davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times., 1905-07-30

failed, that the agony I had suffered
was. after all, in vain, that through
some mistaken kindness I had been
dragged back to this world, and must
live and endure or again suffer ali the
pangs Of the damned.
Later / learned that after I had
drunk the earbolic acid had fallen vio-
Iently upon the floor, and that the man
who had the room Immediately below
mine had rushed upstairs. burst in the
door. and found me in convulsions. The
ambulance of the Emergency Hospital
had come with all the speed 1t is capa-
bic of and the acid had been removed
from my stomach in time to save my
life
Should I ever again be tempted TO
take my life with my own hand. no
matter what the provocation, / shall
not drink carbolie acid a second time
This. the testimony of a man who has
mad actual experience with carbolic acid
poisoning should prove a warning to all
those who seek to drink it.
There is only one physical antidote for
carbolic acid. 1t is alcohol Other
things milk and oil. are used to sooth
and reduce the pain, but the alcohol, if
used in time. will absolutely counteract
the effect OF the acid This is a COM
pafALlNel5 recent uIsCoNeiY' anu ildS OIiiJ
been used in medicine during the last
few years. But today alcohol is inYaria-
bly, used at the Emergency Hospital
| when a carbolic acid patient is brought
in by the ambulance.
The right of a human being TO deprive
| himself or herself of life is denied by
the Christian Church. by the student
Of the laws which govern society. and
by the nloralist Yet many men of recog-
nized ability. men Of fame in all walks
of life. nave defended the act under GER
tain provocations. Very few Of them
have taken their own lives. That, how
ever. is no argument against their as
sertions. for the provOCation which they
deemed necessary may never have arisen
in their cases.
The Washington times., 1905-07-30

In the United States. whose popula-
ton is made UP of all the nations under
the sun. the tendency toWssd suicide fol-
lows the same law as it did among
these people in their mother countries.
The greatest number of suicides com
mitted here are among the German i'm
migrants. The American negroes have
few suicides. For every million negroes
in this country four commit suicide each
year but for every million whites there
are forty suicides in the same time
Suicidal tendencies break out in queer
forms. There have been many suicide
clubs formed. both in America and
abroad. A typical case was that Of the
suicide of J. B. Monehead. a wealthy
theatrical manager in New York. When
he shot himself he left this note for the
coroner:
Dear sir:
4 have committed suicide as per club.
Please give verdict to such effect, and
oblige yours truly
It was proved at the inquest that he
belonged 10 a club, the members OF
which We're obliged to set the date OF
their death when they joined it. X
they had not died natural death by
that date they were compelled, by their
oath, to take their own lives.
The Washington times., 1905-07-30
Ten Fatal Drinks in Washington.

During the past year ten persons
drank carbolic acid in Washington and
died. few who attempted death in
this way were saved. One Of the lat
.er has related his experience, which
The Times is now able 10 print exclu-
slvely. The case is that of an educated
man driven 10 take his life through mis-
fortune.
How I came 10 drink carboltc acid
is a matter of little Importance to any
save myself. But the actual experience.
the fearful agony which followed my
drinking the contents of that small, and
To all appearances Innocent. bottle may
restrain others from attempting To take
their lives in this way, may inals@ them
hesitate longer 10 take The fatal step
in any shape or form. As such ! give
II 10 you.
Il am strong man constitutionally;
have always been so rated and was even
sr The time ( attempted TO Kill myself by
drinking the acid. Had it not been 50
there Is little possibility that even with
The Washington times., 1905-07-30
5ethods of Suicide Selected by 10, 900 Americans

also be due to the fact that widows and
widowers are more advanced in age than
the majority of unmarried and married
men and women.
Throughout the world hanging and
drowning furnish more suicides than any
other methods. though poisons are be-
coming more popular and also shooting,
1t is said that at least seventy per cent
Of the men and women who take their
own lives hang themselves or drown.
There is a distinct line drawn between
the means of suicides used by the two
sexes. OF course there are some means
that are common to both, but as q rule
II VIII be found that men use hanging,
firearms, railway trains, and cutting:
while women turn to poisOas, drowning,
jumping, and asphyxia.
The Washington times., 1905-07-30

