Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 152, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 June 1911 — PRESENCE OF MIND [ARTICLE]

PRESENCE OF MIND

May Make Heroes of Physical Cowards In Time of Danger. NOT A MATTER OF COURAGE It Is ths Sudden Impulse That Moves One te Do tho Right Thing In an Unaxpoctad Emargoney—A Soldier and | a Shall and a Man and a Murder. There is a distinction to be drawn between presence of mind and courage. Persons who naturally are timid and nervous will in circumstances of great danger and excitement perform •eta 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 Jtbexn they would tell you that an involuntary Impulse rather than any premeditated course of action guided their will on the occasion. Had they time for reflection when all the threatening danger to themselves had become clear to their minds their natural timidity of character would have asserted itself and deprived them of action. ! It la absence of fear that prompts the eoldier under a heavy fire from the enemy’s guns to go to tbe assistance 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 tendden emergency it is not always 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 ■abject of firing shells. A soldier was told by tbe colonel to bring an empty shell with a fuse. The colonel took the shell in his hands and. striking a 'match, lighted the fuse. As this.slowly burned and the colonel proceeded with his address to the other officers another soldier passed the group, and the moment be caught sight of the shell he rushed forward, exclaiming, “Look out. sir; the shell Is a 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 lie 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 touching this Incident say that he repudiated any idea of having done a brave thing. “I don’t know,” he said, “what made me seize the shell out of the colonel's hand, but it came suddenly Into my mind, and I did it.” It 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 of a man known to be utterly deficient of courage who saved himself from a very awkward situation by an exhibition of real presence of mind. He was an Englishman and lived in a town in the midlands, where he was an organist Lato one evening he was returning home through some of the back streets, which at that hour were more or less empty of people. As he went along, however, he noticed some distance ahead of him a man and a woman walking side by side, the man’s arm being around the woman’s neck. Just under a street lamp the couple stopfad for a moment when the organist heard a piercing scream and saw the woman slowly falling from the man’s arms. Almost before she bad reached the ground the man darted away down a side street and disappeared. When the organist came up to the Woman he found, to his horror, that she was lying in a pool of blood. His Hist impulse was to run away and get dear of the terrible scene, but his better feelings prevailed, and he knelt down beside the poor woman to see if he could do anything for her. When be raised her head he found she was quite dead, with her throat cut from ear to ear. Beside her on the pavement lay a blood stained razor. The organist was overwhelmed with horror. Before he could collect himself a group of people had gathered, and presently be heard expressions such as “He did it." “I tell you I saw him.” "There Is the razor.” "The fiend! Where are the police?” "Hand him over!” It was certainly a very awkward position, as the rough character of the people might tempt them to take the law Into their own hands and use him very badly. The arrival of a policeman seemed to steady bis nerves toe a moment, and then came a wave of inspiration that might truly be called presence of mind. He seized the dead woman’s wrist and, pulling out his watch, went through the form of feeling her poise. Then he put his hand over her heart and. turning to the policeman, said as calmly as he could: "I am sorry to say that I can be of no further service here. The poor woman la quite dead. There Is no action In the heart or the pulse.” In an Instant the murmurs of the crowd changed, and be beard “He’s the doctor” on all sides. This was his opportunity, and, slowly rising and affecting to bo in no hurry, he passed through the crowd, who made way for him. But when he got clear of the street and came to the first turning he took to his hpels and ran for all be ;Was worth. The cowardly spirit got the better of him In the end. fib heard the next day that the murderer had gone straight to the police station safi given himself up. —New York