St. Landry democrat., 1884-02-23
THE TARANTULA'S BITE.

Among all my acquaintance. none
seemed happier than Eugene F. |
named him Fortune Favorite He had q
beautiful and highly accomplished wife:
his children were the prettiest and the
best hammered / have ever met. All the
women considered Mrs. F. as near per-
lection as mortals can achieve; all the
men voted Eugene F. as clever a man
as one could desire to claim fellowship
with. He was rich ia associations, in
the integrity of a name that commanded
the respect of four generations. How
few aspiring Americans can say as
muchP He. possessed the advantages
of liberal education; his place was
assured as well as it is possible to as
sure anything in a country where the
wheel Of fortune obliterates the accumu-
lations and regulations Of generations,
and lifts men and women out of obscur-
lily in q day. That is to say, the COM
pany that employed him was the oldest,
most reliable. and the richest organiza-
ton Of its kind in the country. Final
", in addition to a salary of three
thousand year, Eugene had good rea-
son to count upon an Inheritance in the
near future that would render him in
dependent.
The noteworthy trait fellowship with
Eugene revealed was his equable
spirits, born, as he asserted. of content
ment. He was satisfied with his place,
his belongings and enioyments. No
man had more to make him happy, he
said. No man enjoyed life more philo-
ssophically, or fretted himself less over
the big or little things beyond his CON
troll. 1t was this equipoise, and,
doubtless, his ignorance of the trials
and bitter experiences OF less favored
people, that rendered Eugene F. in
different when the misfortunes and
temptations Of the poor were discussed.
Generous to a fault. he was unable to
comprehend the dire necessities that
drive the unfortunate to desperation
and death. He was severe could with
difficulty find language strong enough
to express his contempt of the average
suicide.
a poor man who sought employment
and failed to find it, weary with fruit
less effort, despairing under the worlds
rebuffs, plunged recklessly into the UNI
known. The means employed empha-
sized the poverty Of the wretched Great
ure. The newspapers made much of it,
1t was the item of the day, and proved
"a base for columns. | dropped in on
Eugene one day when his hours work
was done. He had newspaper in his
hand. He threw it down impatiently,
angrily, as he handed me . cigar and
pushed me into a seat, saying:
II am disguised with you newspaper
men. Why do you give SO much prom
inence and space to that horrible sui
eide. BY all accounts, the fellow did
all that was left him to do. If he had
only displayed common sense, when he
was about it, and adopted easier means!
If man must kill himself, why does he
disfgure himself, or impose unnecessary
and horrible agonies such as this poor
wretch inflicted upon himselfPn
Aside from the fact that / have no
patience with the speculation and theo-
~ that cuts ground from under every
Christians feet, I was tired. Eugene
worked an hour every day. I worked,
on an average. twelve at least, and did
more in one hour than Eugene did in
three. Since it was clear to me that he
received at least ten times more Tor his
mental toll than did, / could afford to
permit him to indulge himself in d pro-
1onged dissertation of the survival of
the fittest. 1t pleased him and amused
me.
Now y he said, at the end Of q chap
ter, tell me why man who chooses to
kill himself, let us say with rat poison,
should be regarded as much above
rat. Here is another account, in this
morning paper, Of woman who held