The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-09-11 00:00:00

THE FASTING GIRL OF WALES.

...
There is stale, by the way, in the current number of
Belgravia founded on this double incident of a sleeping
draught and intentional burial alive. But in the sad
tale that comes to us from France we have fact—horrid
fact—and such facts have occasionally occurred before
in the history of France. The law of that country
compels burial within 24 hours : but French legislators
might do well to ask themselves whether " as the n,an-
ner of their country is," the law may not zotnetiines
work a terrible result.
The storm which Mrs. Beecher Stowe has raised
through that extraordinary article in Macmillan, rela-
tive to Lord Byron's married life, will be a long time
before it has passed away. Supposing the story to be
true it was imadvisable to write and publish it, for
Lady Byron's memory needed no apology; supposing
the tale is unintentionally false, or mixed up with
much error, it was equally unadvisable to publish it.
But now that it has been published and read in
some form or another by millions of people, Mrs.
Stowe is bound to go further, and give proofs of her
assertions. After carefully reading the article and
many comments on it I think the Examiner is quite
right when it says, " I fere is a statement supposed to
be dictated by a woman so weak that physicians think
Phe is dying; her amanuensis is another woman of con-
si lerable strength of imagination; the narrative itself
Is incorrect in certain most important facts, it is with-
out a shadow of corroboration or proof, and it is highly
improbable." The controvirsy that has arisen nom
this article is vigorously waged, but at present Mrs.
Stone's opponents appear to have got decidedly the
best of it. As an instance of the attention to which
joun,alista are devoting to the subject, it may be men-
tioned that the Standard the other day had an article
if ItiZ columns on it
A scheme has been placed before the Court of (very)
Common Council, is Mr. Dickens calls the City mag-
nates, for widening London Bridge. Mr. Fill ti n, the en-
gineer, proposes to ,a iden it by 24 feet in piste -_:a rought
iron cantilevers on eitherside, at x cost of £2,1 hOO. This
would be a splendid improvement, and something of
the kind has been frequently proposit The traffic
on this bridge is still enormous, and must always be
so; but if this mighty thoroughfare were thus widened,
the continuous stream , passengers and vehicles might
Sow on wi•hout let or hindrance. Considering, how-
ever, that it would accommodate the masses of popu-
lation on either side of the rid r, to say nothing of I
visitors to the great metropolis, it is hardly fair that
the City should bear the whole expense, and this con-
sideration will probably prevent the improvement
being made. Moral: we want a municipal government
" Bunt's pew, once in St. Michael's, Dumfries, and
bearing It. B. cut by his hand in an idle hour, and
weary sermonizing, has been pet up for auction.
A. the pew did not reach ES, the pew WOA bought in."
And not very surprising either. Supposing a man

Mr. Robert Fowler. M.D., District Medical Officer
of the East London Union, writing fs,m the "Black
Lion Rotel," Cardigan, Sept. 4, sends the following
letter to The Times for publication :
Tiiking my annual outing lo the picturesque neigh
tronrhood of the Tiny I was a few days ago enabled, through
the kindness of toy friend Mr. Thomas Davies, jun., solici-
tor, Cardigan, to visit ar d examine the now far. lamed fast-
ing girl of Wales. The child, Sarah Jacob, is the daughter
of small tenant farmer living at Llethernoyailduccha in
the parish of Llantlhangebtrath, Carmarthenshire, about
If mile from the Pencader Station on the Cardigan and Car-
marthen Railway. The first impression was most unfavour-
able, and to a medical man the appearances were most sus-
picious. The child was lying in her tied decirated as a bride,
having round her head a wreath of flowers, front which was
suspended a smart riband, the ends of which *ere joined by
a small bunch of tbiwers alter the present fashion of ladle.'
bonnet strings. Ref. TO her, at pi oper reading distance, was
an open Welsh book emu:suited by two oth i r books on her
body. The blanket-covering was clean, tidy, and perfectly
smooth. Across the fireplace, which was nearly opposite the
foot of her bed, was an arranuenit tit of shelves welbstocked
with Engliah and Welsh biioks, the gifts of various visitors to
the hoes, The child is 13 years ci age, and is undoubtedly
very pretty. Her face was plump, and her cheek' and lila of
a beauti MI rosy colour Iler eyes were bright and sparkling,
the pupils were very dilated—in a meloure explicable
by the fact if the child's head and face being shaded from the
window light by the projecting side of her cupboard bedstead.
