Gippsland Times (Vic. : 1861 - 1954), Friday 31 July 1891, page 3


THE BUDDHIST CONVERTS. SAD END OF A VICTORIAN YOUNG LADY. The visit of Colonel Olcott, one of the founders of the Theosophical Society, to Melbourne will be fresh in the memories of our readers. They will also recollect (says the " Herald") the appeal which he made for the education of Cingalese women and his intimation that a Victorian young lady was leaving the colony for Ceylon to fill the position of Principal of the Buddhist Girls' High School. The young lady in question was a Miss Pickett. and she duly proceeded to and arrived at Ceylon. where she entered upon her duties. News now comes to hand that she has found a sad and untimely end by suicide. A Cingalese gentleman resident in Melbourne sends us the following extract from the " Ceylon Independent" :- Miss K. F. Pickett, of Melbourne, arrived a fortnight before the sad occurrence, and immediately after her arrival in Ceylon, and publicly em-braced the Buddhist religion by taking Paustl. It seems on Wednesday, the 24th of June, a little before she committed suicide, she was reading a book, The Perfect Way, or the Finding of Christ, by Kings-ford and Maitland. It was a high order of spiritual book. We may add that it is not a book on Christianity, as would appear from its title, but an abstruse one on ' her-metic philosophy.' Anyhow, whether it is on Christianity or not, the title itself would mislead the reader. Miss Pickett, although she rejected Christ, no doubt was once a believer in Him, and very likely she found out her mistake, and being in distress of mind, and having no one of her own to tell her dilficulties to, committed the dreadful crlme by jumping into a well and ending her life."