Year: 1874

An@AYS1S OT the O1Se0So 1AuSS

 trated by Incidents.

 At the meeting of the Medico-Legal Society of New York, Prof. A. Hammond read paper on Morbid Impulse. The paper consisted chiefly of 8 recital of cases of morbid impulse that had come | under the observation of Prof. Ham mond, without any specially elaborate analysis of the disease. He laid down the proposition, however, that observ- CTS could never be sure that those af- hicted with this tendency had exercised all their w1ll-power in resisting it. In referring to the several cases that had come under his observation, Prof. Hammond mentioned one instance of a young man who told him that he felt impelled by an irresistible power to kill his friend. He had even gone so far as to put some strychnine in mug of ale which he had invited him to drink. However as his friend was about to drink the ale he knocked it out of his hand as if by accident. It not un- frequently happened, he said, that per- sons took pleasure in carrying out these impulses, and he instanced the case of one young man who told him that he knew he was doing wrong, but that it gave him pleasure to do it. He men, toned another instance of 8 young man who was arrested for assaulting lady in the street. His mode of procedure was to throw down the lady whom he might meet, take off her shoes, and run away with them, but he did not in any other way modest her. On searching this young mans trunk, it was found full of ladies' shoes. He had no use for them, but it gave him pleasure to take them. In 1864 0 man killed, in the forest of Vincennes. two little boys, whom he had never seen before, and when confined in prison he said that he had no motive to kill the children.

 The case of Waltz, who had been lately executed, seemed to him to come within thesame category. Undoubtedly, he said, habit had much to do with crime, which arose in the first instance from mere impulse, and in illustration of this theory he referred to several cases, among them that of the boy Pomeroy, who created 8 great deal of excitement about two years ago in Chelsea, near Boston. At that time great cruelties were perpetrated on children at Chelsea, in various ways. Pomeroy, who was 8 boy of fourteen years, was discovered to be the perpe- trator of these cruelties, and he was convicted and sent to the House of Refuge. He was released on the 9th of February, and in the following April 8 little boy was found dead, with his head nearly severed, and with about thirty stabs in different parts of his body. Suspicion fell on the boy Pom eroy, and he was arrested. He was confronted with the body of the mur- dered child, and admitted his guilt. When asked what he thought should be done with him, he gave an ansU CT which should commend itself to the at- tention of those having charge of such matters" Put me somewhere where l cannot do such things" Prof. Ham, mond mentioned arother peculiar case of morbid impulse continued by habit. A young man, @ member of highly respectable family, had consulted him, and his case was this: He had been struck with the appearance of lady who was walking before him through the street, and who wore very rich silk dre,s.. Suddenly the impulse came upon him to ruin the dress with sul- phuric acid, and accordingly he ran into drug store, purchased the acid, and without observation effected his purpose. He derived such pleasure from yielding to the impulse that he resolved to continue his course, and so he purchased more sulphu1ic acld and ruined a second dress. He then re- solved to continue this pursuit, but 8 nights rest brought a better state of mind, and he was so sorry for what he had done that he actually wrote an ad- vertisement and sent it to the newspa- pers with the view of finding the ladies whose dresses he had destroyed, sothat he might indemnify them. On his way to the newspaper office, however, he saw handsome dress, the impulse at once selzed him, and he yielded to ii without hesitation. Thus, whenever he saw Q handsome dress, ne could not resist the impulse to destroy it with sulphuric acid. Prof. Hammond ad. vised him to take sea voyage in a yes sel in which there was no woman pas. senger. He complied with his advice, went to sea in a fishing schooner, and returned perfectly cured.

 The desire of a person to throw him self from great height on which he might be standing, and the morbid im

 pulse stimulated by the presence of z suitable weapon to commit a deed o

 violence, were duly referred to. The yielding to 8 morbid impulse, through the influence of imitation, was fully illustrated. Among other cases, Prof

 Hammond mentioned that some years ago man hanged himself in the Hote

 des Invalides, Paris. No suicide had taken place there for three years, but in short time afterwards five persons hanged themselves from the very same beam. As another instance, he said that when he was medical student in the University of New York he had a companion student who used to disseci along with him. He was of cheerful disposition, and gave no evidence o1 morbid impulse. However, he was one morning found dead, having divided the femoral artery. It was quite an un

 usual mode of suicide; no other had probably ever occurred in the State o1 New York, but in 8 week afterwar6 there were two similar suicides. IT the first case, they had suicide from suggestion, and afterward from imita

 tion. For this reason Prof. Hammond advocated less public execution O. Morbid impulses arising from the fore. when the original cause had passed away. In illustration of this theory ht stated the case of Q lady who had tht disposition to throw every valuable ar ticle into the fire. In the first place

 she burned an old slipper, and derived peculiar pleasure from the contortion! through which the leather went in tn, process of burning. The next day tho impulse was renewed, and, yielding tt it, she burned felt hat, but withou

 any pleasure, inasmuch as the hat die not go through the same contortions al

 the slipper. The third day she burned

 a prayer-book, and soon she burned shawls, bonnets, and every article O