Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1891-05-29
MONOMANIAC CRIMES.
CURIOUS CRIMINAL ACTS OF
DISEASED BRAINS.
Incendiarism, shopilfhng and AnOny-
nous Letters INDUCED In--Trag-
L. End of Girls Self.
nade Love Romance.

prominent pnySlcltn the Otner day.
Everybody has mental deficiency in
some one particular he continued,
although their minds may be perfect
ly sound in every other respect. Take
the case OF young Hugh &. Miller, for
instance, who confessed that he DELHI
erately set on fire Brooklyn tenement
house for no other reason than that he
had AN irresistible desire TO see Il big
blaze, and could not conveniently have
that desire satisfied without kindling
the fire himself, Here is n young man,
the son OF n wealthy farmer, well
educated, advantageously situated in
business, and we'll known and respect
ed in church and social circles, com
hitting a crime that is not only revolt
ing to all law-abiding citizens, but
punishable by term OF imprisonment
ranging anywhere from ten years 10
life. without the slightest possible ad-
vantage to himself Is he not do
mented? OF course he is; but only Oh
that one subject.
During tho past month alone, -"
continued the doctor, IL have read in
the newspapers OF at least dozen re-
spectacle women who were caught in
the act OF shop-lifting in some one OF
the large drygoods stores.
Zone of the most remarkable in
stances Of monomania that ever came
TO my attention was the case Of Mrs.
Emma Hudson, who diei not long ago
in Sing Sing Prison. She was called "a
kleptomaniac. and during her trial it
was conclusively proven that the wom-
an could no more Withstand the temp
tation to steal than can tho hungry
Withstand the temptation TO eat. Mrs.
Hudson was the widow OF respectable
physician. and moved in the best So
Getty. She was a church mombo1 and
constant attendant In fact, she was
a most exemplary woman in every re-
spect excepting her uncomfortable
desire TO steal
Not many years ago man reported
20 the police that he was In receipt of
threatening anonymous letters A de-
tective took hold OF the case and wasted
q week before he discovered that the
man was writing the letters himself.
There was no reason why he should
no advantage to be- gained by the ap-
parent persecution. Yet the man
actually threatened his own life. ! have
no doubt that, had he not boon detected.
the affair would have ended by his COM
hitting suicide in such q manner rs
would have left the impression that he
had been murdered by mis- unknown
enemy.
The story of the New York girl
whose mOnomania turned in tho di-
rection OF love was on every tongue
twenty years ago, and the affair ended
by the young woman in question be-
ing sent TO an insane asylum, where
she subsequently died raving
maniac. She was beautiful girl,
end quite belle among the young
men of the circle in which she moved.
She confidcd TO her friends one day
thst she had been sought in marriage
by the younger son OF an English
lord, and most ingenius and
romantic story did she tell OF the cir
cumstances that led uO TO the pro-
posal. The young Englishman, ac-
cording TO her, had spent few years
in America, whore he went under an
assumed name. II was during this
period that he first met the girl, and n
teader feeling sprang up between
them. The young man returned to
England without revealing his identity,
aud after no got home wrote back,
telling the story of his life. and asking
her hand in marriage.
THE girl showed this letter TO her
friends, and acting on their advice
after the circumstances had boon ex-
planned. accepted the young foreign
er's hand. In due time an engage
ment ring came. tender messages OF
love passed across tho ocean, and the
date was set for the wedding The
bridesmaids were selected, the wedding
trousseau bought, and paragraphs
were even printed in the newspapers
commenting on the grandeur of the
coming event But as the day APP
preached, letter came from Europe
stating that the young mans father.
Lord ---. had died suddenly. and
the ceremony had to be postponed.
1.-THE disappointed bride bore up
wonderfully well, and another date was
set for the wedding and cablegram
came one day announcing that the
young man had sailed. Two days
later another cablegram came, signed
by n strange name, saying that the ex-
pected groom had fallen overheard
and been drown ed.
ION receipt of this intelligence the
girl went into Mysteries, and after a
long illness was sent to an asylum. She
never recovered her reason. Her
friends, curious 10 learn something
more about the tragic death of the
young Englishman. made IN investiga-
ton, and learned to tholr dsmay that
no such person ever existed. I'm
questionable evidence was produced
that the unfortunate girl had manu-
featured the entire romance, and that
she herself had conducted both ends Of
the correspondence, and had written
the cablegrams on sending blank.
Here" said the doctor in conclu-
sion, "you have an illustration OF the
danger OF monomania. Whom the I'M
fcrt,,pofo cri ri hoor,n IN v,t.itc thooa