26 MAY 1894, Page 16

THE INCREASE OF SUICIDE.

1To THE EDITOR OP THZ "SPECTATOR.") SIR,—Having read with much interest your article on "The Increase of Suicide" in the Spectator of May 19th, may I be allowed to mention a fact which lately came under my notice, and which confirms your statement that barbarians are ready to endure physical pain such as civilised nations have little power of doing ? In the island of New Guinea a little child of seven years of age having an abscess on its foot, will take a burning stick out of a fire and little by little burn out the bad flesh, biting its tiny lips to enable it to bear the pain bravely. Courage to bear bravely and patiently what we cannot cure, is noble ; but the little barbarian of New Guinea teaches us surely a still higher standard of life, in deliberately crucifying the flesh to bring it into subjection to