Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1871-04-21
"Once a Man and Twice a Child"

UNDER the title of Psychological
Facts" Mrs. L. Maria Child writes for the
National Standard the following interest
ing sketch of the remarkable phenomena
attending the life of Henrietta Sargent:
The departure of my dear old friend
Henrietta Sargent has naturally revived
in my mind many memories connected
with our intercourse. Some of them re-
late psychological facts sufficiently curl
GUS to be worthy of record.
3" Her mother, a 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 neces-
sarlly bestowed upon babe; and during
all that long period the patient watchful-
ness and tender devotion of Henrietta and
her sister Catherine were beauti-
full to witness. The circumstances
of her progressive imbecility were very
singular, and often rendered her
extremely difficult to manage. Step by
step she lived backward through all the
antecedent periods of her life, with q
vividness of impression that rendered
them perfect reality to herself, to the
entire exclusion of all later epochs; and
each of these successive states would con-
tinue for months. Her husband had been
dead many years, but she was possessed
by the idea that they were recently mar
ried. Every day she expected him home
at given hour, and insisted upon having
plate set for him. At every sound Of
the doorbel she would say, There He
has come. Tell them to serve up the din
ner. His non-appearance cfteu made her
very restless. "He is such punctual
man, something must have happened to
him." she would say. Sometimes she
WOI1In talk affairs cbn ho1 fO
nicate to him when he came home-affairs
long since forgotten by every one. To
that bridal hallucination 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 we'd
dings of her daughters The panorama of
memory kept moving on. After while,
| husband and children passed out of sight.
| Her spirit went away from Boston entire
| ly, and took up its abode on the south
shore of Massachusetts,, where she resided
in her girlhood. The house where her
! body was, seemed to her to be the house
where she had lived with her mother.
Then she receded into childhood and was
studying her lessons for school. She es-
| pecially occupied herself with her younger
brother. She laid by cakes and candy for
him, and made divers satchels for his book.
| Early in the morning she would inquire,
Are Benny's face and hands washedY
Where are his cap and comforter? He
mustn't be late at school, That also passed
away; and she became little child, at her
mothers kee, calling for stories of Jack
and Gill and Little Boy Blue She did
not know the daughters who were tend
ing upon her with such assduous care,
and when they read to her the stories she
would laugh in the most infantile way and
ask to see the pictures. Those little nur-
sery 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 retrogade 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 described,
she had a singular experience. One morn
ing 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 restoratives produced
no effect, the family physician was sum-
, mOned. No better success attended his
efforts. The breath appeared to be entire
ly suspended, and the limbs remained rigid
: and cold. Her daughters feared she must
be dead, and the doctor began to be doubt
full whether animation would ever be re-
! stored. 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 9
D while opened her eyes. When she hao
! completely recovered, she told her daugh
E tiers she had been standing by them all thu
. time, looking upon her lifeless body, ant
i seeing all they did to resuscltate it; ant
9 she astonished them by repeating the mi
q nutest details of all that had been said o.
n done by them, or the doctor, during he
4 prolonged state of utter insensibility."