The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-02-01
NERVES OF MODERN MAN.

Their Weakness a Cause of Many Phy-
 sical Maladies and Failures.
 The managers of an Eastern railroad
 report singular case of accident oc-
 curing on their line, the engineer of a
 train running past a danger signal in
 plain view, seeing it clearly, and yet be-
 ing, as he himself expressed 1t, so ''fus-
 tered" that he was unable to act in time
 to prevent the collision which followed.
 When questioned by the medical ex-
 perts very shortly after the accident,
 the man seemed to be in a condition of
 nervous tension so great as to threaten
 serious consequences to himself; and,
 indeed not long afterward he was the
 victim of nervous collapse, from
 which, at latest advices, he had not en-
 tirely recovered. The officials and med
 ical authorities of the road, in the light
 of the information furnished by this
 case, expressed the opinion that many
 accidents with mysterious and hitherto unexplained features might possibly be
 due to causes similar if not identical
 with those in this instance, moTen- tary suspension, perhaps paralysis of nervous energy, and consequent inabil- ity to act with the promptness demand ed by the occasion.
 It is quite likely the conclusion is cor rect. Every one knows the weakly, ner- vous person who, when confronted by circumstances which require instant ac- tion is utterly unable to meet the emer- gency and, even with the best inten- tions, is absolutely incompetent to the physical exertion demanded by the oc- casion Such people are cursed with what they call weak nerves" they are startled at sudden or unexpected sounds; they become easily fatigued by unusual exertion, and quickly wearied at a sedentary occupation, and are to- tally united for any calling in which sudden draft is likely to be made on muscular, mental or nervous force. They often become. indeed, the victims of their nerves, and pass, by easy stages, from what is called nervousness to graver maladies involving the brain and nervous system. Fortunately for themselves, however, only in a com paratively small number of cases does the infirmity proceed thus far. Some times, by a change of surroundings or habits they return to a normal state of health; not infrequently throughout life they remain weak, in a semi-exhausted condition, misery to themselves and a all with whom they come in contact
 Even to the strong, however, as to the engineer already mentioned, there sometimes come moments when the nervous system seems utterly to fall in the performance of it's functions, and this fact may perhaps account not only for railroad accidents, but also for in- cidents inexplicable at the time to every beholder At the battle of Balaklava a l young lieutenant in a British regiment was seized with sudden fear at the mo- ment when the charge was ordered He refused to advance and threw himself | upon the ground in a paroxysm of l fright The occurrence was instantly l reported to the colonel, who contemptu- ously ordered the men to kick him up'' | The unfortunate man was stripped of | his arms and uniform and sent on board | a man. of-war to await a court martial | He would have been shot had there been l any danger of the spread of such an ex ample, but as there was none, he was simply cashiered, drummed out of the | camp and sent home in disgrace The incident blighted his life, for on his re- turn to England he was ostracised by all his former associates. When he knocked at the door of his fathers home his mother sent him word that she had no son. His father, more mer- ciful, granted him as mall allowance, with the bitter message that he would confer a favor on the family if he would go somewhere and quietly hang himself like dog. He took his fathers money but not the advice, though even tually his death was that of a suicide from drink
 This man was not by nature a cow ard. He had been in battle before and had acquitted himself creditably where winged death was flying on every side He was simply the victim of his nerves which failed at a critical moment, and placed him in such condition that even the contemptuous laughter and jeers of the soldiers under his com- mand availed naught to overcome the fright which paralyzed every faculty of mind and body Men have not, however, yet reached the point when a cowardly act can be excused by an alleged fail ure of the nervous system to perform it's functions. It is more than likely that such an excuse will never be re- neived from derelict soldiers. It is, per haps, as well that it should not be, for if there is any calling on earth in which q dilapidated nervous system is ruin 1us alike to effectiveness and reputation 1t is the profession of arms. Yet it is quite possible that more than one unex-