, 1885-09-18
On HIountain Bs'ehts-Fasc'nAted by
Silciis-Auestfnck Curiosity.

Shcns-Auesttuck Curiosity.
ichica- - Ter d
Il The fascination OF terror has long
been o. served. A onion paper, The
pcetator, calls attention to Sc eral Pc
ouliar cases 4 gentleman who had
passed by a very wild Himalayan pass
INTO { ashmere told Mr.. Curran that he
WAS within an ace of pitching himself
headforemost into tho widest of the
gorges lie had skirted indie d
his mind had been cutie unset
tied by the mad impulse; but so
ar from des ring such an end to his
life which is what nero Indigestion
and its consequences might possibly
produce-he had lived throughout his
Quincy In deadly fear of beng unable
% resist the impulse to cast hi nselt
down. and his native servants evidently
thought that his mind had reen unset
led by his peril ow. how does a
mere paralysis OF the active powers ac-
count OF a mad impulse Of that sort to
do the very thing which you most
dread IL rescm les more the asserted
fascination OF the bird Tor the serpent
a fascination wlich makes it Nv into
the mouth OF its destroyer than it re-
sembles paralysis OF any sort.
ter.-aps a certain mou Of clue is
given to the di erence between tn par
alysis of terror and the morbid imoulses
gen rated ty terror, in Mr.. Curran ?
notation from lrinkwater " iege Of
i~braltar as to the fascination rro-
duced ly the shells on 20 ne OF those
who were in dan ger OF becoming vic
ii 5. " lieut.. owe" he says, lost
his leg by a shot on the slope of the hill
-. 80 IL ...~ - ~ H.
ore the fatal G ect. tut was fasciu-
aIed to the spot. This su lden arrest of
the faculties was lot IN o non. Soy
raj instances occurred TO my OBJ
ser a ion VIII n men utterly Tree haze
nlve had their s uses 80 engaged 10y q
she'll N its descent tfat. though sens BILE
o, their W danger, they have been i'm
Iuediately II ed to tde place. But what is
NOR remarkable, these men have so in
stantaleous y recovered themse YES on
us fall to the gronn rs to remove 10 a
place of sn ETY. tie ore the shell burst"
This last sentence seems TO us to sug-
gcst TINT when the solree of the fascin-
u icn is not merely u shock, tut what
W. may call the mag native contem-
plation Of the law Of the sho K. there
: a spell cast over the / nasinrtion as
me watches the career Of that which
arries death with tia spell which is
broken by any isihle terminal on TO
hat career. Hence the enect is very
ii erent where yon a see tho phe-
nomenon TO is close without a fatal re.
suit to yourself from what it is where
YOU cannot get quit of the conception
which possesses you without some fatal
Iced.
t appears that those soldi RS who
we're fascinated hy the flight OF the
shells got nit of the fascination the
moment they had watched tho shell to
earth. The attitude of expectation from
which they could not lioer To them
selves ii | they W tn complete result
ceased to hold possession Of then the
moment the shell touched ground, and
I en- once more they had all their fac
ulties about them. Well, does not this
suggest that the source of the morbid
feeling which leads men to pitch them
selves OF the hrink OF precipices is
y deep intelle tua al sorpt,on in the
idea of falling from that 'earful height,
an absorption which far from para y
ing them. really vi rates through their
body, ust as soms foolish rhyme will
sometimes vihrate throds n the lips and
tongue so that one cannot help repeat
ing it oil the most inappropriate acca-
sions.
1t wal not terror OF the consequences
Of the rxplo sion OF the 8 ell which para
ly ed the soldiers who were watching.
but the awful interests excited nv its
fight they could no more stop watch
ing till they saw eX ictly where it fell
than an eager archer could help watch
in 2 where his arrow should hit the tar.
get but this awestruck curiosity once
salts ell, the spell WIS broken and the
men were able to run for their lives.