The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1884-01-17
Senator BeCk'S Faculty.

Talking about peculiaritics of mems
minds, l heard Senator Beck tell q
queer story the other day." said a
gentleman to some friends, the other
night. "We were all discussing the
same subject that is up now, when
Senator Beck remarked that he thought
a peculiarity of his brain had done him
a great deal of harm in his life. Il
first noticed it, said the senator, when
was boy going to school in Scotland.
1 had strict old preacher for a tutor,
and, with number of other boys,
went to the parsonage to be educated.
One night l was very sleepy, and still
had long Latin lesson to get off. l
tried hard to learn it; but almost be-
fore l was .aware | would be doing.
At length 1 read the exercise through
in half-dreaming condition, and with
the Latin all a jumble in my head, l
went to sleep. l awoke the next morn
ing with my brain thoroughly clear,
and, strange to say, all the ambigui-
ties of my difficult lesson were made
plain, and | read the latin without a
balk. .n,'he same thing happened a
second time, and l again found that
when 1 went to bed with a confused
idea of my lesson, learning it while
half doing awoke with all the knitted
points unraveled. 1t became my custom
after that to read my tasks over just
before going to bed, and l never failed
to have them in the morning. My
strict old tutor saw that never
studied, and thought one of the other
boys was helping me. At length he gave
me page of Livy to translate, and
told me if did not have it for him the
next morning he would flog me. He
then forbid any of the boys to come
near me and watched my actions. l
read the lines as usual before going to
sleep, and sure enough the next day |
had them pat rs you please. He never
troubled me after that. Well, the
years passed by, and found my faculty
still clinging to me, till | began to put
too much faith in it and depended al
most entirely upon my mysterious
helper. Some time ago phrenoiogist
came to examine my family's heads,
and they all went wild over him. l
paid no attention to their talk, though
my wife urged me to give the man a
trial. One day, however, he met me,
and was so persistent that at length
sat down to him. He said that he
would examine my head for S., and
give me chart for So. told him SO
was all / would throw away, and he
began to name characteristics. AT
length he said: You have one faculty
that is fully developed. 1t is spirituali-
ty. You nave that faculty developed
to marked degree. You would have
made a fine medium. Your mind is
capable of working separate from your
body-that is, it can perform mental
labor when the body is ut rest and
knows nothing of it. You sometimes
solve difficult problems while you are
asleep, and wake up in the morning
without knowing that you have been at
work" Here is $5,' said /; ga man
who knows as much as you do deserves
it. My strange faculty, continued
Senator Beck, whether it is spirituali-
ty or not. is growing weaker. | can
hardly explain the action of my mind
during these abnormal spells. see the
lines and words before my minds eye,
and without knowing the process, or,
indeed, being aware of any process,
work on the problem.
You remember John Sherman
anecdote of Beck" continued the gen.
tleman. Beck was working day and
night on the tariff bill, when a mem
Der wondered how he got rest. 'Oh, "
said Senator Sherman, who was pre-
sent, Beck rests himself when he
makes a speech! A man who can work
when he should rest himself may be
pardoned if he rests when he should
work. ."-LoujSUjLle Courier Journal.