The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1874-06-16
Morbid Impulse as q Disease.


IloieSsor "a. ID ahou l:. uSseTu %aSH" ioo'u,o ~
last las week upon tne apo1e suDeo' pT,oi1 T n sne
New Iorh Mealco-Eesal Hociey. rs;I ny papo r.
consls.eo Ihieny VI ieon'aL vi morD,G IN, of
Pulse tnaC nau COME unuel 1ne opsoi sa.ion "
5roiessor naniuonu. Wienou' a;ny any IPeoia Io;S
elaborate analysis Oh tne ulscase. ne daiu
Gown lhe propositlon, noweVel Ina .na' ~;etod 1g;els
efs couiu never VIC suiS .na. .noSo "a ,inI. .l";-
Win thls .enuency nau eHeioiseu s an ~ .1Ia az =
Wll-power III resistinS IL. III Ieieliins " u.e
several cases tnat nao come uhuer hls 9oseI-
vatlon, PROFESSOR HaMlnon9 lnent,1neu ,I e une
instance Oh young Hian WIZ 'ou nin 'naS ,l;S
ne iel. ps az ~ t W " mn
nls 10" =. 81 oI y,hio,, he bod
;onie ~. az S,;ni Ier ~ %e h;s tr;and
lnvl'eu nil1 W Giiha i a 90 S !. n,'t
was aoou. " uiirh ~ 1ne ai1, :. Gu'
oi ms name, as py acci1ens. M !. ~. unll5 4o1-
quenlly happened, ne saiu, tna' 3 pels9ns .ooa
peasure a carlyrss ous anese anu
tnid hin, that ha Inew he was 1oino WRONG
h,t ~ - II nave him nleasnre to do II Ifs
,nont;oned onotbar ;nstanca Of "a vonng mon
- n.os arrastad co. assa,,It;na a Iad, 2, tha
street His mode of nrocedmre was to threw
down the ladv whom he MIGHT meet. take off
her shoes. and run awav with them: bnt he
did not in anv other wav molest her On
saarcbino this vonno mans trunk If was
f0upd fulI Of ladies shoes He had no nSp for
them hnt i cave him pleasure to take them
In 1874 . man killed in tbe forest of Win.
cennes two little bovs. whom he had never
seen before. and when confined in prison he
said that he had no motive to kin the chill
dren THE case of Waltz. who had been late
lv execnted. seemed to come within the same
Category. IJndoubtedly. he said. habit had
nuc6 10 do with crime which arose in the
first instance from mere imnnlse. and in illus-
tration of his theory he referred to several
eases. among them that of the bow Pomeroy.
who created a great deal of excitement about
two wears AGO in Chelsea. near Boston. At
that time Great cruelties were perpetrated on
children at Chelsea, in various ways. Pome-
roy. who was a boy of about fourteen wears
was discovered to be the perpetrator OF
these cruelties, and he was convicted
and sent to the House of Refuge. He was
released on the 9th of February, and in the
following April little bowl was found dead,
with his head nearly severed. and with about
thirty s,abs in different parts of his BODY,
Suspicion fell on the boy Pomeroy, and he
was arrested. He was confronted with the
bodv of the murdered child. and admitted his
gnilf. When asked what he thought should
be done with him. he gave an answer which
sbould commend itself to the attention of
those having charge of such matters-"Put
me somewhere where L cannot do such
thinos.o Professor Hammond mentioned
another peculiar case of morbid i'm
imnnlse Continued by habit A Young man,
a member of a bighly respectable family. had
Consulted him. and his case was this: He
had been strnck with the appearance of a lady
who was waking before him through the
street aud who wore a yery rich silk dress.
Suddenly the impulse seized upon him to
rnin tbe dress wish sulpburic acid. and with
ont observation effected his purpose. He de-
r;yeS sncb nieasure from Welding to the i'm
,,,sa tbst i,a roSolved to cont;nne his conrse
ps p,r,d - he ,nrohosed moro suInhnr;c acid and
,.,,;nod second Sress He then resolved to
nont;nna th;s nnrsn;t hut niobt,s rest
Suo',nht hattor p s,ata IF MIND and he was
% sorru Sor what he had done that he
% eTiiJ ~, "as Sa..;un,.,o,t 81 sa,t !,
ac.uaiiy Mio.o "m ,,;,h tha uiew of f;ndin o
~ .no bnse dresses he had bestowed SO
,to, ,ho 'd ha T,;@ht Indemnity them. On his way
~ tntI &c T I,aIysnaner Office however. he saw a
hondsome dress tbe imnulse at once seized
hin, and he Welded to IL without hesitation,
Time whenever he saw handsome dress.
10 co,,,d not restrain the imnulse TO DESTROY
= w;th snJnbnric acid. Professor Hammond
advised him to fake a sea voyage. In a vessel
in which there was no woman passenger.
Ho comnl;ad with his advice. went TO sea in a
Gsh;nr snhooner and returned neIfectlv
n,,rad The desire of a nerson to throw him
soIf fron, J @rast beiobt IN which he might he
stn stand;na d and the morbid imnnlse Stimulated
arS' bv tha Tse Of ! snitabIe weanon to commit a
Jsod Js a. Of vioIerce were duIv referred to. The
weld uieldno 70 > morbid impulse through the inn
Amenca Of imitation was fully illustrated.
Amono other cases, Professor Hammond
mentioned that some wears ago man hanged
himself in the Hotel des InvaTides, Paris. No
snici5e had taken place there for three years,
bnt in a short time afterward five persons
hanged themselves from the very same beam.
AS another instance, he said that when he
Mam Mas YorIS he had a COMPANION student who
used ued to dissect along with him. He was Of