, 1874-08-09

his school the number OF suicides can be as ac--
curately fozetoid u tho time Of the trAnsits Of
Venus- Whether they come in shoals or singly.
and at intervals, ths annual ayerage is about the
same taking several yea1s togther. The time
may come when we shall know what to antici-
pate in this department Of human annirs by
reading the reports OF 81 OH Probabilities"
Just now, our readers will observe, ne IRE
passing through an epoch Of suicides We have
cLronicled from one to three in almost every is-
sue for some months past, aud the CURIOUS will
remark that tho causes for them ara scarcely
less numerous. Here il man in California
who pute an end to life which MAS one OF far
mora happiness and prosperity than falls to the
however, that, wealthy AZ he was, he
sho. himself in despair over his inability
to secure few more superhuous thousands.
Here, on tho other hand, or rather At the other
end Of fortunes scale, ia man impelod to self-
destruction by the naggings Of poverty. His life
became AZ unsupportable a. his family. It Is
noticeable that tho names Of defau1ting officials
are very infrequent in this gloomy lss- Perhaps
they have no such ills hero ~ would suggest
their flying to othcrs that they know not Of.
Chicago, as might be inferred from the lofty puri-
ty Of her commercial life, does not often have
oooasion to deplo1e suicide, however partial
she may be to suicidal policy.
One more unfortunate swallows the fatl po-
<bA ~ 1cvarfa +,arA1u
and her Own shame. IT will not 60 step
further are last words as applicable to her aa
to Gordon Gordon" who upon uttering them,
falls dead by his own hand 1t the feet Of the de-
tectivos. Two men jump tho life to come from
the North River docks, at New York. "Cause TN
known" But, in the Case Of two others, the wife
Of ono man and the husband OF another woman, at
Indianapolis, the cause is known, and is called
domestic disagreement" The parties, how
eyer, we're unacquAinted. FIFTY cents' worth OF
morphine " in tha one case and An 'ounce Of the
oil of tansy" in the other brought On the
''iron Sleep" Laudanum ansvered the Same
purpose for Van Eeten, whose career cannot be
surpassed in fiction for ingenious iniquity. And
no words at death could have been more in keep
ing with the life Of the audacious outlaw than
those which are now used to throw doubt upon
his suicidal intention: II am going before 4
Judge tomorrow who will give me = fair trial"
looking up with smile Of triumph upon his
dead face into the faces Of bis bahled
pursue1s, to George Winter, the half-"1tted
peddler, hanging to the beam Of his garret-room
in London,-woried to death. Being somewhat
hazy in intellect I've are told) the youths OF the
neighborhood made butt OF him, and 80 tor
mented him that his life became unbearable.
They tore his clothes, stole his stock in trade,
and made him undergo such varieties OF mental
and physical torture that, in Tt OF despera-
ton, he rushed into the presence ct "a Judge
who will give him = fair trial" The YER
dot OF the Coroner was suicide; the YER
dict OF the recording angel was fratricide-
The "boys Of the netshborhood" were but
following the example Of those " children Of :
larger growth" who have equally effective
m ethods Of proving thAt they are their brothers
keeper. The devices for ''stealing the stock "
Of their interiors in cunning, and the "varieties
OF mental and physical torture " which they are
enabled to contrige for their unsuspecting fel-
lows, should never be overlooked BY those who
arc looking up the CAUSES Of that species OF
"desperatiou" which both tied and united the
knot for poor George Winter. Worried tn death
would be the only too truthful epitaph Of many
who are falling by tho WAY, some destroyed by
themselves. and soms BY their neighbour
With these two caseR before us,-Winter
hurried summ4rily to his psupsr's grave. and
every means reaorted to for resuscitating Van
Eoten in order to bring him before United
States "Judge, e,r-we arc reminded that #
suicide IL not, as Prof. Francis Newman saya,
sometimes duty, 1t is occasionally very excusA-
BILE, and sometimes great relief to Ill concern-
ed, not excepting the most concerued, ,-unleas
he happens TO be aTammany Judge. Prof. New
man aays be has full reason to believe"
that friand OF his did withdraw him
self from life somewhat premature1v By
means Of ch1orofo1m, under , sensa Of duty"
Some OF the public servants Of this country hAvs
reason to Apprehend tbs consequsncas, II Prof.
EewuAh's duty at suic;ds should sra1 b ~