Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-04-24
CRAZY COMPROMISE

GAS a rule remarked the physician at
the foot of the dinner table. when 1t came
his turn to prescribe story for the list
eners at the feast, Il do not minister TO
minds diseased. though there are times
when I may have patient for short sea-
son whose mind needs healing. When such
a case does come into my hands / get it
into the care of a specialist just as soon
as 1 can, and so far there has been only
one patient whom 1 could not get rid of
until 1 had effected permanent cure"
The listeners looked their surprise, for the
talker had no reputation whatever in that
line nor did he seek it.
I'm this case" he continued without i'm
mediate explanation, II presume 1 would
have done as usual had 1t not been for the
very unexpected development of the dis
ease. The patient was a friend of mine,
man of about fifty years, whose strength
was much more muscular than mental. and
when he broke from over exertion he broke
In the mind. At first there was only the
merest sign, and I felt that it would be
cruel to throw him into an asylum for the
to show that my Judgment might be at
fault. so 1 concluded to wait week or two.
Two days after this conclusion I called
on him and found him unusually bright
and cheerful, albeit it was rather @ ner-
vous than a natural cheerfulness, though
paid 70 particular attention to that. 1
talked along with him as always did and
when 1 was about to go he quietly asked
me to come with him to an annex OF his
house. where he had recently fitted I'D a
handsome new billiard room, which he
wished me to see. The room was quite re-
mote from the living parts of the house
and when we had entered and had admired
1t for few moments he locked the door and
began acting in a manner which made me
feel any and all ways except comfortable.
seeing that was absolutely in his power
physically, / felt that and I think
1t must have strengthened my mental
power, for seemed to feel that if a con-
Met arose between US I would come Off
conqueror. unless he killed me at once and
before had an opportunity to use nv in
fuence upon him.
"As with insane people under such cir
cumstances the first feeling he displayed
when he found he had me in his power
was delight and it was his laugh which
first startled me. Then he began talking
wildly OF what he had been studying in the
way OF thought transference and how he
was sure that the brains Of two or more
persons could be connected by a wire and
become as one brain with the combined
force Of them all If the connection were
thoroughly made by direct contact with
each brain. He continued his argument,
very learEedly. and at last informed me
that he had hoped to make his first expert
ment on r-cre than two persons, but that
troll had pl evented that, and in lieu of it he
would take himself and myself and by
those two prove his point without question.
AS ne reached this part of the program
holding it so I could cot get it from him.
ne showed me how he had fastened a wire
at one end to a bullet in the revolver and
had twisted the other end (the wire was
about three feet long, around a wooden
Eandle foot long, presumably to prevent
the wire from following the bullet The
plan as he explained very carefully to
me, was to shoot the bullet through the
test was to be made, and when the connec-
ton was fully made the two were 10 have
tho ught transference or transmittance to
the desired end.
I'm other words, it was a cold-blooded
Killing by a maniac. and I was 10 be a
party to 1t by being part Of it. He was
fcc carrying out the experiment al once,
and actually caught hold of me with a
clutch that 1 was powerless to resist. AMI
dragged me up to one side of him. Putting
his head alongside of mine, with mine to
the right of his, and the revolver in his
right hand, he was about to pull the trig-
ger, when / got my wits together sufficient
ly to ask some kind of a question that
stopped him for moment. You see. hal
been talking with him all along as if 1
quite agreed with his ideas, and that he
would soon have a discovery mad. which
would astonish the world. Now, when |
spoke he listened, though his eyes were
oancing and he was evidently getting
Voiver and releasing me, he asked me what
suggestion I had to make and 1 at once
urged upon him the greatest carefuIness
TO insure the highest success in his first
experiment. l showed him that as he was
about to perform it. to wit, with my head
between the revolver and his head there
was danger that his hand, held 80 far from
his body, would be less steady, and that
the bullet might be DETECTED and fail 20
enter the brain at the proper point and at
the proper angle. whereas. II he let me put
my head to the left side of his mead, so that
h..P nt111 hold
the right side Of his own, it was absolutely
impossible to make mistake. Thus the
bullet would pass through both brains on
a perfect line, carrying the wire with it
nection.
He was enormously pleased with nv
brllliant suggestion, and at once reversed
the original order, and after at least five
minutes OF changing my head so it would
MT to his just as he thought 1t should ne
pronounced ell to be in readiness, and then.
with especial care, he placed the revolver
to his temple and fired before really felt
that he was going to do it. The sensation
to me was most peculiar, and 1 distinctly
felt the jar of the shot, So distinctly in
fact was the bump of his head against
mine at the shock of the shot that mine
bounced away far enough to escape vio-
lent conclusion, which would have been
produced by the bullet, which for some
reason only came half way through the
bone of the skull on the left side 1 had
calculated on it coming clear through, AMI
had thought l would be able to escape it,
but If it had come through as had expect
ed am afraid. after all my valuable sug-
gestions to my patient and experimenter l
would have had case of bullet on the
brain almost as permanent in it's results
as his through the brain was.
1T killed him, of course, and l aided and
abetted the killing, but l explained the
entire thing to the family, and nothing
was ever done about it. as it was very
evidently case Of self-defense, and the
police haven't found it out yet, though
that was dozen years or more ago."
The BOstOnese of 1t,