The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1899-04-11
To Suicides Commencing
By Barry Pan

THE advertisement in the newspaper
ran as follows: Suicides Com
mencing-These should write for APP
point1:ent to Mr.. Rex Blake, ~, Up
pin4 IL Gardens. South Kensington."
Herbert Streuth, artist, received an
appointment for $50 on Wednesday
afternoon He called at the South Ken
siET.oI address, and was shown into
q :o.:Gly furnished library, where a
podgy little old gentleman with white
hair shook him warmly by the hand and
babe him to be seated. sa..t
81 am very pleased to see you, Mr..
Streuth. and | trust that [ may be of
some service to you, in fact, that we
may be of service to each other But
must begin by asking you a plain
question. which you will answer truth
fully and N one word. Is your intended
suicide connected in any way with Sc
we're poverty or overwhelming financial
losses ?"
NO." said Streuth; Il am considered,
believe. to be fairly wello off. >
Delighted to hear it." said Mr.. Blake,
rubbing his chubby hands together.
snow we will proceed tell you frank
ly that with me this thing is bust
ness. and nothing but a business. If
you decide that / can serve you, l shall
expect a moderate fee. Now. what are
:he principal objections TO suicide?"
The law does not permit it, said
Streuth.
Precisely. but in the case of the sue
cessful suicide the law is not asked. 1t
says that you may not take your life
away. but if you do it cannot compel
you TO take it back again, or punish
you in any way. We can leave the law
out
There is also the religious objec-
ton" said Streuth.
MANY very religious people, replied
Mr. Blake. "haye NOT found it cogent.
Take the case, by no means an uncom-
mon one, where the death of one man
may be an inestimable benefit to many
to whom he is really sincerely attached.
Is an act of self-sacrifice to be regard
ed as a crime? No; it seems to me that
each suicide must be judged on its own
merits, taking into consideration the
motives and beliefs of the person sui
Gliding. Any other objections?'
81 know of none" Streuth answered.;
sin fact. have not been thinking much
about it. L want to get out of things.
/ don't ask myself if there are any OBJ
jectiOns or not. | don't care if there are
any objections"
''You surprise me- said Mr. Blake;
''you are an artist, and yet it has not
occurred to you that the manner of the
suicide is Of essential Importance. The
throat-cutting is very dirty, and the
same objection applies to the use of
firearms. Have a little foresight. I'm
agine what you look like afterwards,
and the state of the bedclothes, and all
the rest of it,
81 was intending" said Streuth, "to
drown myself"
II have here" said Mr.. Blake. ga little
work on forensic medicine. There are
some interesting chapters on the signs
by which you can tell the length of
time the body has been in the water.
Did you ever hear OF adipoce-e? There
is an elegant little description of it in
this passage. Just read it,
Streuth took it and read a few lines.
81 can't stand this, he said. 1T is too
nauseOus."
81 thought you would see it in that
light" Mr.. Blake replied; people most
ly do when [ put it 10 them. You real
ly can't tell what rivers going to do
TO youa 1t may give you backlat once,
or ii may keep you for bit. Even
if it gives you back at once you don't
look pretty. Here is description of
the face of man taken out of the
Thames on
''You needn't go on with that. have
given up the idea of drowning myself.