The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-09-10

1t was most extraordinary affair.
Mrs. Jackson was one of the best ma
tured women to be found. She was
loving wife and mother, and to all ap-
pearances lived very happily in her
home; you would not have imagined
that she had an evil thought against
anyone; but one night she committed
a murderous assault on her inoffensive
husband. They were sitting together,
1t seems, toward 10 o'clock, when sud
denly and Unexpectedly she sprang at
her husband and with the poker dealt
him heavy blow on the head. He
dropped like stone, and Mrs. Jackson,
at once realizing the horror of what
she had done, ran out into the road and
called wildly for assistance. Assistance
was quickly forthcoming, and Jackson
was carried up to bed. He was I'M
conscious, but toward morning he re-
covered, and 1t was found that he had
not been seriously hurt. Stunned he
certainly had been, but he was a hard
headed man, and permanent injury did
not seem to have been done to him.
Indeed, Mrs. Jackson's case was far
worse than his. She was distracted
with grief. Questions were put to
her, but she could not explain why
she had done what she had. A brain
specialist was called In. He looked
very wise and did many foolish little
things which he called tests. He stared
at Mrs Jackson, waved his hands at
her, and made silly remarks. In the
end he declared Mrs. Jackson to be
perfectly sane. She seemed to him to
be common-sense woman without a
trace Of hysteria, and he could offer no
explanation of the sudden fury which
had caused her to fly at her devoted
husband. The doctor advised that she
should go away from her husband and
children for g. few months. All that
she wanted was change of air. And
Mrs. Jackson went, under the care Of
her sister, and left Jackson disconso-
late.
II can't think why she did IT." he
cried; 1--WE are so devoted to each 9TH
er. A better woman never lived"
Nor could any of us think why she
had done it. According to the doctor,
she was sane. but, If not mad, why had
she fiercely assaulted the husband she
adored2 We discussed 1t over and
over again, not In mere gossip, but in
grave debate in our ethical society," It
seemed q matter which lent itself to
discussion from the ethical standpoint.
We went very deeply into the question
and propounded many most elegant
theories. The discussion lasted through
four meetings, and then Jack Hind de-
clared that in flash, he saw the
whole truth Of the matter laid out like
map before him.
"Tll give you a practical demonstra-
ton of exactly what happened" he
cried.
Certainly" we said; edo, old chap"
Anybody here with false teeth?" he
asked.
Sure to be, but you can't borrow
the teeth"
II want the man as well as the
teeth. Will he kindly step forward~
Old Smith stepped forward. He had
false teeth, he said. He did not know
what Hind wanted him for, but for
the benefit of the company he was
ready to lend himself to the demon
stration, If a person with false teeth
really were needed.
Eyes, you are the very person we
want said Hind. "Sit down at the
table, please"
Smith sat down and Hind borrowed
pack Of cards from some one or
other.
NOW, don't talk" he said to Smith.
Just sit still and play Patience and
think"
but, look here" Smith began, IT
really don't see"
Never mind. You will. Think it
out as you play Patience. The harder
you think the better it will be for the
demonstration
Hind then had the lights lowered
little, and the room became decidedly
gloomy.
"The Jacksons' rooms are wretched-
ly lighted" he explained.
Old Smith began to play the demon
thirteen, and we sat round in a circle
and watched. An irritable mood SEEM
ed to possess us, and we fidgeted a
great deal. do not know what was
in the air, but / began to dislike old
Smith, sitting serenely In the center
Of us. The noise Of the cards, slight
as 1t was, annoyed me; 1t was whis-
pered flick-fack which got on the
nerves. And whenever he shuff1ed the
pack, Smith looked up and champed
his teeth. It was a hateful sound; 1t
was as though you listened to him
swallowing his thoughts. He cast
vacant look around the room, ana
probably dropped a card or two on the
floor. To pick these UP, he would bend
to one side in his chair and grope with
his hand on the carpet You heard his
ribs CRATE over one another as he did
this, and all the while he would champ
and champ and champ, and every
champ was thought. You could al
most tell what he was thinking. At
any rate you could distinguish between
the questioning thought and the an
swering thought.
When he asked his mind question,
he dragged his teeth down from his
palateI when be ansWerad himself the