Woman's Suicide.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 24 May 1912, Page 4

Woman's Suicide.

AFTER A GAME OF CARDS. Overwhelmed by the disgrace of being detected smuggling jewels through tho New York Custom-house-Mrs Blancho Carson, a wealthy widor and social kador and a prominent Christian Scientist, of San Francisco, committed suicide at tho Hotel Brotsell (says the New York corresdondent of tho London Express.) On tho table in her room was found a pack of cards, -arranged in orderly fashion, as she left them after failing to complete' a gamo of solitaire. It is believietl that she played solitaire with litfe or deith as the stakes, and lost. Her body, suspended by a- rope, Wfls seen by passers-by 5n Fifth Atenuo early iu tho morn&jg swinging back and forth just bolow an open window on tho eighth flloor. Exnmination showed that Mrs Carton had been dead for three hours. She had tied the rope to tlic steam radiator in her "bedroom, thrust her head in the noose, and: jumped from the window.

Mrs Carton arrived, on tho liner George Washington, «ompleting a tour of the world, whifoli included tho Coroaatiom Durbar ftfb DclW. Sho had a number of looao pearls in her trunk, rained at £10 0. Tk© appraisers ncreiuse lier of undervaluing them ami confiscated tho gems, declaring that they wore worth £1500. M.rs Carson was not arrested, hut was told to appear at tlao Customs-Arouse and expkiin why she did not declare tho pearls at fcheir proper ' She went to fcho Custom.s-}w)n6e, accompanied by Tier lawyer,, and to the e<trpriso of 'the not only confessted to »ndef-Tflluin K tho poarls, hut also that she had. smuggled in £4000 worth of jeweJs by concealing them m the lining of her , hat and dress. Tho inspectors had nnt suspected tho

presence of theeo gems. Mrs Carson surrendered all tho jewels, saying thn.t she had purcliascd most of th em in Amterdam and Paris, and them discovered that she had been clieal ad. She toped to reduce her loss} by evading tho Payment of duty. .She was arrested immediately a ml held in £1000 I'lnil, wilich was furnished in cash. Afterwards she « *ent to the Hotel Urotsoll, and rauainod in her room the remain k3<gt of the day and ! evening. She <coratg«itted suicide early in the m. kmrng. Two notes were found in hr room, one addres6cd to heu lawy eu-, and tho other addressed to her Jbrother, who is a prominent banker in San Francisco. Her husband 'died' fifteon yeans ago leaving her a. krg< 7 fortune. Mrs Carson ,'htei ided lecturing before tho Ce/nttiry C Iwb of San Fran•iseo aftor Lor arrh ral home, on her adventure dirritig [ her tour around tho world. Her t\ awyer says that from what she told him he Relieved that th'<j keen disgrnc e se felt on having to face her Christian Science associate as a self-corn* essed smuggler was undoubtedly tbio principal causa •of her sufcide.