“In Santiago, the capital of the kingdom of Chile, at the moment of the great earthquake of 1647 in which many thousands lost their lives, a young Spaniard called Jeronimo Rugera was standing beside one of the pillars in the prison to which he had been committed on a criminal charge, and he was about to hang himself.” HistorySuicidePrisonChileFirst Sentence Book:Kleist: Selected Writings Source: Kleist: Selected Writings