CURIOSITIES OF SUICIDE.

Otago Witness, Issue 1975, 26 September 1889, Page 31

CURIOSITIES OF SUICIDE.

Not many years ago, an English representative was urging upon an Eastern Rajah the utter hopelessness of opposing a power like that of Britain.

" I know," replied the Rajah, " that your Government is powerful, but its commands are not obeyed as implicitly as mine are."

Then calling to two of his people he bade them climb a cocoanut tree. The men obeyed, and awaited orders before descending.

" Let go hands and feet," cried the monster. The men instantly obeyed and were dashed to death.

This power to command suicide may have been the outcome of the so-called religious discipline that finds favour with the Brahmins of India, who, when old age or weakness creeps upon them, seek to enter Paradise through the waters of the sacred Ganges. Nor are the Hindoos the only people who practise suicide. The Japanese cultivate it as a fine art, and are taught from childhood to believe that they may secure future happiness by drowning themselves in sight of their relatives before their idols. This is, of course, the brand of heathendom, and how barbarous was the Rajah, of whom the opening incident is told, may be gathered from this strange request.

" The Queen of England is very powerful, but who is above her ? "— " Only God is above her."

" Please write that name down for me that I may remember it ! "he replied. Unhappily, suicide is not confined to barbarians. It is not uncommon among civilised nations. Animals as well as men commit Buicide. Youth and age are no bar to this cowardice. A boy of seven and a man of 97 are included in the list. The number of suicides for every million of population is — in Paris, 402 ; Stockholm, 354 ; Copenhagen, 302 ; Vienna, 287 ; Brussels, 271 ; Dresden, 240; St. Petersburg, 206; Florence, 180; Berlin, 170; New York, 144; Genoa, 135; London, 87; Rome, 74; Naples, 34. Medical jurists are often called upon to decide whether a case is one of suicide or homicide. A recent instance was that of a woman who strangled herself in such a manner that the polioe and a medical man held that another chapter must be added to the horrors of East London. An eminent medical jurist, however, contended that the unhappy creature had taken her own life, and his theory is borne out by more than one case that has excited public curiosity. A late Duke of Northumberland was, in 1810, suspected of the murder of a man named Sellis, who had made an attack upon him. On the left side of the body was found a ratfor, and the difficulty was to reconcile with suicide the fact that the wound was inflicted from right to left, and that the razor lay upon the left, and. not, as in ordinary

cases, on the right side. Suspicion cleared away when it became known that Sellis was a wood carver, and equally dexterous in the use of both hands.

_ The Prince of Conde lived in troublesome times, and when he died, in 1830, circumstances pointed to murder as the cause of death. He was found dead in his bed ; the body suspended from the window sash by means of a linen handkerchief. The toes of both feet rested on the ground ; the knees were bent, and the heels were elevated. A chair stood at the" bedside, and there were marks of abrasion on the lower limbs. The position of the feet, the abrasions, the peculiar mark on the neck, and the knotting of the handkerchief were urged in favour of the theory of homicide. Noth withstanding these suspicious facts, it was established beyond dispute that the Prince had committed suicide, though many people believed for along time that the body had been placed in that position in order to simulate suicide. The truth is that the bodies of those who commit self destruction are rarely found in any other position than that which would at first sight create a suspicion of foul play. People have been found dead in a sitting posture, and even kneeling by their bedside in a position from which they could easily have released themselves. The theory built upon these observations is that suicides very rarely leap to their death, but put themselves in positions that gradually produce suffocation and finally death.

An analysis of 423 cases of suicide gives the following results as to some of the causes : — Insanity, 83 ; sickness, 51 ; family trouble, 34; business trouble, 32; destitution, 28 ; love, 21 ; punishment and the dread of it, 10 ; chagrin at parental chastisement, 13. Of these 128 were, bachelors, 108 husbands, 39 wives, 21 maids, 21 widowers, and 9 widows. The means adopted were :—: — Shooting, 155 ; poison, 95 ; hanging, 76 ; the knife, 27 ; drowning, 18 ; destruction on the railway, 4 ; sensational means, such as charcoal fumes and jumping from heights, 7.

Records of suicides among animals are not always to be replied upon, though an observant student of this disease has given many cases that appear to be well authenticated. A horss walked into the sea, deliberately lay down, was rescued, but repeated the attempt and was drowned a few days later. A St. Bernard dog, when beaten, jumped into the water and made no effort to swim. A Newfoundland, because forbidden to accompany his master, committed suicide in shallow water. There is record of even an attempt to murder by a retriever. This dog was docile with people, but shunned all other animals. Walking through the streets of Richmond with her master, the retriever was persecuted by a large bull dog. She took no notice until they reached the water side. There, to the surprise of her master, she began to play with the dog. They gambolled together in the water until out of their depth, when the retriever seized the bull dog by the back of the neck and kept his head under water, until her master compelled her by blows to release the victim.

The inner history of many cases, though painful, is of psychologic interest, as showing how illusions may become hard facts to a disordered brain. A girl, aged 18 years, who was found drowned in a water tank in Essex, furnishes an example in a letter which she had written to her mother.

" I had not been in bed," she wrote, " more than half an hour when Satan paid me a visit, and told me that he had seen my young man with another young woman. I thought of the water, and the more I tried to keep away from it the more Satan tried to get me in. At last he said, 'If you jump in, I'll get Charlie to bring you out.' "

Imagination working upon weak brains and enfeebled bodies is perhaps the most common cause of self destruction. A middle-aged lady, the mother of a family, believing that she inherited this mania from her father who committed suicide, attempted twice to destroy herself, but was cured on learning that her mother had been twice married, and that she was the child of a man who had died a natural death. The practice of burying suicides at the meeting of four cross roads with a stake through their bodies was intended to have a deterring effect. The Roman emperors adopted a similar expedient by exposing suicides upon a cross, while the Milesians put a stop to a strange epidemic of suicide among young girls by decreeing that the bodies should be dragged naked through the streets with the rope that had hung them.

One case more, and that amusing rather than tragic. A lady and gentleman, having determined to quit life together, repaired to the water side. The gentleman was about to take the fatal leap when his sense of politeness impelled him to turn to his companion with the remark, " Ladies first." The lady, not to be outdone in politeness, signified her willingness to be second on this occasion. The gentleman insisted, and the lady insisted, and they are doubtless insisting'to this day.