Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1873-05-16
The Insanity of Cain !.


graphs of remarkable article in Serib-
ner's Tor May, on "The Insanity of
Cain:"
In judging Of Cain, look at the situa.
lion. On the one hand, a terrible family
mystery, no school, no church, no lect'
ures, no society, no amusements, no APP
plesl On the other hand, the whole bur-
den of humanity borne for the first time
parental discipline undue chronological
developments monotonous employment;
antediluvian monsters; antediluvian pa
rents, and an antediluvian good brother
in whose mouth butter would have re-
NAMED intact for ages.
Undoubtedly that brother had an exas-
perating smile, He was happy because
he was vrtuous. He had way of for
giving and forgetting that for time
would deprive the offender of reason it.
self; above all he had cool, collected
manner of his own, added to a chronic
desire to be an angel. His offerings al
ways fulfilled the conditions. His fires
needed only TO be lighted, and the smoke
was sure to ascend with satisfied, con-
fident curl far into the sky.
Gains, on the contrary, refused to
burn. We can see it all. The smoke
struggled and Topped. 1t crept along
the ground, and, clinging to his feet,
wound about him like serpent 1t
grew black and angry, shot sideways in
to his eyes, binding and strangling
| him
| And there stood Abel beside has pile,
radiant, satisfied, wanting to be an angel!
1t was but the work of moment.
The pent-up, disorganizing influence OF
a lifetime found vent in one wild mo-
ment of emotional insanity. Abel was
no more
Why dwell upon the tragedy? The
world is familiar with its sickening de-
tails. We shall not repeat them here,
nor shall we question the justice of the
punishment that came to Cain,-the re-
morse, the desolation, the sense of being
a fugitive and vagabond en- the face of
the earth. He had killed his brother,
and the penalty must be paid. Sane or
insane, a terrible retribution must have
overtaken him, But how about his
guilt? Would it have been the same in
either case? Are hereditary organism,
temperamental excitability, emotional
phrensy not to be considered? No a
thousand times NO! What competent
juror would acquiesce in such propo-
sition!
Friends, the time has come when this
case must be taken up. Its mighty is
sues can no longer be set aside. If Cain
was not sane at the moment of the kill
ing, tn stain of murder must be wiped
from his brow now and forever. This
tardy justice may at least be done him.
Our children and our children's children
must be taught to speak of Cain the
man-slaughterer Cain the mentally-ex-
citable; Cain the peculiarly y-circumstan.
ced. But Cain 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 of mind, actions and declarations
coincident with the commission of the
crime alleged against him ? IF at OF
about the time of the fatal deed, there
was a positive evidence of incoherence-
what then? Witness the last recorded
words of CAIN
EVERY ONE THAT FINDETH ME SHALL
sLAY ME!
Is this the utterance of every san,
mind? Eyery one that indeth me shal
slay me? Gentlemen Cain, at this
point, was not only crazy-he was tn,
, craziest man that ever existed No or
dinary lunatic, however preposterou
his terrors, expects to be killed more
than once. But to this poor creatur,
retribution suddenly assumed hydra
headed form. His distracted brain, un
conscious that Adam was the only othe
man in the wide world, instantly created
an immense population. He saw him
!. self falling again and again by the sue
cessive assassins, even as Abel had fall
en- under his hand. His first dazeC
glimpse of death expanded and intensi
!. fed into horror never since conceived
: by mind of man. His happiness over
! thrown his reason wreck: prey t,
, fears that stretched before him forever
t with no possible hope of final destruc
tion-the only consolation is that h,
: conld not fore know the merciless verdic
5 of posterity. He did not recognize il
: himself The First Murderer. Ra.he
] than dream of such ignominy as this
/ was it not better that he should cry il
: his rawlings: Every one that findeth m
: shall slay me
t We leave the question to the intelli
2 gence and the justice of this faithful ant
a enlightened century.