The Washington bee., 1912-02-24
PRESENCE OF MIND.
MAY Make Heroes of Physical
CoWaFds In Time of Danger.
NOT A MATTER OF COURAGE.
Il is the Sudden Impulse That Moves
One to Do the Right Thing In an Un-
expected Emergeney-A Soldier and
a Shell and a Man and a Murder.

There is a distinction to be drawn
between presence Of mind and cOur
age, Persons who naturally are timid
and nervous will in circumstances Of
great danger and excitement perform
acts Of herOiSm that would be beyond
their powers on ordinary occasions.
We speak of these as instances Of
presence of mind. But if you ask
them they would tell you that an in
voluntary impulse rather than any
premeditated course Of action guided
their will on the occasion. Had they
time for reflection when all the threat
ening danger to themselves had be-
come clear to fheir minds their nat
ural timidity of character would have
asserted itself and deprived them Of
action.
1t is absence of fear that prompts
the soldier under a heavy fire from
the enemy's guns to go to the assist
Rnce of a wounded comrade and bring
him to a place Of safety, and nothing
In human nature can compare with
such self sacrifice. But in times of
! 5uuuS-A eauCl ECuNN II - lAON d" O. .
the bravest who act with promptitude.
The following story is an instance Of
, this:
One Of our transports was returning
from the Philippines with invalided
men, and one morning at sea a group
Of officers on the deck discussed the
subject Of firing shells. A soldier was
told by the colonel to bring an empty
shell with a fuse. The colonel took
the shell in his hands and, striking
match, lighted the fuse. AS this slow
Iy burned and the colonel proceeded
with his address to the other officers
, another soldier passed the group, and
the moment he caught sight Of the
shell he rushed forward, exclaimtng,
Look out, sir; the shell is live One!
Then he did what never seemed to
have come into the minds Of any in the
group Of officers. He seized the shell
out of the hands of the colonel and
. threw it into the sea. For this service
he was promoted. The soldier who
had been told to bring an empty shell
had gone to the wrong magazine.
Those who talked with the man touch
ing this incident say that he repudi-
; ated any idea Of having done brave
J thing. 81 don't know" he said, what
made me seize the shell out of the
colonels hand, but it came suddenly
into my mind and I did It." 1t is this
+ wave Of unconscious thought which
: constitutes true presence Of mind. This
will come to people Of nervous and
even COwardly natures.
: There is of authentic record the case
S Of a man known to be utterly deficient
q Of courage who saved himself from a
+ very awkward situation by an exhibit
lion of real presence Of mind. He was
an Englishmau and lived il a town in
: the midland=. vhere he was an organ
2 lst. Late one e.-1ing he was returning
3 home through some Of the back streets,
:. which at that hour were more or less
s empty of people. AS he went along,
= however. he noticed some distance
b ahead Of him a man and a woman
Il walking side by side, the mans arm
r being around the wOman's neck. Just
f under a street lamp the couple stop
r ped for a moment. when the Organist
S heard a piercing scream and saw the
It woman slowly falling from the mans
t arms. Almost before she had reached
IS the ground the man darted away
e down a side street and disappeared.
% When the Organist came up to the
e woman he found, to his horror, that
r she was lying in a pool of blood. His
first impulse was to run away and get
d clear Of the terrible scene, but his bet
70 ter feelings prevailed, and he knelt
n down beside the poor woman to see if
d he could do anything for her. When
10 he raised her head he found she was
is quite dead, with her throat cut from
,r ear to ear. Beside her on the pave
\. ment lay blood stained razor.
d The organist was overwhelmed with
ID horror. Before he could collect him
self a group of people had gathered,
ii and presently he heard expressions
e such as He did il" ''I tell you I saw
h him. There Is tire razor" " "The fiendI
Id Where are the pollce?" "Hand him
Le overG' It Was certainly a very awk-
lg ward position, as the rough character
is of the people might tempt them to
IS take the ID w lulO LllclI OWL uduuS dllu
Ds use him very badly. The arrival Of a
as policeman seemed to steady his nerves
b. for moment, and then came a wave
70 Of inspiration that might truly be call,
e ed presence of mind. He seized the
dead wOman's wrist and, pulling out
ne his watch, went through the form OF
st feeling her pulse. Then he put his
he hand over her heart and, turning tC
lis the policeman, said as calmly as be
m could: 81 am sorry to say that car
ut be Of no further service here. The
is poor woman is quite dead. There Is
If. no action In the heart or the pulse"
tie In an instant the murmurs Of the
fe crowd changed, and he heard "He'I
i'll the doctor on all sides. This was hi
re- opportunity, and, slowly rising and
se affecting to be in no hurry, he passed
90 through the crowd, who made way 70
he him. But when he got clear OF tn
lie street and came to the first turning b
ch took to his heels and ran for all b