The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1874-06-08

SOME SINGULAR fSsrASCEs-A YOUNG MAN
WHO HAD MANIA roR STEALING SHOES
THE poY WITH THE WHITE EYE.
DIR. VIM. \. Hammond read an inter
esting paper last night before the members
of the medico-lcgal association on "Nlorbid
Impulse" that strange physic force which
impels men TO the commission Of crime
when there would appear TO be no possible
reason for it. The theme was ably han
died, and the essay was 50 little burdcncd
with technical nomenclature as to be per
tecuy Ineligible in all its parts to the most
unsophisticatcd of the doctors auditors.
The lecturer insanccd as a singular H.
lustratcn Of the effect of the morbid i'm
pulse the case recently reported in the SIN.
of n man who while in the garden with his
little daughter, felt sudden and almost
ire, istiblc impulse to murder her with
his spade. The afflicted father wrote to
the doctor giving in detail all his symptoms,
and begging for dyicc. The reply was
'Kecp the morbid impulse under the con-
troll of your will. if You do not, and
should allow it to influence you, you will
be guilty Of MURDER The man was in
every way healthy, and this singular desire
to kill his flvorite child was conquered by
the exercise Of the will. Another Of the
doctors patients, who was impelled to in
iurc those near him, confessed, on exam
nation, that he did SO under an Irresistible
impulse; that he was only for the time in
such condition mentally that hc took pleas.
urc in doing harm to others. Not long ago
young man of good family became vic
tim Of singular impulse lie could not
resist the temptation to attack women in the
street. throw them down, ana take their
shoes from their feet. When ne was ar
rested and his trunks were examined they
were found to be full Of shoes of all sizes
and qualities. When asked what reason
he Lad for his conduct he could only an
swer that he acted under IN impulse that
he could not resist. The young man was
of irreproachablc character, and was taken
with this intatuation at moments notice.
DR.. Dixon reports the case of a gentle
mans son ut school who developed sudden
~ an uncomfortable impulse to steal sheets
and blankets. Except for this peculiarly
the boy was held in the highest estimation.
In 1924. wcll-known citizen of French
presence OF their mother. nen placed
in Jail he attempted TO kill his fellow pris-
oners and to burn the Jail. After Il care
fully conducted trial lie was found guilty of
murder and executed. The plea of nsan-
ity had been entered in his defence, but it
was entirely disrcgardcd. Many other
cases were cited from the jurisprudence Of
France, showing the force Of habit in caus-
ing men to repeat certain crimes. One
woman, known as good kind-hcarted
mother and ncighbor murdered twenty
eight persons hy poison before being de-
tectcd another had killed fifteen. In
neither case was any reason assigned. The
murdercrs were actuated by an impulse
which had become part of their physical
being.
One of the most remarkable cases was
| that of Jessie Pomcroy, ''the boy with the
| white eve whose horrible brutalties per-
petrated upon little boys in Boston, mark
ed him as tiend. lie was only fourteen
years old when arrested, yet he manned Il