Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1853-11-04
CuRIosrTIEs OF SLEEP

record OF sleeping and waking. In Tur-
key, if person happens to fall asleep in
the neighborhood of poppy-ield, and
the wind blows over toward him, he be-
cpmcs gradually norconized, and would
die if the country people, who arc well
acquainted with the circumstance, did
not bring him to the next well or stream,
and empty pitcher after pitcher on his
face and body. DR.. Oppenhcim, during
his residence in Turkey, owed his life to
this simple and efficacious treatment
DR.. Graves, from whom this anecdote is
quoted, also reports the case of a gentle
man, thirty years Of age, who, from long
continued sleepineSs, was reduced to a
complete living skeleton. unable to stand
on his legs. 1t was partly owing to dis
ease, but chiefly to the abuse of mercury
and opium, until at last unable TO pur-
sue his business, he sank into abiect pow
erty and woe. DR.. Reid mentions
friend of his who, whenever anything oc-
Cured to distress him, soon bee anne
drowsy, and fell asleep. 4 fellow stu
dent also, at Edinburgh, upon hearing
suddenly the unexpected death of near
relative, threw himself on his bed, and
almost instantancously, amidst the glare
of MONDAY, sunk into profound slum-
Der. Another persen, reading aloud TO
one of his dearest friends stretched on his
death-bed, fell fast asleep, and, with the
book still in his hand, went on reading,
utterly unconscious of what he was ut.
tcring. A woman at Hanault slept sew
enteen or eighteen hours day for fifteen
years. Another is recorded to have slept
once for forty days. \ man twenty-five
years of age, at TimSbury, near Bath,
once slept for a month, and in two years
he slept again for seventeen days. DIR.
MacniSh mentions woman, who spent
three-fourths of her life in sleep; and DIR.
Elliotson, who has collected several inStan-
ces of thissort, quotes the case of a young
lady who slept six weeks and recovered.
Herodotus, in 20 Melpemene," alludeS in
credulously to race Of the ScythianS, or
Tartars, in the extreme North, who were
reported to sleep six months of the year.
q Two young gentlemen" says DR..
Graves, " college students, went to bed
in perfect health the night previous TO
their examination; they slept soundly;
-
and left his younger brother in bed still
asleep: he remained so for two hours
more, having slept altogether for more
than ten hours, when he awoke in state
of complete insanity" The same author
likewise relates the case of a gentleman
who fell asleep with his head resting on
his hands, folded together before on the
table, after dinner. On awakening, one
arm was paralysed, and remained paraly-
tic to the day of his death, which followed
not long aftelward. The celebrated Gen.
eral Elliott, Frederic the Great, and John
Hunter, seldom slept more than four or
five hours in the twenty-four. DIR. Mac
nish mentions a lady, in perfect health,
who never slept more than three or four
hours, and then only half an hour at
time. General Pichegru, according to
Sir Gilbert Blame, had only one hours
sleep in the same space Of time for whole
year. The venerable St. Augustine, 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 Moivre slept twenty
hours out of the twenty-four. Quinn, the
celebrated player, could at his pleasure.
slumber twcflty-four hours in succession;
and DIR. Reid could, when he liked, take
as much food and as much sleep as would
serve him for couple Of days. Theodo-
Sius, falling asleep in the morning watch
of his last great battle, saw in his dreams
an apparition that assured him of vic
tory over his desperate foe Eugenius and
the issue of the forthcoming day coincid-
ed with, this strange presentiment.-
The Dauphin, son of the unfortunate
Louis XVI, the descendant 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
thrust, was killed by the want of sleep.
His teverish temples were scarcely laid
upon his pallet, when stern voice pealed
round the walls,-Copet, on es tut dorc
tn, By refinement of cruelty of this
description, his ductile and confiding
spirit, drawn out to the last gasp, silent
ly gave up the ghost, on the 8th of June,
in his tenth year, 1875. The famous st.
Dominic never reposed except on the floor,
or the bare boards, which served him for
bed. St. Bonaventura, one of the first
FranciscanS, made use of common stone
of some size, instead of pillow; and St.
Peter Of Alcantara slept but one hour and
half in the twenty four hours for forty
years together, either kneeling or stand
ing, with his head leaning aside, on lit
tie piece of good fastened for that purpose
in the wall. He usually ate but once in
three days; yet he lived TO be old, though
his body was SO attenuated and weak that
it seemed to be composed of the roots of
trees, and his skin so parched that it re-
sembled the dry bark Of tree, rather
than flesh. People may sleep in all sorts
of postures. According to Mr.. Wilkinson,
the ancient Egyptians, who, as everybody
knows, shaved their scalps, slept with
their heads resting on an iron prong, like
that of pitch-fork, woltcd with some
thing soft. This they did for the sake of
keeping their heads cool, which they sup
posed strengthened their wits. The pos
tilion will sleep on horseback, and the
sentinel at his post. An entire battalion
of infantry have been known TO sleep on
the march. 1t is about three or four
o'clock in the morning that this propcn-
sity to sleep is the most overpowering,
IL L r.