New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-06-07
The Results of Morbid Impulse.

Maria UOUU6 vs.. OdptdIu l1cuTy a.
Brinker-Suit for $lO.232 damages. On
trial.
The Results of Morbid Impulse.
Professor A. Hsmmond. in a lecture
delivered last evening in New York, upon
''morbid impulse" mentioned one instance
of young man who told him that he felt
impelled BY an irresistible power to kill his
friend. He had even gone so far as to put
strychnine in a mug OF ale which he had in
ylted him to drink. However. as his friend
was about to drink the ale, he kuocked it
out of his hand as if by accident. 1t not
unfrequently happened, he said that persons
took pleasure in carrying out these i'm
pulses, and he instanced the case OF one
Young man who told him that he knew he
was doing wrong, but that it gave him
pleasure to do it. He mentioned another
instance of a young man who was arrested
for assaulting a lady in the street. His
mode of procedure was to throw down the
lady whom he might meet, take off her
shoes, and run away with them, but he did
not in any other way modest her. On search
ing this young mans trunk, it was found
full of ladies' shoes. He had no use for
them, but it gave him pleasure to take
them. In 1864 a man killed, in the forest of
Vincennes, two little boys, whom he had
never seen before, and when confined in
prison he said that he had no motive to kill
the children. The case of Waltz, who had
been lately executed, seemed to him to
come within the same category. Undoubt-
edly, he said, habit had much to do with
crime, which arose in the first instance from
mere impulse, and in illustration OF this
theory, he referred to several cases, among
them that of the boy Pomeroy, who created
a great deal of excitement about two years
ago in Chelsea, near Boston. At that time
great cruelties were perpetrated on chill
dren at Chelsea, in various ways. Pomeroy,
who was boy of about fourteen years, 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 sixth of February, and
in the following April little boy was found
dead with his head nearly severed and
with about thirty stabs in different parts OF
his body. Suspicion fell on the boy Pome-
ROY and he was arrested. He was con.
fronted with the body of the murdered
child and admitted his guilt. When asked
what he thought should be done with him
he gave an answer which should commend
itself to the attention OF those having
charge of such matters: "Put me where l
| can not do such things" Professor Ham
mond mentioned another peculiar case of
morbid impulse continued by habit. A
Young man, member of highly respecta-
| Bile family, had consulted him and his case
was this: He had been struck with the ap-
pearance OF a lady who was walking before
| him through the street, and who wore
| very rich silk dress. Suddenly the impulse
| came upon him to ruin the dress with sui
phurc acid, and accordingly he ran into
a drug store, purchased the acid, and
| without observation effected his purpose.
| He derived such pleasure from yielding to
| the impulse that he resolved to continue his
course, and so he purchased more sulphuric
| acid and ruined a second dress he then
resolved to continue this pursuit, but a
nights rest brought better state OF mind,
| and he was SO sorry for what he had done,
| that he actually wrote an advertisement
and sent it to the newspapers, with the view
| of finding out the ladies whose dresses had
| been destroyed, SO that he might indemnify
them. On his way to the newspaper office,
| however, he saw handsome dress, the i'm
pulse at once seized him, and he yielded to
it without hesitation. Thus, whenever he
saw handsome dress, he could not resist
the impulse to destroy it with sulphuric
acid. Professor Hammond advised him to
take a sea voyage in vessel in
which there was no woman passenger. lie
| complied with his advice, went to sea in a
fishing schooner and returned perfectly
cured. The desire of a person to throw
himself from a great height on which he
might be standing, and the morbid impulse
| NY lHc pKtscuCc VI
weapon to commit deed of violence, were
duly referred to. The yielding to morbid
impulse through the influence of imitation
was fully illustrated. Among other cases,
Professor Hammond mentioned that some
years ago a man hanged himself in the
| Hotel DIES Inyalides, Paris. No suicide had
taken place there for three years, but in a
short time afterward five persons hanged
themselves from the very same beam. AS
l no cold that UhQn ha
medical student in the University of New
| York he had companion student who used
to dissect along with him. He was OF
cheerful disposition and gave no evidence
of morbid impulse. However, he was.
one morning, found dead, having divided
the femoral artery. 1t was quite an IN
usual mode of suicide; no other had prob
ably ever occurred in the State of New
| York, but in a week afterward there were
two similar suicides. In the first case they
had suicide from suggestion and afterward
from imitation. For this reason Professor
Hammond advocated less public execu
ton of criminals and slaughter of animals
Morbid impulses arising from the force Of
habit often continued long time when the
original cause had passed away. In illus
traiion of this theory he stated the case Of
lady who had disposition to throw every
valuable article into the tire. In the hrs,
place she burned an old slipper, and de
rived peculiar pleasure from the contor
tions through which the leather wenl
in the process of burning. The next
day the impulse was renewed, and
yielding to it, she burned a felt
hat, but without any pleasure, iuasmuch
as the hat did not go through the same con
tortions as the slipper. The third day sn.
burned prayer book, and soon she burned
shawls, bonnets and every article of value
within her reach. The popularity, how
ever, was that she took no pleasure in see
ing them burn, as in the first instance, aut
her impulse being satisfied on throwing
them into the fire she walked to another
part of the room. She was, nevertheless
entirely cured by subjecting herself to sucf
restraint as could be used in her own house
The dread of dishonor, shame end iguom
my, the speaker said, was frequently NOR,
potent than that of death to check morbit
impulses, and on this point he instancet
the fact that Napoleon had successful,
checked suicidal epidemic in the French
army by appealing to this feeling.