The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1885-03-26
DHLUelONs OF THE DAFT.

DrLusloNs OF THE DAFT.
vo.s Queer Cases Of People Cracked in tn,
Upper Story.
"1llusional insanity! Why, certain
y there IL such q thing" said DR.. D.
ID. Richardson yesterday. ''Nothinq
more certain. And no species If in.
sanity is moro easily or more common:
" feigned. At the same time the sub.
1ects of that variety of mania are often
the most difficult to prove insane.
remember the case of a man named
Frank Devlin who was brought to me.
DIS family assured me he was insane.
l had him in my charge for several
days. but failed to discover his weak
point until one day his son, think it
was. came to me and told mo that
Devlin had invented an Internal ma
chine with which he hoped to blow
up the house in which an Objectionable
neighbor lived.
Nov, this neighbor lived in the
same house as Devlin did and was his
own ledger. l questioned him about
this story. He told that the neighbor
was In conspiracy with his (Devlin's)
wife. and then when he paid her for
his weekly board she give it back,
and so robbed her husband. Mrs.
Devlin was quite an old woman and
was held in good estimation among
the neighbOrs. but they could none Of
them believe in Devlin's insanity.
."Consequently their Indignation at
his confinement became 50 trouble
some to her that she took him home.
He had not been home a week when
one evening the lodger was shutting
up the shutter. and Devlin, who was
sitting on the steps, drew pistol and
shot him through the heart. When
his trial came oil l had to testify. He
called me to the dock and whispered:
"'Now, don't you try to prove me
insane, because am not, you know
"'But they will hang you if l don't. ,
oh no they won't; it was neces-
sary to rid the earth of such man;
they won't hang me-
"Well, he was found insane, of
course. and was sent, think, to Nor
ristown. To show how this kind OF
insanity may be feigned, the case of
Solomon Squircs will do for an exam
pie. He followed his wife to church,
and shot her in the back. Insanity
was set up as plea, but he was SEN
fenced to death. While awaiting the
execution of his sentence, his friends
did all they could to procure a COM
mutation. In the meantime he pre-
tended to be suffering from melan-
cholia. refused TODD, read his Bible
from morning till night, and went
through all the usual symptoms. His
sentence was committed. On the day
that this news was brought to him he
was sitting in corner of his cell
reading, when the warden said:
'Squires, your sentence is COM
muted.'
He jumped up flung the Bible to
the other end of the cell and danced a
jig with delight.
I'D sooner spend two lives in 3
penitentiary.' he cried, than be hang
''Emotional insanity is a common
cause of murder. l remember case
OF man named Thayer. He had
been three times confined for mania-
a-potu and was an habitual drunkard.
For this reason his wife left him and
went to live with her brother. One
evening Thayer went to the house,
asked her if she would return to him,
and on receiving reply in tho neg
ative, shot her through the head. He
was dazed and stupid when taken to
the police station, and showed nc
consciousness of having committed a
crime. His former employer was a,
tlrst much incensed against him, as
were indeed the whole public.
before he was brought up for trial,
however, his employer. who had re.
Elected on the case, and in cons der.
alton OF former services. and rcmem.
boring many little occasions when his
actions had suggested somo brain dis.
order, decided to procure the best
counsel possible to defend him.
II was witness. The prisoner was
found insane ard acquitted. His old
employer did all he could for him,
sent him to Cuba and found work for
him there. But he was of no use; his
brain was quite gone. After while
he found his way to Boston, where
he died of dementia in hospital.
SOLITARY confinement and the dark
cell! Yes, sometimes it is produ: tive
of insanity, but in how many instan-
ces does the insanity exist before the
criminal is confined? That is where
the difficulty exists in making dag.
nosis for jury. A physician may be
perfectly convinced of the insanity OF
the criminal, but the absence of proof
renders him incapable of convincing
the jury.
1.-The causes of insanity are varied
and the origin of the causes are equal
~ varied and obscure. A genuine lu-
natic does not like to be thought one.
but caref1 ii questioning and patient
observation will discover the weak
place IN nine cases out of ten.
''ln the tenth case the cleverest and
most skillful observer is often baffled,
until by some accident frequently the
patient develops the necessary symp.
tom which goes to prove the wanting
element in his or her mental organ. -
Hiladelp@ia Times.
John Z. Emo, Jr.
In speaking of the absconders from
New York now in Canada, the Post
Dispatch says:
John C. Emo heads the list. He is
living at Quebec. The house he rents
is large and the situation delightful.
1t is two miles and a half from the
Postoffice. The rent he pays-nearly
$4,000 years.. for Quebec, enor-
nous. This means, proportionately,
about $4,000 or $4,000 per year in
New York. Rents are very low in old
Rock City, and Eno's house at Beau