With regard to days, Brierre de Boismont finds in regard to Paris that the number of suicides in the first ten days of a month exceeds the number of the last twenty; and, stranger still, the two first days of the month also give the largest numbers: this does not occur in England, nor in London alone. As to week days, among men the beginning of the week is most fatal; Monday highest, then Tuesday, then Wednesday, and Saturday the fewest. Among women also peculiarities come out, but they are different; Saturday has still the fewest, the Thursday and Friday are very high, Monday and Tuesday low, but Sunday has the highest number of all. And now with regard to hours and times of the day, darkness seems to be preferred to daylight. But according to a rather complete set of tables, which I reproduce here, giving every hour, night and day, I find that from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., about noon, and from 2 to 3 p.m. have very much the highest numbers. The rate diminishes almost regularly from 3 p.m., through midnight to 3 a.m., when the lowest number is reached. Brierre de Boismont arranged this Table; it refers to 1,993 cases observed in Paris. ──────────────┬─────────────── 1 a.m. 51 │ 1 p.m. 79 2 a.m. 49 │ 2 p.m. 117 3 a.m. 45 │ 3 p.m. 144 4 a.m. 50 │ 4 p.m. 89 5 a.m. 70 │ 5 p.m. 86 6 a.m. 102 │ 6 p.m. 67 7 a.m. 102 │ 7 p.m. 89 8 a.m. 126 │ 8 p.m. 69 9 a.m. 104 │ 9 p.m. 69 10 a.m. 110 │ 10 p.m. 62 11 a.m. 81 │ 11 p.m. 44 12 Noon 123 │ 12 p.m. 65 ──────────────┴─────────────── CHAPTER XIII. SEX, AGE, AND SOCIAL STATE. The relative proportion of suicides exhibited by the sexes is one of the data in connection with our subject that received the earliest attention, and from such early observations, until the present time, the proportion has been remarkably constant in our own country, and throughout Europe. Three males to one female is the prevailing rate shown by the majority of states reckoned in their entirety. In urban districts, and in the great cities the female proportion is increased, and averages one woman to two men. The Spaniards form the most notable exception to the average, female suicide even in the rural districts of Spain being abnormally frequent; Italy, which resembles Spain in many peculiarities, is not similar in this respect. As a reason for the predominance of male suicide, attention is called to the fact that the struggle for existence falls at the present time, and always has fallen chiefly to the men of a state, the typical female mind, it should also be remembered, is more capable of accommodating itself to change of circumstances, and is also more marked by powers of self-sacrifice, than the male intellect. The more prominent causes of male suicide are the vices, money troubles, and tædium vitæ; whilst females are more often driven to take their lives by the passions, mental weaknesses, remorse, and shame.