The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1884-06-04
MEN WHO WANT TO KILL.
Homicidal and Suicidal Impulses
That are Likely to Spring Up.

| homicidal and suicidal impulse that
come under the notice of experts in
nervous Diseases" distinguished
specialist remarked, sit is q wonder to
me that so few tragedies from that
source really happen. Las week n
| business man in this city, who owns
| handsome country residence on the
Hudson, and would be regarded by his
acquaintance as the last person in the
world to be possessed by such within,
came to me in great worry of mind
and told me he had something to COM
municate that must be held strictly in
violate. The story was typical. | have
heard it with triling variations a thou
sand times in five years. He had not
been feeling very wcll-rather nervous
and i'll at ease-for some days. That
morning, as he left the house TO take
the train for New York, he happened
to pass his gardener who was at work
on the grounds, and stopped to talk to
him a minute. The man was STOPPING
over clump, of ornamental shrubbc-
ries, thinning out the dead stalks with
pruning knife. A spade was leaning
against the trunk of u tree just at his
hand i had never had any quarrel or
misunderstanding with the man, said
this patient, telling his story. But tho
impulse was upon me in an instant to
seize that spade and brain the poor fell
low on the spot. | trembled all over
like leaf, with kind of nervous terror
that | can hardly describe to you,
Doctor. Finally, not daring to trust
myself longer, turned and walked
away as fast rs my legs could conyen-
iently carry me, | believe, sir, that |
should have killed the man if had
fingered five minutes longer, Now,
what is to be done?'
The doctor advised his patient to
avoid temptation for few days, turn
his mind resolutely to something else,
and gave him 4 Scdative prescription
bromides, of cOurse-with instructions
to call again in 4 day or two. The
man was sensible enough to act on the
advice, and on the fourth day he
dropped in and told the doctor that the
trouble had passed off, and he felt like
himself once more. And 50 4 tragedy
was averted probably.
The physician went on to say that he
had no less than nine cases of homi-
cidal or suicidal impulse then under
treatment. OF these seven were sui
cidal, and the other two homicidal.
One of the latter had been on his
hands for three weeks. The patient, a
man of some note in literature, had
been slcepess for several weeks before
the impulse manifested itself. He was
q married man, and loved his wife de-
votedly One night, after doing few
minutes with terrible dreams, he awoke
with strange presentment of imend
ing disaster His wife was sleeping
quietly. The moonlight, struggling
through the window pane, fell upon her
face and white, shapely throat. As
sudden as the leap of tiger, the i'm
pulse seized him to cut the woman ;
throat, and he was actually out of bed
and hunting for his razor in the bureau
drawer, before any realizing sense Of
the enormity of the deed that he was
about to perpctrate interpoSed to
prevent the tragedy. He returned to
bed, and lay in = tremOle till daylight.
His wife never knew how near she had
oeen 10 uealh' lie h"u hau no WISH "
XIII ANYBODY e4se as YET -,
Oie OF my sulcIuI patents con-
tlnued tne DOCTOR was hT't Se e
WIN 'he impulse on bioOhIy Terry
ooat' lie hau Deeh across 'he river on
business ana was on ms way oach,
lie went on pOaro one ol the Oo"'S at
inc fuitoh rcITy' anu s'ooo gazing
ilstLesSly al 'he rampant o. business
houses extending lar 10 inc IIght on
turmah street Inc UoaV started sud-
denly as ne Sloou ru'nlha'ih9' he IN
sistS that the impulse h"u It's origin IN
irritation OF the ret'ha caused by the
movement OF the SuhShihe-iio3ded sur
races OF DrIcN across 'hG oPlic iIeId, ana
very Ikely ne was rlSht. 'for an In
stant' he says i was WiId; ana when
came 10 myseh my hahd was on the
ruling anu " coupe Vi sLai"nrI pas
sengero had collaFed me- had never
thoughU ol Such InlllT as committing
, Suic!oe except rs coward resource
, Now aodeo tne doctor' TINS man
was no more MAD IMAM am; 1t was a
typ!ca! case OF SulcioaI impulse caused,
, perhaps, by long nervous tension.
: In point or 1act' Ooth suicidal and
. | hOmiclual impulses appear 10 Ne faf