The times., 1901-05-21
A VICTIM OF MELANCHOLIA
Details of the Rev. DR.. BabcOck' ;
Death in Naples.

DR.. Webster TO Start for Home With
the Body on May 3O-The officers of
the Brick Presbyterian church
Awaiting an Explicit Despatch.
ROME. May 20.-Thc Rev. DR.. Malt
bic Davenport Babcock. pastor of the
Brick Presbyterian Church, New York
City. wEo committed suicide at the In
ternational Hospital in Naples, on
Saturday. had been i'll for long time
of gastric fever. He also had ftful at
tacks Of spleen trouble and suffered
from nostalgia.
Fer this reason he had been watched
with particular care by the hospital at
tendants. His wife, who was living at
the Hotel BritanniqUe, visited Or. Bah
cock every day, and showed the deep
est concern over his illness. The doc
tor gradually became worse.
On Saturday morning, some time be
fore o'clock. the head nurse, Tensen,
visited DR.. Babcock. and found him per
fectly calm. Half an hour afterward
when Tensen was again passing the
clergyman's room, he heard prolonged
groans. The nurse tried in vain to open
the door, which was locked on the in
side he then gave the alarm and called
the hospital chief, who ordered that
the door be forced open.
Dr. Babcock was found lying on the
bed, dying. He was bleeding from
cut which he had inflicted in the artery
of one of his wrists with a pocket knife,
and there was a pool of blood on the
floor al his bedside.
The physicians did everything in their
power to save his life in the way of
tying up the veins, etc, but without
effect. In his last agony DR.. Babcock
confessed to the physician that he had
also swallowed corrosive subnmate.
There was a painful scene when Mrs
Babcock arrived at the hospital and
learned that her husband was dead.
NEW YORK, May 20.-The officers Of
the Brick Presbyterian Church felt all
but hopelessly convinced today of the
truth of the press cable dispatches con-
cerning Dr. Babcock's suicide, after
they had received this despatch from
the Rev. DR.. George S. Webster who is
the pastor of the Church Of the Cow !
enant, which is one of the churches af- I
fliated with The Brick Church:
Gastric fever developed acute melan- !
cholia, resulting in death Riggs and the I
United States Consul arranged all details +
perfe city Mrs Babcock. Mr.. Curtis and 1
Miss Robbins left here yesterday, and Will .
sail on the Fuerst Bismarck on May q. |
] sail with the body on the Trave from
Naples on May 80.
The despatch was received this morn
ing by W. D. Barbour, and, it is sup
posed, was sent on Sunday That would
mean that Mrs. Babcock and her
friends left Naples on Saturday. If
they sail on the Fuerst Bismarck. from
Cherbourg, on the 24th they should ar
rive in New York at the end Of the
month The Mr.. Curtis mentioned in
the despatch is the Rev. George L.
Curtis, of the Bloomfield (N. j. Presby-
terian Church, who was an associate
of DR. Babcock, in Baltimore, and Miss
Robbins is one Of Dr. Babcock's Bal
timore friends.
The church people are not satisfied
to let matters go in such uncertainty
and incompletenSss. They did not
know until the receipt Of the above des-
patch that Mr.. Webster was at present
with the Babcock party.
When the despatch was received an
other cable was Immediately sent to |
Naples, addressed TO Mr. Webster, and
asking him to cable full information Of
the circumstances Of DR.. Babcock's
death, so that the church officers might
issue an authoritative statement about I
it When a reply comes the officers of
the church viii make a formal state
ment Of the facts. They suppose that ]
either the excitement and shock has t,
confused those in the party, who should ]
send information TO the church here,
or that the persons there who possess
the facts do not appreciate the situa-
ton on this side Of the water; and they
expect the next cable from Mr. Web
ster to enable them TO speak officially
Of their pastors death.
The church people are very sensitive
as to the use Of the word suicide, as
applied to DR. Babcock's death. One c
Of the pastors friends said: q
ITO most people, suicide implies a q
conscious and willful act, and il ought a
not to be applied 20 what is done in !
the frenzy of delirium. 1t is a pity
there is not some other word that could !
be used" i
BALTIMORE, Nay 2O.-Late last g
night the Rev. DR.. John Timothy Stone. r
who succeeded Or. Babcock as pastor il
Of the Brown Memorial Church. and
several others of the congregation.
eabled to DR.. Riggs, at Naples, enquir- +
Ing the exact location and health of
the party. Mr.. Stone received the fol-
lowing reply this afternoon:
Naples. May 90 l.
Party leaves for home today with ex- | O
,eption Of B. T. Smith and daughter. who =
will stop over a Rome. All are well
RIGGS"
In the meantime a cable was re- n
ceived from Miss Fannie Robbins. of c
Baltimore, which read as follows: v
:. Start for home today Paris, Am wen. e. t.
-herbourg" s.
Neither cablegram made reference to +.
The manner or cause Of DR.. Babcock's Il
ieath g
The Tax on Bueket-shop business.
J. W. Yerlles, Commissioner of Internal
Revenue, rendered a decision yesterday A