Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Anacortes, Wash. Ter.) 1882-1887, 1884-01-12
A PECULIAR FACULTY.
A Statesman Who Might Have been IA
First Glass Medium.

"Talking about peculiarities OF mems
minds, heard Senator Beck tell queer
story the other day." said a gentleman
to some friends the other night. awe
were all discussing the same subject
that is up now, when Senator Beck re-
marked that he thought popularity Of
his brain had done him Il, great deal of
harm in his life. Il first noticed it,
said the Senator, when l was a boy
going to school in Scotland. l had a
strict old preacher for tutor, and,
with number of other boys, went to
the parsonage to be educated. One
night l was very sleepy, and still had a
long Latin lesson to get off. tried hard
to learn it; but almost before l was
aware would be dozng. At length /
read the exercise through in half
dreaming condition, and with the Latin
all tumble in my head, went to
sleep. | awoke the next morning with
my brain thoroughly clear, and, strange
to say, all the antiquities of my difficult
lesson were made plain, and read the
Latin without balk. The same thing
happened second time, and | again
found that when | went to sleep with a
confused idea of my lesson, learning it
while half doing, awoke with all the
knitted points unraveled. 1t became
my custom after that to read my tasks
over just before going to bed, and /
never failed to have them in the morn
ing My strict old tutor saw that
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 did not have it for him
the next morning he would fog me.
He then 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
had them pat as you please. He never
troubled Inc after that. Well, the year
passed by, and found my faculty still
clinging to me, till began to put too
much faith in it and depended almost
entirely upon my mysterious helper
Some time ago a phrenologist came to
examine my family's heads, and they |
all went wild owes him. l paid no at
tention to their talk, though my wife |
urged me to give the man trial. One |
day, however, he met me, and was 30
persistent that at length sat down to |
him. lie said that he would examine
my head for So, and give me a chart for
So. told him 50 was all would throw |
away, and he began to name my char |
acteristics. AT length he said: "You |
have one faculty that is fully developed.
1t is spirituality. You have the faculty |
developed to a marked degree. You
would have made u fine medium. Your
mind is capable Of working separate
from your body-that is, it can perform
mental labor while your body is at rest
and knows nothing about it. You some
times solve difficult problems while you
are asleep, and wake up in the morning
without knowing that you have been at
work" "iIere is $5," said "a man
who knows as much rs you do deserves
it," MY strange faculty. 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
aud words before my minds eye, and,
without knowing the process, or, indeed,
being aware OF any process, | work on
the problem
"Iou remember John Sherman's
OF Beck" continued the gen.
tleman. "Beck was working day and
night on the Tariff bill, when member
how he got any rest. 'Oh,
said Senator Sherman, who was present,
Beck rests himself when he makes
speech A man who can work when
he should rest himself may be pardoned
if he rests when he should work. -
Louisville Courier-Journal.