Suicide or Hypnosis? 



alone anxiously to question the grave regard- 

 ing the last sleep. 



Moreover, this glimpse of the inevitable 

 destruction calls for a certain maturity of 

 mind and, for that reason, is rather late in 

 developing. I had a touching example of it 

 this very week. 



A pretty little Kitten, the joy of all the 

 household, after languidly dragging itself 

 about for a couple of days, died in the night. 

 Next morning the children found it lying 

 stark in its basket. General affliction. 

 Anna, especially, a little girl of four, con- 

 sidered with a pensive glance the little friend 

 with which she had so often played. She 

 petted it, called it, offered it a drop of milk 

 in a cup : 



" Kitty won't play," said the child. " She 

 doesn't want my breakfast any more. She's 

 asleep. I've never seen her sleep like this be- 

 fore. When will she wake up? " 



This simplicity in the presence of death's 

 harsh problem wrung my heart. Hastily I 

 led the girl away from the sight and had the 

 dead Kitten secretly buried. As, from this 

 time onward, it no longer appeared by the 

 table at meal-times, the grief-stricken child 

 at last understood that she had seen her little 

 friend sleeping the profound slumber that 

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