CONFESSIONS DURING SLEEP.

Auckland Star, Volume XL, Issue 253, 23 October 1909, Page 15

CONFESSIONS DURING SLEEP.

MURDERERS GIVE THEMSELTES"--AWAY. Crlminologlsts cay that the greatest terror that Afflicts tha,t fraction of ihuruanlty suffering from an uneasy conscience is not dread of the police by any means, nor awe of any other acknowledged enemy of law deiiers. What the criminal dreads is sleep, which is, it appears, the friend of the righteous only. To men with the knowledge of'dark deeds stored within them sleep Is the most treacherous of foes. The countless poems that have been written in praise of it very naturally appear ac so much coldblooded mockery to such as are In hourly dread of betraying themselves under Its '.ailuence. An untold number of crimes have been confessed by their perpetrators during sleep. Is it any wonder, inquires a writer In "Science Sittings," that those conscious of irregularities of conduct prefer to remain awake? It was not long ago that a wellknown detective happened to be travelling ■In a sleeping-car. The detective, who" chanced to be occupying a lower berth, heard the sleeper above him burst forth into a long-winded confession regarding several DARING JEWEL ROBBERIES ' wherein he had taken part. Much impressed, the official kept an eye on him. Further inquiries proved that the confession had been an exact record of what had taken place. Many years ago a common lodging house was the scene of a sleeping criminal's confession. The room was occupied by hJinself nnd one other—a young sailor. While the sailor was lying awake he suddenly heard a curious and ghastly laugh Issue from his room companion's lips. The laugh was followed by a long and rambling description of a murder he had committed, horrible In its details. The sailor crept downstairs, and informed the landlord of what had occurred. The latter at once summoned a policeman, who recognised the sleeper as the man "wanted" for the crime in question. Perhaps the entire history of crime contains no more dramatic episode than that which occurred some years ago Iα a Prussian town. The husband of a certain attractive young woman had vanished in a mysterious manner from his home, and all attempts to trace his whereabouts failed completely. Meantime a neighbour called Schmidt, who had been devoted to the young wife before her marriage, reappeared on the scene, and paid her assiduous attentions. So successfully did he press his su't that within a year of his rival's disappearance the fair lady consented to marry him, and they WERE UNITED AT THE PARISH CHURCH. On the second night following the wedding the newly-made bride lay awake, unable to slumber. Presently there came a gurgling cry from the sleeping form beside her, and a moment later the man, In a loud voice, proclaimed that he had killed the missing husband, and had hurled his body in a neighbouring wood. This statement the sleeper reiterated several times, naming the exact spot where the corpse lay interred. The affrighted wife heard the whole confession, and next morning carried the remarkable story to the police bureau. The place named by the sleeper was searched, and, sure enough, the body of the vanished man was discovered there. Somewhat similar in several details was the case of an Austrian peasant who muiv dered his "friend" in order that he might WOO THE LATTER'S SWEETHEART, a girl of unusual beauty. All attempts to trace the missing man had failed, and doubtless the affair would have remained a mystery to the end of time had not the criminal signed his own death warrant by confessing the crime while dozing by the flre in a neighbour's cottage. Bit by bit he described the incidents of the terrible affair, stating that he had destroyed his victim's body by flre. The man was then arrested and his cottage searched. Some garments nnd a watch .belonging to the decensed helng , found there, his fiTiilt 'was connidered half proved, and when placed In the dock he made a full confession, repeating, in fact, what he had said during his unlucky slumber.