Richland beacon., 1873-03-22

So Any human life? | inquired, 'Or
some one in Particular
"' Why do you ask this, Doctor? he
cried. getting suddenly excited.
"'NO matter; go on
Sometimes he resumed, it seems
| that any life would do; and sometimes
Doctor, four days before | saw you | met.
upon New Jersey ferry-boat, young
| girl. so pretty, so .retined and nice. |
| followed her to her hOme-the devil, that
has taken possession of me, led me. She
went i'm and soon came out again into her
| little garden. and tended her flowers
poor child! Doctor, if | had had pistol
with me | should have shot her. You
may smile; but some day soon | shall
take pistol on purpose, and shoot her.
1T was clearly mouse arguing with him.
The best way with such people is to adj
nit their facts and try to work round
| them.
"'Then.' said the only thing you can
do is to submit to the restriction of an
| asylum, till this feeling has passed.
"'It will not pass. If were to 60 to a
madhOuse | should sham sane. Sooner or
later their vigilance over me would be re-
| laXed. Then | should murder my keeper,
and go straight for that innocent girl
| "'Then leave the country
| "'Well, that would save her; but,
| Doctor, one life is as dear to its holder as
another. If don't kill her. shall kill
some one else.'
"'My dear fellow replied, in as light
a tone as could assume, these fancies are
durable. Put yourself under skilled med
ical treatment. You are all to bits physi-
cally. Get sound in body, and you'll get
all right i'm your mind
"'On the contrary, am all to bits. as
| n,npta1lx an1 hnIxy emf
through my mind. Medical treatment! l
have consulted every practitioner of note
here and in Europe. Some think I'm
fOoling them, some look wise, and talk
as you do about treatment" All have
| failed. Doctors are no use to me-
49, Then may ask why you have come
here?'
"'TO ask your advice as friend he
answered, drawing his chair nearer to
me; 'and,' lowering his voice, to ask
you one question as friend and God
fearing man, and to which pray you to
give me plain yes or no.
"'GO on
Feeling as l feel, shall be justified
before God in taking my own life? Will
it be deadly sin for ME to do for myself
what would do to a mad dOgy
al repeat his words almost as he spoke
them. cannot give you the faintest idea
of the solemn deliberatiOn with which he
put this awful question. For some mo-
ments | could not say word. Then
started up and told him that would not
swer him yes or nO-that it was not
fair to ask me to take such responsible
ty. Then he rose too, and said that he
must resolve it for himself, and | saw
plainly which way it would 90. Give
Inc till tomorrow to think it out, l said,
detaining him.
e. Tomorrow may be too late, he re-
piled. The fit may come upon me to-
night for all l know
49, Come home with me; I'm not afraid.
you won't hurt me- said.
81 would try very hard not to do so
butt know myself. l cannot trust my
self. Don't you trust me-
81 UiE trust you; but I'll do more.
You are not armed, suppOse?
"No,' he replied with shudder, mot
now.'
"'I'll take care that you shalt rot be,
and I'll carry my Derringer in my pocket.
On the first indication of hOmicidal mania
| give you my word I'll shOOt-and I'll
shoot straight said this to satisfy him,
poor fellow! In his weak state L could
have laid him down like a child. 1t did
satisfy him, and we went home together.
1 leu nlIu tO Udlk VI OuI Oiu udN %
and gradually got him back to his wound.
made him describe the first sensations OF
/ pain in his head, and repeat all that his
, different advisers had said. l happened
E to have strong preparation of hashee.h
by me. gave him a dose, and whilst un.
der its influence l carefully examined hi:
head. Now the head, you must know
does not fatten or waste away in proper
|. ton to other parts of the body. Still hi:
8 had become mere skin and bone; and thi
J, state, perhaps, gave me an advantage Ovel
f; others who had made the same examina
:. ton. At last / felt, or thought l felt,
II faint twitching-a sort of abnormal pulsa
Il tiOA-about two inches above the left ear
is 1t might be merely nervous, but nmight b
It caused By the ball.
~ then set my mind to work, ant
|, thought the whole case over steadily. II
l. the first place was that impulse to TAX
n human life, of which my poor friend ha'
Is spoken, really uncomfortable. For ex
, ample, suppose that one day he did TAX
l, pistol 'On purpose and go to tina
d Young lady's garden-wOuld he shoe
,f her? To suppose that the insane min'
l never changes its purpose, or turns from
IN the fell completion of its purpose, is t
W saw i'm other werds that the insane min'
ID is stronger than the sane mind. Ifa MAJ
le with freshly broken leg were to tell yO'
1t he was going to run fOOt-race, yO
IT would not believe him, because you
re common sense revolts against the idea Q
re his running with leg disabled. But
es one with his brain disabled declares tina
,e he is going to do something dependen
of upoa the action of his mind, cOmmO
re seEse does not always argue so well.
w "In the second place, did my poo
a friend, with his impaired means of Juds
is ment, believe that the impulse was uncoI
10 trollable? Because if he did the end wOul
,i- be the same, so far as he was concerned
s. He would sacrifice his own life to prOtet
I'd that of others, though they were in
IS actual danger.
I'd sin the third place, might not tn
m story of the impulse be mere pretens
Nv to excuse the commission of suicide
Sc Now there are no forms of madness NOR
in obscure in their origin, more difficult
on detect, more persistent, and more fat
IN than suicidal mania and as there ha,
ms been numerous cases in which persOI
ty who have destroyed themselves have car
ad fully prepared evidence tending to sho
n. that their death was accidental, why shou
OH there not be one in which the fatal act WI
lst to be (so far as pOssible) justified?
al "In the fourth place, granting tn
en- there was either real h0micidal mania
fancied homicidal mania tending to 81
lg- cidal, or simply the latter-was there
possibility of cure?
ite AS the three first questions rested I
er- their solution on one set OF facts, ana
deductions to be drawn therefrom, co
,ut sidered them together. A victim OF 81
me eide mania rarely if ever speaks of suici6
ne When man says he is going to drov
rot himself, you may generally direct him
it the cars which will take him to the rlv
red side with the fullest conviction that
nv will not breakfast with crabs. If, in
W: exceptional case, suicide is mentioned,