Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1857-07-18

| fortnight On the twenty-third of June,
eight days after she had been able to leave
bed, she assumed her customary work, which
she performed in an unusually hurried man
ner' Her health, however, appeared to be
| fully restored. On the twenty-seyenth of
June, she was found in bed in deep sleep,
with the appearance of blood having flowed
from her nose. There was also considerable
blood by her bedside All attempts to awaken
her were utterly Intellectual. A physician
was called, who took pound of blood from
her arm; but she still remained in the same
Ietharglc state, without making the slightest
motion, till the afternoon of the thirtieth of
the same month, when she awoke Of her own
accord, and asked fer food, She stated that
she remembered having been awakened on
the night OF the twenty seventh, by bleed
ing at the nose, which flowed very rapidly
and she held her head over the bedside till
the bleeding stopped; but that moment she
had no feeling or remembrance Of anything,
and felt only as if she mad taken very long
sleep.
Medicine was administered, and she went
to sleep as usual, but the next morning she
was found in the same state of profound sleep
as before. Her breathing was very gentle,
her eountenance remarkably placid, and free
from any indication of pain, but her jews
CIV "a III 4OShGNs 50 LllaL NO lDOu tbuIu DC
introduced into her mouth She continued
thus for seven days motionless, and without
exercising any bodily function, until at the
end OF that time she began to move her lett
hand, and by pointing to her mouth. indicated
desire for food, which she took readily.
Still she discovered no symptoms Of hearing,
and made no other kind Of bodily movement.
h.. Elght arm appeared completely dead, and
devoid OF feeling, even when prcked so as to
draw blood; the left arm was sensitive. She
continued to take food placed to her mouth,
munchlnS It slowly. She could not move her
band to her mouth. She took medicine as
readily as food, without any expression of
disgust, and by this means the digestive and
subsidiary functions OF her system were in
operation. The ewes were uniformly shut,
and when forced open the ball Of the eye APP
peared to be turned upward so as to show only
the white part OF it.
About the middle Of July, her head was
shaved and large blister applied, which re-
manned for nearly nineteen hours, producing
the usual effect, yet without the least symp-
ION of uneasiness on the part of the patient.
Other means were tried, but no sensation APP
pesred. She remained in this state, without
any apparent alteration, until the eighth of
August, just six weeks from the time she was
seized with her lethargy, without ever APP
peaTiDg 10 be awake, except on the thirtieth
Of jane, before mentioned. During this
whole period ner color was generally that
Of health, only more delicate than usual,
with occasional variations Of intensity. She
discovered no symptoms of hearing until
about four days before her recovery, and then
only for a short time On the eighth of Au-
gust her father, hoping to rouse her facul-
ties, talked to her in such a manner as to
alarm her fears, and she gradually recovered
the use of all her faculties, opened her eyes,
and responded, though in a low and feeble
voice, to his questions. She was so weak as
to be scarcely able to move She had no
recollection of what had happened, except of
the conversation on the thirtieth of June,
during her temporary Tevivhcaton. Shehad
never been conscious of having food OF med
icine, or of being lifted out Of bed, and was
greatly surprised upon discovering that her
head was shaved
She regained her strength rapidly, and on
the last day of August, went to work as
reaper. performing the regular labor of the
| harvest for three weeks, without inconveni-
| ence. Again on the twenty. seventh of Sep
/ TENDER, and on the eleventh of October, she
! fell into the same Iethargic condition, re-
naming thus for fifty hours each time, but
recovering, apparently in perfect heath, and
resuming her work.
PHILosoPHY IN CoURT,-We observe that
prize Is offered this year by Harvard Col
lege of 5000 to any pupil who shall be de-.
| clded by the corporation to have attained the
| greatest skill in mathematics. The person
who offers the prize, which is only proposed
| for this year, is Uriah A. Boyden, civil en-
| gineer of Boston.
| This gentleman was concerned in suit
last year, brought by him in the Supreme
| Court Of Massachusetts, against the Atlantic
! Cotton Mills of Lawrence, which was of q
! very interesting character, but has never, SO
| far as we are aware, come before the public.
| Mr.. Boyden had agreed to make a turbine
water-wheel tor the Atlantic Mills which
| should save, or " utilize" as it is termed, 76
| per cent. of the water power; if he succeed
| ed III saving thar per centage, he was to have
| $4,000, il not, he was to have nothing; and
| for every per cent. above that he was to re-
ceive $780, Mr.. Boyden went to work and
| produced wheel which saved, as he affirm
ed, niaety air per cent. The labor involved
| in this result may be imagined, from the fact
that Mr.. Boyden spent more than $4,000 in
the mere mathematical calculations. The
company had provided no sufficient means of
testing the question practically. and as the
per centage claimed by Mr.. Boyden was alto.
gether unprecedented, they contested the
claim.
The case went into court. No jury on the
globe could comprehend the question, and
the learned bench also found itself entirely at
fault. The case was accordingly referred to
three well-ehosen pariies-Judge Joel Parker
of Cambridge, Prof. Benjamin Pierce, the
mathematician, and James B. Francis of
Lowell, the agent of the united companies of
Lowell, in the management of the common
water power. Prof. Parker furnished the
law, Mr.. Francis the practical acquaintance
with hydraulics, and Prof Pierce the mathe-
matical knowledge. That learned geometer
had to dive deep and study long before the
problem was settled. But settled it was. at
last, and In Mr. Boyden's favor, to whom the
referees awarded the sum of eighteen thou
sand seven hundred dollars.
Mr.. Boyden had previously constructed tur-
bine wheels that utilized respectively the ex-
traordinary amounts of SO and 90 per cent, !;
the last wheel, utilizing 90 per cent, exceeds
any thing of the kind that was ever made.
The wheel is l04 34 inches in diameter.-N,
Y. EUeaing Post.
A TRADEsMAN' LEA man named Bry-
an, convicted before the Recorder of London
for having represented to pawnbroker that
sorne spoons he wished to pledge were eel
bington's best A. on which the pawnbroker
advanced money, but afterwards found the
.r.alr. 4.