New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-02-25
DO better than to refer you this note Believe
me, dear sir, yours truly, PHILPPE Comte dc Parls.
a VICTIM. OF MORPHINE.
DEATH OF A WOMAN WHO HAD HAD AN INTEREST.
ING CAREER

A young woman of slight figure, with beau
tfful though exceedingly pale face, dressed neatly in
suit OF black and heavy fur cloak applied for board to
Mrs Redmond, Of No. 100 East Twenty-third-st., on
Amerque, which arrived the week before,
and had been staying at house in
Clinton-place. She became dissatisfied with
the location and had been referred to Mrs. Redmond
She said her name was virginia Gertrude Stevens, and
No. 81 Wall st. The reference was satisfactory.
Her only baggage ordinary carpet-bag. which
room There was nothing particularly noticeable in her
manner with the exception that at times she
meancho She recent about herself but talked
considerably about her travels In Europe She went out
regularly In the morning, gone nearly all day, came
back exceedingly tired. to her aud locked her
sell ID and seemed agitated when the servants went to
On Sunday morning. about o'clock, the servants. who
slept sept, on the floor above Miss stevenss room.
wa, was calling On gong to her room, they found her 81
sesI her eyes e her head FROM side to
SIDE Between her teeth was a large cork. On chair
Which she pointed and the servants with
mute appeal They did not understand her meaning,
office in the block. Before the doctor came, Miss
stevens m,mIIed that T. she took the cork out
The spasmOds action OF the throat succumbed treat
ment but she was extremely sick the rest OF the night
friend Of hers On his arrival he ordered the sick woman
continued grow during Sunday. She suffered
great pain and took large amount
OF morphine. On Monday afternoon she died quietly.
Mr. Shcboune took charge OF her body and ordered an
expensive coffin aud she buried yesterday from the
New-York Hospital. the Rev. DIR. Thomas II. Sill Ofici
ating Those present beside Mr. ShebOurne, were F. NJ
Gautier. OF the Hoffman House, and Miss f. Hasup, OF
No. 23l East Thirty hrst-st, and an unknown woman.
Miss Stevens was thirty one years old. When she was
eighteen her mother who lived In this city, died and left
will bequeathing her estate, valued at $25O,OOO,
to her only daughter. Virginia Gertrude, who
was to take possession OF 1t when she
Wug ma n yfar aft her
married young man. whose could not be ascer-
tanned, but who a clerk in McKesson Robbinss
drug store. and into possession Of her property
She then went to Montr al to live and with her ample
fortune established her husband in large drug store
In fashionable part OF that city few years after the
marriage she began to morphine to relieve her pain
and became in time victim to the morphine habit She
took the drug hypodermicaly and when autopsy was
made after death her body was found to be COW
cred with small from the syringe.
She went to Paris about two years
10 be cured of this habit Upon returning to Mon
trea she found that her husband had squandered her
estate and living with another she came to
this city and brought suit for divorce, which was
granted months ago and she then returned 10
Paris she gave up using the drug for time, but the
trouble caused her the habit and when she came
to this city she was nearly ruined in health.
The object OF her coming to this country was 10 settle
with her former husband whom through her lawyer she
had sued Tor accounting. compromise had been
Effected by which she to get $4,000. She died
without getting the money She had no relatives, and
her only friend she said, her lawyer The cause OF
her death was morphine exhaustion