Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1902-02-06

nile are cursed with what they call
weak nerves." they are startled at
sudden or unexpected sounds they
become easily fatigued by unusual ex-
ertioa. and quickly wearied at a
sedeptary occupation, and are totally
untitled for any calling in which a
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 nervous
ness to graver maladies involving the
brain and nervous system. For
tunately for themselves, however, only
in a comparatively small number OF
cases does the infirmity proceed thus
far. Sometimes, by a change of sur
roundings or habits, they return to
normal state of health; not infrequent
ly throughout life they remain weak,
in semi-exhausted condition,
misery to themselves and source OF
annoyance and irritation to all with
whom they come in contact.
Even to the strong, however, as 10
the engineer already mentioned, there
sometimes come moments when the
nervous system seems utterly to fail
in the performance of its functions,
and this fact may perhaps account
not only for railroad accidents, but
also for incidents inexplicable at the
time to every beholder. At the bat
tie of Balaklava a young lieutenant in
British regiment was seized with
sudden fear at the moment when the
charge was ordered. He refused to
advance and threw himself upon the
ground in a paroxysm of fright. The
occurrence was instantly reported to
the colonel, who contemptuously or
dered 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 any danger of the spread of such
an example, but as there was none, he
was simply cashiered drummed out
of the camp and sent home in dis
grace. The incident blighted his life.
for on his return 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 merciful, granted him a small
allowance, with the bitter message
that he would go somewhere and
quietly hang himself like a dog. He
took his fathers money, but not the
advice, though eventually his death
was that of a suicide from drink.
This man was not by nature a
coward. He had been in battle before
and had acquitted himself credibly
where winged death was flying on
every side. He was simply the victim
of his nerves, which failed at a criti-
cal moment and placed him in such a
condition that even the contemptuous
laughter and jeers of the soldiers IN
der his command 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 ex-
cused by an alleged failure Of the
nervous system to perform its func-
tons. 1t is more than likely that
such an excuse will never be received
from derelict soldiers. 1t is perhaps.
as well that it should not be-, for if
there is any calling on earth in which
dilapidated nervous system is ruin
GUS alike to effectiveness and raruta
ton it is the profession OF arms.
Yet it is quite possible that more than
one unexplained disaster or unantici-
pated defeat was due to causes SINH
lar to those which made a momentary
coward of the young lieutenant at
Balaklaya-St. Louis Globe Demo
crat