Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1896-02-13

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have been thinking this over, and, if
so, you have some explanation to offer.
Would you mind telling it to me:"
Il should be glad to do so. AIr. Ran
| doIph spoke eagerly. In his heart he
was fond of his friend, and therefore
/ his theory was one which in a measure
would excuse him. He was delighted TO
| have the chance Of confiding his views
TO the detective. "You see, - he contin-
! ued, "it is one Of the most difficult
things in the world to say who is and
who is not perfectly sane. Some experts
! contend that nine-tenths Of the people
in the world are affected by mania in
| some form or other. l hold that any
man who makes a collection Of any
kind of things, using them for other
than their legitimate uses, is in meas
ure insane.
'Do you mean legally insane? That
| is to say, irresponsible:'
''As to responsibility, cannot say.
| But think such mania might tempt
a man to an illegal act. I must explain
my idea further. Postage stamps un-
| doubtedly have very important value.
| One who collects them after they have
been Cancelled, paying many times their
| face value for them, is in my opinion
| somewhat crazy, since he pays ficti-
tious price for what has no intrinsic
value.
"You might say the same thing of
| paintings. The intrinsic value repre-
sented in canvas and oil is little, yet
+h1,,go,,Ic &C la11arS ,,o;1 fC,. 1,if.-
| lures.
"That, too, is an insanity, one, of
course, which cannot be INDUCED in by
any save the rich. But it is not the
same as with the old stamp craze. Pic
lures remind us of nature and appeal to
the senses of all mankind by recalling
recollections brought into being by the
scene presented. There is therefore
legitimate use for paintings, and a rea-
sonable price as compensation for the
work and genius of the artist is perhaps
permissible. But should man pay
fortune for a single canvas and then
hang it in a room in his own house
where it will be seen by few save him
self, that man l should consider de-
mented. So with jewels
"Ahl What of them?''
"Jewels have a market value, and
place in the world. But when man
goes about buying up every magnificent
specimen that can be found, and then
locks his treasures up i'll a safe, he is
simply a crazy man pure and simple" "
"What has all this to do with the
case in hand?'
ffIV,rr-+I;,,,, F,,o ,ae
the subject of jewels. Sensible and en-
tertaining on any other topic, if you
mention the name of any kind of jewel
he is off in a minute, giving long his
tory of this or that celebrated stone
His especial craze in this connection is
to relate the crimes that have surround
ed every stone of any great price. He
has made my blood curdle at his ghast
ly tales Of cruel murder, committed to
gain possession of diamonds and rubies. F"
"Then your conclusion is that by fill
ing his mind with such thoughts he
may have accustomed himself TO the
idea of crime in connection with jew
els?'
Exactly. The worst of it is that we
may become habituated to anything.
For instance, all ordinary men are
abashed in the presence of the dead. No
matter how strong minded Il man may
be or how much he may scoff at the
idea of ghosts and the like, he will pre-
fer company if he must sit up with a
corpse. More than that, the slightest
sound in the room, as the moving of the
ice in the icebox, will cause a shiver to
pass through him. Yet physicians who
study frequently in the dissecting room
come to have that contempt of a dead
body that butcher has for the meat
which he sells. "
Your argument is not bad, Mr.. Ran
dolph. 1t is not impossible that your
friend might be generous and gentle
and yet with n mania for the possession
Of jewels, and with tho knowledge of
all the crimes that have been committed
to gain them, tho temptation TO kill or
steal would perhaps become overpower-
ing, where his passion sees an opportu-
nifty to be satisfied. 1t is an odd world. "
"Do you think that in a case Of that
kind the man would be excusable ON
the plea of mania? Legally, mean?'
"Well, no, do not Psychologically,
/ admit that you may be correct, and 1
can sympathize with man who became
a criminal in such a way. But legally
he would be culpable. At least think
so. The question to be answered is, Did
your friend steal those jewels? You
slept with him that night. What do you
think?''
II don't know what to think. He
could not have left the berth without
climbing over me, and, though l sleep
soundly, that ought to have awakened
me- Then besides. if he did get out and
take the things, where could he have
hidden them, and how did they get to
New Havenf By the way, | suppose
you have the description Of the man
who left the satchel at the hotel? Does
it tally with that Of my friend?'
II can't say. 1t is rather vague. The
clerk says the man was of medium size,
with red hair and beard, while the por-
ter who saw him also is equally posi-
tive that no had black hair and no
beard. The last fits Mr. Mitchell better
than the first, but it is n description
which would do rs well for 1 200 men
found in walk along Broadway"
Il almost think that after all the
thief is some one else.
Let us hope so, Mr.. Randolph. | |
will say this much, if there is any com
fort in it for you At present there is
not enough evidence against him to war
rant his arrest. "
The detective said this with pur-
pose. BY relieving this man IS mind no |
hoped TO make him more communicative. |
After a pause he asked
"You have known Mr., Mitchell for
number Of years, ] believer"
"No, not more than year and IA
half. He has not been in New York two |
years.
"Ohl I see. A Boston manT
mo, / think he came from New Or
leans. "
A curious sensation passed over Mr.. |
Barnes. There is "A superstitious belief, |
much esteemed by many, that a shud-
der or chill Of this character means that
some one is walking over the spot where
the person affected is to be buried.
Therefore an uucanny thought accom-
panies it, With Mr. Barnes it is differ
ent. He is free from all such notions,
yet iusonsibly he is moved when this
occurs to him, because it bas so often
happened that at the time he just hit
upon cIew Therefore he stopped to
consider All that Mr.. Randolph had