The Moniteur of August 6th carries the following article reproduced by the Siècle on the following day:
“Yesterday, Thursday at 2 pm a nineteen year old young man, son of a doctor, committed suicide in his house at Chaussée des Martyrs, with a gunshot wound in his mouth. The bullet shattered his head and yet the death was not instantaneous. He kept his mind for a few moments, responding to questions addressed to him saying that with the exception of the pain that he would cause to his father he had no remorse for what he had done. He then became delirious and despite the care that was given to him he died early in the evening after agonizing for five hours. People say that the young man had these ideas of suicide for some time and supposedly, with our without reason, that the study of Spiritism that he was doing had something to do with his fatal resolution.”
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That news will certainly make the circuit of the press like the other case of the supposed four mad men of Lyon, each time repeated with the addition of one zero such is the avidity of our adversaries when they look for the occasion of attacking Spiritism. It does not take long for the truth to be know but what does it matter! People expect that from a good little slander there is always something left. Yes, something remains from that: a stain on the slanderers. As for the Doctrine there has no sign that it is affected by that since it follows its ascending march. We congratulate the director of the Avenir, Mr. d’Ambel, for being so careful in obtaining the information about the true cause of the event. Here is what he said about it in the issue of August 11th, 1864:
“We confess that the news brought us the most profound astonishment. It is impossible not to protest against the carelessness with which the official institution accepted similar accusation. Spiritism is completely foreign to the action of that unfortunate young man. Neighbors of the place where the sinister took place we know perfectly well that the cause of the terrifying suicide was something else. We must indicate the true cause of the catastrophe with great reservation. Nonetheless truth is truth and our Doctrine must not carry such unfair imputation. The man that is presented as someone eager to study Spiritism had long ago failed his baccalaureate exams. Studying was as unpleasant to him as the paternal profession. He would soon be submitted to new exams and it was in consequence of a lively discussion with his father that fearful of another failure he made the decision and executed it. We add the fact that if he had really known Spiritism our Doctrine would have stopped him at the fatal ramp, showing him the whole horror that inspire suicide in us and all of the terrible consequences that it carries along. (See The Spirits’ Book, items 943 to 957).”
