The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1878-09-07
MIND TENS. On
The Mental Dead Point and h w" ~ - EN-
Plafue6.
The London LaHcd says:

The London Lancet says:
II is II common subject of marvel that I, VIII
inals IN presence of immediate execution q.
usually selfpOssessed and often exhibit siDgtt>
lar cOmpOsure. The doomed creature sleeps
through the night before his violent death and
rises composed to pass through the ordeal
The exceptions to this rule are few, and there
Is no reason to suppose that the individuals
who display greater emotion, or who are pros
tratcd 10y the agonizing prospect OF death, feel
their position more aCuteiy than those who
preserve control OF their demeanor 1t Is
prevalent but grOundleSs error TO suppose that
The state of mind in which most capital often
ders meet their doom Is one OF scare or para
lying amazement They retain every faculty,
taste, consideration, and even fancy. They
frequently give tokens of especial thoughtful
ness and are punctilous in the observance OF
rules and the adoption of measures to mini
mize their own pain, and the trouble and SYM
pathetic suffering of those by whom they are
surrounded. or who Will be left burdened with
their memories. Mentally and physically the
criminal, during the last few hours OF his life,
in the immediate presence OF cruel death, Is
self possessed and tranquil. His pulse Is even
less disturbed than those of the officials who
are compelled to take part in his execution.
Why il This! The answer will be obvious on
reflection. The mind has reached what may
be designated ''dead-point'' IN its tension.
The excitement Is over, the agony Of anticipa-
ton, the trembling doubt between hope and
fear of escape has exhausted the irritability of
the mind, and there is, rs it were, pause, an
interval OF passive endurance between the end
of the struggle for lite and the bitterness of re-
morse and agony OF disappointment which
may begin at death. In this interval the mind
is released from the tension of its effort for self
preservation, and almost rebounds with the
sense of relief that comes with certainty, even
though the assurance be that of impending
death. In the pause there is time and oppor-
tunity for the recognition of surrounding cir
cumstarces which have been, rs it were, over
looked in the yearnlng for life. The clearness
of mental vision, the cOgnizance OF detail dis
PLAYED at such moment, are remarkable, not
only on account of the strange circumstances
under which they occur, but in degree. Men
and women who have for some time previous
" exhibited no trace of dclicacy or refinement,
exhibit characteristic traits Of thoughttulness.
They are so to say, lifted out of themselves
and placed in new conditions calculated to-
awaken feelings of courtesy, which seldom
fail to respond. The mental state OF crlmln-
al during the hours preceding execution pres
ents features of intense interest to the psychol-
oglst and rightly comprehended, it is to be
feared they would throw new light on the
supposed preparation these unfortunate per
sons evnCe for fate which, being inevitable,
they at the final moment arc able to meet with
a composure in which hypocrisy or sclt-decep-
ton finds the amplest scope.