TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 11945, 14 July 1904, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

A most extraordinary Weird Story story of misfortune conof a nected with the ownerMummy Cai*. ship of a mummy care, guaranteed to be absolutely authentic, is told by a London paper. This case, or at any rate the cover of it, stands in the first Egyptian Room at the British Museum. It is moulded in the shape of a woman with hands crossed upon

her breast, and with a fixed star* into space. The woman, according to tha catalogue, ia a problematical royal personage and a priestess of tie College of Amen B_, and aho lived hi Thebes some sixteen centuries before the birth of Christ. The fact* concerning the misfortunes which befel those who had possession of the caa© which aro about to ba related, were gathered from two professors, a scientist and a distinguished traveller, and are vouched for as being thoroughly trustworthy. It appears that, away back in the sixties, a party of five friends took a trip up the Nile. On the way to the second cataract tbey halted to explore tbe ruins of Thebes, where there is, amongst other thing*, a temple of Amen Ba, "which, is unequalled on earth in the sublimity of its ruined magnificence." Tho party was entertained by Lady Duff Gordon, and all sorts of festivities were given in its honour. One evening an Arab approached one of the party with a message from tbe Consul, Mustapba Olger, to the effect that he had discovered a mummy case of nnusual beauty. The gentleman to whom the message was sent bought the case the next day. "Both he and his companions were impressed by its remarkable beauty and by tho carious face of the woman pourtrayed, a face that was filled with a cold malignancy of expression, unpleasant to witness." The finds of the party, by mutual agreement, were to be apportioned by lot, and thus the purchaser. Mr X, let a* say, only obtained a minor object, the cover passing to a friend, Mr Y. No sooner had the return journey started than misfortune* started. Mr X was shot in tho nrm, which limb had to be amputated, a second menii her of the party was shot, a third died in poverty in a year. Mr V found on arriving in Cairo that he had lost most of his fortune, and he died soon after. Mr X lost sight of the case for many years. It was given by Mr V to a married sister, and so soon did misfortunes begin to bffall her family, which suffered large los*es, 'tlie end coming with painful troubles which need not be specified." Mine. BlavuUky, the famous theosophist, detected its presence in the lady'a house, and advised her to get rid of it as an object of evil influence, but was laughed at for her fears, with the result- stated. Later on it was sent to be photographed—with a most wonderful result. The photographer paid ho took the greatest care, and was sure tlie negative was not "faked' in any way, and yet "it waa not the cardboard features that looked out of the photograph, but a, living Egyptian woman staring straight before her with an expression of singular malevolence." The photographer himself died suddenly and mysteriously soon afterwards. Such is the weird story of a mummy case, and of the terrible manner in which the priestess of Amen Ra signifies her displeasure. • Some interesting facta reThe Spread gardmg the Temarkable of " increase of suicide are j Suicide, contained in-an article in the "Daily Express." In the pa.st fifty years suicide has increased, it is stated, some 200 per cent., and in twenty-five years about 150 per cent. In 1873 the rate per hundred thousand of the population was 6.33. Thirty years later, in 1903, it had increased to 9.90. The figures refer, of course, to England and Wales, and it may be noted that the increase waa gradual throughout the thirty years, a fact fully brought out by the figures for- each quinquennial interval. Moreover, the increase is etated to be general, not local. In this connection it may be stated that tlie suicide rate of the seventy-four largest towns is actually lower than the Tate for the -whole of the rest of England and Wales. Wales is less euioidal than England, and it is> in' the south-eastern countries of England that most suicides occur. The rate of increase is fairly alarming in England, but after all, the rate of suicide there is insignificant as compared with what 1« found in other European countries. Thus the rate for Prussia is 16.6 per hundred thousand ; for France' it in 180; for Wurtemberg, 18.9; for Baden, 19.8; for -Switzerland, 23.9 r for Denmark, 25.1; for Saxony, 39.2. The euicide spot oi Europe, a« will bei gathered from the above figure.?, is the northern part of Central Europe, including German Austria, Germany, Switzerland,* Denmark, Southern Sweden, and Western Russia. Passing to modes of committing suicide, we are informed that "England and Scotland, are distinguished among European countries for their use of tha knife in suicide." Nevertheless, hanging k the favourite method, even in England. There, in ten year*, 7005 suicides were by hanging, 5532 by drowning, 4365 by cutting or stabbing, 3916 by poisoning. 2204 by means of firearms, whilst some 2300 were by other means. Hanging is most in favour amongst men, drowning amongst women. It is in the cummer that. *uic-ides axe most frequent, tbe climax being in May and June. The season seem* to b© the trying effect* of spring and early summer upon the constitution. As regards tho cause of enicide, it may be said that persons inheriting * Germanic racial element have tho greatest tendency to suicide. As for acquired element*, drunkenness, fear and .shame are responsible for most! «_ieides in the order named. The forenoon is -the favourite period of the day for committing suicide. In England less than 2 per cent, of suicides are returned by juries as ' re'o de se." The verdict usually returned is that which says thati suicide occurred -whilst the subject was "of unsound mind." This formula, wai invented as a merciful alternative in thi days when a "felo de se"' verdict entailed degradation for the body, and burial without the Christian burial service.