The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1878-01-01
"POssEssED OF a DEVIL.

lhO klhlrf vi kOOA AOOATf NuAAANhbti
minds, aud good parentage, recently
ran away from an academy in northern
Ohio, and, without money or any cloth.
ing except what they had on, got on
board a railway train, and rode until
they were put or by the conductor
They then got on board another train,
and were again put off, and after re-
peated getting on and putting of, they
wandered into a wood and subsisted on
stolen food. They had been Lying this
gypsy life for some days, indulging in
strange antics and seeking the queerest
adventures, when their friends and re-
latives, having been appraised of their
flight, hunted them down and carried
them home by main force. They were
in a sorry plight. Their garments were
soiled and tattered their hair was ir-
retrievable tangled; their eyes were
bloodshot; had lost their modesty and
all sense OF conventionalism. They
fought against capture with tooth and
nail, and with such energy and spirit
that they resembled ballet girls in
scantiness OF attire when they were
finally overcome. After week of con-
fnement they grew tractable, became
their gentle selves once more, express
ed contrition for their behavior, and
explained their eccentricitiss by affirm
ing that they had been possessed Of n
devil.
What a capital excuse this was. They
could not have offered a better; il is at
once ancient, mystic, and sonorious.-
The best possible excuse is something
kt.t ..la thln httt IN.
comprehensive. Possessed OF a devil,
meets all the requirements. IL is an
old form, with an intimation OF all the
modern improvements. That which it
darkly, dreadfully hints is far more
than 1t directly conveys. Possessed Of
devil There is something grand,
gloomy, and peculiar in the phrase. Ii
appeals 10 the superstitious, thrills the
sympathetic, strikes the insensible. -.
For an excuse 1t was magnificent, since
il excites compassion, and removes all
responsibility. Who would condemn
a man or woman afflicted with satan
ophany, "a the learned call itP The
person who falls victim to a moral dis
ease SO expressed may be sure of in
diligence, for nobody knows exactly
bht VI AlAC VI Nho lbiIt
of its influence. To be possessed Of q
devil is To stand apart from the human
family and to be specially favored by
an incarnate power of evil-a distinc-
tion to which very few can ever hope
10 attain.
There seems to be a great deal OF
possession by the devil in these days,
although il is not SO named. Indeed,
be seems lately to have broken out of,
or rather to have broken into, an unu-
sual number of persons.
Some OF our politicians are evidently
laboring under satanophany. They
have lost their wonted shrewdness and
perspicacity; they have totally mista-
ken the temper of the people; they
either fancy they are echoing the voice
pressing their personal prejudice, or
that they can make the people follow
their lead. That they have blundered
egregiously, that they have demOnstra-
ted their lack of understanding, that
they are unable 10 interpret the signs
of the times, has never occurred to
them. BY and by they will perceive
their error; in truth, they will be over
whelmed by it; they will be very re-
pentant outwardly; they will attempt
to explain away the past; they will fall
siiy and turn and twist 10 that end,
though without success. The best
thing for them will be TO declare that
thc I4",~ beoo possessed OF "A devil
Many of their constituents may be-
lieve it, and feel inclined 10 forgive
their immesurable stupidity on that
account, albeit they ought to know
from all satanic history that devils have
ever been the opposite of stupid.
Many of the officers of our fraudu-
lent savings banks who have so shame
fully robbed the poor cannot find, in
genious as they are, any tolerable ex-
cuse for their dishonesty. They ought
TO fall back on the devil as their last
hope,-it is said that he never aban-
dons his own,-snd beg for pardon in
the name of his possession. They have
behaved so very badly, so internally il
might be called. that il is easy TO think
they have been instigated by power
Of absolute evil. OF course, they have
not been instigated beyond the evil
which rests in themselves; but TO pre-
tend SO distracts attention from them,
and introduces the question whether
satan still infests mortals "a he used to
in the scriptural era. While the pub
lie is occupied with the discussion, the
guilty officers may partially slip from
under the load OF indignation which
has been so Justly hesped upon them.
The pious defaulters, absconders,
and forgers whose i'll deeds have come
TO light here and elsewhere appear to
have been mysteriously influenced. -
Their public record has been good;
they have been model husbands and
fathers; they have been exemplary
church members; they have been uni
versally esteemed. All OF sudden
they are detected in startling crimes. -
Their wrong-doiugs has been going on
for years When they seemed the saint
liest, they have been concocting mis-
chief. What more specious apology
can be put forward than that they
we're possessed of devil? True, in
terror quarters must long have been to
let: the gentleman in black must have
been knowingly invited to occupy the
congenial premises. But that Is ire
levant The issue ~, we're they or were
they not possessed Of devil? The
devil, as we learn from high authority,
is always tempting the righteous
They are just the sort of men he would
tempt vehemently and cunningly, which
is strong argument in the afiirma-
tive.
We need some new excuse for the
constant transgresions OF persons
prominent in position and public con-
fidence. Our faith in humanity is daily
shocked 10y alarming revelations res
pectine men we have been taught 10
trust implicitly. Let us profit by the
theory OF possession of a devil 10 pro-
tect them. and help ourselves out OF
the quandary. IL is fresher, and fully
as reasonable as emotional insanity,
which has been done 90 death, and
opens the way TO interesting and inter.
minable discussion. Let us hear from
those who imagine they have had ex
perience. Tho decision Of the ques
tion is OF infinite Importance. IN. Y
Times.