There was that restless movement Anil frequent lenitive cut of
the corners ot the eyes so characteristic of simulative disease.
Considering the lengthened inactivity of the girl, h r muscular
development was very good, and the amount 0 fat layer not
inconsiderable. My friend stated that she looked even bet-
ter than she did about a twelvemonth ago. There was a
slight perspiration over the surface of the body. 'I he pulse
was perfectly natural, as were also the sounds of the lungs
and heart, so far as I wits able to make a stetho=cimic
examination. Having received permission to do this, I pro-
ceeded to make the necessary disarrangement of dress. when
, the girl weht elf into what the moth, called a tiinting fit.
This consisted id nothing lmt a little and momenta, hysteri-
cal crying and sobbing. The rob iur never lift the lips or
cheeks Tile pulse remained of the oasis power. Con-
acionsnesa could have been but slightly diminiabed, inas-
much as upon my then opening the eyelids, I peroeived a dis-
titiet upward and other movemmit of the eyeballs. E
percuinton strike of my examination, and evi ti the pre snot't
the stethoscope, educed an expression of pain, which °betted a
natural sympathy from the mother, and an assertion that
a continuance of such examination would bring on further
Ms On percussitig the region of the stomach I niost dis-
tinctly produced the sound et gurgling, which we k.w to
he caused i y the admixture of air and fluid in motion. The
moat positive assurance of the parents was subsequently
made that, saving a fortnightly nioistening of her lips with
cold water, the child had neither ate nor Musk anything for
the last twenty-three months. Ibe whole region of the belly
was tympanitie, anti the ndisenlar walls of this cavity were
tense and drUni-like—a condition not infrequehtly conconiit-
ant of a well.know ClAra of net vous tient era. The child's
intellectual faculties and special senses were perfectly healthy.
Before her Chess she was very much devoted to religious
renlipg. This devotion has lately considerably increased.
She is a member of the Church of England, and has been

_ .
confirred.
She did not, on solicitation, squeeze my hand with either
of hers. The mother stated that her daughter could not
possibly grasp or hold anything in her hands. She moved
the left hand arid arm with less fecility than the right, which
the not seldom put up to the side of her head with a rather
ttudied effect. The whole left ride of the body appeared to
soy touch f was unprovided with a thermometer of lesser
temperature, and was said to be weaker, than the right
I made great efforts to menthe her back, but was assured
that this could be only permitted to airy one ectually pre-
sent when the child was being moved, which was °celestes..
ally done for the purpose of chatigitig the bed This opera-
tion invariably brought on a fit, and was, coneeqmntly, per-
formed as rapidly as possible, so that the parentn had actuslly
neither men or washed the child's back for nearly two years.
I was allowed to see the feet, and noticed that there were
no pressure marks whatever about the ankles Sr heels. The
feather bed on which she was lying was thin and poor, with
nothing between it and the sacking. Both feet were ex-
ceedingly pointed in direction, and the toes separated one
from Me other. On ticklieg the soles of the feet it was for.
eddy apparent to me that the girl was makings strong
luntary effort to prevent muscular movement. On touching
her elsewhere about the body there was said, however, to be
a very painful supersensitiveness.
I was asaured that the nails, which were level with the
tops of the digits, had never neen cut for nearly two years.
Certain of the mills had most distinctly straight edges with
angles, and some one or two had the well kno wri appearance
of being picked, or tom ; but the most inm mtal t teatime
about them Ives their very perfectness of health. There was
nit on any one of the nails a single trausverse groove to
show that there had been derive this protracted reclinatien
in bid any arrest whatever of animal mitre ion. This one
11. t demonstrates the improb iddlity nay, almost inipomi.
