The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-04-27
1T Is ALL CLEAR NOW.
THE LADY SUFFERING FROM MENTAL
ALTERATION, AND SIZE BOUND
AND GAGGED HERSELF.
The Mysterious Raids Upon Captain
Parater's House Fully Explained.
The Burglar ExOncrnted.

POlice-Captain Parater, from circum-
stances that had come to his knowledge.
was on yesterday compelled to recognize
the fact that the alleged tying and gagging
of bis daughter and cutting Of her clothes
on the evening before was the work OF her
own hands, moved by an unsettled mind.
SUSPICIOUS.
The suspicious circumstances connected
with the young lady's story, as given yes
tcrday, were as to how the mattress got in
the garret-hall; how the sash was Knocked
out OF the frame and, more than all, how
the burglar could have cut her twice clear
through her corset and not touched her
skin.
AS to how the burglar got in the house
and how he got out, il was never supposed
! that she ought to be able TO explain.
While many persons from the start
thought that her whole story was tainted
with improbability, especially as whenever
the burglar came the young lady was the
sole person TO see him, no one felt justified
in attacking her yeraciIy. Nor is that now
necessary from the Information gwen the
public. Her Imagination Is so disordered
that she no doubt believes that all the
things heretofore related by her were real
occurrences.
TOSSING IL DELIRIUM.
1t is stated that throughout Wednesday
night she suffered greatly from excitement
and troubled sleep. She would doze off
for few minutes, and then start up with
the cry that they were trying to kill " her
father. When conyersed with, for two or
three minutes at time she would talk as
nationally as any human being: then, all on
sudden, her mind would take wide
flight and she would chat away about things
far removed from recent events.
The conclusion was thus forced upon her
parents and friends that she was laboring
under hallucination..
They questioned her closely but kindly,
and became satisfied that the tying, gag
ging, and cutting was her own work.
TIE DOCTORS DISCOVERY.
Dr. Brock, the family physician. first saw
Miss Parater about s O'Clock on Wednes-
day evening. He sat down and talked to
her about the whole affair. He questioned
and cross-questioned her, but in a manner
to raise in her mind no suspicion that he
disbelieved her statements. lie found no
flaws in her story. She told it with great
exactness, varying hardly any, even uIon
repetition OF parts OF it.
But what aroused the Doctors suspicious
was her unnatural calmness. She failed TO
exhibit the excitement and nervousness one
would have expected of young lady OF
sixteen who had been facing death for ten
minutes that evening, to say nothing OF the
experiences Of the previous day. This
great placidity Of mind put him to think
ing. Her story was improbable. her de-
meanOr was unnatural, and the result was
that the Doctor went home and put on
bis study-cap.' a. the saying il. He
came TO the conclusion that her mind was
unsettled. Yesterday morning when he
read the Dispatch (Which he says contained
good account OF what was told at the
house, il was all perfectly clear TO him. He
resolved 10 90 and tell her father. b,'t be
fore he could get away from home tlssCap-
tain came into his Office. lie had arrived
at the same conclusion rs the Doctor, and
was in great grief.
NO CONFESSION FROM HER.
The young lady, 1t seems, has made no
admissions rs far as known she has never
varied from her original story.
But il il understood that so far from
maintained, it is rather confirmatory OF II.
At her period OF life. and in view Of what
she has been reading and what she has been
hearing about burglars, ii is not hard to see
how her mind became disOrdered. That it
is only a temporary wandering Is very
probable. 1t is expected that in few
weeks she will be entirely well again.
THE STORY OUT.
Feariuly diSagreeable and humiiating
a. ii was. Captain Parater yesterday morn
ing promptly informed Mayor Darlington
and the Chief OF Police OF these facts, in
order that no innocent person might
suffer.
There had been on night before last two
arrests Of suspected parties, but these were
held only for little while, and were then
discharged, but other people were watched.
In fact. the concentrated opinion OF the
police force was that the house Of Parater
was raided repeatedly to east odium upon
him particularly and upon the police gem
orally. That idea was so strong that III
little time. but for these developments, ar
rests on that line might have been looked
for.
AyICTIM TO CHEAP LITERATURE.
Miss Parater is Just sixteen. and is really
n bright and pretty girl. She was thought,
indeed. to be the pOssessOr OF an unusually
well-balanccd mind. The probability is
that il i unsettled only for the time.
Considering her age, and the fact, now
revealed, that she has Of late been con-
slant reader OF cheap, sensational stories,
and the further fact that she has taken I'M
usual interest in all that her father said at
bomeabOut the recent burglaries here, it will
not be hard to understand how the ballucina-
tiOn was born and grew upon her. As TO
what she has been reading, the discovery
about the house OF papers and books with
dramatic accounts OF blrglaries committed,
&c Nc.. shows that it has been matter OF
inst the charactcr-added to the prevailing
excitement about the bIrglaries- To pro-
duce the result now seen.
From the account she gave OF the man
cutting through her corset and not touch
ing the skin il is likely that she had been
reading some OF the reports OF the attack
upon Lady Florence Dixie.
THE ROBBERY.
Captain Parater and some OF the police
believe that the house was really and cer-
tainly entered by burglar on the occasion
when the wearing apparel and Sll were
taken: but the subsequent visits alleged,
they believe. were purely imaginary.
As 10 the stoning Of the house, the po-
lice now saw that no human being could
throw such stone as was found in the
honse the distance from the street or from
the lumber-yard to the place where found.
CARD FROM Dir. BROCK.
DR.. Brock furnishes the following card
for publication " ,,
and am convinced that she is suffering from
mental alteration, and that the occurrences
recently reported as having taken place at
the house OF her father, Captain j. IL.
Paratcr. of the Richmond police force,
y,ore n,,rpiy imaginary.