Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1890-05-05
SUICIDE BY FREEZING.
Aunt Mehitabe1 Coffin's Attempt
Shuttle Off This Mortal Coil.

Aunt Mehitabe1 Cofin's Attempt to
Shuttle Off This Mortal Coil.
Aunt Mehitabel Coffin, not more
than short generation ago, lived in a
cold old house down on the cold side
of Cape Cod, with a houseful of
rather frigid maiden ladies, her sisters
and nieces. Becoming a little unset
tied in her mind, Aunt MehiSsbel re-
solved that she would battle no longer
with an inclement world She an
nounced to the family one particularly
cold morning that she had made up
her mind to commit suicide
Laws sakes p exclaimed her young
er sister Abigail incredulously, chow
do you think you're going to kill your
self, Mehitabel?"
1.-THE most nat'ral way round here, !"
said Aunt Mehitaael with a SILVER,
sis to freeze to death. An that's the
way I'm goin' to do it!'
The rest of the family laughed her
to scorn. Bnt when she had made all
her preparations to go, and had even
given away her Paisley shawl and
her string of gold beads, their skepti-
cism turned to alarm It began to look
as if she were actually in earnest. The
next night the thermometer went
down almost to zero. Aunt Mehitabel
told them all wailing good-by at
about o'clock in the evening, and
went up to the spare room, which was
of course the coolest room in the
house. She put up the window, sat on
the sill, and hung her feet out into the
icy north wind
There was no man in the household,
and no woman strong enough or brave
enough to compel Aunt Mehitabel to
get back into the room So the sisters
and nieces gathered about, shivering
in the intensified cold of the spare
room.
By and by the suicide began to show
signs of uneasiness in her perch at the
window.
"Wal," she said, II guess it's bouts
easy to freeze to death on the floor as
It's out here"
She crept back into the room and
crouched down upon the hard floor,
moaning and complaining. By this
time the other women of the house
hold had fled back into the passage
way, and stood waiting in the dark
ness.
beats ALL" they heard Aunt Me-
hitabel murmur presently, chow hard
this ERE old floor is! l guess I'll sit on
the rug"
She moved to the rug and set up a
new series of world weary lamenta-
tons; but after she had sat there for
some time and had experienced none
of the positive symptoms of freezing
to death she rose and sat down on the
foot of the bed.
''This damp, old bed always was
'nough to freeze anybody, and I guess
it'll fetch me-" she exclaimed, eff any
thing will"
Presently, almost without her own
consciousness, she sank down upon
the bed, and then one of her nieces
glided into the room and softly coy
cred her with quilt.
ooh, dear! Oh, dear!" Aunt Mehi-
label shrieked. I'm goin' to sleep, an
that's a sure sign I'm freezin' to death.
Good-by to a cold, cruel world-good-
by, good-byp
Aunt Mehitabel slept soundly until
morning, and awoke in a greatly i'm
proved mental condition. She did not
renew her attempt at suicide, and
never made any reference to it as long
as she lived.
To people who are born to commit
suicide Aunt Mehitabel's method of
shutting off is perhaps to be recon-
mended.-Boston Transcript.