A lady who had attempted to destroy herself was very properly sent to
an asylum. Having expressed a determination to avail herself of the
first opportunity for carrying her intentions into execution, she was
most carefully guarded. She was never allowed to be out of sight; a
trustworthy nurse always kept by her side; and in the course of time
she was pronounced recovered. But as it was not considered prudent to
send her home at once, she was separated from the other inmates of
the house, and allowed to reside with the surgeon and matron of the
establishment. Even under these circumstances it was thought better
not to allow her to be wholly by herself, fearful that the disposition
might again suddenly develope itself. She resided with the surgeon
for some weeks, and appeared completely well. She expressed much
astonishment when told that she had attempted her own life; she was
apparently horrified at the idea. She was sitting with the matron
one morning after breakfast; the surgeon was going round the asylum,
when a child was heard to cry up stairs, as if it had received some
injury. The matron immediately left the room; she was not absent
three minutes, and when she returned she was astonished to find the
young lady had vanished. Immediate search was made for her, but she
was not to be found, when, looking behind the curtain in the parlour,
the lady was discovered hanging to the cornice! In that short space
of time she had succeeded in suspending herself, and was quite dead.
Of course we cannot determine whether she had recovered, and this
was but a sudden recurrence of the suicidal mania, or whether she
had cunningly concealed her ailment for the purpose of throwing her
attendant off her guard, and thus being enabled to effect her dreadful
purpose. We should be more disposed to accede to the latter solution
of the question, knowing the extreme cunning of such lunatics, and the
ingenious stratagems they often have recourse to in order to accomplish
any mischievous object they have in view.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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