Year: 1867

Nleurnfsl Story Of an Unfertunat'


Girl-Lovc, Abandonment and n


tempted Suicide.


A melancholy case of attempted sui


eide occurred in this city on Thursday


evening. A young girl, only sixteen oI


seventeen years OF age, maddened by


the consciousness of the shame which


in the present state of public opinion


attaches without hope of deliverance to


the loss of purity, attempted to take


her own life. The story told of the un.


fortunate young woman is about as fol.


lows: She is the daughter of wealthy


and highly respected parents, whose


name we withhold, living in the neigh


borhood of Portsmouth, Ohio. While


attending school she made the acquaint-


ance of well known young man III


this city, where'sh lived as his kept


mistress. Finally the truth dawned


upon her mind that he had no intention


of marrying her, and she tried to COM


NIT suicide by taking poisonous prep
aration of zinc. A we'll known physi-
clan was called in, who succeeded in
saving her life. From the physician.
before she knew she was not to die,
she exacted q promise to have her
body sent to her father, but would not
give his name, saying she would leave
It where he could find it. She recover
ed, however, but not until the humane
physician had obtained clue as to the
name and residence of her parents, who
were written to by several well-knOwI
citizens, and induced to again take her
untler their roof. This occurred some
months ago. Her old home proved very
unpleasant to her, as the stain attached
to ber good name could not be easily
forgotten by her former friends and as
sociates; SO she resolved to come again
to this city and hunt mp her faithless
lover. Arriving here on Thursday night
size went to the young mans room, where
she found him in company with another
woman. Maddehed with jealousy. she
at once went to druggist and procured
two and half ounces of laudanum.
to his room iu his absence,
she swallowed the entire dose. The
young man soon after came in, and on
learning what she had done, was thor
oughly frightened, and begged hard to
be allowed to take her away, as he fear
ed that he would be charged with her
murder, promising that he would send
for q physician, and never leave her
until she had recovered. She accord
ingly allowed him to conduct her to q
house on Third street, but upon arriv-
ing there heard some one approaching,
and dropped her at the door and
fled, nor has he since been to see her,
proving conclusively that he is hard
hearted as we'll as a false-hearted
wretch. She was taken inside, and
Drs. Chestnut and O'Ferrall were called
in, who, in consequence of the large
dose of poison she had swallowed, had
little difficulty in saving her life. Ur-
OH being questioned why she had made
this second attempt upon her life, she
replied that she had no desire to live
she had ruined herself and disgraced
her father and mother, and could not
and would not 90 back to them.
Her lover, for whom she had sacrificed
herself, had cast her off snd cared
no mare for her-she had no place
to 90, nor no one to care for her, and
there were but two alternatives left her,
either life of prostitution and further
shame, or death, and she preferred the
latter. The poor girl deeply feels the
she has brought upon her.
self, but womanlike, has no word of
ceDsure against her faithless lover. We
some of the benevolent
ladies of the city have project in hand
which, if she accepts, will prove great
ly to her advantage hereafter, and place
her above the reach of future tempta-
ton.