The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1890-05-31
SUICIDE BY FREEZING.
A "Reminiscences of Boston Woman Sup.
gested by a Cold SDring Day

| A "Reminiscences of Boston Woman Suc-
gested by Cold Spring Day.
Somehow the raw chill brought to his
mind the case of Aunt Mehitabel Coffin,
who, not more than a short generation
ago, lived in cold old house down on
the cold side of Cape Cod, with a house
full of rather frigid maiden ladies', her
sisters and nieces. Becoming a little
unsettled in her mind, Aunt Mehitabel
resolved that she would battle no longer
with an incloment world. She an
nounced to the family one particularly
cold morning that she had made up her
mind to commit suicide.
Laws sakes!" exclaimed her Younger
sister Abigail, incredulously, chow do
you think you're going to kill yourself,
Mehitabel?"
The most nat'ral way round here, -
said Aunt Mehitabel, 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. But when she had made all her
preparations to go, and had even given
away her Paisley shawl and her string
OF gold beads, their skepticism turned to
alarm. 1t 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 a wailinp
goodbye at about nine 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.
oval" she said. 81 guess it's bouts
easy to freeze to death on the floor as
tits 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 household had
fled back into the passage-way, and stood
waiting in the darkness.
Beats all" they heard Aunt Mehita-
bel murmur presently, chow hard this
ere old floor is. guess I'll sit on the
rug"
She moved to the rug and set up
new series of world-weary lamentations;
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 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 covered her
with quilt.
go, dear! oh, DEAR" Aunt Mehitabel
shrieked, "fm goin' to sleep, an that's
sure sign that I'm freezin' to death.
Goodbye to cold, cruel world-good-
bye, goodbye"
AuhG uoultdDeI SlepG
morning, and awol1e in 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.