The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1865-12-14

A trial now going on before an examining
court i'll this city has painfully turned the at
tention of the public to that most mysterious
OF all motal phenomena. mental arrangement
There is no disease i'll the whole range of tht
ply sician's practice which has been investiga
ted With more acurehe>s or care. and Yet there
seems to be none in the understanding OF which
Less progress has been made. Upon The occur
renee OF every new case in which il become
necessary To give insanity in evidence. physi
CLANS are consulted and examined, and yet. on
OF the mul,i,udMOus reports OF such eXamina
tons which have been published. no result OF
sufficient clearuess 10 lead 10 the es establishment
Of principle has been arrived at. 1t is hard
now to decide when person is mad as ii ever
has been.
To every man who Is fond OF psychological
studies, cases involving the investig, ton
of this subject present PECULIAR attractions
The cunning of madmen, and the care
with which they keep mp The appearance Of
sanity when attempts are made To prove them
what they really are, have become proverbial
NO real mailman will ever 0dmH that he is i'll
sane, let the consequences OF its being proved
that he Il NOT 80 be- rs terrible AS they may
JOIN AADTIELD, who shOi at King GEORGE
ILL.,, and was tried for treason. bitterly pro
tested against having the plea Of insanity put
IN for hi!n, and denied that he Was insane 10 the
iast. 10 outward appearance, indeed, ne was
perfectly sane man. lie made no dehiat o'
what he had done, but justified the attempt,
and only regretted that ii had not succeeded
IL fell up his counsel TO prove that he had long
been known as Il cracked man. His sk"I mao
been fractured by the cut VI SABRE III
charge OF cavalry (l,e was u soidier)' ana II
was in evidence that he had never oech fisht
since he had left the hospital. Lord Eksk'S,:,
In this case, made one OF MS most lannon's
speeches. II WAS his object TO show that HAD
pIEID was mad. and that his calm dcportmen,
and rational converse ton afforded no proof to
the contrary. Most mad mrn so, until the
clue Is found and the right key touched. He
mentioned several cases. which had fallen I'M
der his own observation, wherein the madms,,
had successfully resi> ted for hours all ATTEMPTS
10 make him show on. In one case, 4 brother
had been confined by his brother as a lunatic
He appealed 10 the Lord Chancellor. and WAS
brought up before him. ERskixE was employ
I'd by the brother Of the mailman, and ex
hansted his ingenuity in cross examination
without being able to make anything of thu.
case. The Chancellor was on the uoint of
ssttln9 the lunatic free, when the physician
VINO had attended him came into court and
whispered TO ExskIxg that he 1.-THE madman)
believed himself TO be the Saviour OF mankind
Upon this, EEsKISE Immediately altered his
demeanor, spologsed to the madman, and
hambly begged his forgiveness, pleading, in
apology, his en- tire ignorance Of what mn exalt.
ID parsonage he had been dealing with. The
poor lnnatic, thrown entirely Oh his guard,
raised himself up, extended his hands in the
estatade Of one addressing multitude, and
saao, IN deep and solemn toner, :" am the re-
eesfecfi0a and the life OF course the secret
Was oat-the man was remandsd-and before
- could ~ carried from the court, gave way