Imágenes de página
PDF
ePub

during the whole night-that he hoped and expected to die happy, because he had lived in such a manner that he had every reason to expect it.

Sept. 13th to 30th. Commonly found him reading his Bible, and from day to day persisting in his innocence. Made no answer, when asked where he obtained the clothes of Zellerbach; and when asked respecting the scars upon his arm, he said that they were caused by his having taken cold after bathing, and that he had lost some bones out of it. On the 23d, he swore at Willman; and when asked again respecting the clothes, he said they were his.

Oct. 1st. Seemed to be very unconcerned, and more hard-hearted than usual; and upon being asked if he believed in the Bible, he answered, No! and said that Mr. Beates should save himself any further trouble.

Oct. 7th. Found him in a good humour, and after praying for him as usual, Mr. B. desired him to make a prayer for himself. He complied, and made a very pretty prayer for the judge, jury, his mother, and himself.

Oct. 9th. Was requested to pray particularly for himself; but instead of complying, he treated all that was said lightly, and said that he had always led a pious life, and was sure that he would die happy, but would not acknowledge that he was a sinner.

Oct. 11th. Being asked respecting his guilt, he declared as follows-"If this my soul was separated from my body, and stood before the throne of the Almighty, I could say that I was innocent of the blood of this murdered man, and I sometimes think that my heart will burst, when I think that I will have to die, and am innocent." Said he would be twenty-one years of age on Christmas, and seemed to wish his end.

Oct. 14th. Appeared to be in good spirits; and when asked whether he still believed that Zellerbach was murdered by one of the neighbours, as he had before stated, he said, No; and that some evil persons had put it into his head to say so, and seemed sorry for what he had said respecting it. This was the first day that he could be brought to say that he was a sinner.

Oct. 16. Appeared to be serious, and said that hanging was too good for the man that committed the murder. "If I had done it," said he, "I would, with bended knee, seek for pardon and mercy." Oct. 21st. Seemed to be under the impression that he would not be hung, and gave the following reasons for so believing:-1st, That his grandfather had prophesied that he would have to suffer much before he came to be twenty-five years of age, and that after that he would have it good; 2ndly, That in his own country they would not

hang any person who did not confess his guilt, or upon whom the murder could not be proven by eye-witnesses; and 3dly, That it was written in the 35th chapter of Numbers, and 30th verse, that "Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses; but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die." He said no person saw him do it, and if they did hang him, the Bible would not be true.

Oct. 23d. Said the governor was long about sending him his death warrant; and upon being asked how he received the marks upon his arm, he said he did not know.

Oct. 28th. Found it utterly impossible to make any impression upon him; and when asked to pray, he laughed out loud, and would

not.

Nov. 13th. Death warrant was read to him. Mr. B. remarked that he became pale, but believed that it was more from anger than any thing else. He told Mr. B. that it was not necessary to call any more; and that if he prayed at all, he should pray for the jury.

Dec. 16. Requested Mr. Beates to administer the Lord's Supper to him; whereupon Mr. B. after endeavouring to bring his mind to a sense of his situation, but in vain, replied, "that he would do any thing in the world that lay in his power, but that this he could not do, as he did not think that his mind was in a fit state for it." Cobler seemed satisfied; and upon Mr. B.'s asking him whether he should call again, he said that it was not necessary.

As the head of Moselman is a very remarkable one, and will serve to illustrate a method by which I have been in the habit of ascertaining the developements of the different regions of any given brain, as it were, by a glance, I shall embrace the present opportunity of communicating it to the public.

It is simply as follows: I place one point of a compass in the meatus externus auditorius, and the other to the extremity of the chin, and draw a complete circle around the head, as in the following cuts :

GALL.

No1

MOSELMAN.

AN IDIOT.

N° 2

3.

The difference between the above is very evident; and if the drawing which is intended to represent Dr. Gall be correct, the line will show the exact quantity of intellectual and moral superiority which he possessed over No. 2 and 3.

The same measurement can be taken upon the living subject, by means of the callipers; and I have not yet met with a single individual, over whose head the callipers would pass as they did in the case of the unfortunate Moselman.

In making drawings of the head, I have found the auriculo mental, or chin measurement of considerable importance, and would recommend those who wish to make correct outlines, to use the same

means.

The harmony between phrenology and physiognomy has been generally acknowledged, but no positive rules, so far as I know, have ever been laid down, by which that harmony can be practically demonstrated.

I hold, that if phrenology be true, then is physiognomy true also; and that every part belonging to the body, besides being governed by the brain, is in fact an exact representation of the same, differing only in this, that one is mind and the other matter. I have, perhaps, already trespassed too far, and will leave the facts as I found them. WM. B. FAHNESTOCK.