felt such a stream, only a thousand
times more scorching than could have
been molten metal. Down it went into
my body. I felt on fire and wondered
why flames did not burst forth and
consume me.
Imagine d myriad Of minute beetles
each with his claws firmly fixed in the
lining of your mouth. esoPnagus, and
tearing away the tissue as
though their lives depended upon it,
and you have dim idea of the torture
I experienced as the acid burned its
way into my vital parts.
Suddenly I seemed TO contract A
great force outside of me laid hold of
my whole nervous system, held it in
vice-like grip, and crushed the life out
of it. In a few seconds I lived a thous-
and years of agony such as the most
enthusiastic Presbyterian preacher in
the days of the blue laws never prophe-
sled to his trembling congregation as
their fate in the world to come.
would have lived forever had l had the
choice to avoid another second of the
torture. ]. who a minute before had
deemed life a hell on earth.
The Washington times., 1905-07-30
Liberty in Ny Grasp"

When at last the druggist had hand
ed me the bottle containing the two
ounces of carboiic acid for which / had
asked, / hurried away, my one thought
20 get as quickly as possible to the room
which had been little better than a
prison 10 me Tor the past six months,
my declaration of independence. / had
heard or read somewhere that carbOlic
acid could Kill in Il very few minutes,
that the man Who drank a carbolic acid
cocktail would never live to reach the
dinner liable God knows 1 had no de-
sire TO live that night
Safe in my room at last with the
liberty for which | Ionged within each
reach, / was still possessed with The
demon of haste. I thought not of how
long / should be dead but rather Of how
long 1 had been alive Carefully /
locked the door. even waited a minute
inipatiently to be sure that no one had
followed me to my lofty room though
why any living soul should have done
so I did not know then nor do / now
But all my suspicious were aroused
With quick fingers though nerVelesS, 1
tore the stopper from the bottle and
held it TO my lips. AT one guiIp I swal-
lowed half It's contents and threw the
bottle on the floor.
For an instant / felt no change Had
/ been cheated or was death after all
so easy? For an instant did | say? The
fraction Of an instant / meant. Then
came the change. but not The change
which ! mad expected,
The Washington times., 1905-07-30

OF the European races. the two most
given to suicide are the Germans and
the Seandinavians. There seems to be
blended in their makeup more nearly
the right amount of melancholy and
morbidness necessary for suicide than
in that Of any of the other nations. In
France many suicides are committed. es-
pecially in Paris. where the rate per
10000 souls is sometimes as high as for
ty-hve a year This is discourag ging. in
view of the low birth rate in that
country Among the Irish the per cent
of suicides is smaller than that of any
other people in Europe. The Celts are
peculiarly free from the suicidal ten
dency This is noticeable in the south
of France. where the Celtic strain is
pureF
The Washington times., 1905-07-30
One Firms Long List.

Merely as an example of the number
Of English country mansions and cas-
ties now in the market it may be stated
that one firm of London agents has up
ward OF 800 country estates for sale or
rent, furnished or unfurnished. Nearly
all of them are highly desirable prop
critics and range in size from d few
acres to broad domains of 5000 TO Il, 900
acres. And 10 fancy that some Of them
are going begging at prices less than
those asked for comfortable fats in
Harlem!
one Of the most picturesque marine
estates in the United Kingdom, for in
stance. is described nxthe following al
Turing language:
Norris castle. Cowes for sale or let
furnished; the castle, formerly favor
lie residence of her laie majesty, adjoins
Osborne; stands on high ground. sloping
to the sea, in a beautiful wooded park !:
The Washington times., 1905-07-30

