The Press., 1897-03-11
A PRECIOUS ROGUE.
HE WAS ExcEEDlNGLY CLEVER IN
 FEIGNING EPILEPTIc FITS.

HE WAS EXCEEDINGLY CLEVER IN
 FEIGNING EPILEPTIc FITS.
 His Desperate Expedient to Maintain His
 Standing-C Carefully Watched by Ex-
 perts For a Long Time-FinalIy Betray-
 ed In Simple Manner.
 Dr. Robert Saffo-d Newton tells an interesting story of an impostor who successfully feigned epilepsy for a great number of years, in spite of the fact that he was watched by the most skill full neurologists.
 "How to feign epileptio fits forms 8 necessary part of the education of many criminals in Europe and America. In England, where it has been successfully worked for a great many years and is we'll known to the police, the feigning of epilepsy is called throwing of fits' and dummy chucking' It is invariably worked in threes, after this formula: Two men. evidently friends, are walk ing along the street, when suddenly one of them falls in an epileptic fit. The friend of the sick man pretends to be greatly worried and gives all of his at J0uGlOu GO bu0 ISSuSG1ldb1Ous enough, a crowd gathers around. The third man lifts pocketbooks and watch es and makes off with them.
 "There is one man whose career as @ feigner of epilepsy is most remarkable. This mans name was Craig, and my first knowledge of him was when was connected with the Whitechapel Road House hospital, the biggest hospital in England. It had been noticed that whenever Craig fell in fit in the streets of London, reports were sent in to the police of money and jewelry lost. He was more than suspected and was sent into the hospital, both to be treated and to be watched. This man was 8 perfect fraud, but he was so well up in his act- ing that though he was most carefully watched he escaped detection. He was 8 valuable man, but perhaps his pals feared that the London police had too close an eye on their movements. At all events Craig was next heard of in America. The old formula was repeated. He fell in fits, and valuables stolen were reported to the police. He was shifted around from hospital to hospital, and careful watch was kept upon him, both WO6u D0 was III OuS Ol (H0s0 AOS anu III the time of their intermission.
 Craig began to think that 8 coup de theatre WAS necessary to save his repu- tation. He was at this time confined in hospital and was in one of the upper wards in the front part of the building. There were doors that opened out on a balcony. This balcony was 3S feet from the ground, and at it's base there was a solid stone pavement. Epileptics are us- ually dull, stupid sort of people, even when not in fits, and Craig feigned this stupidity as 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 in a fit. The doctors had not discovered his fraud, but Craig felt more than uneasy at the way he was watched and suspected. One morning he got up from his chair, and, with dazed sort of look, at the same time putting his hands up to his head, he staggered toward the balcony and tumbled over backward-down, down, the full 38 feet ito the stone pavement below. When he was picked up, it was found that one of his wrists was broken and that he was 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 he was fraud or not. The thing work ed exactly as Craig had planned that it should, and in course of time he was discharged as a true but incurable cpl leptic. Once again on the outside, he worked successfully the old game of fits and pocket picking in threes. "Once more he was taken up and sent to the hospital. Here a 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 he had bitten in his convulsions, and there seemed nothing wanting in real epilep- sy. But this young doctor kept his vigil, and patience had it's reward.
 "One day, just as Craig was going through the preliminaries before falling -the looking dazed, the slowly attempt ing to fight off the coming spasms, the clinching of the 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 the case necessarily in true epilepsy-for the thumb, having the shorter muscle, must feel the contract. ing force first-Craig shut his hands with the fingers on the inside of the thumbs. The doctor gave him 8 gentle kick in the side and said: 'That'Il do, Craig. I've caught you. You are fraud. You've done your tricks we'll and for g long time but yOur time is m RVou had been 8 true epileptio or just little better read in medicine, you would have closed the fingers over the thumbs. Without 8 single protest Craig straight ened up and said, Well, knew it wal bound to come some time.'"
 "What became of the man?''
 'Oh, his talents found market. He was so we'll known, had been so writer up for the medical journals of both Eu rope and America, that the doctors hired him to go before medical students anG demonstrate to them how epilepsy could be feigned and also to explain how thess pretenders were taught in England anG elsewhere. To counterfeit the frothins at the mouth they used small piece o soap. If there was any danger of deteo tion, they could swallow both soap anC froth. With a little sharp knife stal could be given to the tongue which would simulate the biting of that mem Der. ''-New York Tribune.
 Rockers.
 As far back as the seventh century tn, venerable Bede wrote, "The women nov are SD luxurious that hey do have chair