, 1873-02-09
A DR0LLERY III MEDICAL PRACTICE.

| Ever since the detection Of "scratching Fan
n.y." who ingeniously imposed upon all ant
| aundry as tho :. Cock-Land Ghost" tho skill 0
young iemsles in playing off tricks, and simu
lating u1aladies, out Of spirit Of mere mischief
often to their own detriment, has been d well
recognized fact in the medical profession. Il
euch performances, boys fall far behind. Mitac
Ioua wounds, or miraculous cures, do no
suit tho boyish nature. Girls posseas the true
inventive faculty aud power OF endurance fol
some secret purpose Yot, with full know.
ledge OF these qualities in the young female pa
tient, phyBicians Gre constantly imposed On j; ant
for that matter, magistrates too, as, for exam
pie, when, as has occurred, some young lad,
sustains fancifm complaint Of being improp
erly treated in railway carriage.
Long ago, when almost everything uausua
was ascribod to supernatural Interference, c1cve
young females, with d relish for deception, 70
sorted to very pretty knack Of astonishing
noises, soratchings, tunbling about articles O.
household furniture, throwing stones al
windows, derangias aowcr-pots, and per.
forming other outrageous antics. II
that dcligh:fally annusins old book, 'sataa's In
incidents, all assan1ealy supernatural, and very
perplexing to the ecclesiastical authorities OF
the period, but Wh;c-. sharp London detective
would now EaYe a. once traced to some cleyor
but To1y innoce1t-lookin5 girl, who enjoyed the
exquisite plocsa1o OF throwing whole neigh
which resulted in an appeal TO prayers and exor-
cismB. 4 lore Of deception By such freaks
sometimes exceeds all imaginable bounds.
6elf-accusation, and oven self-tortuTe, are we'll
known phases Of this curious disorder OF the
female mind, for such it rcally is.
A story is told Of Indy patient vino Was in
the habit Of thrusting needles into her foot, end
then submitting to surgical operation for their
removal. But this instance Of self-int1icted tor
turo was far outdone in curious case which oc-
o11Y TnH Af {ha }1QJa Tn anil fd
toned By Dr.. Priestley in Ieclura delivered ct
the hliddlesex Hospital. We popularize it as
follows:
One day young woman applied ct the in
fEa1ary to DO treated for al ulcer having very
great rate. suspecting that the patient
was secretly causing the irritation, the
doctor in attendance caused the pnrt to
DO covered in such way that she could
not got At it: The result was that, by course
healed. The girl did not like getting VOL. In
ahort time She tried a new trick. This was
tho contriyance Of q gathering ut the end Of her
finger, leading to tho boae,-a seemingly bad
case, .nocessitatlng surgical operation. To
this abe would on no account consent, and loft
the inirmary. She afterwards, however, went
to Liverpool, and thore submitted to an ampu-
tation Of part Of the finger. Taking caro- that
the wound should not heal, the case be-
carle go bad that the hand had to be am
puLdLeu- LUIS ul4 0OI B1t1sty Inc IQpl-
bid desire for suffering. Still size kept the
wound in . state Of irritation, and ampntation
above the elbow s7as reaorted to. With the stump
nearly healed, eho quilted Liverpool, and re-
turned to Carlisle. where by-aad-by the wonnd
and she was again admitted to the
lnfrmary+ Again an anputation-this timo, the
arm OF by the shoulder-blade. The poor wretch
was still uneatisded. After being . little time
at homo, she presented herself with the wound
ln bad wny at the same time producing two
pieces OF bone as having come away, but which
tho doctor saw werc only two pieces OF bone that
bad been taken from leg of mutton. To pre-
vent any froah manGuyre, she Was placed in bed
With her remaining arm tied to her side,
and in three weeks the shoulder
sas perfectly healed. Now about to be
discharged, she fell on new device. Her left
,ye appeared to be badly swollen, and, on in
'pection, it wns found that she had picked apiece
If lime plaster from the wall, and placed it
1nder the eyelid! Dismissed from the infrma-
=, she afterward affected new nalady, but was
ooked on with suspicion, and died without ad-
nitting.her deceptions to any one. The girl
Fho perpetrated these oddities is not spoken OF
.s having been insane, and the medical man who
elatos the case says that the motives for self
orture are not to be OWNED. The only rational
conjecture ID, that abe derived pleasure IN sue
'essfully playing of these ridiculous tricks On
,pr Ynadfch1 attardanfo Tn4s%nHT