New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-10-20
ner,cIAl JOURNAL or NEW ORLEANS
FATE.
). THE SLEEPING BEAUTY"


BY the late John A. Dorsan
1.-THE SLEEPING BEAUTY
.sdarp Reply of Her Physicians to the Vcr-
dict of Humbug and Collision Rem
dered by the ST. Louis Medical
SOciety's Committee.
From the st. Louis Democrat.l
On the seventh instant arrived in the city
i,r. Charles p. Glover and John Rhea, from
Tennessee, bringing with them, in charge
also of her mother. the much talked of phe-
nomenon, widely known rs the Sleeping
Beauty" This curiosity of poetic designa
ton, was said to have slept for twenty-one
wears, or since she was eight years of age
with daily snatches Of walIefulness, amount
ing in all to about one hour in the twenty
four, Her doctors asked the St. Louis
Medical Society to investigate and try to
explain or alleviate her condition. and the
Society appointed for the purpose a commit
tee, who spent the better part Of week IN
the task. They unanimously pronounce the
case one of huInbug and collision, having,
however, some basis of nervous disease. As
to this report Drs. Glover and Rhea claim
the right to be heard in defense, and ac-
cordingly they submit the following as their
rejoinder:
TO THE PUEBLO.
The primary object of the undersigned in
bringing the Sleeping Beauty to st. Louis
was scientific examination.
The second, if sufficient interest was
manifested, to let her he seen to remunerate
MS for expenses and time, and to better the
condition Of the family, and more. if it
would yield it. That was and is our bust
ness.
We were ignorant enough to know be-
fore we left home that she was troubled
with neuralgia of the shoulders, etc, and a
functional arrangement peculiar to her
sex. And we were honest enough to own
that we did not know from any process of
pathological or physiological reasoning
what her lOng-continued cOmatOse or sleepy
condition rested upon. Hence we sought
light. We arrived here October Z. The
next evening the case was placed before the
medical association q cOmmitte asked for
and granted.
The next morning they were admitted
into her room, and, without restriction, were
allowed to come, remain and go, 0d ibitnm
The committee did not use cruel or harsh
means, for such was prohibited from begin
ming. One of them did. however, introduce
a needle into both lower eXtremties, and
another doctor pierced her arm with a
needle and punched her eyes with his fin
ger insOmuch that her eyes ran water be-
fore she awOke, and that she wept when
conscious.
We made statements of her condition
when asked--answered all questions, to the
best of our knowledge, truthfully.
We pointed ont faithfully and honestly
every phenomenon in her case with all cOur-
tesy and patience. And here We are forced
to say, we have not received one ray of light
as to her true situation more than we had
before we came.
On last Thursday afternoon 1--WE think.
oyer a majority of the committee told lis
they were satisfied with the investigation,
and supposed it might be considered as
<closed. We then remarked, it is insisted
that some more special instrumental exami-
nations should be made, and that. say.
some forty-eight hours of her diurnal mo
lions are necessary to be gone through
with. ''Oh, well" it was replied, "we care
nothing about all that, but perhaps You had
better allow that, to keep things little
quiet" That is about the substance, if not
the exact words of that conversation
About the same time, perhaps a little be-
fore, as well as afterward, electricity,
choral and chloroform were proposed as
least, palliative experiments. We de-
clined experiments; declined them because,
as we told them, we were under pledges to
the family, as well as good people at home,
that we would allow nothing of the kind
We declined them, although ''she can be Of
no use to society or the community de
clined them, because we had received no
intelligent or satisfactory diagnosis of the
case whatever, so far as the examination
had gone.
1t is finished And we still decline! For
we are yet without light as to the cause
which cOmpels that poor unfortunate girl to
sleep about twenty-five out OF every TWEEN
ty-four hours.
Here we would like to stOp-tO write our
names. But not yet! Science, progressive
science, has put on her beautiful garments
has been strOlling about the moonlit streets,
STOPPING and stopping for little respite
under the ewes of houses; peeping through
keyhOles, fearing" to enter the domicil of
innocence. What rapid, what newborn
strides for tame, Dame Science to take!
But, bark She has fathomed the mystery;
descended deeper into the hidden secrets of
nature than Jones or an Eve, and perhaps
five hundred others dare 60. The diagnosis,
the scientific diagnosis, is complete. 1t is
what medical men cali ''gross misrepresen-
tatiOn, collision and systematic pretending,
for the purpose of deceiving," and known
by the profession as humbug by appoint
ment. Hold; Macdutf, hold. We have
heard of a certain fish, which, when too
closely pursued by its enemies, throws out
dark liquid that SO discOlors the water
that it has opportunity to make its escape.
Now, reader, before we dismiss this sub
ject, we wish to make three distinct propo-
sitiOns:
First-We will place in the hands of the
Mayor Of st. Louis sufficient money to de-
fray the expenses of any two intelligent
citizens mot doctors), to go to the places of
our residence, which are at and near Union
City, Obion county, Tennessee, if they es-
tabiish the charge, in the slightest degree,
of our want of yeracity and integrity.
SecOnd-We will deposit like sum if he
will appoint two others to 90 to the life
long residence of the Sleeping Beauty" six
miles from Hickman, Kentucky, and find
any one SO ignorant or so wise as to pro-
nomce her a fraud or humbug-a mere
educated prctcnsc.
Third-f he will appoint two intelligent
ladies to come at 9 p. NJ, for three consecu-
tive nights, and set up with her all night, and
if they find that she fails on either night
to have her chill of one hour, from 10 to | i p.
NJ, or if they fail to observe all her phe
nOmena occurring as during the day, or if
she uses that right hand one moment. or
one whit better than during the day, then
we will sign and publish at our own ex-
pense under the control of the Mayor in
the St. Louis papers that we are liars and
lmposters.
CHARLES. P. GLOVER, M. d.
JOHN RHEA, M. d.
st. Louis, October IL, 1870.
We commend the following, from the
Ia Hy.sI