, 1872-11-20
SUICIDES AND BATH-TUB9,

| the legislators, the Judiciary, and the country
generally.
SUICIDES AND BATH-T TUBS.
An unfortunate scion Of English nobility, who
for some time held the poBitiou Of Lieutenant
in the Thirteenth Hussars, recently committed
suicide at Ottawa, Canada, the absurd act being
the denouement of q love affair. We do not
allude to this fact simply for the sake Of chron-
icling the suicide Of nobleman. There is noth-
| ing particularly remarkable in that. Suicide is
an infrmity which is not confined to plebeians,
J and no particular class can lay claim to mon
opoly Of the absurd and low-toned practice. a
| fierce attack OF love, working upon shallow
head and weak mind, is just as apt to drive a
nobleman to cold steel OF prussic acid as it is to
drive grisette to her cha6ng-dish of charcoal.
The peculiar feature of this suicide is the deyel
opment it has made concerning noble habits.
| The particular nob1eman, in this instance,
| boarded with ono Mrs. Henderson, who
| for aught we know is q model land
| lady, so that his untimely taking OF
| is in nowise concerned with the exce1lencies
OF defects Of her cuisine nor due to any Of
| those minor miseries which some OF our af-
hicted fe1low-creatures have to suffer in board
| ing-houaes. There is nothing to show, in Mrs.
Henderson's testimony, that her late lamented
| noble boarder was anything but a model boarder
| in point Of prompt settlement Of bills. He
never complained of the fare. He wasn't out
late nights, and never came home in such a con-
| dition that he couldn't find the keyhole of the
| front door. He never had his room full Of boon
| and boiate:ous companions, making night
hideous. He had none Of the vices Of the con-
ventional boarder but all the virtues Of the nice
young man, Who pays his bills every Sat-
urday night IN advance, goes to bed
early, and escorts the land1ady'a daugh-
| ters to church On Sundays. And yet
Mrs. Henderson was not a1together satisfied
with her model boarder, and she explains in her
testimony what it was that produced this dissat-
| isfaction. She says: "His conduct was uni
for7nly eccentric. He took bath every morn
| ing regularly. He also carried wood to the
house. He insisted upon doing up his own
rooms, and gave very little trouble in any way
| to the hostess"
This astounding statement inevitably gives
rise to some startling reflections. Mrs. Hender-
| son must have had some knowledge Of the habits
! Of noblemen. Are We, therefore, to conclude
that it is considered an eccentricity for noble
man to take bath and keep himself clean The
few nob1emen re have CHANGED to meet
always seemed to us to be models
Of cleanliness in person. When Albert Edward,
some years ago, visited Chicago, and, more re-
Gently, the Duke Alexis, both these scions of
royalty wore remarkably clean faces and hands,
! and we're scrupulously neat in their attire,
although neitherof them evidently we're presided
over by tailors who understood perfect fits.
Their trousers were shockingly loose and baggy,
but, at least, they were clean. The noblemen Of
fiction are also very clean, and make their baths
matter Of boasting. Disraeli, who knows all
about them, as we'll as Bulwer, invariably make
their noblemen pinks Of perfection as to clean1i-
ness and neatness. Mrs. Henderson's idea OF
eccentricity may be, however, a matter Of board
ing-house prejudice. The etiquette Of
Canadian boarding houses may not recognize
the taking Of baths every morning. Mrs. Hen
derson's clearinghouse in particular may be an
ultra-de1nocratic establishment. She may be
violent Red Republican for aught We know, and
if go, then it is by no means curious that Citi-
zeness Henderson objects to baths. In the days
Of the Reign Of Terror, q clean shaYen face car
ried q man to the guillotine and woman's
white hand invariably cost her her head. It isn't
always safe to be over clean even in Chicago. A
man with white shirt is pretty sure to be re-
garded with. suspicion by the colored-shirted
co,.aalle and it to this he adds clean hands and
recently barbered head, he is pretty sure to be
singled out as proper victim to be assault
ed upon very slight provocation by
the representatives Of dirt and democracy.
1t may be that this is the proper view of the
unfortunate nobleman's eccentricity. There is
third suggestion to which Mrs. Henderson's
testimony gives rise. Did the nobleman commit
suicide because be took baths regularly2 Is
there any occult connection between baths and
suicide2 Will DR.. Rauch give Us his views on
this subject? Water had much to do with Ophe-
lia's death. At least, it was remarked, when she
was dragged from the muddy brook, that she
had too much water. Arc We having too much
water, and is it likely to lead to suicide7 These
are questions which Sanitary superintendents
should carefully examine and report upon.
The mere matter Of this noblemans suicide is
OF little consequence. The market is over
stocked with suicides They are too absurd for
consideration, and the man who commits one is |
guilty Of breach OF good taste which does not