Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-11-12
j. M. FOURQUREAN s. CO.,
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by side. and even the little dog also IN
cuded In the dark adventure. NO DOUBT
the case was singularly pathetic Each
one had o real grief. one had seen her
husband, whom she loved, taken 10
madhouse; another was abandoned by ner
husband. and the third abandonedshy her
lover and eneeintc. Tears are contagious.
They are attracted TO each other IKE
drops of water but In mingling they, OF
course become larger. Each one or tpsss
unfortunate young women might haNo
been able to bear her burden ef grieI
alone, but fhe weight was Increased Ny
the sorrows of the others. That Is why
the idea OF suicide, having first come. 20
one. was bound inevitably TO reach the
others. What scene for playwright
was that last evening. the evening whtn
they told the stories Of their lives ana
shed their remaining tears I'm common'
Then they took their last supper at wh'ch
they laughed and sang. People are Joyous
when they become decided. They feei
stronger "The strongest Is he who mas
renounced," as lbsen says; and In TINS
case each one was fortified by the deter
mination OF the others.
This Kind Of suicide in common IL ccr-
tainly tragic. and II Is grave symptom
| of the progress of what we may call this
| epidemic. The philosopher Hartmann,
| disciple of Schopenhauer. and also an
| consequence OF his system and the m
| eyitable end OF the world ian g1mense
| cosmical suicide TO be committed by hu-
mainly" Certainly pessimism, philisophi-
| cal denial, and irreligion count Tor -
| great deal IN the increase OF suicides.
| Musset himself, speaking of the death or
| Rolla, blamed V0ltaire, proclaiming tnht
| II the slightest thread had still held nls
| soul 10 any faith he would not have pros
L Oh H.
| enc of the great causes OF this maiady.
Nevertheless, we have the example OF
| suicides bequeathing all the money that
| they possessed for masses for the repose
| OF their souls.
But there are other causes. In the
first place. we are no longer able TO sur
fer, not even physically. We send 'or
cocaine and chloroform In cases Of sim
pie suffering, even the drawing 81 4 tooth.
| Where Is the endurance OF other times
| before the discovery of these marvellous
| drugs which seem almost necessary Tor
| our too sensitive modern, and. perhaps,
degenerated humanity, incapable of bear
ing physical pain? Moral suffering We
cannot endure. We accept life on the con-
dition that It must be without bitterness.
In other words, we want the impossible
In the "Parisienne," that admirable come
| dy of NJ Becque, there Is one profound
and sort of sadness comes over them,
and when one asks the other the meaning
| of IT, the answer Is: There are shades. '
That Is the very soul of the period; II is
the malady of people too much Civilized
and too refined. They suffer on account
Of shades and die on account OF shades.
How many suicides have had no other
cause? At the very first trouble feople
are ready to say: = have had enough
i A., Is..f. s.f 70 10 "A h.
sent 1t IL the strong and young race
that sticks to llfe That is why suicide Is
unknown among the savages. The idea
OF death which Is presented In the ac-
counts OF suicides 10 be found In the jour-
| nails gives the vertigo. IL has an attrdc-
tion--the attraction of the abyss. one
should never go neag the brink. we
should conceal this idea of death-throw
veil over the example OF the suicide
NJ. lola, In one OF his novels, speaks OK
knife that had already served one sui
eide eagerly snatched up by another. AZ
| in the case Of the plague-stricken. isola-
ton becomes necessary in this peculiar
malady-the ISOLATION OF concealment.
The newspapers are the centres OF It's
propagation. That Is why IL is desirable
that the entire press should refrain as
much as possible from publishing detailed
accounts OF suicides. The malady Is In
creaslng and becoming a social evil which
people DO not look upon with SUFFICIENT
seriousness.
At the theatre when a piece becomes
tiresome one spectator rises and leaves.
He is soon followed by another, then by
three or four more, and so on until pretty
soon the whole audience leaves en- riasss.
In the theatre OF life We have not yet
reached the point where all 20 out to-
gether. But are we approaching the Pc
riod of that "cosmical suicide" OF which
the nhiiosopher Hartmann speaks?