Evening journal., 1897-09-23
Like PoE's BLACK cAT.

The most extraordinary feature Of
the Guldensuppe murder, which Will bel
brought out before the Queens county,
N. Y, grand jury. as it gets into the
evidence about to be presented to It.
bears on the point Of striking resem-
blance between this case and that OF
the murder told OF In Poe'S story of
''The Black Cat" The Iont is that OF
the insanity OF crime which leads the
most cunning murderer to betray him
self as a result OF his own cunning.
The murderer Of Guldensuppe, after
taking the utmost pains in concealing
the crime, after dismembeIing the
body and concealing all signs of it's
identity, after so distributing the sew
eral parts Of the body that the head hae
never yet been found, and after plan
ming every detail of the crime and it's
concealment with consummate cum
ming, was so wrought up by his own
mental activity that he could not avoid
betraying himself by confession. This
is feature of nearly all carefully-pre-
meditated crimes. The mind, under the
strain of planning them, is raised to
such a height of excitement that it can
no longer exercise its powers of judg-
ment, and the same set of faculties
which were concerned in making the
plans work mechanically to reveal
them Poe took hold on this subtle fact
to work out one of its most horrible
stories-that OF "The Black Cat"
In Poe's weird tale man Of morbid
mind takes an intense aversion to q pet
cat, Jet black animal, which is very
fond of him. Finally, in sheer flendish
cruelty, he takes out one Of the ami
mails eyes Afterwards he murders It
with every circumstance OF devilish-
ness-these details being given by Poe
to show the preliminary operations Of
the murderous mind The death of the
cat preys on him until finding another
almost exactly like II, he takes 1t for a
,V'per to show his repentance. This new
pet has a single white marking, and
his disordered fancy makes it take the
form Of a gallows. Every time he sees
the cat he fancies this marking is a
prophecy that he will be hanged. The
cats habit OF fawning on him fills him
with disgust and terror. He finally en-
tices the animal into the cellar and is
about to murder it when his wife in
terferes. The cat escapes and the mur-
derous blow intended for 1t falls on the
woman. He finds himself alone in the
cellar with the corpse of his wife and
the cats prophecy Of the gallows con-
fronting him. He now attains, how
ever, the same preternatural cunning
shown in the Guldensuppe case.
The body of the dead woman is care
fully bricked up in a cavity in the Gel
lar wall, the work being so skillfully
done that no sign whatever of it car
appear. When the officers Of the law
investigate the house he feels trim
phant in his security al
they search In the cellar. Aftei
they have given up the search as fruit
less he is seized by an irresistible i'm
pulse to boast of his work This lead'
him to strike the cellar wall directly
over the place where the corpse is wall
ed up and to call the attention OF tin
officers to the solidity with which thu
house is built. The blow on the wal
is followed by q most horrible shriel
from within. The officers at once breal
open the cavity and as they do so in'
the black cat seated on the head of tn
corpse The murderer had walled 1t u
in the cavity and its cry had reveale
his crime. Poe intends, of course, tha
the black cat shall stand for the seem
ing accident which in every such cas-
as that of Guldensuppe co-operateswit
the working Of the murderer's ow
mind to bring him TO Justice