Sunday Washington globe., 1902-01-19
DENNIS MYSTERY
Restored to Consciousness the
Lady Is Unable to Give Clue.
HER REMARKABLE VITALITY
Which Has Pulled Her Through im
Her Splendid Fought Battle With
Death-The ''Globe's" Analysts Of
the Assault and the Sociological
Aspect OF the Case as Regards
Crime and Criminals

AS the GLOBE aloue predicted at the time
the recovery Of Mrs. Dennis mental facul-
ties throws no light on the mystery of her
murderous assault Early the past week
she regaiued consciousness from the semi
comatose condition which she has been
in since the hour in which she was found
in her bedroom welteriug in her blood.
Never has a more remarkable recovery
been chroncled than the case of Mrs. Den
mis- And never has greater vitality been
exhibited by man or woman. The evidence
of her correct. temperate and virtuous Hle
has been made manifest in this splendid
battle she has so successfully fought with
death
REVENGE alone is the motive and no
other which nerved the cowards arm that
struck this sleeping woman. Neither rob
berry nor other motive animated the muir
derous would-be assassin. When Mrs Dem
mis- will have sufficient physical and mental
strength to go aver retrospective.y her life,
she may find in her list Of acquaintauces
one against whom the finger of suspicion
can be pointed at with some probability Of
certainty. Aud yet il is more than possible
she may not be able to recall any person
who owed her such deadly malice as 10 at
tempt her murder while she slept For il
is one of the mysteries Of human nature
that people whom we regard as our friends
are in reality our enemies, and others whom
we are conscious regard us with indiifer-
ence, either owe US a mortal spite OF are
secretly our friends and we'll wishers.
Hence the difficulty Of settling on the right
person which will and must confront the
retrospective speculations Of Mrs. Dennis.
It is certainly a most marvellous mystery,
in which neither clue nor motive has with
any certainty been discovered by the astutest
minds. Men trained by their profession to
pursue ia ccid blooded and sven tem-
pered way the usual and ordinary roads
leading up to the detection of the criminal
are as bafled and mystifed as the average
citizen. And IL is neither a reproach to
their intelligence nor their detective train
ing that they have failed so far to solve
this mystery. In every city, and at all
periods of time, similar mysteries remain
unsolved, where crime has been committed
and the perpetrators remain undiscovered
And it will always be so. Students of
human nature are only loo we'll aware that
the Dr. Jekylls and Mr.. Hydes types of
humanity are no fancy or idealist pen pic
NAANos nv ~@Ni'N al PtbbeAbA1 NNNAg oAlNEA
of the nations capital, as well as in, every
city and community of human beings
These types of criminals battle not only
the police, but human understanding.
They are even a mystery to themselves and
their dual natures are as incomprehensible
to the possessors of such as they are un.
suspected By even their nearest friends
and acquaintances They rarely leave
clue or a trail by which they are unmasked
or detected
Indeed, it is no uncommon thing for these
types to be in all sincerity and reality more
shocked at the crime they have perpetrated
than the community in which it has oc.
curred
Why may it not be an individual of this
type who assaulted Mrs Dennis while de-
humanized and possessed Of the devil7 In
sleep we have dreams which to the dreamer
are realities for the time being, and the ex-
aggerations which usually accompany them
are not satisfactorily If scientifically ex-
planned. II is thus that the abnormal and
dual natured, endowed or afflicted criminal
in some such spirit conceives a hatred
deadly and murderous in his or her Hyde
condition which never appears. or is but a
trifing dislike in the normal or Dr. Jekyll
daily state of existence. This will explain
the numberless cases Of Crime uudiscov-
cred" for which police authorities and de-
tective bureaus are censured and con-
demned.
They are impossible of discovery or So
luton except by chance or accident which
we must only require our police to be on the
alert for A clue is liable to occur or develop
from the most triAing cause or little thing and
the experienced detective neglects no cir
cumstance, however trivial, which may lead
on to-victory. Hence the arrest the past
week Of Mrs. Dennis hired man or porter
on the babbling ofa colored girl. The de-
partment did perfectly right to run il down.
apparently absurd as it may have appeared
on its face If we are to await the detection
of the criminal until he erects mile stones
to his domicle we will never secure him.
Tie discharge from custody Of the porter
leaves no cloud or stain upon his character.
It Is the privilege of the police to suspect
and investigate any man or woman when a
crime has been committed aud their dis
cretion alone limits or governs the power
entrusted to them by society otherwise
criminals could ply their vocation with
impunity, for il is a notorious fact that
dangerous criminals look the least in the
world like the type the public has in its
mind eye Of the real article. Detectives
and men whose duties and vocation bring
them in contact with criminals know this
and hence their actions are sometimes nis-
construed, distorted, ridiculed or ceusured
by the uninformed and lay public and press.
In the Dennis mystery, the department
has worked faithfully energetically and
intelligently, and if il has been baf.
fed and its labors barren Of success
the lesson has nevertheless not been lost on