The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1871-07-20
SOmnambuliSts.

composing new music or writing new
compositions, are numerous. The Morn
ing Chronicle in 1922 gave an account of
q seaman who slept for night at an inn
in York. Wishing to be called early
next morning, and knowing himself to
be heavy sleeper, he directed the cham
ber-maid to come into his room and call
him, if he did not hear her knock at the
door. Waking when the sun was high
in the heavens, he felt certain that he
had slept far beyond the proper time I;
but looking for his watch to know the
hour, he found that it was not in its
place under the pillow, where he had
placed it. He jumped out of bed to
dress, but his clothes were gone; and,
looking round, he found himself in q
strange room. He rang the bell; the
chamber-maid appeared, and then he
found that he had, at some early hour
in the morning, left his bed and wan
dered in somnambulistic sleep into an
other room for when the maid came to
call him he was not in his proper room.
Wienholt relates the case of student
who, when in q somnambulistic state,
was wont to leave his bed, go to the par
lor or to his study, take out pen, ink,
and paper, place music in its proper po-
sition on the piano-forte, and play o
whole piece through with his eyes shut
His friends once turned the music up
side down while he was playing. He
somehow detected the change, and re-
placed the paper in the proper position.
On another occasion his ear detected a
note out of tune; he tuned the string,
and went on again. On a third occasion
he wrote letter to his brother, rational
and legible to a certain point; but it
was singular to observe that he contin-
ued to write after the pen had lost its
ink, making all the proper movements
without being conscious that he made
no more marks on the paper. A case is
on record of young lady who, when
under the influence of a particular nerv-
Gus complaint, would walk about the
house in a state of sleep, or coma, steer
ing her way safely between the articles
of furniture, and even avoiding objects
purposely placed to obstruot her path.
Her eyes were open, but she evidently
did not see through them in the ordina-
ry sense; for she entirely disregarded
strong lights held close to her eyes, and
even q finger that was actually placed
against the eyeball. Physicians are ac-
quainted with many evidences of per-
sons who do not see with the eyes, but
have some unexplained kind of vision
III certain morbid states of the nervous
system.
Those somnambulists who wander
about i'll streets and roads, or like Ami
na, in Bellini's opera) walk along planks
in perilous situations, have the muscular
sense, whatever it may be, effectively
awake. Doctor Carpenter notices, at
some length, "the sleep-walzers who
make their way over the roofs of houses,
steadily traverse narrow planks, and
even Chamber precipices and this they
do with far less hesitation than they
would do in the waking state" The
sense OF fear is asleep, whatever else
may bs awake. Some somnambulists
start oS while asleep to attend to their
regular work, though under very irreg-
ular circumstances. Not very many
years ago working stone-mason in
Kent was one evening requested by his
master to go next morning to church.
yard in the neighborhood and measure
the work which had been done to a wall,
in order that an account might be sent
i'll to the church wardens. The man
went to bed at the usual time; but when
he awoke he found himself fully dressed,
in the open air, and in the dark. Pres
emily clock struck two, and he knew
that he was in the church-yard. AS he
found that he had q measuring-rod and
book in his hand, he resolved to walk
about till daybreak lit being summer
weather., and ascertain what it was that
he had really done. He then found that
he had measured the wall correctly, and
had entered the particulars in his book.
Sometimes, instead OF starting up from
sleep to go to work, persons will fall
asleep while working or walking. When
Sir John Moore made his famous re-
treat to Corunna whole battalions of
exhausted troops slumbered as they
marched. Muleteers have been known
to sleep while guiding their mules,
coachmen while driving on the box,
post-boys while trotting on their horses,
and factory children while at work
There was a rope-maker in Germany
who often fell asleep while at work, and
either continued his worl, in a proper
way or uselessly remade cordage already
finished. Sometimes when walking long
distances he was similarly overtaken
with sleep; he went on safely, avoiding
horses and carriages, and timber lying
on the road. On one occasion he fell
asleep just as he got on horseback yet
he went on, rode through shallow riv-
er, allowed his horse to drink drew up
his legs to prevent his feet from being
wetted, passed through q crowded mar
ket-place, and arrived safely at the house
of an acquaintance his eyes were closed
the whole time, and he awoke Just after
reaching the house. Gassendi describes
a case of a man who used to rise in the
night, dress himself while asleep, go
down to the cellar, d aw wine from o
cask, and walk back to his bed without
stumbling over anything. In the morn
ing, like other sleep-walkers, he knew
nothing of what had happened. If he
CHANGED to wake while in the cellar,
which once or twice occurred, he groped
his way back in the dark with more
difficulty than when the sleep was upon
him. Another Italian, also mentioned
by Gassendi, passed on stills over a
swollen torrent in the night while asleep,
then awoke, and was too much afraid to
recross until daylight came.
An additional element of interest is
presented in those cases in which speak
ing is concerned, the somnambulist
either talking or hearing what is said
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