The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1873-05-01
The Insanity Of Cain.

Apc 'oiio"t"S oIo thc Sioe'"S
paragraphs Of a remarkable arti-
Gle in ScIDSEa's Tor May, on "The
Insanity Of Cain:"
In Judging Of Cain, look at the
situation. On the one hand, a
terrible family mystery, no
schools, no lectures, no society,
no amusemcnts, no apples! On the
other hand, the whole burden of
humanity borne for the first time;
paternal discipline; undue phreno-
logical developments; ,nonot onous
employment; anteiiiuvian mon
sters; antcdiluvian parents, and
an antcdiluvian good brother, in
whose mouth butter would have
remained intact for. ages.
Undoubtedly that brother had
an exasperating smile. lie was
happy because no. was virtuous.
lie had way OF forgiviug and for.
getting that for a time wonld de-
prive the offender OF reason itself;
above all, lie had a cool, collected
manner Of his own, added to q
chronic desire to be an angel.
His offerings always fulfilled the
conditions. His fires needed only
to be light, and the smoke was
sure to ascend with a satisfied,
confident curl far into the sky.
Cain's,on the contrary, resfascd,
to burn. We can see it all. The
smoke struggled and Topped. 1t
crept along the ground and, cling
ing to his feet, wound about him
like serpent. 1t grew black
and ansry,shot sideways into his
eyes, binding aud strangling
him
And there stood Abel beside
his pile, radiant, satisfied, wan
ting to be an angel!
1t was but the work of a mo-
ment. The pentur, disorganizing
influences of a lifetime found vent
in one wild moment Of emotional
insanity. Abel was no more!
Why dwell upon the tragedy
The world is familiar with it's
sickening details. We shall not
repeat them here, nor shall we
question the justice OF tie pm
ishmcnt taht came to Cain,-the
rcmorsc, the desolation, the sense
ct boing q. fugitive and a. vaga-
bond on tho face Of the earth.
lie had killed his brother, and
The penalty must DO laid. Sane
or insane, a terrible rctribution
mast have over!aken him. But
how about his guilt! Would it
have been the same in either
case! Are hereditary organism,
,cmperanicntal cxcitability, emo.
tional phrensy not tobc considered?
No, thousand times No! What
"compctcnt juror" would &C.
qnicsce in such a proposition!
Friends, The time has come
when this case must lie tkacn 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 be wiped from
his brow now and forever. This
tardy justice may at least be done
him. Our children and our chill
drcn's children must be taught to
speak Of Cain the man.slaugh-
terer; Cain the mentally-exci,able;
Cam tho peculiarly circumstan.
ced. But Cain the murderer!
Never!
A mans own testimony shall
not convict or acqnit him. But
are we not to take into account, las
indicative of his state of mind,
actions and declarations with the
commission Of the crime alleged
against him! If at or about the
time Of the fatal deed, there wa.
positive evidence OF indifference
what then? witness tho last recOr.
dcd words Of Cain:
EVERY ONE THAT riNpErn ME
SHALL sLAY ME!
Is THE the utterance of a sane
mind! Ece,y one that fnjcth
ne shall slay mel Gentlemen!
Cain, NJ this point, was not Only
crazy - he was the ctaziet man
that every existed! No ordinaay
lunatic, however preposierous hi;
tcrrors, expects to be killed NOR,
than ONCE. But to this poor crea.
ture retr'bution suddenly assumed
n hydra. headed form. His dis
tractcd 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 10y
the strokes Of successive assassins
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