Daily Honolulu press. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1886, 1885-09-22
An old Actor's Suicide.

In small hall bedroom, on the third
story of No. 8I6 East Fourteenth street,
yesterday, lay the dead body of William
Carleton, actor and playwright, who
had committed suicide. He had occu-
pied the room only few months, and
when he lived in it he was broken in
health and nearly destitute. His trunk
was in pawn with his landlady, Mrs.
Therry, for rent, and he owed Mrs.
Charles, of No. gas East Fourteenth
street for his meals For several days
he had suffered so much from gastritis
that he could only take milk punches,
and he lived on small allowance of
that kind Of nourishment since Sunday.
Believing that his illness was incurable.
and respondent on account Of want,
he locked himself in his room on Tues
day night, closed the window and suffo-
Gated himself by turning on the gas.
His misfortunes were said to be due to
long-continued habits of drunkenness.
In his room at the time of his suicide
we're only few articles of clothing,
some manuscripts of plays which he
had written, and few worthless trink-
lets which he had not been able to
pawn. On bureau was a woman's
skull which he had kept in mis- posses
sion for many years. A paper pasted
on it bore these lines:
Within this ghastly skull once lived and
throbbed
A human brain with human passion fraugh,
Here envy, doubt and scorn, and love and
hate.
Within this shrine there came the birth of
thought,
The hopes, the fears, the pangs we felt dwelt
here.
This was the house Of that we call the soul.
FraiI house Bereft Of all thy garnture,
E'en now an idiot can thy fate control.
These empty sockets once held orbs that
shamed
The diamond lustre Of the peerless stars.
The music Of the tongue wagged within this
skull.
Held ears in bondage by its magic spell,
And left thousand hearts with twice a thou
sand scars.
Where now is all the glory Of that beauteous
head,
When tresses waved the wind to kiss them
shun1
Alas its loveliness is destroyed and dead,
But this remains to tell US what has been.
WILLIAM CARLETON.
Carleton was fifty-eight years of age
and was born in Dublin, Ireland, being
named after his uncle, who was novel
ist He came to this city, about thirty
years ago and obtained an engage
ment at the old Comique Theatre as a
variety actor. Becoming well-known
as an Irish comedian he received a
large salary, which he spent freely. In
his best days as an actor he was called
"The Great Carleton" One of his
songs, called "The Whistling Thief"
became popular and encouraged him
to write songs for other actors. At
length he began to write plays and was
so successful that he gave up acting
and devoted himself altogether to
writing. His best known work is
Fritz in Ireland" written Tor J. X.
Emmett. Other plays by him are
"Rags and Riches" "Irish Aristo-
cracy," "Wreck OF the Dauntless,"
"McParlan, the Detective" Dumb
Luck" "The Two Foundlings," slit
tie Casino" "Gottlieb, the Wanderer,"
and "The Broken Brokers'" He mar
ried in 1866 Mrs. Peck, the divorced
wife of Cincinnati merchant, but she
died ten years ago. He afterward
married woman who kept boarding
house in Philadelphia. His second
wife died about six years ago, leaving a
daughter, who is in the care of her
relatives in Philadelphia. Carleton's
dissipation led to losses of money and
untitled him for work. Lately he be-
came pensioner on the Actors
Fund and was sent to hospital for a
time, but when he returned to his
former habits in the use of liquor the
managers refused to assist him longer.
Carleton recently wrote play called
"Zitka, intending it for J. X. Emmett,
and his failure TO sell the play was one
cause OF his dispondency. Ii was said
yesterday that the expenses of Carle-
toms burial would be paid out of the
Actors Fund.-M y 1y7dHns, Ang-
nSf 20.