pathology of lying-第32章

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　home　to　her　fathera　doctor　had　told　other　people　previously。　　The　men　in　two　homes　frequently　had　complete　intercourse　with　her；　she　maintains；　and　gives　description　of　it。

The　credible　substance　of　Bessie's　long　story　elaborately　told　upon　inquiry　into　her　life　history　was　that　she　certainly　had　had　many　sex　experiences。　　When；　in　the　light　of　these；　it　finally　came　to　the　question　of　the　charges　against　her　father　and　brother　she　said　that　it　was　really　she　who　had　been　the　instigator。　　When　in　bed　she　had　begun　playing　with　them。　　She　described　her　method；　learned　before。　　She　now　says　they　did　not　have　real　intercourse　with　her；　but　the　other　men　did。　

The　account　of　local　physical　conditions　as　obtained　from　several　sources　is　as　follows。　　Bessie　was　taken　to　a　physician　for　vulvitis；　etc。；　by　some　people　before　she　came　back　to　her　father。　　During　the　period　she　roomed　with　her　father　he　regularly　treated　her　locally　with　a　salve　and　a　wash。　　The　physician　who　later　examined　her　for　Mrs。　S。　found　the　parts　so　swollen　that　he　could　make　no　diagnosis　of　ruptured　hymen；　but　took　it　for　granted。　　After　the　father　and　brother　had　been　in　jail　for　some　weeks　the　inflammation　had　subsided。　　（It　is　only　fair　to　say　that　the　father　had　clamored　for　a　specialist's　examination；　which；　he　contended；　would　prove　his　innocence。　　Of　course　he　was　not　aware　of　her　earlier　experiences　or　he　would　not　have　been　so　sure。）　　Then　a　competent　gynecologist　found　that　coitus　had　never　taken　place。　　The　hymen　was　intact。　　This　was　at　the　time　we　studied　the　case。　　On　the　day　of　the　trial；　I　with　two　other　physicians　examined　the　girl。　　It　was　found　that　a　cotton　swab　about　3/8　of　an　inch　in　diameter　could　with　difficulty　penetrate　the　vaginal　orifice。　　There　was　not　the　slightest　evidence　of　any　rupture　of　the　hymen　or　of　any　vaginitis。　　So　far　as　the　‘‘awful　disease''　was　concerned；　repeated　bacteriological　tests　over　a　considerable　period　failed　to　show　the　extensive　vulvitis　to　be　due　to　gonorrhea。　　It　seemed　much　more　likely　that　it　was　due　to　nonspecific　infection　following　traumatism　from　the　use　of　the　various　foreign　objects　which　the　girl　told　she　had　used。　　Perhaps　it　was　partly　the　result　of　the　perversions　which；　judging　by　her　knowledge　of　them；　had　been　practiced　by　others　on　her。

We　were　informed　later　that　much　indignation　at　our　report　to　the　judge　was　expressed　by　the　crowd　in　attendance　at　the　trial。　　The　girl's　first　story　was　so　well　told　that　many　had　been　irrevocably　convinced　of　the　utter　guilt　of　the　father。

The　father　himself；　who　was　brought　to　us　in　the　course　of　our　study　of　the　case；　was　rather　a　low　type　in　appearance。　　He　was　a　poor　earner；　evidently　had　earlier　been　alcoholic；　a　small　whining　figure　with　tears　in　his　eyes。　　His　appearance　would　prejudice　against　him。　　The　brother；　on　the　contrary；　made　an　unusually　good　impression。　　He　had　the　best　of　recommendations。　　His　sister's　first　charges　ought　not　to　have　been　believed　on　the　basis　of　his　qualifications。　　There　had　been　5　children；　3　died　in　infancy。　　No　history　of　any　significance　was　obtained　except　that　the　development　of　Bessie　had　apparently　been　normal　in　all　ways。　　Her　mother　was　said　to　be　normal。　　Both　parents　were　evidently　representative　products　of　the　underfeeding　and　generally　poor　hygienic　conditions　of　the　laboring　classes　in　a　large　Irish　city。　　There　was　unquestionably　a　great　feeling　of　affection　between　the　three。　　Indeed；　Mrs。　S。　stated　that　it　was　the　excessive　kissing　of　the　child　by　the　father　which　made　her　suspicious。　　Bessie　always　maintained　that　both　father　and　brother　treated　her　very　well　and　that　she　loved　them　much。

