The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1884-11-21
a MADMANs'
Translated from the French of Guy de Manpas

A MADMAR
Transiated from the French of Guy de Manpas
SAINT.
Whenever / hear anybody say
You know Jacvuns Parent died mad il
an insane asylum a painful shudder, {
creeping of fear and anguish passes
through all my bones; and I see agair
before me the figure of that tall strange
nan mad perhaps long before ! knew
human alarming person, a really fear.
full maniac.
He was a % about forty years old
tall, slightly stopped, with the eyes o.
one troubled by hallucination-black
eyes, so black in fact that the pupil
could not be distinguished-mobile eyes,
wandering. sickly, haunted. What a
singnlarly ANNOYING person he was
bringing with him, spreading around
him an atmosphere Of uneasiness, a
vague distress Of soul and body, such
an incomprehensible feeling of nervous
ness as inclines people to believe in
supernatural Influences.
He had n very unpleasant crank
8 mania for keeping his hands concealed.
He was scarcely ever seen to let his
hands wander listlessly-as we do-up-
on surrounding objects, tables, furni-
ture. Never did he touch anything in
his vicinity in that familiar way which
nearly all men have. Never did he let
them be seen uncovered-those long
bony hands Of his, slender and slightly
nervous. He always kept them buried
in his pockets, or hidden behind his
coal tails, or concealed under his arm
pits when he folded his arms. One
might have supposed he was afraid that
those hands might, in spite of him, do
something wrong-might ~perpetrate
some ludicrous or shameful act if he
allowed them to remain q moment free
Lii he suffered them to remain masters
of their own movements.
When he was obliged to make use of
them for the ordinary necessarics of life,
he did so only by sudden jerks, by swift
movements of his arms, as though wish
ing TO prevent them from having time
to act on their own accord, to refuse to
do his bidding, to do something else in
stead. When at table he would handle
his glass, his knife and fork SO quickly
that nobody ever had an opportunity to
observe what lie was going to do before
u had already been done,
Now I was able one evening to OBJ
tain the explanation of his astounding
disease of mind.
He used in those days to pay me
visits from time to time at my country
residence; and on the evening in ques-
lion he seemed unusually nervous.
A storm was rising in the sky, black
and Sitting, after u long day of afro
cious heat. No breath Of air moved
the leavess A sort Of hot. bath D
passed across faces, made lis pant
for air. / was feeling very uneasy,
very much agisated, and I wished to 90
to bed.
When he saw me rise to leave the
room Jacques Parent seized me by the
arm with a grip Of terror.
oh, nor he said; stay a little
while With me!!a
/ looked at him in surprise, and muir
INJURED:
Its only because this storm is max
ing me nervous
And me! Olslremain mere / beg of
youI do not want to be left alone"
His looks were Wild. I asked him:
What is the matter with you? Are
Ton losing your senses?n
And he stammered in reply:
Yes, now and then, on such even
ings as this-electrical evenings-I am
81 AMI am afraid am afraid of
myself, no, you do not understand me.
IT is because ] am gifted with a might
no. q power-no, with a force. lii short
i cannot tell you what it is; but I find
IN myself o magnetic action, so extraor-
binary that i am afraid-yes, terrified
at myself, as I have Just told YOU
And he concealed his madly q~uivering
hands under the lapelo of his jacket.
Then I myself began suddenly to feel
b trembling Of fear-a fear, vague
mighty and horrible. I felt an awful
desire to get away, to rim away, to es-
cape from the sight of him, to escape
the sensation Of feeling his wandering
eye passing over me, then turn from me
and circle about the ceiling, seeking
some dark corner of the room to FIX it
self upon, as il he wanted to hide his
awful gaze as we'll as his awful hands,
stammered out: why you never
told me this before"
He went on:
DO ! ever tell anybody? Lister.
This evening / cannot keep my secret,
and would rather you shonld know
everything. Besides, you might be able
to succOr me-
DO you know what magnetism is?
No. Nobody knows what it is. But
its existence is fully established; its
manifestations are recognized; the doc
tors themselves practice it; one of the
most illustrious. NJ. Charcot, processes
it Therefore there is no doubt that it
exists.
mana being-has the frightful
and iilcomprehensible power Of COM
pelling another being, by mere force Of
viii, to sleep. and Of robbing him while
asleep Of his thought, of his soul,
Just n d might steal q purse. He
steals III stllought-thati is TO say, his soul
-the sanctuary the secret ofthe Me-