Evening journal., 1892-02-25
HIS LEGACY or INSANITY
Field Alleged to Be Tainted
with Hereditary Madness.
THE FAMILY SKELETON EXPOSED


Is Not Responsible for His Acts-Hi
Idiotic vagariee Recounted.
New YORK, Feb 25.-The family skeleton
which has long been hidden in the closet o
the Field family was ruthlessly exposed il
court in order to show the jury that Ed
ward NJ. Field inherited insanity from tw,
generations back, and Is therefore a menta
wreck at the present time, totally incom
peteut to plead 20 the six separate charges
found against him by the grand jury
AS Bourke Cochran, quoting Dryden, said
'Great wit and madness are close allied, anC
their partitions do their bounds divides 90
from a family which was thus afflicted
came the great man who conceived the At
lantic cable, the eminent jurist, who Is al
honor 10 the profession, and the Rev Henry
NJ, who has reached the pinnacle Of fam,
as preacher. He reasoned that the hered
itary afiliction had bridged this generation
and appeared in the now one.
The Family skeleton.
Addressing the jury, Mr.. Cochran said
that it was with great reluctance that be
was obliged TO reveal family secrets. A
young scion Of a noble family was charged
with series Of misdeeds Of which he was
guiltiess, for he wss not in possession Of his
mental faculties when the alleged wrongs
were committed An awful legacy of in
sanity had been handed down from gener-
ations 70 the defendant and his unfortunate
sister Susan, who is now confined In q pri-
yate asylum, suffering with the same
species Of mania which has made itself APP
parent in the prisoner.
~ can prove that insanity showed itself
before the alleged irregularities were dis
covered, but let me take you back to the
ancestors OF the Field family and show you
by records that the affection was their curse.
"rhe father Of David Dudley, stephen,
Cyrus w. and Henry NJ. died an imbecile in
the Montpelier (Vt1 asylum. Lorenzo, an
uncle died in the same place Their father
"a Revolutionary captain-an their mother
died the same way IN an asylum. Their son
William and a daughter Ella jumped out Of
window while suffering from acute mania
Strange 70 say, ali these imbeciles refused 10
eat and It win be remembered that this
queer notion characterized the actions Of
the defendant here for a long time. Jona-
than Field, another Of his ancestors, wes in
sane, and Curtis c. Field, son Of Lorenzo,
CollAlttt0 SUICIDE Wnlle insane.
The Legacy OF Insanity.
Long before Edward M. Field showed
symptoms Of failing mind Il was found
necessary to ncarcerate his sister Susan. a
beautiful and talented young woman who.
while insane, wrote Palermo an idyl OF
Sicily, and Castles in SPAIN two novels
which have made money for her and her
publishers Now, 70 this long line of victims
70 hereditary insanity comes the prisoner at
the bar This legacy Of insanity might have
bridged over him and his children had it
not been for an unfortunate accident which
befell him in his boyhood He was out
horseback riding with some friends ia this
city and in an unguarded moment was
thrown from the animal, striking on his
hoao en the pavement. He was picked up
unconscious. When he subsequently re-
coye-ai his physician told his parents that
4 WQe not be advisable to send him back
To sclt d and recommended that he be put
on farm Ia the country until he had
reached a mature age.
''One day while out driving with a party
Of college chums and some young ladies',
among whom was his present wife, Clara
Llndley, be fell back from his seat and be-
came unconscious. When resuscitated he
complained Of pains in his head and for three
weeks he was under the care Of a Pittsheld
physician. The physician said he would
eventually become lunatic, but the young
woman would not believe It and married him
He has made her q good husband con
tlnued Mr. Cochran, 'and, like a faithful
sac who discovered his rapidly
.-ag mental condition and called others
INTO consultation, who recommended an as
ri url4ft4 lIt.a 90
ment was made did any one discover that
there had been Irregularities in his business
transactions
'foT eighteen months previous to this as
Segment, not Ms Field alone, but Others
OF his friends noticed peculiarities in the
prisoners manner which made them anx-
ious. Mrs Field thought the apparent ir-
rational visitation would pass off a. it had
done before, and she nursed and tended him
day and night
Imagined Himself a Horse.
"One night she was awakened from her
bed BY peculiar noises IN her room and after
striking match, found her husband walk
ms about the room on al fours He thought
be was a horse and insisted on being CON
adereo IS such until she dissuaded him Of
the fancy. A few weeks before the failure
- ~-.'-- N+A-NNA ~ AAo WIG hNht no intended
to take q trip around the world in his little
yacht, and then she knew be was insane.
Evidences Of Lunacy.
Mr.. Cochran described the extraordinary
excitement under which the defendant Ia
bored inst prior 70 bis collapse. For Six
months be acted strangely, and when spoken
70 by his wife would burst into tears and
lob like a child
THE aim Of this i-1niry,H Mr.. Cochran
aid, twas not 10 give the defendant ALSO
ution nor to take him out Of the range Of
rial when be should regain his mental
faculties and be able 10 plead understand
mgly i was to show by a chain Of circum-
stances, running back TO bis childhood days
hat be inherited his present malady. and
vas not in a mental condition TO direct his
defense
Then Ms. Field was called 10 the stand
ND IN answer to the questions OF Mr.. Cock.
an repeated the story already told by coun-
VEL She was clear and precise IN her state
nente During all her examination her az
hcted husband never moved from the posi-
non he had assumed when DO was brought
INTO court
Hog Eaten Corpse.
CITY PoIET, Va, Feb. 8. The body az n