Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1884-05-08
MERDEROUS IMPULSES.

MURDEROUS IMPULSES.
"Co1sidoring the number Of cases Of horni-
cidaI and suicidal impulse that come under
| the notice oG experts in nervous diseases" a
distinguished specialist remarked 10 Il New
York Sun reporter sit is . wonder 10 me
that 50 few tragedies iroL, that source really
happe!; Las; week q business man in this
CITY. Hno owns Il handsome country resi-
d,.Ece on the Hudson, and would be re-
| ,ar,iei; by Ills acquaintance. as the las! per-
son in the world 10 be possessed by such
whu, came TO !De in :,rca: W0:rH OF nina
a"d told me lie had something TO coumuni.
Gaze hal must ic held strictly iuviolale.
The story "us typical. / have heard ii
,yiGn triiliDG variations IL thousand nMcs III
five Years He mad not been feeling very
wril--ral!sr nervous and jill at ease-tor
some days That morning, as he left the
house 10 take the train for New York, lie
happaued 20 pass his gardener who was nj
work On tao grounds, and stopped ~ talk
10 li.n :. minute The man was STOPPING
over !; clump of ornamental shrubbery,
thinning out the dead stalks with :. pruning
knife. i spade WAS ieauing against the trunk
OF . tree Just ;:t his hand. i had never had
any quarrel or misunderstanding with the
man said this patient, telling his story.
But the impulse was upon me IL an instant
to seize that spade and brain the poor fellow
on the spot trembled all over like a leaf,
with a kind Of nervous terror that | can
scarcely describe 10 you. doctor. Finally,
not daring to trust myself longer, turned
and walked away as fast as my legs could
conveniently carry me. | believe, sir, that
should have killed the man if had linger-
ed five minutes longer. Now what is to DC
lunc?'
The doctor advised his patient to avoid
temptation for II few days, turn his mind
resoluely 10 something else, and gave him
a scaalive prescription -bromides, of course
with instructions 10 call again in i day or
tgo. The man vas sensible enough to act
on the advice and on the fourth day be
drupped in and told the doctor that the
irorbl. had passed off, and he felt like him
self once more. And 80 Il tragedy was
averted, probably.
The physician went on to say that he had
80 less than nine cases OF homicld@i OF
suicidal impulse then under treatment. OF
these seven were suicidal and the other two
homicilal. One OF the latter had been on
his hands for three weeks. The patient,
Il man Of some note in literature, had
ijcca s!ceplcss fer several weeks before
married man, and loved his wife devotcdly.
One night, after doing few minutes with
terrible dreams. he ;,wokc with a strange
urcsunliment Of impending disaster. His
| wife was sleeping quietly. The moonlight,
| struggling through the WlndUW-paHe, fell
rpou her face and white, shapely throat.
| A. aunden ~ til" leap 1t tiger, The impulse
seiZr, !,;u 10 cut the woman's throat and
he WAS actually out OF bed aDd hunting for
his razor in the bureau drawer, before any
realizing sense Of the enormity Of the deed
! that ne was about To- nerpe,rate intcrpoSad
to prevent the tragedy. He returned 20
| bed. and lay in trcmbIc till daylight His
wife never knew how near she had been 10
death. lie had had no wish TO kill anybody
| else as yet
''One o! my suicida! patients" continued
| :ne doctor was first seized with the i'm
p,i!.a on q Brooklyn ferry boat. He had
| i,gtn aciuss the river on business, and was
on his way back lie went on board one
ei the huals at the Fulton Ferry, and
stood gazing listlessly at the rampant
Of business houses extending far to The right
on Fur.nan street. The boat started sud
denly as he stood Illuminating. He in.
sisrs that the impulse had its origin in irri-
tation or the retiua caused by the movement
Of the sunshine flooded surfaces Of brick
across the optic field, and very likely he is
right Fer an instant he says, I was wild !;
and when came TO myselfmy hand was on
the railing, and Il couple of stalwart passen-
gers haG coliarcd me- had never thought
Of such thing aa committing suicide except
as a coward's resource Now, added the
doctor, "tbis man was no more mad than
am: ii was typical case of suicidal impulse
caused, perhaps, by long nervous tension
In point oriact. both suicidal and homicl-
dal impulses appear to be far less frequent
with women than men. In all his expert
ence. the doctor has treated only five cases
of the impulse in women. while of the stern
er sex his patients have been numbered by
scores He inclines 10 the belief that the
habit contracted by men of business OF al
ways being III hurry, engaged, occupied,
is one of the principal instrumentalities,
next to malaria poisoning, in producing this
tvpe OF nervous disturbance. "And i'm
aciue.' he concluded that our former
Commissioner of Lunacy, DR.. OTdronnau2,
was not far out of the way when he declared
that one man in every hundred who walks
the streets is potentially a murderer or
suicide: startling declaration, but one
that my own practice during tho last ten
wears has abundanily verified"
or 1,o,, Ia