The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1904-11-02

even the brick walls, which must b
saturated with the filth Of years.
the water supply (Which is takel
from an artesian wel) was 'pollute'
with sewerage" the vegetables wer
rank poison" She spoke rathe
anxiously atout a general feeling G
numhnese, and asked what was th'
cause Of it. She was entirely mac
cessib!e to explanation, argument, O.
even positive proof as to the impos
sibility Of her statements. Occasion
ally she would burst out pectedll
with peculiar and piercing shrieks o
laughter which would seem impossible
to one in her weak condition.
Many of her indi<criminate anc
senselesS charges seemed to be rather
the expression Of an insane maljgnitJ
toward every one than the outcome o.
genuine belief that they we're true
But we were, at the same time, con
vinced beyond a doubt That she was
also suffering from strong and genu'
inc deiusions Of persecution by poison.
ing, be, ause her belief in this regard
so Consistently influenced her con-
duct that her refusal Of food had prac.
tically reduced her to skeleton, ac6
repeated fOrclb.e feelings had no eff.
feet in changing her convictions. Hel
persecutory ideas vary in strength
from time to time, but the delusions
Of suspicion from which they spring
remain unShaken.
BY the progress OF her disease Jane
Toppan has come to believe that not
only every article of food that is
brought to her, every cup Of tea or
coffee and every glass OF water, is
poisoned.
she can see the Spectres of her vic.
tins lowering over her and dropping
the poison into these things just as
she used to DO to them.
Oae of her favorite methods was to
dissolve an atrophia tablet in glass
OF mineral water and hold it up s1lil-
ingly as a draught Of health.
This is the way she drusged poor
Mr.. Alden P. Davis to death. II her
patients were particularly fond Of tea
or coffe she dis lived morphia or afro
phia tablets in their cups.
When Jane Toppan was first com.
mitted to the asylum she was permit
ted to ming.e with the other mildly
insene patients. But as her delusions
became more frequent and she broke
forth into violent TRADES against the
other patients and the hospital atten-
dantS, she was removed first to the in
6rmary and later to secluded cell in
the north wing. The windows have
gratings and it is in reality prison.
II saw them all last night, !"
she said one morning this week when
the nurse came to her room with a
tray cf crust, cJTse and bread.
what do you mean Jane,' asked
the nurse, as she noticed the unnatur-
al brightness in Jane Toppan's hollow,
sunken eyes.
'Why, all the people I have killed, ,"
the woman said for the moment ap-
pearing perfectly rational. They all
came and gathered around my bed in
the night. There we're the Davises,
and Mr.. and Mrs. Durham, and Myra
Connors, and Mrs. Brigham, Mrs.
Bannister, Mrs. Gibbs and Mrs. Harry
Gordon-oh, I'm sorry I killed her,
she is so pretty''-and here the har-
dened murderess, who once seemed to
know no such thing as human sorrow,
burst into tears. Then, recovering
herself, she went on:
''But they're all after me now
thirty. one Of them-some want to
poison me, and some come at tue with
their skeleton hands as if they would
choke me. See, they're coming for me
now-help, muIder"-and the poor,
demented creature fell back upon her
cot in paroxyism Of i0sane feat.
Jane Toppan is paying the penalty
OF her crimes by Natures or Gods
own law in a way that is an APPALLING
moral object lesson-that no one can
take human life, even if be escapes
punishment Of human law, without
suffering the most awtu! fortunes to
the end of his or her own wretchd eX-
iStence.