~ oNTRARY to popular belief sui
eide reaps larger harvest in
the summer months than in the
frozen winter. Since the begin
ming of the year, suicide all over the
United States, the whole world. for that
matter, has been on the increase. 1t
has reached its highest figure during
the present month, and from now on
viii decline, if the history of previous
years can be relied upon. There are two
reasons for its popularity, if such
word may be applied to suicide, during
the hot months: one purely physical, and
the other psychological. The one Is due
entirely to the great physical suffering
which is caused by the heat waves which
sweep over the temperate zones in these
months. The other lies in the fact that
during the heated term, in spite of
bodily discomfort. mans brain works
more clearly. and. in consequence. the
nervous system is more tensely strung.
Mental pain is more acute because of
this ability of the brain TO feel more
plainly.
Men who have given the subject much
thought and study declare that suicide
has existed since man began to think;
that 1t will continue to exist in all
forms of society throughout time. The
suicidal mania will crop out for one rea-
son or another as long as men feel and
suffer acutely. The means which are
employed to take life by suicides are
too numerous and horrible to list But
il is true that there are fashions in sui
eide just as there are in hats or din
ners, or any Of the other affairs of men.
IN the days OF the ancient Romans
there were periods Of opening the veins,
falling upon q sword. or drinking the
poison of the hemlock. Like sheep. men
will follow others even in their method
Of death.
The Washington times., 1905-07-30
The Black Heat.

Even as 1 was at last about TO real
ize my wish. everything grew black be-
fore my eyes. But if the pain of the
white heat had been awful the agony
of the black suffocating pail thrown
over me was a hundred degrees worse
All my faculties We're working more
acutely than ever before. but there was
nothing TO sustain them. no breath to
breathe. no light to see no sound TO
hear. Had the freshest breeze that
ever blew across the dancing waves
touched me then l could not have felt
it; had the divinest combination of
color ever painted in the sunset sky
been before my eyes | could not have
seen II: mad the softest music that ever
raised mans soul to heights far above
this mortal world been waited through
the air my ears would have taken no
cognizance Of IT.
Again. lightning change. l lay
in the shadowy twilight of a deep
valley: over me hung thousands of feet
Of massive mountains The whole
moved slowly at first. then with ire
mendous speed it rushed down upon
me. As it struck. everything became
d blank Thank God for that.
When next / knew that / was and
that there was world, my first sensa-
ton was Of great, burning pain. NOT
such as / had experienced bur duIIer
lay ii neat white cot. would have
given anything, any hope that / ever
had 10 have been again unconscious.
for the pain ] still suffered was intense
The Washington times., 1905-07-30
Soaring Flames That Burned My Soul"

There was a roaring sound in my
ears. 1 was falling hundreds OF miles
through leaping. soaring flames. flames
that burned into my very soul. My head
was being drawn away from body. my
limbs wrenched violently from their
sockets. Did l have a single nerve that
was not wrung and warped until the
pain became almost a pleasure; almost.
did I say! 1t stopped millions of miles
from the sensation of pleasure. could
the difference between pleasure and pain
be reckoned by miles. Pleasure and what
l felt at that moment were as far sep
arated as love and hate.
Needles pierced my eyebans. With
devilish ingenuity thieves thrust the
points into every part of my eyes. and
tore flesh into bits. The sockets III
which they lay We're lakes of fire Had
l had the power [ should have plucked
out my eyes with my own fingers. But
l seemed without the ability TO move,
Just as in a bad dream. though a form
less, awful power pursue. you cannot
move a hand or foot
Lights cleaned on all sides of me
so intensely that ] was blinded. 1t
was as though a huge magnifying glass
powerful enough To concentrate ali the
rays of the sun had been focused upon
me and 1 was shriveled into a cinder
and whirled this way and that in the
blasting heat But no matter which
way | was tossed at the fancy of this
gigantic power I did not escape. Al
ways ] approached the center of the
great white pillar of light and always
/ was swept aside In the years which
l lived in these brief seconds l dreamed
that if / could but reach the center of
that pillar I would at last be able to
die.
The Washington times., 1905-07-30
Carbolic Acid the Fashion Today.