Lancaster, June 16, 1840.

MISCELLANY.

British Phrenological Association.-We have recently received from a London correspondent, a circular of this association, which is organised for the cultivation and advancement of phrenology as a science. It is to meet the present season at Glasgow, at the same time of the sitting of

the British Association for the Advancement of Science.

The follow

ing gentlemen have been appointed officers for the current year :-
George Combe, Esq. President

Sir Geo. S. Mackensie, Bart. F. R. S. L. & E.
W. C. Trevelyan, Esq. F. R. S. E.
Prof. Evanson, M. D., M. R. I. A.
Edward Barlow, M. D.

Vice
Presidents.

Phrenology in Dublin, Ireland.-Phrenology has long had many stanch and able friends in this city. Dr. Marsh and Mr. Carmichael, who stand at the head of the medical profession, have publicly advocated the science now for more than twenty years. In an address, delivered before the "Medical Society of Dublin" by one of its committee, and which, by a unanimous vote of the society, was ordered to be published, the writer alludes to the science as follows:-"On the importance of the consideration of mental disease, as a subject of medical education, I candidly express my humble conviction, that, from the further developement of the rapidly advancing science of phrenology, (long a chosen theme of vituperation, but now gradually acquiring that influence which must arise from truth,) these results (before described) are to be anticipated, compared with which, the profound discoveries of Archimedes, Newton, or the wondrous mechanical inventions of a Watt, sink into comparative insignificance, in point of utility, and practical benefit to mankind."

[ocr errors]

Mr. Combe's Visit to Cincinnati.—In the month of April, Mr. Combe made a hasty visit to Cincinnati, Ohio. Soon after this, a correspondent of the "Boston Medical and Surgical Journal" alluded to Mr. C.'s visit to Cincinnati, saying that he did not "deliver a single lecture, or make any acquaintance with the medical gentlemen of that city," and expressed considerable surprise, if not some disaffection, that such should have been the fact. The following statement is copied from Mr. Combe's reply to the above allusion, which was published in the "Boston Medical and Surgical Journal" of June 17. "When I came to the United States, in September, 1938, it was my intention to lecture in the eastern cities in the first winter, and in Baltimore and the western cities during the second winter of my stay. In April or May, 1839, I was waited on in New York city, by Dr. S. D. Gross, of Cincinnati, who inquired if I would lecture there. I explained to him that phrenology is a disputed subject; that I did not wish to intrude on an unwilling ear; that in Britain I had never lectured out of Edinburgh, except on invitation, and to an audience pledged to attend; that in the United States I had followed the same rule; that in Baltimore, after public advertisements, no adequate class could be mustered, and that I had not lectured there; that I was willing to lecture in Cincinnati, if one hundred and fifty hearers could be guaranteed, but not otherwise, and I agreed to keep my arrangements open till the 1st of July, to allow him time to return home and ascertain the public sentiment on the subject. He never wrote to me, and no invitation came. In consequence, I abandoned my intention of lecturing in the west, believing that I was not wanted. My visit to Cincinnati in April, was merely in the course of a rapid excursion to see the physical aspects of the country before embarking for Europe. I had then no intention of lecturing, and had not a single illustration with me for the purpose. I had only one month to spare for my whole western excursion, and presented no letters of introduction in any of the cities."

[blocks in formation]

A New System of Phrenology. By J. STANLEY GRIMES, President of the Western Phrenological Society at Buffalo,

"To him who in the love of nature holds

Communion with her visible forms, she speaks

A various language."-BRYANT,

Buffalo: Oliver G. Steele. New York: Wiley & Putnam. 1839, pp. 320, 12mo.

The business of reform and improvement is one of the most diffi. cult and hazardous enterprises in which man can engage. And this is as true of reform in principle, as of reform in practice; because the latter is, or at least ought to be, the product of the former. No one, therefore, whatever may be his calling or profession, should embark in the enterprise, until, by the most thorough investigation, and patient, persevering, and matured reflection, he has attained a positive certainty on two points-viz. that his predecessors on the subject he is canvassing have been in error, and that he has possessed himself of unquestionable truth; or that they have been in some things deficient or wrong, and that he is qualified to supply their short-comings, and rectify their mistakes.

If these sentiments be correct, (and we doubt whether any one will venture to gainsay them,) it is at least improbable, if not impossible, for a young inquirer to be a successful reformer-for one who is necessarily but an inquirer himself, to be fortunate in his effort to become at once an instructor and an improver of others. To this general rule, exceptions may perhaps occasionally occur; but that they are exceedingly rare, and altogether unlooked-for, will not be denied.

As respects reformation and improvement in science, these remarks may be regarded as settled canons in criticism. They constitute an

VOL. II.-34

« AnteriorContinuar »