The Sun.
London, England, 1828-09-24 00:00:00

MONOMANIA.

A French daily paper,' devoted almost exclu-
.sively to medical and surgical reports (La Cli-
nique), contains an account of the recent trial at
Angouleme of a man named Jean Fort, charged
with the wilful murder of his mother.
.This case, it seems, has been brought forward
in the Clinique in support of the arguments of
.Drs. Gall, Georget, and Others, who, from
careful and long experience, have declared that
the monomania of homicide is found frequently
.in persons who in every. other respect ..are not
only free from mental alienation, but who also
sometimes display great intellectual powers, and,
,but for the longing to shed human blood, which
in them is unconquerable, might be considered
mild and humane members of society, their ge•
neral conduct being usually•correct, and, during
the 'absence of the paioxysms, decidedly bene-
volent.
The description given by Gall, Georget, Es-
quirol, and other eminent surgeons and physi-
cians, of the Monomaniac, is as follows :
" When the monomaniac has accomplished his
object, he no longer thinks of any thing else.
He has destroyed life ; his end is attained. Af-
ter the murder he is calm, and does not attempt
to conceal himself. Sometimes even, full of sa-
tisfaction with the deed that he has committed,
he avows and delivers himself up to justice. If
he is taken, however, against his will, he is mo-
rose and melancholy ; he uses no dissimulation
or artifice, and reveals with calmnes3 and can-
dour the minutest details of the murder."
Opposed to the doctrines of this party, by
which monomania is declared a mental failing,

over which the subject of it has no ccntroul--
the developernent of the passion being greater
than the corrective powers of the mind—are some
of the principal surgeons of the. French metropo-
lis, who deny first the correctness of the facts as
stated by their opponents, and then comment
on the bad example and danger to society of al-
lowing monomaniacs to escape without pu-
nishment.

As cases of real or pretended monomania are
now become frequent in France, particularly in
the south, which appears to be as fertile in the
production of crime as of the gifts of nature, the
discussion excites great interest in Paris, and is
kept up by the new facts of which the opposing
parties daily avail themselves. The following
case seems to support the doctrine of Gall in a
strong degree. The murderer, in his calmness
during the perpetration of his horrible purpose,
and after its completion, resembles much the un-
fortunate man who was tried at Cork for the
murder of his crew. On that occasion a strong
effort was made to convict the prisoner of wilful
murder, against the concurrent testimony of the
medical witnesses, who deposed to his mono-
mania in the most positive and decided manner.
The general correctness .of the prisoner—the
total freedom from mental imbecility, and even
great powers of intellect in the ordinary affairs of
life, were clearly deposed to ; but the horrible
disease (for it is a disease) of monomania- was
clearly evident, and it seemed extraordinary that
there should be persons who had been well edu-;
cated who could doubt its existence.

Jean Fort, the monomaniac tried at Angou-
leme, is described in the account of the trial as
an object of disgust, from the appearance of his
face, which was covered with an ulcer which had
nearly destroyed. his. nose; and instances of his
having used threats:of destructiow.to many :per-
sons, some of whom, perhaps,-had ridiculed him-
on
,his appearance, were related in evidence.- On
one occasion he had been .seen attempting .the
life of his mother, and, when disturbed. be ex-
claimed " Well, if I do not kill you to-day I
can do it to-morrow." , At another time he at-
tempted to destroy a young child, after having
said to it, " I will kill you, you little rogue ;
for if I allow you to grow up, you will some day
or other turn me into ridicule. On the 18th
of June last, Fort was accosted by a woman, to
svhom he, said, " I am determined to kill all the
people of Querroy." ", And why ?" said the
female. " Because they are too thick, and want
thinning; some are too .honest; but altogether
they hare caused me to kill my mother !"
" Your mother !" " Yes; I have killed her,
but I will put her into a coffin, and bury her
myself."

•
On the following afternoon another woman,
who lived near the house of the prisoner's mo-
ther, saw him enter the garden with a spade,
mark out a grave, and begin to. dig. She asked
him what he was going to do.? "I am digging
a grave for my mother," said he, "for I have
killed her ; and if you don't believe it, go into
the house and see." During the night he con-
tinued to dig. The woman and her husband
rose at midnight, and called. him to go to bed.'
He replied coldly; " Go to bed . yourselves, I
am not workingon your property."
When the Mayor
went to apprehend him, he in the,
was found lying grave fast asleep. Being
awakened, arid asked what
he was doing, he
said, 6, I am digging a grave' for my mother,
whom I have killed, at the same time.showing
the instrument with which he had destroyed her.
On entering the house, the',Mother was found
murdered in her chair. Fort followed, and.be-
gan to prepare her for interment. He.was suf-
fered to do this, and in a few hours he had Wade
a complete shroud. He was then
taken to
- pri-
son, and soon afterwards put upon his trial.
The Mayor, and several persons who had
known him for years, swore that they had never
witnessed in him any act of insanity. •
The physician of the place, and other medical
men, gave similar testimony.
He acknowledged the murder; said he could
die but once ; and that if found guilty, ten days
(making a.sign to imitate the falling of the guil-
lotine) would end every thing.
The Jury acquitted him, on the ground that
at the time of the murder he was suffering under
mental aberration.

Yesterday a Court of Directors Has held at the
East India-house, when Captain JUAN PArERSON was
sworn in to the command of the ship Repulse, consigned.
to Madras and China. .

A nevs', frigate of GO guns, called La Belle
Gabrielle, is fitting out at Cherbourg for the Nforea. The
steam-boat Commerce du Havre; for the same destina-
tion, is alio at Cherbourg►. It is curious that we all at
once find new ships of war either finished or completing hi
the different f orts of Toulon, L'Orient, Cherbourg,
Brest,
and Bayonne.

We understand that a vessel has this week
been freighted from our port with long Wools, for Prance,
the production of this county; this is the first instance of
our staple commodity, in its uninanufactured state, being
exported direct for a foreign market.—Exeter Alfred.
A few days since, a hen, belonging to Mr. NV.
BENNETT, of the Queen's Head Inn, in this town, laid an
egg, weighing pur ounces, and measuring in circumference
seven inches and a half by six inches and a hon. —Maid-
stone Journal.

For some time past the herring fishery at
Stonehaven has been unproductive; but on Wednesday
forenoon the boats came in with a good take, averaging
about 18 ei ones, which makes an impression that there
may yet be a tolerably good tishing,—E.yeter Affred.