IN recent years fashion In suicide has
run the gamut Hanging, shooting.
arsenic poisoning. drowning. opium
poisoning and. finally. carbolic acid
have all had their day, stTl have il
just as wide brims and narrow. low
crowns and high in hats, But carboIic
ac.d poisoning is one of the most popll-
lar means used today In Paris, a not
bed of suicide; IN New York. in London a
large percentage of the suicides drink
the harmless looking acid.
Probably no other means of taking
life is more horribly painful than that
Of drinking carbolic acid. The agony
that is suffered has been told by per-
sons who have received medical aid in
time 10 save their lives. In spite of the
great pain which it causes, men, and
particularly women, by the score
choose this way OF ending their lives
each year Probably il became a popu-
lar means OF suicide because il Is, in
the FIRST place easy 10 obtain. because
the people use it commonly as an anti
septic. and because it is sure Few
eases are saved if the dose taken be
large. one thing may. however. be
said which shows how great must be
the suffering attendant upon carbonc
acid poisoning. The man or woman who
has once been through the experience
never again attempts suicide in that
fcrm. This is the record of The Emer-
gcncy Hospital Of Washington on the
ct her hand. wouId-be suicides who have
failed in their figst attempts with ilIu-
Lcinating gas or the ~istoI have been
Inown frequently to make second and
even third efforts 10 asphyxiatc them
selves or blow out their brains
The Washington times., 1905-07-30
y estchester county? Fudge!

Westchester county? Fudge!
A CatsIliIl lodge? Fiddlesticks.
And English castle? Well, that is an
other story! A castle for ths summer.
yes-decidedly yes! For. as Milady
Newlirich and her marriageable daugh-
ters are learning, it is, If anything,
much-very much-cheaper TO spend the
summer months abroad amid the
medieval surroundings of a lowered
and turreted residence than TO pay twice
or thrice the amount for a fashionable
or even comfortable domiciIe within a
day or so of New York, says the New
York Press.
While the matter of expense may not
enter into the equation with the very
wealthy, one can now secure a summer
castle in England or Scotland at bar
gain-counter prices. In fact, scores of
moss-g grown towers are yearning and
yawning for tenants this season at
prices ranging from $65 month up
ward.
Fanciful as the idea may seem. it is
nevertheless a fact that one may rent a
castle this season for a 1.-THE OF the ex-
pense necessary to the maintenance Of a
Newport or Bar Harbor establishment
Real castles they are at that with draw
bridges. mOats, portcuilises and such in
cidentals thrown in as good measure.
Only one thing is ecessary-eliminatin
the minor item OF expense. since ii is re
duced TO comparatively nothing-and
that Is the possibility of the tenant re-
naming abroad or away from business
for d sufficient length of time to give
the experiment fair trial. But for the
fact that comparatively few Americans
are aware of the dirt-cheapness of cas-
ties there undoubtedly would be q con-
secrated rush to secure some OF the as
tonishug bargains,
The Washington times., 1905-07-30

about 80 acres, with long sea frontage;
boathouse. etc: it has magnificent views
over the great yachting highway and
racing courses of the Solent and steam
trial measured mile course of our navy
and is in full view of the huge ocean
liners arriving and departing from
Southampton water. an eyeT-yarying
panorama of intense interest: this Of
fers also a unique opportunity TO develop
the estate as high-cIass watering
place"
While the terms at which this abode
may be secured are not made public,
the price is hardly one-half the sum one
would pay for any one of dozen homes
in Newport
The Washington times., 1905-07-30
Suicide on the Increase.

