The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1879-12-18
EXTRAORDINARY SUICIDE.

EXTRAORDINARY SUICIDE.
A Traveller Broils His Back Over a Slow
Fire, and Describes His Experience.
Tue st. Petersburg Zeuuag publishes
the following account of a suicide re
Gently committed in the town of Jhitomil
under exceptionally appalling circum'
stances. A few days ago well dressed
traveller arrived at the Hotel de FrlncC
of that city, stating that he was Mr.. 10.
seph O., Colonial agent, and thai
he wished to stay a short time in Jhito-
mir upon business. A room on the see
ond floor of the hotel was assigned tC
him. and he spent two or three days in
walking about the streets, although the
weather was unusually wet and stormy
On the fourth evening he retired TO his
room early and locked himself in. Next
morning he was called at his usual hour,
but returned no answer to the summons,
After good deal of futile knocking and
shouting, the hotel proprietor became
alarmed at his tenants protracted 81
lence. and caused the door of the room
to he broken open. A terrible specta-
Gle presented itself to the assembled
household Mr.. O-'s body was lying
on the bedstead, from which the
mattress and bedclothes had been
removed; one of the sheets partly
covered the legs of the corpse, which
was otherwise in a state of nudity, its
left hand pressed tightly upon the re-
gion Of the heart, and its right hand
convulsively clutching the hair. The
eyes were wide open, fixed in a CLASSY
death-stare, and the features distorted
with agony. An oppressive odor, as OF
scorched fat, pervaded the room. No
wound was perceptible upon the body,
but the chest was transverseiy barred
in several places by duh red stripes.
As soon as the police, accompanied by
the local medical officer, had made IFS
appearance on. the scene OF this horrible
tragedy, the corpse was turned over up
on its lace. when the cause of death be-
came for the first time apparent to the
terror-stricken spectators.
A deep and broad burn was exhibited
in the middle of the back, and the spine
was found TO be completely carbonized.
Upon the floor underneath the bedstcad
were discovered the wicks, embedded in
a little blotch of cold stearine, of three
candles, which had been taken out of
the candlesticks and fixed upon the
planking upon a layer of melted grease.
Over the flame of these candles Mr..
O. had laid upon the skeleton frame
work, of his bedstead, and suffered his
spine to be slowly consumed until he
died A manuscript, placed upon Ia
BILE close to the bed, contained not only
a resume of the reasons which prompt
ed this unfortunate man to undergo
self-inlicted martyrdOm, but minute
details of the torturing process
by which he had chosen to destroy his
life. II was written in four languages
German, Russian, Polish, and CZechish
and commenced in a firm, bold hand
writing, the last few pages, however,
being scarcely legible, having evidently
been .penned in dire agony. The first
paragraph in German, ran rs follows
al thought it would cease, but 1t ceases
mott So be it, then. Whereby l pro-
pose to solve an Important question
namely, are suicides in their right
senses, or are they the victims of mental
aberratiOn? Thus the question is COM
monty put; but fancy that it does not
touch the real point at issue. A man
makes up his mind TO put an end to his
life when he finds that he takes no in
terest in il when he can not discover
in the whole wide world the least thing
which awakens sympathy in his breast.
The question, therefore, is, not whether
the suicide be mad or sane, but whether
or not he have any thing to hope for
from Efe. | hope for nothing in life !;
but my intellect is perfectly clear. lin
Russian.) There is still another queS-
ton TO solve. I'm Germany Are sui
cides towards? That lover who allowed
himself TO be dragged to death by a
horse before the eyes of his betrothed
affords no proof to the contrary. Perhaps
he would have east himself loose from
the cords that bound him had it been in
his power to do so. That other fellow,
who burned himself to death in Odessa,
was probably no coward, for he might
have thrown away the petroleum lamp.
and thus saved his life. Yet his clothes
were already on fire, and the straw he
was lying upon was smoidering; still he
may have wished to escape death, had
il been feasible. Now, burning can
die, TO the flame of which the backbone
and spinal marrow are exposed, must
certainly make an end of life; that cost
of death must be attended .withatroeious
sufferings: and the person infliehng
such sgony upon himself, having no
power 10 contend with but his own prop
er will and pleasure, can at any moment
interrupt the process by the slightest
movement of his body. viii submit
myself TO this torture. On Russian
SIould | not succeed in enduring the
main. the question will be settled, at
least for Ethe present, in the sense that
suicides are towards. But, if my corpse
be found, exhibiting proof that / have
obtained death by. two agencies-by
burning candles, as ministering factors,
and bS my dominant will, which has
NOT bienched before excruciating tor
mentsl that will be proof positive that
men may die of their own free choice.
Let me begin!"
Here the writing became irregular,
and progressively more and more illegi-
BILE. 81 arise from my fiery couch amid
hideous sufferings, but still not SO terri
Bile as had anticipated and feared. L
arise, but not TO save myself. No! life
is as obnoxious to me as ever. But