The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1883-12-14
A Senator's Curious Faculty.

"Talking about peculiarities of mems
minds, l heard United States Senator
Beck, of Kentucky, tell queer story"
said a gentleman to some friends, the
other night. eve were all discussing
the same subject that is up now, when
Senator Beck remarked that he thought
a popularity of his brain had done him
a great deal OF harm in his life. l first
noticed it, said the Senator, when
wa. boy going to school in Scotland.
had strict old preacher for tutor,
and, with a number of other boys, went
to the parsonage to be educated. One
night 1 was very sleepy, and still had
long Latin lesson to get off. | tried
hard to learn it; but almost before /
was aware would be doing.
At length l read the exercise
through in half dreaming condition,
and with the Latin all tumble in my
head | went to sleep. l awoke the next
morning with my brain thoroughly clear,
and, strange to say, all the antiquities
of my difficult lesson were made plain,
and l read the Latin without a balk.
The same thing happened second time,
and l again found that when | went to
sleep with confused idea of my lesson,
learning it while half doing, l awoke
with all the knottcd points unraveed.
1t became my custom after that to read
my task over just before going to bed,
and | never failed to have them in the
morning. My strict old tutor saw that
l never studied, and thought one of the
other boys was helping me. At length
he gave me page of Livy to translate,
and told me if l did not have it for
him the next morning he would fog
me. Then he forbid any of the
boys to come near me and
watched my actions. read the lines as
usual before going to sleep, and sure
enough the next day l had them pat as
you please. He never troubled me after
that. Well, the year passed by, and
began to put too much faith in it, and
depended almost entirely upon my mys-
ferrous helper. Some time ago phrenol-
ogist came to examine my family's heads,
and they all went wild over him. paid
no attention to their talk, though my
wife urged me to give the man a trial.
One day, however, he met me, and was
so persistent that at length sat down to
him. He said that he would examine my
head for So, and give me a chart for S.. l
and he began to name my characteristics.
At length he said: you have one faculty
that is fully developed. 1t is spirituality.
You have that faculty developed to
marked degree. You would have made
II fine medium. Your mind is capable Of
working separate from your body-that
is, it can perform mental labor while the
body is at rest and knows nothing of it.
You sometimes solve difficult problems
while you are asleep, and wake up in the
morning without knowing that you have
been at work" "IIere is five dollars,'
said | "a man who knows as much as
you do deserves it." my strange fac
ulty," continued Senator Beck, whether
it is spirituality or not, is growing weaker.
| can hardly explain the action of my
mind during these abnormal spells.
see the lines and words before my minds
eye, and, without knowing the process,
or indeed, being aware of any process, |
work on the problem. . Courier Journal.