Notwithstanding the marvellous prog
ress which mankind has made in the
past half century, many individuals find
life more unbearable today and less en-
ioyable than did their ancestors. This
is. perhaps, an indication that our wants
have increased more rapidly than the
means of gratifying them. Whatever
has been the cause, the list of suicides
in all countries, especially those where
the progress toward higher civilization
has been fastest, has grown and still
continues TO grow alarmingly. Naturally.
the increase in population would bring
out more suicides, but the percentage
of suicides to the size of the popula-
ton has also increased greatly.
1t IS a strange thing nearly four times
as many men commit suicide as women,
and this in spite of woman's acknowl-'
edged nerves and more fiighty tempera-
ment. 1t may be that just as many
women have strong pTovocation 10 COM
nit suicide but they have, TOO, more
10 restrain them from taking their lives.
In the first place affection for their
homes and their children plays an inn
portant part in Withholding their hands.
Their tendency toward religion is strong
CT than that of men. and as the church
demands that no man take his life. this
religious tendency OF women would les
sen the number of suicides among them.
Then, TOO, though this argument may
not appeal TO the women, they have less
intelligence than men. and therefore.
| feel less keenly. and it is the man who
feels most keenly that is more tempted
To commit suicide in moments of de-
prsssion,
The suicidal tendency increases with
age up to seventy-fve years of age for
men and sixty-fve for women Com
paratively more women commit suicide
than men between the ages of fifteen and
twenty. This period is remarkably free
of male suicides compared to other per
iods Of the same length. But women on
he other hand undergo many trials dur
ing these years. ana many grow morbid
and take their lives
~ ~
Marriage Restraints Suicidal Tendency.
Statistics prove that marriage tends
to restrain suicide both for men and
women, Widowhood on the other hand.
shows an increase in suicide This NAV
The Washington times., 1905-07-30
~ Stream Of Molten Lead"

Have you ever dreamed that d
stream OF molten lead was being poured
down your throat? In that instant /
The Washington times., 1905-07-30
The Record for Ten Years

Suicides years numbered
19709
Population of these cities, 14456183.
Number of suicides in these
Rate of suicides II n
NUMBER SUICIDES
The Washington times., 1905-07-30
Dragged Back to Life.

Nor was the pain merely physical /
realized that my attempt to die had
The Washington times., 1905-07-30

Marriage Restraints Suicidal Tendency.
Statistics prove that marriage tends
to restrain suicide both for men and
women, Widowhood. on the other hand
shows an increase in suicide This NAY
The Washington times., 1905-07-30

NEWPORT villa? Tush!
A Bar I4arbor cottage? Pshaw!
A Long Island country home?
Tut Tut.
The Washington times., 1905-07-30

- ONTRARY to popular belief sui
eide reaps a larger harvest in
the summer months than in the
frozen u.inter Since the hapin-
Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-06-02
Jacques
VIOLA ALLEN.

Miss Viola Allen is to present "rhe Winters Tale" one of the most de- lightful of Shakespeare's comedies, at Polls tonight. This will be Miss Al lens second appearance in Shakes pearean role since becoming star. En- couraged by her truly fine success as Viola in "Twelfth Night last season, Miss Allen has ample justification for further inroad into the classics. Hay ing encompassed so complete and sat isfying a triumph with one of the great old comedies has caused Miss eA1lcn to defer the production of a modern play, of which she has several in hand.
 some future time. These facts speak rather well for her own commanding talents and indicate a happy state of affairs in the theatrical world. Indeed. it is not often that the actress is able to achieve. in one of the classics, Il financial reward at all commensurate with her personal triumph. If the sue cess is as ample with "The Winters Tale" as it was last season with Twelfth Night theater-goers may expect torsee Miss Allen in many clas- sic plays in the future, "The Winters Tale" is q drame which has been given but few produc- tions in recent years in America and on each occasion with success. In Eng land, however, it has proved enormous
Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-06-02

ly popular. At the Queens theater, Manchester, n splendid revival of one of the classics is given annually. This scheme has been in vogue during the past dozen years or more. "rhe 'fin- ters Tale" was not put on till fon- years ago when it proved the most sue cessfuI and profitable of any given u1 to that time and has not since been sur passed. One feason. very likely for it's infrequent production in America is that the play requires very elaborate and costly production in scenery and costumes, and for the further reason that but few actresses in recent time have been suited to such exacting roles as Hermione and Perdita. Of Miss Al lens company for last season. Frank Currier, James Young, C. Leslie Allen and Zeffie Tilbury have been retained. Other than Frank Vernon. who stages the production and plays Canillo. the new members of the organization to present ''The Winters Tale" are Henry Jewett, Boyd Putnam and Sidney Bracy. That Miss Allen will prove an artistic delight in the dual role of Her mione and Perdita seems beyond ques- ton. Prices are S2.OO. $1.5O, $l.U, 75c and 9 cents. No free list.