It　seemed　clear　to　us　that　Bessie　never　knew　in　the　least　the　significance　of　the　charges　she　so　glibly　made　at　first。　　Her　mind　had　long　been　so　full　of　these　things；　and　their　social　import　seemed　so　slight；　that　it　meant　no　vindictiveness　towards　her　loved　ones　to　say　what　she　did　about　them。　　She　asserted　to　us　later　that　she　really　did　not　know　what　she　said　to　the　judge　at　the　first　hearing。　　The　case　illustrated　well　the　fallibility　of　a　young　girl's　accusations　coming　even　from　the　lips　of　a　normally　bright　and　affectionate　daughter　or　sister。

For　her　own　protection　Bessie　was　given　a　trial　in　an　institutional　school。　　From　there　it　was　reported　after　a　few　months　that　her　mind　was　found　to　be　so　continually　upon　sex　subjects　that　it　would　be　most　advisable　for　her　to　remain　long　under　the　quietest　conditions　and　closest　supervision。


…　　　　Physical　conditions：　Local　irritation。　　　　　　　Case　16。　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Girl；　age　9　1/2。　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Housing　conditions：　　Crowded。　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Early　sex　experiences：　　Excessive　and　pervert。　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Parental　control　failure：　　No　home；　no　mother。　　　　　　　Delinquencies：　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Mentality：　　　　　　　Serious　false　accusations。　　　　　　　　　　　　Good　ability。　　　…



CASE　17

Summary：　　Boy　of　16　years；　not　living　at　home；　made　false　accusations　of　excessive　immorality　against　his　own　family。　　These　involved　sex　perversions；　and　he　implicated　even　his　own　sister　and　brother；　and　alleged　the　connivance　of　his　mother。　　The　main　complaint　was　against　the　step…father；　who　he　also　said　was　a　professional　thief。　　The　improbability　of　such　stories　being　told　without　good　foundation　led　to　much　time　being　spent　on　investigating　the　case。

As　possible　causative　factors　of　the　unmitigated　lying　we　found　（a）　defective　heredity　leading　to　（b）　typical　constitutional　inferiority　with　the　peculiar　states　of　mind　characteristic　of　the　latter；　（c）　poor　developmental　conditions　through　early　illnesses；　（d）　excessive　bad　sex　practices　on　the　part　of　the　boy　himself。　　Vindictive　reaction　to　charges　of　delinquency　against　himself　might　be　considered　a　factor　if　his　false　accusations　had　not　been　made　without　any　such　stimulus　a　long　time　previously。


（According　to　another　classification　this　case　belongs　in　our　chapter　on　Border…line　Types。　　It　is　retained　here　because　it　so　well　illustrates　pathological　accusation。）

John　S。；　an　undersized　boy　of　16；　a　pitiable　specimen；　when　under　arrest　for　vagrancy　told　such　a　heartrending　story　of　home　conditions；　with　assertions　against　family　morality；　that　the　judge　and　others　were　moved　to　indignation　and　an　investigation　was　started。　　The　general　feeling　was　that　no　one　who　was　not　insane　could　make　such　statements　about　their　nearest　of　kin　without　foundation　in　fact。

We　found　a　poorly　developed；　but　fairly　nourished　young　fellow；　weight　112　lbs。；　height　5　ft。　2　in。；　good　strength　for　his　size。　　Stigmata：　slight　facial　asymmetry；　ears　very　long　and　narrow；　dentition　very　irregularone　upper　canine　having　erupted　behind　the　central　incisors。　　Tattooing　on　the　chest。　　Vision　defective；　but　how　much　so　was　impossible　to　estimate　on　account　of　corneal　ulcer　and　general　gonorrheal　ophthalmia。　　Gait　and　attitude　very　slouchy。　　In　contrast　to　general　poor　development；　has　already　full　sex　development　and　much　hair　over　body　for　his　age。

