Muscatine journal. [volume] (Bloomington, Iowa) 1849-185?, 1853-09-09
Cgri0sitieS of Sleep.


in the neighborhood of a poppy field,
becomes gradually narcotize1, and would
die if the country pecple--who are we'll
acquainted with the circumstances s.
did not bring him to the next we'll or
stream, and empty pitcher after pitcher
on his face and body. DR.. Oppenheim,
during his residence in Turkey, owed
his life to this simple and efficacious treat
menl Dir. Graves, from whom this anec
dote is quoted also reports the case OF a
gentleman, thirty years Of age, who, from
long continued sleepiness. was reduced
to complete living skeleton, unable
10 stand on his legs. 1t was partly ow-
ing TO disease, but chiefly to the abuse
Of mercury and opium, till, at last, un-
able to pursue his business, he sank into
abject poverty aud woe. DR.. Reid
mentions friend Of his, who, when
ever any thing occurred to distress him.
soon became drowsy, and fell asleep
A fellow student, also, at Edingburgh,
upon hearing. suddenly, the unexpected
death of a near relative, threw himself
on his bed. and almost instantaneously,
amid the glare oil noon day, sunk into a
profound slumber. Another person. read
ing aloud 10 one of his dearest friends
sire tched on his death bed, fell fast
asleep, and, with the book still in his
hand, went on reading, utterly uncon
woman at Henault slept seventeen or
eighteen hours day for fifteen years.
Another is recorded to have slept for
iorty days A man twenty-five years OF
age, at Timsbufy. near Bath, once slept
for a month, aud in two years he slept
again for seventeen days. DIR. Mac nlsh
mentions woman who spent three
fourths of her life in sleep: and DR..
Elliotson, who has collected several in
stances of this sort, quotes the case Of a
young lay who slept for six weeks. and
recovered. Herodotus, in "Melpomene,'
alludes, incredulously, to a race Of the
Scy thians, or Tartars, in the extreme
north, who were reported to sleep away
six months of the year. 1.-TWO young
gentem man," says DR.. Graves, college
students, went to bed in perfect health
the night previous to their examination;
they slept soundly; the eldei one rose
early in the morning, and left his youn-
ger brother in bed. still asleep; he re
lined so for two hours more, having
slept altogether Tor more than ten hours,
when he awoke in G state OF complete
insanity" The same author likewise
ra1a ,h Of I'll bn
fell asleep with his head resting on his
hands, folded. together before him on the
table, after dinner. On awakening,
one arm was paralyzed. and remained
paralytic to the day of his death, which
followed not long afterwards. The
celebrated General Elliott, Frederic the
Great, and John Hunter, seldom slept
more than four. or i've hours in the twenty
four. DR.. Macnish mentions lady in
perfect health, who never slept more
than th zee or four hours in the twenty
four, and then only half an hour at a
time. General Pichegru, according TO
Sir Gilbert Blame, had only one hours
sleep in the same space Of time for a
whole year. The venerable St. Angus
tine. of Hippo. prudently divided his
hours into three parts: eight he devoted
10 sleep. eight to recreation, and eight
to converse with the world. De Moi
vre slept twenty hours out Of the twenty
four. Quin. the celebrated player. could {,
at his pleasure. slumber .wenty-(our
hours in succession; and Doctor Raid
could, when he liked, take as much food
and as much sleep as would serve him
for two days. Theodoslus. falling asleep
in the morning watch of his last
great battle, saw in his dreams an ap-
paration that assured HIM of the victory
over his desperate foe Eugenius and the
issue OF the forthcoming day verified or
coincided with, this strange presen,ment.
The Dauphin, son of the uniorfu unate
Louis XVI, the descendent of the sover-
eigns OF France and Navarro, shut up in
a loathsome nook, with hole in the
wall. through which his scanty rations
were thurs,, was killed by the want OF
sleep. His ieverish temp es were scarcely
laid upon his pallet. when a stern vice
pealcd round the wall, "Capet, ou es tu?
aors fu?" BY refinement of cruelty of
this description, his ductile and confiding
spirit, drawn ou, 10 the las, gasp, silently
gave up The ghost, on the 9Th OF June,
In his tenth year, 1898. The famous
st. Dominic never reposed except on
.he floor, or the bare boards, which
serv ed him for bed. St. Bonayentura.
one Of the first Franciscans, made use
of common stone o. some size,
nstead OF pillow (; and st. Peter. Of
Alcantara slept bat one hour and a
half in the twenty -four hours for forty
years together, either kneeling or STAN
ding, with his head leaning aside, on
little piece of wood fastened for ths t
purpose in the wall. He usually ate
but once in three days, yet he lived to be
old, though his body was SO atienuated
and weak that il seemed to be composed
of the roots OF trees, and his sain SO
parched that i, resembled the dry bark
ola tree, rather Than flesh. People may
sleep in all sorts Of possures. According
TO Mr.. Wilkinson, the ancient Egyp.'
ians, who, as every body knows, shaved
their scalps. slept with their heads
resting on an iron prong, like that of a
pitchfork, welted with something soft.
This they did for the sake of keeping
.heir heads cool, which they supposed
siren shened their wits. The Poslillion
will sleep on horseback, and the senti