Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1873-04-30
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The Insanity 81 Cain.

SER's for May, on Tho Insanity Of Cain"
In judging Of Cain, lock at the siiua.
iion. On the one hand, terrible iumily
mystery, nc schools, ne ehui ehes, no lee
lures, no society, no amuscmenIs, no ap-
pies. On the ether hand, the While lur.
den of humanity horne for the fisi time
pa'ernal discipline undue lfrruological
developments ; mCuotontus ,Rr rhyn.tut /;
artidiluviau monsters; ant,di!u,iaD pa.
rents, in whore mouth butter would have
remained intact for ages
Undoubtedl that hlvther had an exas-
ferating smile. He was happy because
he was virtuous. lie had way Of for
giving aud forgetting that for a time
would deprive the offender OF reason 1t.
self; abuvc al. he had cool. collected
manner Of his own. added 10 a chronic de.
sire to c an augo! Ills offerings always
/ fulfilled the conditions. His fires on,y
needed 10 pc lighted, aud the smoke was
!urc to a.e,Ld with s:tiftd, ccLfdent
cuIl far ;uto the sky.
Gains. Oh the contrary, refused to burn.
We can see it all The smoke struggled
aud fopT ed. It crtpt along the ground,
and, clinging to his feet, wound about
him like serpen.. 1t grew black AMI
angry, shCt sideways into his cyca, LIND
ing and strangliug him -
And there stood Abel bcsid las pile,
radiant. sati fed. wanting to be an angel
1t was but the work Of moment. The
pcnt-up. disorganiziug Influences of life
time found vent in one wild moment Of
emotional insanity Abel was no more
Why dwell upon the tradegy? The
world is familiar with its sckening de-
tails. We shall not repeat them here,
nor snail we question the justice of the
punishment that came to Cain.-tbc re-
morse, the desolation the sense of being
fugative and vagaboud on the face of the
earth. lie had killed his brother, and
the penalty must be paid. Sane or in.
sane, a terrible reiribution must have
overtaken him. But how about his guilt?
Would it have been the same in either
case? Arc hereditary organism, temper
amental excitability, emotional phrensy
not to be considered ? No, thousand
times NO! What competent juror"
would acquesce in such a position!
Friends, the time has come when this
case must be taken up. Its mighty issues
can no longer be set aside IF Cain was
not sane at the moment Of the killing, the
stain of murder must be wiped from his
brow now and forever. This tarly justice
may at least be done him. Our children
and our chidren's children must be taught
to speak Of Cain the man. slaughtercr
Cain the mentally-excitable Cain the
peculiarly clrcumstanced. But Gain the
murderer? Never!
A mans own testimony shall not con-
vict or acquit him. But are we not to
take into account, as indicative Of his
state ol mind, actions and declarations
coincdent with the commission of the
crime alleged against him If at or about
the time of the fatal deed there was tos-
tive evidence of incoherence- what then?
Witness the last recorded words Of Cain;
Is this the utterance of sane mind ?
Ecery one that fndclh me shall slay me ?
Gentlemen Cain, at this point, was
PINOT only crazy-he was the era.
zlest man that ever existed? No or.
dinary lunatic, however prosperous his
trrrors expects to be killed more than
once. But to this poor creature retribu-
ton suddenly assumed hydra.headed
form. His distracted brain. unconscious
that Adam was the only other man in the
wide world, instantly created an immense
population. lie saw himself falling again
and again by the strokes of succe s.iyc as
sassns, even as Abel had fallen under his.
hand. His first 1azed glimpse of death
expanded and intensified iuto horror new
er since conceived by mind of man. His
happiness ovcrIhrown ; his reason wreck;
n prey to fears that stretched before him
forever, with no possible hope of fral de-
struction. The on y consolation is that he
could not foreknow the mercless verdict
Of posterity. He did not recognize him
self as The First Murderer. Rather than
dream of such ignominy as this, was it
not better that he should cry in his raw.
ings: Every one that 6ndeth me shall
slay me!
We leave the question to the intelli-
gence and the justice of this faithful and
ccntur,
OTOne of the rare things that the
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