The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-07-25
A namccr I'm Great Trouble.
THE FAMOUS sOHLKE DECLARES HER NTEN
TON OLE COMMITTING SUICIDE.


TON OF COMMITTING SUICIDE.
New York telegram says: The Herald
has received a letter from Augusta Sohlke.
whose name Is as familiar 20 frequcnteIs OF
Niblo's Garden and Booths Theatre as OF
the once famous premiere danseuse in
the "White Fawn,' declaring her fixed
intention OF committing suicide, owing
10 her extreme poverty. A reporter who
was dispatched to investigate the case
found the lady on the first floor OF the
house No. Sc Fourth avenue. She Is
low-sized, middle-aged woman. 81
am that unfortunate person." she said, IN
German, i'm reply to her visitors question,
and here is my little boy" leading for
ward a serious-looking child OF seven or
eight summers. "Onlv for him you would
not see me here to-day. Yes, it Is quite
true that | am going to take my liie-naY;
that I would have done so long ago had
not nv little darling pleaded with me, say
inc Mamma. don't die don't die y Ach,
dn lieber Colt. no one knows what | have
suffered during the past month. L came
here. Won see, six weeks ago, with the IN
! tention Of o,ening Il dancing academy, but
J the weather was too hot, and the pupils
admit come. and little by little my savings
have dwindled away. until at last found
myself without cent i'm my pocket, VINO
have often earned 5000 a week at the
heading theatres i'm this city. Seeing that l
couId not hope to succeed as a teacher OF
dancing, I applied for help to several OF
! tbe New York managers, but, without eX-
ception. one and all refused to ala me.
tried old friends next. and they were
equally hard-hearted. And all this time
the landlord was pressing me 10 pay MN
his rent. The three rooms OF this nat
amount 10 S2S q month. Well, at last
wrote and asked the manager OF the Actors
Fund to give me some little assistance. and
i'm few DAYS a gentleman came and offered
me fifty cents. OF course such pittance
was no use TO me, and told him so. When
he came a few days aiterward he brought
IS. and that is all have received from the
fund.
TASK yourself. now, what good is there
in life for woman who has neither money
nor friends. There is none, mcin Herr,
none. And so for the past fortnight L
have been drinking steadily with the in
tention OF killing myself. Food has not
passed my lips for many days. though /
have contriyed that the boy should have
plenty. owe the landlord 81, and every
day expect that he will call in the police
10 turn us out. | shall be very glad TO
die, a. | am quite tired OF the misery OF
life. il | could only be sure that
no harm would come to my boy. No.
no. it's no use talking: life has
no gfadness for me henceforth, and
death will be to me a happy release from
sheer physical agony. would not care so
much il even one OF my old friends had
a. 4nI Inn I in All
knew me well when j used to dance at
Booths Theatre and at Philadelphia will
not recognize me now. 1t is a hard blow.
Ii any say that / was n drunkard do not
believe them. for | tell you that / never
turned to drink until / had made up my
mind to commit suicide. | often heard
that drink was sure assassin, and that Is
why prefer it to more violent means.
II look pretty strong at present, don't
II? Ach! but, day after day. feel my
strength going from me and my Ink to lie
growing weaker. | was born in Berlin,
and am well known there. Perhaps if |
went about soliciting aims | might sustain
life little longer, but beg any more | will
not. Call it pride if you will. l call it
self-respect. Ii / could only obtain an
honest means of livelihood / would be
content to live for my boys sake. but
otherwise it is sheer impossibility for me
to ward of starvation"
Here Nine. SOhlke burst into tears,
kissed her child, and rocked herself vio-
| lently while she spoke OF her terror by
night lest she should be forced to leave her
lodgings, and of her hopelessness by day,
when her sole JOY was to see that her
child was not left without food. Pushing
back her thick black hair she thanked her
visitor for listening to her story, and, with
courteous bow, babe him farewell in
these words: "Well, perhaps some help
may come, but if not will be dead with
in few days. Remember that it is just
fourteen days since | have tasted any food,