Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1873-06-17

sation--about two inches above the
left ear. 1t might be merely nerv-
Gus, but it might be caused by the
ball.
81 then set my mind to work,
and thought the whole case over
steadily. In the first place was
that impulse to take human life, Of
which my poor friend had spoken,
really uncomfortable For exam
pie, suppose that one day he did
take pistol 'o1a purpose, and go TO
that young lady's garden-would
he shoot her? TO suppose that the
insane mind never changes It's pur-
pose, or turns from the fell comple-
ton of its purpose, is to say in 9TH
er words that the insane mind is
stronger than the same mind. If q
man with a freshly broken leg were
to tell you he was going to run q
foot-race you would not believe
him, because your common sense
rcvolt5 against the idea of his run
ming with a leg disabled. But IL
one with his brain disabled declares
that he is going to do something
dependent upon the action Of his
mind common sense does not argue
so well.
sin the second place, did my
poor friend, with his impaired
means OF judgment, believe that
the impulse was uncomfortable J.!
Because if he did the end would be
the same, as far as we was concern
cd. He would sacrifice his own
life to protect that of others,
though they were in no actual dam
ger.
SIN the third place, might not
this story of the impulse be mere
pretence to excuse the commission
Of suicide? Now there are no forms Of
madness more obscure in their ORR
gin, moro difficult to detect, moro
persistent, and more fatal than sui
cidal mania; and as there has been
numerous cases in which persons
who have destroyed themselves
have carefully prepared evidence
tending to show that their death
was accidental, why should there
not bc one in which the fatal act
was to be $50 far as rossible) justi-
fed!
"In the fourth place, granting
that there was either real homicid-
al mania or faIicied homicidal man
ia tending to suicidal, or simply the
letter-was there possibility Of
cure
"As the three first questions rest
ed for their solution on one set Of
facts, and the deductions to be
drawn therefrom, i considered them
together. A victim of suicidal
mania rarely if ever speaks of sui
eide. When man says he is go
ing to drown himself you may gen.
orally direct him to the cars which
will take him to the river side with
the fullest conviction that he will
not breakfast with the crabs. If,
in an exceptional case, suicide il
mentioned, its will either be treated
lightly, as an act that is not q
crime, or the patient will be very
earnest in his assurances that he
would never commit it. Remem-
bering my poor friends manner, I
noticed that he spoke of taking his
own life with much more emotion
than he evinced when he told me Of
tho impulse to shed the blood of
others. His words, Il must have
human life-if had pistol with
me l should have shot her-some
day soon l shall take pistol on
purpose and shoot her--I should
murder my keeper and go straight
for that innocent giri,' were spoken
as calmly as though he said, Il owe
five dollars-I must go and pay
them, and at the same time with q
tone of. deep commiseration for the
predestinGd victims. They We're To
die for no fault of their own, but
they were doomed to death--if he
lived. When, on the other hand,
he spoke of saving their lives at ths
sacrifice of his own, his manner
changed. No one afflicted with
suicidal mania ever treated self-de-
struction with the horror, the con-
sciousness of its wickednesS and
the religious doubts rs to its being
pardonable under any circumstan-
ces, with which he considered it.
He had never once spoken of MUIR
der as a crime.
"After long and careful consid-
Grafton | come to the following con-
clusions:
ole is not laboring under suicid.
al mania.
ellis impulse is real, and win
have fatal results.
Confinement in an asylum would
have no curative effect.
"Then ] took down my books
bearing upon the anatomy of tho
human head.
"The next morning addressed
him thus:
"'Bcfefo I answer You as to
whether you would be justified be-
fore God, under the impulse you
have told me of, in taking your
own life to save that of another.
you must answer me several qucs-
tions.'
"'Go on, he said.
"'When ycu consulted those doc
tore 1S4 xyon foil thCp, all vot, bora