Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, January 1900: Vol. 56, November, 1899 to April, 1900Various
Science
Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, January 1900: Vol. 56, November, 1899 to April, 1900
Various
Science -- Periodicals; Technology -- Periodicals
I add that the biological study, which was made directly, and therefore
more satisfactorily than was practicable with Caserio and Luccheni,
revealed a series of very singular anomalies; a touch six times more
obtuse than the normal--six millimetres on the right, five on the
left; a remarkably blunt sensitiveness to pain and dull perception of
location; an extraordinarily reduced visual field, particularly in
the left eye; a somewhat tremulous handwriting, and slight defects of
articulation in speech; and thin hair. There was nothing very striking
in his affective nature. He spoke kindly of his parents, whom he would
be glad to see. But he had a blunt moral sense, and had committed
frequent thefts, especially against his family, so that he had been
put into a house of correction. And it was just while he was still in
this establishment, at sixteen years of age, that he pretended to have
been invited to attend a meeting of about thirty anarchists at Brescia,
where he was made to swear, kissing a dagger, to kill the king. He
described the room, and spoke of the individual persons present, and
then said that he thought no more of the matter after he returned to
the house; but a few days ago it had come into his mind to go to the
post office, and there he had found a letter from the anarchists of
Alexandria, urging him to arm himself to kill the king.
He repeated this story minutely and with great persistence,
notwithstanding the postal authorities denied having given him the
letter, in the face of the asseverations of the prefects that there
were not thirty anarchists in Brescia, where he was in correction, and
although all the facts were against him. Observe that he was in prison,
that he had been there three months, and that he was told he would be
likely to stay there as long as he adhered to his story.
[Illustration: RAVACHOL.]
Efforts to account for the phenomenon were unsuccessful, because his
friends and relatives made no mention of any traces of insanity. Light
began to break upon the case when it was learned that he had attempted
suicide, a few years before, in grief at the death of his mother, and
also that on the day before he gave himself up he had stolen a small
sum from his drunken brother. These, however, were only distant hints.
The matter was fully explained when, after he had drunk a litre of wine
in the prison, he began to exclaim, “_Viva l’anarchio!_” (Hurrah for
anarchy!), “_Morte al Re!_” (Death to the king!), to kiss a dagger,
to break various things against imaginary guards, and, after a short
period of quiet, to swear and forswear himself that his companions had
done what he had done, that they had shouted for anarchy, had broken
the vases, and had desired to kill the king.
[Illustration: VISUAL FIELD (LEFT EYE) OF CHIE ... GIAC ...
The thin line indicates the normal visual field (left eye).
The thick line indicates the visual field (left eye) under
alcoholic excitement.
]
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