On　the　mental　side　we　found　an　excitable　and　talkative　fellow；　quite　coherent；　and　giving　in　no　way　any　indication　of　aberration　by　the　form　or　trend　of　his　conversation。　　He　tells　us　he　reached　the　6th　grade。　　He　willingly　works　on　tests　and　we　note　the　general　result　as　follows：　　Learning　and　memory　processes；　both　for　logical　verbal　and　for　meaningless　associations；　quite　good。　　Perception　of　form；　normal。　　Power　of　analysis　of　situations　mentally　represented；　only　mediocre。　　Associative　processes；　verbal；　not　normally　accurate。　　Writes　good　hand。　　Simple　spelling　correct。　　Arithmetic　correct　for　4th　grade。　　Tests　for　several　other　points　hardly　fair　to　register　on　account　of　defective　eyesight。　　On　one　he　failed　because　of　not　knowing　the　alphabet　in　order。　　Suggestibility　extreme；　as　evidenced　by　testimony　test。　　In　giving　report　on　the　‘‘Aussage''　picture；　Test　VI；　he　enumerated　12　items；　11　of　them　correct；　on　free　recital。　　Then　he　gave　11　more　details；　all　correct；　on　cross…examination；　but　he　accepted　no　less　than　7　out　of　8　suggestions　offered。

Information　on　current　events　is　good；　but　on　points　said　to　have　been　learned　at　school　is　much　mixed　up。　　In　giving　responses　to　questions；　he　seized　on　any　slight　suggestion　and　adopted　the　idea。　　For　instance；　he　said　he　had　read　the　life　of　Napoleon；　but　could　not　remember　to　which　country　he　belonged。　　When　England　was　suggested　he　agreed　to　it。　　He　then　told　various　wrong　incidents　of　Napoleon's　life　and　death；　also　as　suggested　by　the　examiner。　　It　finally　came　out　that　Bonaparte　was　an　English　nobleman　who　fought　against　France　and　Waterloo；　was　never　defeated；　and　got　sick　in　England。　　Then　in　the　same　way　we　get　the　information　that　this　country　gained　its　freedom　from　France；　that　Lincoln　was　president　directly　after　Washington；　and　so　on。　　John　has　read　books　from　the　library　and　various　magazines；　a　considerable　assortment。　　He　knows　almost　nothing　of　even　simple　scientific　facts；　but　is　well　acquainted　with　items　gained　from　the　newspapers　and　the　theatres。

Going　into　his　story；　as　we　were　requested；　we　heard　at　once　about　the　cruel　conditions　at　home。　　The　boy's　own　father　had　been　dead　for　ten　years　and　up　to　within　three　years　he　had　lived　with　a　relative。　　While　he　was　there　letters　indicated　that　queer　things　were　going　on　at　home；　and　the　step…father　was　cruel　to　the　other　children。　　The　mother　was　afraid　to　tell　the　whole　story。　　When　the　boy　came　home　the　step…father　at　once　began　pervert　sex　practices　with　him；　horrible　things；　and　John　found　this　man　had　been　doing　deeds　of　the　same　kind　with　an　older　sister　and　a　younger　brother。　　It　seems　the　step…father　also　beats　the　children　and　has　put　this　older　girl　out　of　the　house。　　Recently　he　has　left　his　wife。

When　we　go　into　John's　own　record；　with　which　we　had　already　made　ourselves　acquainted；　he　tells　us　he　does　not　know　what　gets　into　him；　but　he　has　run　away　from　home　no　less　than　eleven　times。　　He　works　for　a　while；　takes　his　wages　and　then　stays　at　a　hotel。　　He　says　he　has　been　arrested　several　times　on　this　account。　　His　mother　always　telephones　to　the　police　about　him　and　that　is　why　he　is　under　detention　now。　　He　wishes　he　were　at　home。　　The　next　day　we　went　into　more　of　the　details　which　had　been　liberally　sketched　to　the　judge　and　other　officials。　　We　now　learn　that　the　step…father　is　a　professional　thief　and　that　stolen　goods　he　has　taken　are　to　be　found　in　their　home。　　He　often　leaves　home　and　perhaps　takes　his　wife's　wagesshe　has　to　work　outand　just　now　is　again　living　at　a　hotel。　　The　family　have　been　informed　by　a　physician　that　he　is　probably　crazy。

On　a　later　occasion　the　boy　told　my　assistant　that　he　wished　to　relate　the　whole　story　of　his　family。　　He　then　describes　how　the　step…father　even　blackens　the　eyes　of　the　sister　and　that　he　has　long　been　immoral　with　her。　　It　now　appears　that　perversions　began　between　this　man　and　John　some　two　months　ago；　never　before　that。　　The　mother　is　there　in　the　house　all　the　time　and　knows　about　and　permits　the　step…father's　immorality　with　daughter　and　son。　　Cross…questioned　afterward；　the　boy　（evidently　remembering　what　he　said　before）　states　these　pra