The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1897-12-30
SUICIDE OF MISS HEIsIsEItT.
Temporarily Insane From Injuries
Received by Falling From IL Horse
Several Months Ago,

Temporarily Insane From Injuries
Received by Falling From IL Horse
Several Months Ago,
Miss Lola Herbert, daughter OF the
cN Secretary Of the Navy, Hilary A..
Norbert, Of Alabama, committed sui
eide on the morning Of Dec. 21st by
throwing herself from tho third story
OF her residence in the most fashion
able part OF Washington City. Her
| father WAS not at homo at the timC,
| being on his way from Alabama.
The sudden death and tragic features
surrounding it wcrc y great shock to
| the large circle Of friends Nj ss lie rbcrt
had maGc in tho course OF her life in
washington as tho daughter Of Il popu-
lar Representative in Congress from
the South, and later rs Quo OF the
cabinet circle Of ladies when she pre-.
sided over her fathers household dur
ing the four years he was Secretary OF
the Navy under the last Cleveland nd
miniStratiOn.
The following authorized statement
has been made by q gentleman familiar
with all OF The !acts Of the suicide
Miss Herbert, at the time Of the
occurrence, WAS suffering from acute
mclancholia. 1t developed several
locks ago us the final result Of injuries
received 10y being thrown from her
horse last spi ing.
The meluncholin was not insanity
In tho sense Of being accompanied by
dclusions. At the same time there
was profound depression, aud IT'S is
always the case in this type Of disease,
there Was great danger that suicidal
tendencies would develop. For this
reason nurses were provided to main
f,ln t,,hf f,,i
"No suicidal tendency dcvclopod
however, until yesterday, when for the
first time Miss Herbert made an at
tempt TO get out OF the window, but
WAS restrained By the nurse. This led
10 addlIiona. caution and two nurses
alternhIcu In constant wntChfulnrss of
The patient. She WAS at ali timCs
rational. quiet aud gentle, and it was
supposed the disease woulu yield to
treatment.
EARLY this mon ming the nurse on
duty nOticcd Il small spot Of blood on
the bed covering, and inquired what it
meant, but the Invalid cndcavorcd to
pass it by lightly. On making an in
vcstiGatlon, however, the nurse found
th&t the under bed clothes were
saturated with blood and that Miss
Herbert had severed the artery OF her
VIII ) with pair Of scissors. Feeling
tina the emergency was great, the
nuNa hastGnpd 10 the dOOr and called
an alarm. In this momentary with
drawal from the bedside Miss Herbert
lcapcd out and srrang from tho win
uo". Inc plunge WIS made head
foremost SO that she lighted on the top
OF her head ." the a phalt pavement
| MS INJURY alone was sufficient to have
caused death from conclusion and it
WAS doubtless the Immediate cause
Aside from this IL cursOry examination
indicated that the skull was fractured.
The severance Of the artery also would
have resulted fatally. When the
physician reached her, Miss Herbert
WAS still breathing but died about an
hour after the leap"
The coroner returned u verdict OF
suicide during temporary insanity.
AS the facts in the case were clear
he decided that an inquest was un-
necessary.
Her death was trnccahle directly to
an accident while horseback riding in
Alabama about two months ago. She
always had been enthusiastically fond
OF riding, and while paying visit TO
hcr Old home, started out one day on
horse that had not been well broken.
1t stumbled and she was thrown
violently to the ground, sustaining
severe injuries TO her back. She was
brought back to Washington, but re-
covcry was exceedingly slow, and it
was not until last Sunday that she w>2s
able to go out Of the hOusc. On that
day she went driving for the first time
since the accident, and Dr.. w. w.
Juh hnston, the attending physician,
noticed considerable Improvement.
| Miss Leila Herbert was the eldest of
cX-Sccrctary LIcrbcrts three children.
ard Vas II charming figure in Washing-
ton society. She came with her father
10 washington when he was elected to
Congress and AZ once took charge Of
his household affairs, making tho
Herbert home one Of The most attrac-
tive and comfortable in Washington
from the spirit OF true Southern hospi.
| ""iity which gave IL an atmosphere OF
It's Gwn among fashionable homes.
When her father became secretary
ui the navy in President Cicveland's
second administration Miss Herbert
was called upon to take her place In
She circle Of cabinet ladies, where she
met with success the heavy social re.
aponsihiIities placed upon bcr youth
'ui sh1lldcr8. Socially she vas OK
r"cdinG'y popular and her presence
was sought at ali gatherings. Her
social trlumphS here were repeated In
! Europe where she went TO attend the
! great naval demonstration Of Kicl.
| W,.hin the past year she had not on
| jp?"d robust health, but this only in
o3ced her TO rCdouble her devotion to
oG;door sports and exercise, and 1t %Gs
"ntic rCgaining her health by outdoor
riding that she met TIE accident that
indirectly resulted in her death.
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