The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1882-06-29
Partisan Suicides.

( woman fell insensible at my yel.y feet.
saw the upturned face, and before
could turn half way around heard an
awful, sickening sound, the meaning O,
which was easily guessed Then /
learned that some poor fellow had
thrown himself from the topmost point
OF the grand and stately column to. the
paved roadway, more than a hundred
feet below. Stange to say, he was not
dashed to pieces. He had struck upon
the Jolnted iron ratings, and there he
hung, pierced through the neck by the
sharp and ygilded picket. There was
very little signs of blood, but the feat
ures which once upon a time a mother s
lips had pressed were terribly disfigured.
That is the third one within fort
night, !" said the manager of the hotel.
when he was told of the suicide. al
/ "Why do you let visitors go to the top
OF the column alone ?'' I asked. eft IS
shameful for the authorities to be SO in
different to such state of affairs
Liberty is all very well, but one has no
right to throw ones self from the Yen-
dome column simply because one has not
drawn prize in the lottery or for some
other equally foolish reason, = The
manager said, with shrug of his should
ers, that it always had been and ALWAYS
would be-; SO there was no use of worry-
/ ing over. the. matter. NV business at the
hotel finished, started for my apart
| ments. When / had reached the corner
OF the Hotel Bristol saw before me
crowd of perhaps thousand persons,
and in few moments / was in their
midst. 1t was a crowd of bareheaded
men, women and boys, who had rushed
from all. the sn,;ighboring shops and
houses, of .idlers, glad to find some ex-
element to refresh their laziness: Of
strangers,s with rad books under their
arms, the British ones of the number
seberly iotting down IN their memoran-
dunn book the sad fact that "a suicide oc-
ours every day, in the Place Vendome,
at about four clock in the afternoons -
OF soldiers in red trousers, dirty i'll fitting
biouses, shoes turned over at the heels.
hardly tall enough to pass muster in the
pony squad Of @ company of western
militia; OF stately, dignified, aristocratic.
gentlemen from the Cerczede L'Bnion
-drtfstiqmes (Vul carly called the Moili-
tons) over the way, where. fine recep-
ton was being given TO the ladies. ana
where some Of the best paintingsin Paris
are now on exhibition; of officers from
the heaalqdartefs of the post command
ant, Major General Three, Stars, = who
occupies The building at the side Of the
one oceupied blythe Minister Of j ustice,
and of policeman. sra.a yass ayssss..i
2 g In my time have seen many misera
lble, sad ahdssdisagTeeable SIGHTS, bu,
never before was ], SO shocked as ON yes-,
'tertlay afternoon, when Ifound myseH
IN that crowds at the base Of the mighty
pillar. from the top Of which a colossal
statue OF the great Napoleon overlooks
all Parls. It was "a crowd utterly lost.
50 IT seemed to, me, lto. the horror of the
situation. "It is droll, said yonnc
Tyonantosasman who works in 4 iew3
elry shop at the corner al. the Rue,de, Ia
Fax, and both OF them strained their
eyes to.examine I'M every detail the hid.
eous blot of blood on the gilded iron |
palings. 80 -
,r.;.s & Yes, my little one, tits quite d dis. |
tance !, to fall, 7 said an ugly, brutishs
looking coachman, addressing himself |
TO the, cocotte inshis voiturc. sit would |
have been better for monsieur if he had |
fallen upward" :" and a roar Of laughter +
greeted this humorous remark. The peo
pie pushed each other rudely in their I
efforts to catch a glimpse Of the poor,
dead man, whomla policeman had GOV.
cred with his cloak There was no hurry
about taking away the corpse, and for
two or three hours the crowd kept on
joking and telling each other of similar
which they had either seen or
heard about. 880aS go sss:gH
The percentage of suicides in France
is greater than that of any other coun-
try. One of the most eminent French
authorities, who examined 1886 cases OF,
suicides. said: There were among 4
them 697 persons of ample and indepen-
dent fortune, 1000 persons who earned +
a handsome livelihood in trades or pro-
fessions, 256 persons in pecuniary diff
culties, 159 who were comparatively
ruined, considering their circumstances
with regard to their previous position,
and 700 poor persons. OF the total
number, 1876 were women. French
physicians have discovered that suicide
belongs to the class of epidemics, while
others tell us that suicide Is hereditary.
As to manner of these ii1numerable cases
IF sef-murder, am not in position to
speak authoritatively. am assured,
however by the police authorities that
he number who precipitate themselves /,
rom this same Column Vendome is ten
per cent. Of the whole. was also in
ormed that of the 457 OF such deaths in
he Place Fendome, 145 had their heads
ractured and no visible wound of limb /.
n body; while in thirty EIGHT eases there
vas no apparent injury at all, and death
ook place merely from the shock of
alling. When one remembers that the
,olumnis 1S2 feet high,itl seems impos-
IDLE that such q. statement should be al
rue one; and when I asked for an ex-
'lanatienI WAS assured that the victimsi
lad been caught on the iron piekets by
heir clothing Parts Cor. Chicago Neps.
AsF7s9 S9ss--< --z- SEssaS Ssaa ~
Quite q romantic marriage took
lace at Keeseyiile, Essex County, N. +
6, one day reeently Luther Lanedon, 4
t Soaon, Iowa, and Miss Maria Mosher f
t keesevfM, were the Interested par
les. They are each seventy years old. It
! rpDOrfq6 that fhoy oy.o IA i<sror- Al. 1