Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-08-16
WatsON's Crime and Death.
III the London Daily Newa

! WatsOn's Crime and Death.
From the London Daily News
The death of the Rev. j. Selby Watson, In
! prison. at the advanced age of n, recalls one of
the saddest and most perplexing stories of I'M
lOOked-fOr crime. Mr.. Watson was man of I'M
doubted learning. He is best remembered in
literature perhaps for his versions of certain
Latin authors. He was the author not only of
school books. hut of biographies of Person and
Warburton. These exercises do not seem to
have brought him much money, and probably
he was not much more fortunate than Gold
smiths "poor Ned Purdon" in his connection
with literature. Mr.. Watson was also for more
than 81 years head master Of Stockwell gram
mar school In the later years of his master
! ship the number Of boys in the school dimin-
| ished SO much that the trustees deprived Mr..
Watson of his office. This occurred In Octo-
| Der, 1870. Mr.. Watson went on living in Stock =
well. He kept but one servant, a girl who
deposed that his relations with his wife seemed
to be friendly. On certain Sunday in October
MIR. Watson committed the crime which has
given his name strange psychological interest
We must remember that, though he has ceased
to be an efficient, or at all events popular
head master, his moral character was blameless
| and nothing seems to have been said against
MS soundness of mind. His servant "consid-
cred him kind-hearted gentleman" She
thought that he and Mrs. Watson lived very
happily together" No complaint had ever
been made against him Except the complaint
that he was not a popular teacher) by the COM
| mttee OF the school in which he taught The
vicar of his parish church said that no one
could possess higher character for kindness
| and humanity. Being such man, he went to
| church with his wife on Sunday October 8. 1871.
| The pair dined early and had wine and dessert
In the library. When the servant returned from
her Sunday half holiday Mr.. Watson let her in.
aho safd that Mrs Watson had gone out. He
also drew the girls attention to stain on the
| floor. caused. he said. by port wine. Next day
| he ordered packing case of certain dimensions
in which he concealed the remains of Mrs Wat
son The next day but one, after telling his
| servant that he felt unwell he ATTEMPTED to
| poison himself The prussic acid which he adj
! mnstpred to himself was diluted and he TINS
! failed to commit suicide.
| This is briefly. and emitting the more horrible
details. the story of the murder of his wife by
| MI Watson. Naturally the question arises.
was lie insane or did he strike down and DESTROY
MS aged wife under an uncomfortable homi-
cldal impulse which found him sane and left
MN sane. though he was insane at the actual
moment of the crime? This is the view of the
case which the jury found themselves unable to
take 1t is, indeed, a doctrine much too danger
Gus ever to be accepted, We trust in this cOun-
Try. There may be such impulses. A kind of
deVll may enter into an elderly, kind-hearted
man of letters and may make him slav the part-
ner OF his life, while it also counses him to con-
ceal Ter body to account for her absence and
to attempt suicide. But this sort of possession
or madness or whatever it may be called. if it
only becomes apparent in the homicidal act
and cannot be fOreseen or guarded aSainst is
by no means the sort Of insanity which should
carry with it irrespOnsbty. At the trial one
witness declared that Mr.. Watson had spoken
OF previous bitter quarrels with his wife On
! lGnc fhnp h<,I
cldal Impulse. or the Obsession of the murder
Gus spirit with success. All that human pun
lshlnents and laws can do is to add fresh motive
(and an uncommon strong One) to the other
reasons Tor resisting homcidal impulses. Peo-
pie who know that if they yield to temptation
they Will certainly be punished with ali legal
severity find in themselves a power of re-
sstance which they would lose If we par-
dOned every murderer whose character and cir
cumstances won our sympathy. To put the
matter shortly, Mr. Watson was probably man
enfeebled and embttered by long life of OBJ
scure toll. and of struggling with boys No
profession Is more apt to encourage temper and
eccentricity than that OF living among the ire
sponsbe and provoking race of boys Again.
he probably had the high strung nerves and
Keen sensibility of the scholar. His mOodness
(Which was noticed in him by some of his init
mates) would be increased by poverty and fall
ure, aud it appears that his relations with Mrs.
Watson had sometimes been very disagreeabe.
though on this point the opinions of witnesses
differed. At all events he finally let himself he
goaded into one violent act. and. ii anger be a.
Drlet madness. was mad indeed for momentd
Ihen came the attempts to conceal the act an
TO escape from the consequences by DEATH His
own death that at last has overtaken him was
the result, not of great age disease but of ac-
cldent; he fell from his hammock and suffered
fatal injuries 1t would have been mpOssible
for jury to bring in any other verdict than thew
returned. Our sense of pity inc,ines us to veil
such deeds with the name of madness, but. in
very truth the criminal is not more insane than
such murderer as Dickens Bill Sykes He only
Yields TO passion not SO frequently victorious
in his rank of life.
The examination Of the medical evidence in
this case is not reassuring. Some of the wit
nesses tried to show that the dismissal from the
head-mastership might have caused melancholia
and person suffering from melanchoIia would
De liable to uncomfortable Outbursts OF passion
We cannot pronounce man mad because he
mas iost one appointment and fears he may not
get another. No instances of dcluson in Mr.
Watson seem to have been observed and with
out decisions. what is insanity? Again. if a
man be perfectly rational, as Mr.. Watson was
undeniably. we cannot accuse him of insanity |
because he is very morOse." The superin-
tendent OF the COlney Hatch asylum found Mr. |
Watson perfectly sane after his crime. Another
doctor from the same establishment came to |
precisely the opposite conclusion. He detected
madness In Mr.. WatsOn's remarks. Another
physician, who heard the same remarks made |
thought them perfectly RATIONAL" and the
prisoner remarkably self. possessed" In short
the experts differed as much as experts usually
do; perhaps their evidence is not worth much |
unless 1t Is all unhesitatingly on the same side |
The conclusion is that we Inust not regard a |
man who commits crime as insane merely be- |
cause he is the last man we should have ex-
pected to be guilty of it. We can call no man |
happy till death and no man innocent till he ia
beyond all temptation forever. Any other rule |
would enable people with good antecedents to
DC wicked, tor once, with comparative impunity.
MANY man passes as a saint because he never
worked down to the basis Of his character (" saws
the Professor at the Breakfast Table, When the
basis is reached and exposed by some sudden
stre Ike 1t will not do to assume that the sinner
Is q lunatic.
A Rainy Month In New-BrunSwick.
From the st. John tNew- Brurswick) Telegraph
July was the wettest month ever known IN
st. John since the observatory was instituted,
% years ago. The records show that rain fell
during July in measurable Quantities on 10