, 1862-05-29
phenomena Of Criminal Life.

death itself, is believed " be of moIe frequent
occurrence at the present day than it used to be,
and its manifestations by criminal acts, as Ger
tain sorts Of murder and suicide, is now fearlully
mmOn The increase is traceable to positive
causes: the excitement in business, in literature,
in travel, and in pleasure Of all sOrtS. 1t is lit.
eIaly " fast az, +" aud men are seen breaking
down on every hand from the OverWOrk OF the
brain. There is q constant craving for more
money, high wag IS, more show, more pleasure,
more amusement.
The further We 60, in our mode Of living from
natu Q, in it. ordinary character, in CIVILIZED
cOuntry, the hazard Of mental disturbance IN
deraug .ITent becUIDe greater; a., for lnStancr,
nunnGricS and nOIiaStic ihstIIutio 8, Whch doubt
less could tell fearful tales, were their secrets re-
vealed. Prisons, too, being necessary dcpar'
ture from nature, produce much mental disease,
which, according To reports Il the inspectors, Is
gradually increasing The species Of insanity
induced by Imprisonment is usually TINT Vi nIeI.
amcholy or monOnlania but drlusO's OF the
mind, as well as physical disorders, are
frequently counteIIeited by persons in the hoUe
Of Icing removed tU sune place supposed tO be
easier, aud get rid Of the iIkSOmencSs Of nnpris-
bOmment. The y Hctice Of deception, however,
may s0Invtnes b. adopt for present amuSs.
ment or subsequent OuaSting, aud the periOr
nIanc,s 8 ar, frequently Ve.y iudicrUuS
We have IaIel heard OF some rather curious
cases Of the kind The first is that Of an Irish
soldier, a tall aud pow rfu man, who took to
playing the fool, and did SO very successfully
for while; but his last essay was so completely
piece Of acting that It marred all. As SOL
dier, he had been punished over aud over again,
and Aas so entirely worthless that not only hS
officers, but his whole regiment, rgjOiced At his
being drummed out To the tune Of the Rcgu''s
March," ~hcn was never played more Al propri-
ately over degraded soldier. He had gained
| hIS object however, and cared nUthing kF dis.
gr. ce. He returned To his old vagrant life, and
30 ~ 20 into crIIMe, which proved more serious
| to IN than he expected; for he was transported,
aud, as n convict, was compelled to work, the
very last thing he ever wished to do.
Ul,on the OccaSion referred to, he suddenly
assumed a new character; and SO ridiculous was
his apI earance that his officers, OH opening his
door, burst into loud laUghtrr-for there stUod
| the prisoner, dressed anu Ornamented like "a.
wage chief, armed with mock spear and toma-
hawk, but mOtiOnless a. a statue. He had d.
vested himself Of every article in the dress OF
| the civilized, aud, by various contrlvanees, sub.
stituted the more fantastic costume Of the savage
chief In the first place, he had initiated the tn.
too ng of the skin, with the help Of his black
lCad next he made his hair to stand upright
| by the nterlacing Of the briStlts Of his sweep
ng-brush; whilst around his waist he had
wrapped Enthusiastically his red and white cOverlet,
cut into strips aud fringe; aud on various parts
| Of his person had peculiar ornaments Of differ
ent sorts. His brOom.h handle was transformed
into SPEAR and something else into tOinahawk.
| The man was developed TOW as an impOstOT,
and was transferred from the doctors gentle care
to the rough handling Of the keeper Of the jail
The next case was also one Of unsuccessful
imposition, by an uncommon villain, Of whom
few particulars should be first mentioned. This
man, also, was Of the Celtic race, but brought
| up in the metropolis lie was a real savage, who
sprang like tiger once upon his keeper, without
any provOcatiOI, aud bit off one Of his fingers.
The officer was Of course put to exquisite pain
| by this ferOcious act; and the prisoner being
brnugut before the visiting justices, r,ce,ved the
cOndign punish nent u thirty-six laSLes. He
might have been sent for trial, aud II convicted
might have got one or two years added to his
sentence but il was prs ible he might get Oi,
| through the ingenuity Of counsel and the uncer
tainty Of law; 10 it was decided sumnarily to
inilirt the punishment which was CERTAIN and
mt prospective.
He was disappointed at not being removed
for trial, and the night before the hugging he
sent for the chaplain and profeSSed penitence; /;
but lie was told that 1t was too late, and that he
| must suffer the consequences Of his hOrrid Oi.
|
munt pretty StOutly, but became terribly crest.
fallen, and for m,n,hs cnuductd himself in q
manner wholly different IRON his former violent
behavior.
Weary at length, apparently, Of this calm and
| ignOble peace, he broke out again, and received
the ordinary prison punishment, which was but
a jOke to him, although its frequent recurrence
was sensiblY undermining u splendid cnnStitu-
ton. He now adopted new COURSE, To give, AZ
al.
he Roman Catholic. He had entered himself
on cOnmItal az a Protestant He said now,
/ at that was lie, for that he was born anil
brought up ROmanist He was now evidently
speaking truth, although still with false pur
pOsr, for hs cared nothing for religion 10 any
shipe. He was allowed to see his priest, aud
was supplied with the books Of the Romish
chlrch. Every one wished that such savag''
might be civilized and changed by any means
But no; there was no change vi,ible. The fog
ging had done most, as yet for him. 1t kept
him from biting any one. At length his villainy
took new turn: he pretended to be mad, aud
very nea'ly periShcd by his own folly and wick
e,lness. He piled together his library books,
and over them the broken pieces Of his stool aud
table, in the corner Of his cell, and then ignit ID
the heap from his gas. reckoning that the fue
would carry off the violence Of the heat and the
vo UNI. Of the smoke. And so it did, filling the
whole bu ldlng with snIuke; but at the same
time, enough remained almost t. suif cate the
perpetratnr. An alarm Of fire was specify
raised, and Il was soon traced to the pretended
Inaniac's cell, and glId enough was he to escape
from the sefimpoScd penance Of fire and smoke !;
but, in no wise improved by the ordeal, he
~, he'd out Of the door, When opened, casping
his bo,ks Of devotion to his breast, and exclAIn.
ing, "Oh, my blessed bookS! my blessed books!"
Some thought that the man, terror-stricken, had
seized the books as . charm Of safety; while
others considered that this was only part Of
his acting
lie continued to play the madman in q great