Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1897-02-11

perta Tor a Lons Tilsio=-E'il 'il1ssz1y BetFay@
 ed Tn simple Manner.
 Dr. Robert sagozd Newton tells an interesting story of an impostor who successfully feigned epilepsy for q great humber of years. il spite of the fact that be was watched by the most skill ful neurologists
 How to feign epileptie fits forms 6 necessary part Of tha education of many criminals in Europe and America. In England, whero 1t has been successfully worked for great many years and is well known to the police, the feigning of epilepsy is called throwing of fits and dummy ohueking It is invariably worked in threes, after this fofma1a: Two men, evidently friends. are walk ing along the street. when suddenly one of them falls in an epileptie ft. The friend of tho sick man pretends to be greatly worried and gives all of his at= tention to tho resuaeitation. Naturally enough, crowd gathers around. The third man lifts pooketbooks and watch es and makes off with them.
 There is one man whose career as a feigner of epilepsy is most remarkable. This mans name was Craig, and my first knowledge of him was when was connected with the Whiteohapel Road House hospital, the biggest hospital in England It had been noticed that whenever Craig fell in a fit in the streets of London, reports were sent in to the police of money and jeWelry lost H9 was more tlan suspected and WAS sent into the hospital. both to be treated and to Do watched. This man was perfect fraud, but he WAS so well up i'll his aot- Ing that though he was most carefully watched he escaped detection. He was valuable man, but perhaps bis pals feared that the London police had too close an eye on their movements. At all events GzaIg was next hoard of ln America. The old formula was repeated. He fell in flts, and yaluables stolen were reported to tho police, He was shifted around from hospital to hospital and careful watch was kept upon him, both when he was in one of theso fits and in the time of their intermigsion
 Craig began to think that coup de theatre was necessary to save bis repu- tation. He tfas ct this time confined in a hospital and was in one of tho upper wards in the front part Of the building. There were doors that opened out on a balcony RHis balcony was 38 feet from the ground. and at it's base there was q solid stone pavement. Epilepties are as= ually B dull stupid sort of people. even when not in fits, and Craig feigned this stupidity =aa well as the other symptoms of the disease. He was allowed to wan- der about the hospital pretty much as he pleased, and every once in awhile down he would fall ill fit. The doctors had not discovered bis fraud, but Craig felt more than uneasy at the way he was watched and suspected One morning ho got up from his chair, and, with 3 dazed sort of look, at the same time putting his hands up to his head, he staggered toward the balcony and tumbled over baokward-down, down, the full 88 feet ito the stone paveIac@5 below When he was picked up, it was found that one Ol ll1B Ni4Sbb " LsS D4OhOA 14A@A tltzO 4lG NtA otherwise hurt, though, wonderful to tell, not seriously. Of course this settled in the minds of the doctors the doubt that had previously existed as to whether ho was 8 fr.ad or not The thing work ed exactly as Craig had planned that it should, and ill course of timo he was discharged as q true but inourable cpl leptie. Once again on the outside, he worked successfully the old game of fits and pocket picking in threes.
 stOnco more he was taken up and sent to the hospital Hero 0 young doctor set for himself the task of watching this clever rogue. He had every symptom, He would froth at the mouth, blood would stream from his tongue that no had bitten in his eonvulsions, and there seemed nothing wanting in real opilep sy. But this young doctor kept his vigil, and patience had its reward.
 Tone day, just as Craig was going through the preliminaries before falling tho looking dazed, the slowly attempt ing to fight off the coming spasms, the elinehing of tho hands-the young doc tor who was watching him observed that, instead of closing the hands with the fingers over the thumbs as would have been tie ease necessarily ill true epilepsy-for the thumb, having the shorter muscle, must feel the contract ing force frst-Craig shut his hands with the fingers on the inside of the thumbs. The doctor gave him gentle kick in tho eide and said: That Il do Craig. I've caught you. Yon are fraud. You vo done your tricks well and for a long time, but your time is up, If you had been 8 true epileptie or just little better read in medicine, you would have closed the fingers over tho thumbs.
 Without single protest Craig straight ened up and said, We'll, l knew it was bound to come some time. '
 "What became of the men?'
 aOh, his talents found market. Ho was so well known, had been so written up for the 4eaieal journals of both Eu. rope and A4aeriea, that the doctors hired bi,, to m hefore medical students and