The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1888-05-23

| In the smoking compartment OF sleep
ing car sat three men. 1t was a quiet
summer evening. They had just partaken
of substantial supper and had lit their
cigars, At the last station they had OBJ
tanned the evening papers, and two of the
trio read the news of the day as they
smoked.
They had had an all-day's ride, and it
| had not been a very sociable one. The
passengers in the sleeper were few, and
each one had seemed satisfied with the
company of his own contemplations-or
at least, resigned to them. 1t was what
the train-men call a slight load" Every
body had flower" and consequently a
double seat all to himself.
There was one man, however, who had
seemed peculiarly solitary. Perhaps no
one had remarked it during the day, but
they all recalled the fact afterward. Every
pair of eyes gazed upon him many times.
He was man to attract more than ordi-
nary attention. His hair was dark and
heavy, his eyebrows heavy, his face
smoothly shaver. He was of strong build,
and his figure was faultless. His counte-
nance seemed Interchangeable. Other pas
sengers yawned or smiled or looked
! pc evlsh. His face was always the same.
This man was one of the three in the
smoking-room. 1t was the first time he
had entered there and no one had spoken
i to him all the day.
After smoking for some time in silence,
one OF the newspaper readers remarked:
| hot fr,,- 4 fct
reported to-day from New York, two from
| Chicago and-and the small towns not
heard from yet"
eyes, l have just been reading Them"
replied the other; especially that one of
! the girl who strangled herself with her
! own hair. That was an unusual trick
/ They're getting so numerous nowadays
! that unless there's some exceptional cir
cumstances Its uninteresting to read Of
them"
Interestingly" exclaimed the solitary
man with the dark hair and bushy eye
brows. "Can you speak OF any suicide as
/ Interestingly"
'Well, not in pleasant way. 1t may
be interesting to see a man hanged, but
not pleasant"
81 always think of suicide as the act of
a madman,' put in the first speaker. at
| doesn't seem to me that any human being
could deliberately take his own life while
| in state of sanity"
EITHER insane or very weak-minded,
said the other man with the newspaper.
''Now look at me-" rejoined the man
with the immobile counteRance;" do L
! look like lunatic ?"
''Not the least" replied the other two
| in a breath"
''Or like an idiot?"
''Much less still"
"Well!" exclaimed the questioner, as If
he had gained point by strong argument,
| and he leaned back and pulled his cigar.
"But we were talking about suicides,
my friend" remarked one of the readers,
'and from all ocular evidence you haven't
committed that rash act very often"
The dark man gazed out of the window
| for a moment. Then turning his head he
said, speaking in a steady, confidential
voice:
you've heard drunkards tell their ex-
periencies with the demon Whisky,
| haven't YOU? OF course. Well, did you
ever have man tell you how he had tried
to commit suicide and ill-fortune prevented
him? No? Perhaps you might find that
| interesting"
Have you ever observed, being tray
eler, how the evening hours bring out the
| spirit of sociability amongst the passengers
/ OF railway car? How they will read and
NOPE and keep within themselves all day
| long, and strike up mountaineering when
the twilight comes. Men will sit and gaze
blankly at each other over hundreds OF
| miles of track, and after supper light up
cigars in the smoking room and become as
confdentially communicative as If they
were old friends. Night seems to call out
| the sociable nature of humanity. 1t must
| have affected our three travellers that way,
| for soon all three were very close to each
other, with the dark, lOnely-appearing
man as spokesman and the others eager
| listeners.
Speaking of whisky" he began, 81
suppose you will think that have been
hard drinker, but L haven't 1 haven't
been anything very hard. That was what
always aggravated Inc. | deserved better
of the world, but the greater efforts l made
| the less OF a success l seemed to be. Men
much more reckless than /, and of no
greater abilities, as far as l could judge,
distanced me. At last 1 met with a great
sorrow. Ineednot dwell upon that" and
he looked out OF the window for minute
again before he continued.
"If had been addicted to morbidness
before, this increased it. / grew weary Of
repining Withered hopes and aspirations
| seemed strewn so thickly about me that
every breath created melancholy rust
| ling. 1t made me feel that there would be
less manhood in living under such circum-
stances than there would in leaping
| bIindly into the beyond At last / made
! up my mind. But how was the easiest
way to die? The question was peurile.
Why should a man, who had courage
| enough to end his earthly existence, wish
TO evade a few moments agony of any
kind? So bought large dose of NOR
phine, went to my room and swallowed
the poison. The effect soon followed. But
my time had not yet come. l had neg
lected to lock my door. A friend-the
| best friend L had in the world-called to
see me, and finding me PROSTATE sent for
a physician. There may be something
tragically heroic in suicide, but to be OPP
Grated on with stomach-pump is humil-
iating. L lived. Will you have another
! cigar, gentlemen"
l. "And the stomach-pump cured you"
'fNot entirely. In fact, the unsuccess-
full attempt upon my own life was ignom-
my | was ashamed and disgraced. But
really tried to reform, as it were, on ac-
| count of the few friends l had. 1t was no
use. After few weeks determined to
kill myself. l had a 3S-caliber revolver
that would Kill me. Nothing could save
| me after one of its messengers had crashed
| through nv brain took il one niOht