Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1871-01-27
CLOUDED INTELLECTS.


FORTUNATE it is in regard to the insane
that, as a rule their attention is easily
21Y diverted. The maniac resembles the child
In this respect His fancy is readily
.. ' tckled with any straw. A personal COM
pllment however irrelevant meaning gless
or absurd, will generally have the effect of
checking his iercest fit of passion and of
thwarting his most threatening intention.
'f But we might give several remarkable in
stances where the deadly purposes of the
demented have been averted only through
the extraordinary presence of mind of
those who were the objects of their haIlu-
dnation. Once keeper in an asylum had
occasion to go upon the roof of the build
ng-a very high one A patient unob-
y y served, quickly mounted the ladder after
% him, and confronting the keeper at the
top, told him if he (the keeper did not
jump down, he (the lunatic) would throw
him down. There was no mistaking the
menacing look and tone. Escape was i'm
possible. Suddenly happy thought
struck the keeper "Ha!' said he, with
would be no great feat tell you what -
I'll go down and jump up" The mailman
was off the scent at once. The notion
pleased him immensely. Both descended
the ladder, and the keeper saved his life
by this lucky stratagem.
p -H-.H A young lady was put into railway
compartment alone, to go to London. AS
-. the train was on the point of starting
gentlemanly looking man rushed up and
took his seat in the same carriage. Short
ly after the train had got up speed the
gentleman jumped up and exclaimed,
- :. This carriage is to heavy and must be
- hghtened" and straightway his carpet
bag disappeared ont of the window. He
remained quiet for a couple of minutes,
then started up again, when his coat and
wastcoat followed his bag. After another
brief pause he said, " Let us pray for the
Duke OF Gloucester" Down they went
nm Dir fhn cid
teen, too frightened to do anything but
obey When that was finished they pray
ed for the Duke of York. and then for
another-in in fact, for whole string of
dukes; after which they sat down. the
young lady armed out of her senses. A
few more minutes of silence and the gen.
teman once more exclaimed, 1T won't
81 do; | can't stand it; the train is to heavy;
either you or must get OUT 1 don't want
to, so you must GO" The girl in despair,
~ says, But we have not prayed for the
Duke of Northumberland" All! no
. more we have" Down they went again
on their knees, when fortunately the train
30 stopped at a station. The young lady
called the guard, and it was discovered that
the gentleman was a lunatic escaped from
Hanwell.
. Very affecting is the incident recorded
OF Julien, the musician. Latterly that
popular iavorite became deeply involved
in difficulties, under which his mind ulti-
mately gave way. On several occasions
~ his friends fancied they observed him in
hts-though passing ones-of insanity.
# These fits consisted of sudden overflows
of high spirits, followed by prostration
e. and detection without any apparent
cause. One day he returned home armed
with large knife. He found there his
niece, a young lady of sixteen, whom he
had adopted. Come here" he said to
..... her; g am going to let you hear the most
r. marvellous of all music-the grand con-
cert OF the angels; am going to kill you"
with these words he was about to carry
.r-r out his threat, when the young lady, with
great presence of mind, said. Wth all my
heart only, before sending me to heaven,
just play me an air once on your piccOlo,
''- so that may compare your music with
that OF the angels" The idea struck him
' as admirable. He kissed his niece and
went to get his instrument Meanwhile
she made her escape, and the poor mad
man, having been secured, was taken to
Tatson de Aante at Neuilly, where he died a
: q ? few days aitcrward.
. ~ - The story of the madman who made his
-.i',Fg way into the presence of the Duke of We'll
,hngton is probably well known He had
come with the express purpose of killing
.Fa- the great captain. The Duke, who was
busily engaged in writing, on hearing this
alarming intimation, looked up, pen in
,. hand and calmly remarked that he was
very sorry to disappoint his friend but he
was really very much engaged with some
work that must be finished without delay.
IT, however, his visitor would call to NOR
F'fl row at the same hour, the Duke would be
gH happy to see him. The would-be assassin
actually promised to call on the following
day, and then quietly retired.
s.g "a Hypochondriacs indulge in singular fan
cies enough but the delusions of mono
maniacs are still more extraordinary.
u There is nothing too preposterous for them
TO imagine. Very ludicrous, for eXamyle,
81 is the answer of a lunatic to a visitor, who
raf a said to him "Iou now tell me that you
.tl~ are the archangel Gabriel, but last time
was here didn't you tell me that you were
LucllerY" So l am" was the reply;
but it's by different mothers"
Not long ago a patient of an asylum
...> died; he had resided there for the long
s. period of twenty nine years. Being a
u thorough gentleman and an excellent COM
s panion he was much esteemed by every
10 one who knew him. With all his fellow
patients he was an immense favorite, for
: "''' he possessed great humor and an mex
- q haustble stock of anecdotes, was a capi-
tai player at bowls billiards, and whist,
and yet no lunatic, perhaps, ever labored
under more singular deusions. He assert
..I ed that he was upward of 10000 years of
r,.. age, and used to describe the prehistoric
-..ll period of the earth, during which he had
witnessed three floods greater than
tH. Noah's." Noah he knew very well. He
described him as q nice lad when he first
knew him, but as having latterly fallen
into dissipated habits He had command
ed numerous lare armies at various peri
ods, and for the last three or -four thousand
~. years had been Augustus j. Cesar, com
mandern chief of the Roman armies,
which was his usual signature
The cunning of lunatics Is proverbial,
and they display at times not little
shrewdness OF speech and purpose. There
may be said 10 DO sensible madmen, just as