The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-07-18
Nellie Lang Tries to Kill Her.
self Because Her Husband
Planned to 60 Away.
EFFORT NAY BE SUCCESSFUL.
She Was Raised in the Country
and Never Left Her Parents
Until Her Marriage.

Because he- husband decided TO &c TO the
country = work during the thrash!ng sea
scz ari o leave her at ho-ne alone among
stau g, Nellie Lang. the le-yesr-cld wife
OF aaoipt Lang. tried to end her life by
t-dag merph1ns nnI- @ clock yesterday
sst.-rrcon at her home, ~ Is South Eighth
tlreet- Sic was taten &c the City Hes
ptt2i He condition y-Zs sr'ous, and the
doctors could not tell szst nigh: whether or
not her attenpt ct SCH = lion would
prove successful
Mrs. Lar ras been T-a-riec b-- few
MOTHS, s-,lG when he n--.ba-a rlG her
that be had o 80 to the oou--Ty TO get
work and To,i,4 leave her st home. she
grew desponiI.>T. 81: lousS her husband did
not Suspect the fsot urtil y..seriay sfter-
nool, when be Js--runrnc-d to make his
preparations for departure hr LIns told
bis wife that she 1-1llG a 20 stay at
home and mind the A..l-e s1.' Do returned,
which he expected 1" 10. bn SID, IN q few
months Mrs. Lang has lived In the city
less than year. and. being Of retiring
disposition, made few friends or acquaint-
ences in that time. Mono OF her relatives
resides here. and during her husbands alb
eence she would have been practically
alone among strangers in a strange city.
She cid not like the prospect OF living in
the city by herself.
She had been raised in a small town, and
the ways OF the city and its people were
somewhat bewndering to her. And she
had never been left alone, she said. for any
length of time She had never been away
from her parents Until she married, and
che did not know what II was 20 be thrown
on her own responsibility and left to take
care of herself. Since her marriage, she
had looked TO her husband to fill the place
Of her parents, and his had been the only
compsn.onship she had known. When she
was told that she was 10 be left alone. for
months, perhaps. she was sorely grteved.
She demonstrated. and then pleaded.
Mr. Lang told his wife that his funds
were dwindlng away, and that he had to
go to work, and that he could not get as
good a position in the city as the one pref
fered him in the country. There was no
alternative, so Lang tried to comfort his
wife as best he could. and he finally pre-
vailed upon her. he thought, to make the
best OF the situation.
After her first outburst of grief several
days ago, Mrs. Lang did not breach the
subject OF her husbands departure, and |
Lang thought that she had resigned herself |
TO get along alone Until mis- return. Yester- |
day afternoon. however. when he COM |
menced to prepare for his departure. his !
wife again commenced to plead with him !;
10 stay with her.
''My wits does not Ike to be left alone !
for any length OF time" said Mr.. Lang |
yesterday, because she Is not used to il |
Several times before i found It necessary .
TO be away from home longer than shs !
wanted me to stay and, on my return
she talked of killing herself II she was ,
left alone much more. ! did not think she
was In earnest. As / was packing my /
things heard my wife leave the house. |
Then suspected what she was going out |
for and l followed her. She went into
drug store on Market street and purchased !
Is cents worth of morphine. I went In |
while she was there and saw the druggist !
hand her box Of pills, and l asked him
what they were, and he said Quiniue. The
box was labeled gimme, but / suspected
that the pills were not made of Quinine- !
tenticn OF having 1t examined before / left
the city. My wife and 1 then went home
and resumed my packing, My wife en-
tered the bedroom, and a few minutes later !
called me IN. / found her lying across the |
bed, and she told me that she had taken /
poison. When We reached the Dispensary I
I gave the pill which 1 had taken from I
the box to Doctor Jordan and he examined 1
it and said that II was morphine.
Mrs. Lang was seen at the hospital last |
night She was lying on a cot. her face |
framed by a luxuriant mass Of dark hair. !
She said that she had taken poison because |
her husband was going away from her and |
that she old not care to live If he was not /
with her. As she spoke tears welled up |
in her large blue eyes. She Quickly brushed |
them away and then turned around and /
buried her face in the pillow.