Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1898-08-16

sibIe that l mignt gain ner cunHuence.
Now. then, miss. said |. have no
hesitation in speaking to me, and re.
member two thiugs-iirst, that tho
oniidrnces imposed upon u physician
are as sacred as the secrets OF the
priests confessional, and, second, that
il my advice is TO be Of any value to
you il will be- necessary for you to be
perfectly frank with me. You must
withhold nothing Tell me the symp'
toms OF your father disease::'
oh, don't knowl don't know
what ails him, she replied. He was
always SO coed, so kind. but now
She stopped abruptly and, turning her
eyes away from mine. sat gazing at n
picture OH the farther wall for some
seconds. remained silent, proferring,
now that she had begun that she should
continue u, her own volition. Presently
she asked abruptly;
"'Tell me, doctor. can an honest man
suddenly become thief
~ should think il highly improba-
BILE. replied, except OF course where
there might be mental disturbance.
There is such thing. you know. as
kleptomania.
She answered me quickly:
".Ah! You have said it-kleptoma.
mia. That is what l wish to know
about What is kleptomania? How do
you distinguish between the kleptoma'
MAC and the common thief?
"Now that she was fairly launched
upon her subject her manner changed.
Her vacillation gave way to q direct
ness Of speech and close attention TO my
words which showed me that she was
deeply stirred and that our topic was OF
immense interest to her.
1.-The thief, said I, is morally
depraved individual, abnormally selfish.
who cares nothing for the rights OF 9TH
ers where they conflict with the satisfac'
tion Of his own desires, and who, there
fore. does not hesitate to appropriate to
himself the property Of his neighbors,
except as his act might imperil his lib
erty.'
| thief. Now describe q kleptomaniac.
"a kleptumaniac, said l, has n
mania for appropriating property. de
| also is oblivious of the rights OF Others,
| but he is not selfish. He steals regard.
| less Of the value or usefulness Of the
articles taken. and he is equally un-
mindful of the danger of incurring pun
| ishment. except in some extreme forms
Of the dementia, where the element OF
cunning is d factor. Here the desire TO
steal is allied to sort Of pleasure In
avoiding detection. Ii is this class OF
cases which Is hardest to separate from
the regular thief; yet the mania, as
have said, is more aggravated and there
fore more genuine. II the man happens
to be wealthy and steals let us say, bits
OF old junk, il would be easy to pro
nounce upon his diseased condition.
even though he carefully planned to
avoid detection. But should he be poor
and steal something Of value only
close study Of the case by skillful
| physician and careful observer could be
depended upon decisively.
Suppose. doctor, said the young
lady thoughtfully. that the man COM
bined your two examples-that is to
say. suppose he were wealthy, that he
carefully avoided detection and that lac
| stole first many useless articles and then
| finally something Of great value, money
| let us say, in fact. thousands Of dollars'
| Would that man be-a-a-klepto
| mauiac-or-or-a thief-a thief with
method in his lnadness:'
1T was evident from the excited way
| in which she asked this question that
| at last We had reached the kernel OF the
nut. She was describing her father.
Wishing to divert her mind for mo-
ment, reminded her that she had not
told me her name, and she at once re-
vealed her identity. She was Miss Alice
| Milton, and her father was the well
| known merchant (The doctor here
mentioned the real name Of his visitor,
but it is too we'll known in New York
for me to use it, Therefore, as have
elsewhere explained. the name selected
is a substitlte.) He was SO wealthy that
| il seemed to me at once incredible that
he could be a thief. II he had been
stealing, then he must be klepto-
maniac yet in that case the matter vas
serious for il would mean that one Of
our most respected citizens Was de-
mented.
Miss Milton said !, you are not
giving me case which is entirely hypo-
thetical. You are speaking Of your fa-
ther. Therefore the matter is one of ex-
treme seriousness. Will it not be better
| for you to tell me all the details-all
lhe facts as far as you have observed
| ihem!'
81 will do 30. she replied firmly,
after you have answered my question.
Very well, said /. 4 think 1t Is
very rare for q kleptomaniac to appro-
pirate money. but at the same time we
cannot lay down fixed rules for the con-
duct Of persons whose minds are DIS
traught. While the stes ling of t.,sh ia
O sign oi kleptomania, il does not fol-
low that he who appropriates q large
sum Of money is necessarily a thief. He
might take money as he would waste
paper, not knowing its value.
"'You are very kind, doctor, said
she, bot you must not try to comfort
me. You must decide In this case dis
passionately II my father is demented,
you must prove 1t to me and then give
him your best treatment. But if-if he
is thief, why. then-then-l want to
know il.
"'I assure you will do everything
in my power for your father, said l.
Tell me about the money. How much
| was the amount which You suppose he
has takenl'
Forty thousand dollars. ssid Miss
Milton. And he did not suppose IL to
be waste paper either. doctor. But
there. ought 10 tell Jon the story from
the beginning 10 the unfortunate end.
Up 70 two wears aso when nv mother