The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1871-11-03
Two Lives In One.
CURIOUS PHYSIOLOGICAL CASE.

CURIOUS PHYSIOLOGICAL CASE.
L. Maria Child, in the National Stand
ard, relates the following very curious
case:
The departure of my dear old friend,
Henrietta Sargent, has naturally re-
vived in my mind many memories con.
nected with our intercourse. Some Of
them relate to physiological facts sutfi-
GENTLY curious to be worthy of record.
Her mother, woman Of fine physical
organization, lived to an advanced age,
and during the latter part of her healthy
life fell into state of dotage. For five
years she required the same cares that
are necessarily bestowed upon a babe |;
and during all that long period the pa.
tent watchfulness and tender devotion
of Henrietta and her sister Catharine
were beautiful to witness. The circum-
stances of her progressive imbecility
were very regular, and often rendered
her very difficult to manage. Step by
step she lived backward through all the
antecedent periods Of her life, with a
vividness of impression that rendered
them a perfect reality to herself, to the
entire exclusion of all later epochs; and
each of these successive states would
continue for months. Her husband
had been dead many years, but she was
possessed by the idea that they were
recently married. Every day she ex-
pected him home at given hour, and
insisted on having a plate set for him.
At every sound of the door-bell she
would say, "There, he has come |!
Tell them to serve up the din
ner." His non-appearance often made
her very restless. He is such a pune
tual man, something must have hap
pened to him." she would say. Some
times she would talk over affairs she
had to communicate to him when he
came home-affairs long since forgotten
by every one. To that bridal hallucina-
ton succeeded acting over again the
tending of her babies. Later, she lived
in the midst of her grown.up sons, and
was preparing for the weddings of her
daughters. The panorama of memory
kept moving on. After while hus.
band and children moved out of sight.
Her spirit went away from Boston en-
tirely, and took up its abode on the
south shore of Massachusetts, where she
had lived with her mother. Then she
receded into childhood, and was study.
ing her lessons for school, She espe-
cially occupied herself with her younger
brother. She laid by cakes and candies
for him, and made divers satchels for
his books. Early in the morning she
would inquire, Are Benny's face and
hands washed? Where are his cap and
comforter? He mustn't be late at
school," That also passed away and
she became little child, at her moth
er's knee, calling for stories of "Jack
and Clip and Little Boy Blue" She
did not know the daughters who were
attending on her with such assiduous
care, and when they read to her the
stories she desired, she would laugh in
the most infantile way, and ask to see
the pictures. Those little nursery
books would sometimes keep her quiet
ly amused for hours. Thus the flame
Of life flickered lower and lower, and at
last went out. / saw her several times
during these successive retrograde
stages of her life, and the completeness
with which she lived in them for the
time was a marvel to me.
Some years before she began to slide
into the abnormal state have describ-
ed, she had singular experience. One
morning she spoke of not feeling so well
as usual, but it was regarded by herself
and others as merely slight deviation
from her customary good health. But
in the course of the day she suddenly
tainted away. AS the usual restorativcs
produced no effect, the family physician
was summoned. No better success at
tended his efforts. The breath appeared
to be entirely suspended, and the limbs
remained rigid and cold. Her daugh-
tiers feared she must be dead, and the
doctor began to be doubtful whether
animation would ever be restored. How
long she continued in this state | do
not remember. But while they were
watching her with ever deepening
anxiety, she gasped feebly, and after a
while opened her eyes. When she had
completely recovered, she told her
daughters she had been standing by
them all the time, locking upon her
lifeless body, and seeing all they did to
resuscitate her; and she astonished
them by repeating the minutest details
of all that had been said or done by
them or the doctor during her pro-
longed state Of utter insensibility.