
the notion TO go of in pairs. We have
two late instances, which are curious.
a few weeks since two young Ger
mans in London made themselves the
subject Of many newspaper comments.
1t is supposed they We're guilty Of rob
berry in their own country, and fled to
the worlds iding-place, London. They
had plenty of money and made it fly in
debauchery and all sorts of excuses. At
length their money vas spent, and in
desperation they shut themselves up in
a room, with the understanding that
they should kill each other, or that each
should kill himself. The proposition
SO desperately made was as desperately
carried out. Pistol shots were heard in
their room; the door was broken open;
one Of the young men was found lying
dead on the floor, and the other badly
wounded. The testimony of the wound
ed man was taken at the cOroner's in
quest, and tie finding of the jury was
that the dead mao came to his death by
his own hand, but that his wounded assO-
ciate was accessory to the deed, the pen
atty of which under English law is
death.
A counterpart of this tragedy recently
happened neal Baltimore, and the vic
Tins were also two young Germans.
They arrived in Baltimore early in Au-
gust, and had large rolls of greenbacks
They were labOring under great nervous
excitement, and gave themselves up to
reckless excuses. From their move
ments it was supposed they had COM
mitted a robbery, and detectives were
set to watch them. They stated that
they were brothers, and gave their
names as r. and G.. Muller. Being
hunted by the police, they left town,
and were heard OF no more until their
bodies were found in a wood about two
miles from the city. 1t was at first sup
posed they had been murdered for the
money which they were known to pos
sess; but subsequent developments led
to the belief that, driven TO desperation,
and brought to bay by the police, they
deliberately killed themselves, or shot
anotner. This is marvelously like
the London affair, the only difference
being that in n case the agreement
was carried out in a crowded city, and
the other in the woods.
In bOthinstances the men were young;
were suspected Of robbery, and of being
fugitives from Justice; were possessed
of considerable sums of money; lived a
dissOlute life; squandered their money,
or were robbed Of all they had, and
wound up a short career by an agree
ment to kill themselves.
The latter case WAS deemed a very
singular one in Baltimore, but it be-
comes still more remarkable in connec-
ton with the similar one in London.
A German named Staab furnishes
another curious instance of suicide. He
had been living for years with his rela-
tives at Virginia City, Montana. 1t was
known that he had brought a cord with
him from Germany years ago, and that
he always carried the cord in his pocket.
He was subject to fits of dependency,
but otherwise he was supposed to be all
right. A few weeks ago he was missed
from the house, and found in the barn,
suspended from the %rafters, dead. He
used the cord which he carried for many
years, evidently for the purpose Of TAX
ing his life, but had never talked of de-
strOying himself, or explained to any
one why he carried the cord.
There seems to be a growing distaste
for the Old-fashiOped methods of taking
untimely departure from this world.
In other words, people who commit
suicide have a mania for doing it in an
Out-Of-the-Way manner They are not
to blow out their brains, hang,
drown or poison themselves after the
of their predecessors, but must put
themselves TO no end of ingenious trou-
bic, when the simpler way accomplishes
purpose quite as effectively. The
thing in suicides to US from
Cleveland, Ohio, where an individual,
rashly impOrtunate, went to his death
after the following unique preparations:
He first procured a loaded revolver and
connected il with a species Of clock
work, so that il shuld be fired off at a {
time. He then got into bed, and Z
5ook a dose of chlOrofoTm, after having !
placed the pistol behind his ear. He {
hen, under the influence of the narcotic, I
went TO sleep. AT the given time the /
:lOckwork pressed the trigger of the [
pistol, firing it off and launching the
dict into eternity. 1t appears that he Q
tired of life, owing to the fact of a ]
ottery ticket he had purchased not turn {
ng up a prize. 1t was a sad disappoint- B
nent to him, and one which could not {
De borne with a patience sufficiently Y
lhiianthropic to make life bearable. 2
As his speculatiOns in previous lottery 4
tickets had Impoverished him, and az O
lis hopes Of eventual success in that Y
inc of business had caused him to APP ,
to their purchase money that q
lid nOt belong to him, he was afraid to d
i've and face the discovery Of his pee
Ilations. 1t would appear that he was y
Ifraid to die, too, as he took such care d
hat death should surprise him in his 4
leep. But why such elaboration when i
lie might as well have jumped into the t
water or hung himself on a nail? From e
ne number Of these peculiar self-mur-
that have lately taken place, it 7
would appear that suicide is being re-
to a fine-art, in accordance with
he progressive spirit Of the age. 4
VARIOUS THINGS. e