Perth Amboy evening news., 1904-09-14
Woodbridge ;
34q
STRANGE DELUSION.
The People Of the Entire Village
Suffering from a HaIIucinatiOn.

We are told by a certain teacher of re-
nown, that there is no such thing, as sick
ness..or.- suffering. II anyone claims to be
afflicted with disease he should be in
formed that he has no such thing that his
pains are purely Of the imagination, that
he is all right il he will only believe so.
A few days since the people of Wood
bridge thought they were great sufferers.
So much was said about it that this
paper published an account of their suf-
ferings and the cause thereof. Last
weeks issue OF a local newspaper, as
Stunning the character of the above men
toned teacher Of renown, tells its readers
that they are the victims of a curious
hallucination. That their imaginations
had played them a trick. That they were
really in possession of all their goods,
chattels, live stock, chickens and farm
produce, which they thought some
wicked persons had taken from them.
That. IL they made use of a little sober
thought they might go to the hennery
and find the usual quantity of suceulent
eggs; TO the garden and dig up the usual
quantity of potatoes and to the fields and
drive in the live stock which they fool
ishly thought had been slaughtered and
carried away. The poor widows of
restricted and the truckmen
who planted AMI gathered (what was left
for a livelihood realized their usual num-
Der of dimes and dollars; aud all was
well because this particular newspaper
led them to believe that such was the
fact.
We regret to have to spoil n good story,
for we regard our article as such, al
though what we considered as the facts
bore heavily IN many of the citizens of
II n%eighborlng town. but Yefind our
selves undre the influence ofltlie SreH ex-
erted by the aforesaid paper and are led
to believe, with the inhabitants of Wo cd
bridge, that all is we'll. ioJs
We regret that so many good people
really suffered, for a time, with the
thought that their possession had been
depleted, and were so strong in the belief
that they went about among their neigh
bors and complained bitterly. But -.all
their trouble has been. swept away and
by the single article of the ,esteemed CON
temporary, which we have Hentioned.
But it is just a little comical when we
think Of the well-known veterinary, who
twice thought some one had entered his
sleeping room and carried away his
wat oh and his ~greenbacks.
We laugh wheI we think of the young
lady who thought she saw a man stand
ing at the bureau when she awoke and
who RETAINED from telling her father,
until the imaginary burglars had de-
parted with "A handful of jewelry, for fear
the father would sustain..some personal
injury at the hand Of the intruder.
We smile when we recall the imaginary
loss of 100 chickens by our popular repre-
sentative at the Legislature OILY last Sat
urday night, and our smile grows Broad
when we picture the excellent detective
work of the ~postmaster's son supplement
ed by the vigorous action of the most
courageous and efficient policeman when
he captured, .single-handcd four thieves
with the gools on them. All This is
simply the effect of a diseased fancy and
the creation of n disordered brain.