'nifty) of the child havirg lately suffered any tomtit, peel
physical disease. I could, nide* d, detect no physical cause
WhEittVer to prevent this so-called bedridden fasting girl
from rising from her bed sod using her locomotive power..
The power I believe to be there ; the will I believe to be
morbidly perverted.
She is said to have never had any serious illness till she
was seized about two years ago with vomiting of blood.
She then took to her bed, in which, saving when lifted out,
she has ever since been. The incapability of swallowing be-
gan at the very outset ; and the sight of, or even attempt to
give food, is said to now Imbig on one of her serious tits
The state of her tongue I could not see. It was asserted
that she could not open her mouth. he oinversed in Welsh
vnih her permits, and could say A few English wends.
Them as stated to be no hereditary tendency to any form
of Mmuity, epilepsy, or pulmonary disease. The child hail
had no convulsive attack during dentition. The fits at the
beginning of ner present illness were, from description, ate
p.trently eteleptic My observation of the girl helmets me
to believe hat each convulsion was merely a fit of hysterical
epilepsy.
The whole cane Is In fact one of simulative hysteria in a
young girl honing the propensity to deceive very strongly
developed. Therewith may be probably re.seciated the power
or habit of prolonged fasting. Both patient and mother
admitted the occasional occurrence of the choking sensation
called glolass Ayeferices.
The only appal cut difficulty about the easels the means of
the obtalemetit of food. t em informed that the parents
are very rmie ctalile people, and have no particular pecu-
Mare need above the clam to which they belong. The most
suspicious evidence of their collusion is the Cirmimstan,es
lii, ir making the patient a complete show-child, receiving
motley and presents from the hundreds of vieitors to the
farm.
From my observation and examination of the girl, from my
acquaintance with analagous casts, and from my long expe-
rience as a public medical officer of various forms of ma-
lingering, I am inclined to believe that Sarah Jacob in reality
deceives her own parents The construction of the lied and
the surrounding old Welsh cupboards and drawers in the
room are all favourable to the concealment of food lam
told that when watchers were, with permission, placed in
the house they were actually deharred 110.0 tonchieg the
bed. The watehilig was thus reduced to a palpable absur-
dity, the very first element of success being denied it.
'the runtime etrata,erns and deceptions sometinies prac-
tised by yang girls afflicted with this form of hysteria are
well known to medical men, though not so generally credited
by non.professionals. I. can, therefore quite understand
these poor simple parents being easily deceived by their own
child, the more especially as In their igaorance they seem t
implicitly believe that there is a miracle and something
euperhumsn in the case.
During the last Parliamentary Session we heard a great deal
of the itifluence of the ministers% of religi•n, and of the power
of the territorial aristocracy in Wales. Now, here is a
comm in ground on which the eloquence of the former and
the permesiveness of the latter may very legitimately con-
joie so as to beneficially affect a sufferieg fellow.creature.
lint vain tried to convintes the (*thee that at this young age
fetch a case was in all probability perfectly curable. lie
shook his head. stating "that none but the Great Doctor
c add cure his child "
Admitted into a London Hospital, or into the Carmarthen-
shim Difirmary, this poor child would, doubtless, be quickly
relievcil from a malady which in a year or as may not only
become chronic, but also be the forerunner of some
physical or some more severe form of mental disease. Ni
sensible medical man, wiless guaranteed perfect control and
means, u ould undertake the treatment it such a case in the
cottage in which the girl lives. Unless some sudden impres-
mon, such as the house on fire, is made upon the child's ner-
vous system, she is (where she Is) likely to reniain some time
in the state she now lies The late Sir Benjamin Brodie had
an aptitude for the detection of the:, caaes. In his work on
Local Nervous Diseasea he details many analogous cases and
the successful treatnimit thereof
lb jug made an object of curiosity, sympathy, and profit
Is noi telly totally ant .grinist le to this girl's recovery, but also
recurs it extremely difficult for a medical man to determine
how much of the symptoms is the result of a mired% per-
verd Mot will, and how much is the product of inteutional
d eeeit.
The silly father's answer to my advice and offer was, "flow
can you London doctors make my child eat, without making
a hole in lice?