The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-01-17
A Senator's Curious Faculty.

"Talking about peculiarities of mems
minds, heard United States Senator
Beck, of Kentucky, tell queer story"
said gentleman to some friends, the
other night. 1--WE were all discussing
the same subject that is up now, when
Senator Beck remarked that he thought
8 peculiarity Of his brain had done him
q great deal of harm in his life. Il flint
noticed it, said the Senator, when I was
a boy going to school in Scotland. 7
had strict old teacher for tutor, and,
with number OF other boys, went to the
parsonage to be educated. One night I
was very sleepy, and still had o long Latin
lesson TO get of. tried hard TO learn
it; but almost before was aware I
would be dozing. At length read the
exercise through in alf:dreaming con.
dition, and with the Latin all in q jum.
bio in my head, / went to sleep. I
awoke the next morning with my brain
thoroughly clear, and, strange to say, sll
the antiquities of my difficult lesBon
were made plsin, and read the Latin
without q balk. The same thing hap.
pened second time, and again found
that when went to sleep With confused
idea of my lesson, learning It while hal!
doing, I svoke with all the knotted
points unraveled. It became ray custom
after that to read my task over Just be.
fore going to bed, and I never failed 70
have them in the morning. My strict
old tutor saw that never studied, and
thought one Of the other boys was help.
ing mo. At length he COVE me page
of Livy to translate, and told me If I did
not have it for him the next morning he
would fog me. Then he forbid any OF
the boys to come near mo and watched
my actions. read the lines as usual
before going to sleep. and sure enough
the next day I had them pat as YOU
please. He nsver troubled me after that.
Well, the year passed by, and began
TO put too much faith in It, and depended
almost entirely upon my mysterious help.
er. Some time ago O phrenologist came
to examine my family's heads, and they
went wild over him. paid no attention
to their talk, though my wife urged me
to give tae man a trial. One day, how.
ever, no met me, aud was 30 persistent
that at length / sat down to Elm. He
said that Re would examine nv head
for $3 and five me a char. for IS.
told him $3 vas all I would throw
away, and he began to name nv charac.
tsristics. j, At length ns said: "You have
one faculty that 10 fully developed. II
is spirituality. You haze that faculty
developed to q marked degree. You
would have made fina medium. Your
mind Is capable of working separate from
your body-that Is, it can perform men,
tai labor while the body is at rest and
knows nothing of It. You sometime.
solve difficuit problems while you ass
asleep, and wake up in the norrinie
without knowing that yon have been a
work" "Here Is. five. dollars, !" said +,
"a man who knows as much as you dt
deserves It." "My stfange faculty." eon
tinued Senator Beck, whether e. q
sspirituslity sof' hot. is growing weaker
mind during ltHsse abncsnsi M % spells. ii =
sec the lines and words before my mind'
eye, and, without knowing the process
or indeed, being aware of any process,
! work on tho problem. ~ C5urier Journal