Weekly Trinity journal., 1872-04-06
LIVING WITHOUT EATING.
A Marvellous SLUry--TWO Years
cut solid Food. and seven
without any, Save water

One of those anomalous and incredible |
c9=es. which are reported almost con-
stanty in one quarter Of the world or an
other-tloStory Of life prolonged appar-
antly without the taking of sustenance-
is alleged to exist in this city. The sub
ject is Katie Donovan, girl q years of
age, and the circumstances which have
brought her to her present condition we
give below, promising that We tell the
story as it was tod to US: She was en-
ployed in the first part Of 1869 in the rag
Armes, and just three weeks ago last
Wednesday met an accident there which
has 1uenced her whole life since. An
other girl gave her push, in sport, and
she fell upon a barrel striking upon her
right side and the other girl falling upon
her. She did not think at the time that
she was hurt much, but felt some inward
pain, and as is now evident, received
internal injury. From that time she
commenced throwing up her food, but
remained at her work until the following
Saturday afternoon, when she was obliged
to give up and take 10 bed. Since that
hour she has been bedridden, and the
trouble which manifested itself at the
outset has been constantly increasing
At tir-t she was fed with about her usual
70 d, but this proved so repulsiye TO her
stomach, that it was gradually reduced
both in quantity and quality, until she
subsisted wholly on jellies. Meanwhile
large number Of physicians were called
in succession TO prescribe for her, but ac-
kaowledged that they could do nothing
for her, and generally predicted that she
would live but short time. Their med
icn were expelled from her stomach
as promptly as food was, and her case
seemed, indeed hopeless. But she con-
tinued to survive for months without
medical aid, and has been seen by no
physician for nearly two years, except
last July, when her father, John Dono-
van, "A workman ut Wason's, died, when
the physician declared that she must
quickly follow. At that time she was
able TO take little lemonade, but that,
as well as stimulants Of all kinds and in
every form, being rejected by her stom-
ach, she has since subsisted-such is the
extraordinary claim-upon water alone,
and very little Of that OF course this is
too much for belief; but it must be said
that those who know Mrs. Donovan best
"A good many very respectable people
actually do believe it. They say that
they have found her, in an acquaintance
of "A dozen years or more, n woman Of
strict honesty and truthfuness, and she
would certainly appear incapable Of car
Tying on long course Of fraud. The
motive for such course, if she has adopt
ed it, was not pecuniary profit, as she
has not sought to give her afiiiction pub
licity, and has never asked or taken mon
ey from visitors, although a washerwo-
man with six children, most of them de-
pendent on her for support. She lives in
an upstairs tenement in little court
opening out on Liberty street, and the
place, though in an Irish quarter, is scru-
pulously neat in all her part of it. The
girl who lives without eating is in a re-
spectably-furnished little room, the win
dow-curtain of which is kept down, as is
said, to favor her eyes. She appears TO
experience no discomfort however, when
it is raised, and the light di,closes black
eyed and black-haired girl with comely
features and fair complexion. She is not
emaciated, as would be supposed after
such extraordinary abstinence from food,
but her countenance has a peculiarly
transparent-almost like-appear-
ance. She is able TO turn little in bed,
but her strength is very gradually wan
ing, and with the cough She now has it
would seem, as it seemed two years ago,
that her stay upon earth must be brief
Her mind appears to be clear, although
she speaks but little, and that in whis-
per.-Sp11nGJfetd, (HoSS.) Republican.