Pathology of Lying, Accusation, and Swindling: A Study in Forensic PsychologyHealy, William
Science
Pathology of Lying, Accusation, and Swindling: A Study in Forensic Psychology
Healy, William
Criminal psychology; Swindlers and swindling
With much merriment and an excessive amount of facial expression
this little girl held forth to us. It is hardly necessary to say
that the account varied somewhat from day to day. She did not
like it at home and did not propose to go back there. There were
too many in the family. As soon as the floor was scrubbed one of
the children would get it all dirty again. She had started for
New York, but the old gatekeeper at the station was mean and she
could not slip by him. She got along all right in Omaha, but
finally she gave herself up to the police there. She thinks
perhaps she might go up to the people in Wisconsin who wanted to
adopt her. In any case, she can do a great deal better than
Viola B. who ran away from New York and got caught, and was so
much talked about in the newspapers.
Thus her story would run along at great length, Birdie in the
meanwhile chuckling with the thought of her own escapades.
We never recommended institution life because it seemed as if
better things might be done for this girl. We felt that if she
were built up from a physical standpoint her tendency towards
nervous excitement might grow less. Her tonsils were removed.
Every one felt that the girl's good mental abilities should be
conserved to the utmost. Attempts at management in a different
environment gave some hope of success, and after a time her
parents moved to a smaller town, when we lost oversight of the
girl. Following our acquaintance with the case it had been
managed in the light of her characteristics, and her falsifying
tendencies were constantly discounted by those in charge. We
felt that her tendency was to grow more stable.
Three years later: We have just gained further information
concerning Birdie. The family is still in straitened
circumstances, the father having proved too weak a character to
support them. He posed as somewhat of a gentleman and made off
to another country. Birdie is said to have worked steadily for
months at a time, but over a year ago suddenly left home once
more, this time going with a stage company. Although the police
in several cities have been appealed to, no trace has been
obtained as yet of our young friend. Whether her lying was
continued at home we cannot satisfactorily learn, nor do we know
accurately about any continuance of her state of excitement, but
without doubt Birdie in her present wandering is fabricating
anew, and is what she was before, namely, a young adventuress.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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