New-York tribune., 1874-03-18
SUMMERS SUFFERINGS.

typ-rp LECTURE OF DIR. BR0WN-SEQUARD
rpoyouSp EMOTION or THR IBCrURER-coNsb-
ourNcEs OF IRRITATING PARTICULAR NERVES
PEOPLE SAYING THINGS TIIEY DON'T WANT Io
sAY-sNEEzNG $1,000 TIMES IN ~ HOURS
TREATMENT ADOPTED IN SUMMERS CAsh-"hi
AND HOW HE ENDURED THE TORTURE
IrRox AN OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT OF IHh Ikio S''I
RosroN. March 15.-Dr Brown-S6quards ifth iec-
tnro on Nervous Force would regularly nave po'i
delivered last Wednesday evening out summons
40 wash;rc.on 70 attend Mr.. Sumner postponed the
delivery until last evening.
uwas ev,dent when the lecturer appeared on the
.,..to,u, that he was suffering much agitation.
somo moments elapsed before he could obtain pos
s.ss;oo of his voice, and when he did speak there
,as tremulousness in the utterance which showed
,,o deen emotion that swayed him. His alluslon TO
Afr Sumner In opening his lecture was more Affect
ing than simple report Of his words can indicate
When. after talking half hour, his subject led him
onoe more TO return to Mr. Summers case the Doctor
broke down completely, and was obliged to ask the
audience to excuse him for the remainder OF the
evening
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN For the second time in lee
turing here have TO beg your forgiveness Tor oemS
moved in tho way that Since 1857 the eminent
man that has left us has been under my care, and has
beon also a very aear friend. / sympahized with hin
in every one the generous impulses that leu MN W
occupy such high rank in the history OF this country
Aud therefore easy for you TO understand that am
now hardly able say more about his greatness ana
the blow that our country and you in this city, and as
ms friend, have received In few minutes Wheh
n,tle more master OF my nerves, shall have to say
.ometbng about him professionally; something whlch
have meyer mentioned but TO few friends, ?s so long
as he lived knew that smodosty by far greater In MN
than anybody knew, would have been wounded II had
spoken it aloud as / shall tonight
EXTRAORDINARY CONSEQUENCES OF IRRITATING THE
AUDITORY NERVE.
now como to the subject OF this lecture. Hou re-
member that in the last lecture gave facts to show
that the greatest may repeatedly and
almost constantly under the influence Of the irritation
of the nervous system. shall now mention few more
Of these facts when inject cold water In our ears
We remark that peculiarly disorderly movements come
OF once. In certain animals, If we prick certain nerve
tho auditory nervc-we find that number OF strange
phonomona will occur Immediately. In the first place,
when the Door creature tries move, it turns around
and around II is hardly in its power to walk straight
forward 1t turns around like horse in circus But what
Is more surprising, what answers In the animal
to the left the opposite sido 10 tnat
wAere the injury was made is drawn backward
In what we call torsiOn; that is. the thumD' OF
what represents 1t, is turned outside, and this
connecton renains always the Same long the ami
nal exists Besides there a considerable increase in
the susceptibility Of the skin Frogs. as you well Know
rarely produce OF the voice. but they Shrek
under this treatment very frequently.
In supcrior animals and In the mammals particularly
An injury TO that nerve produces also very frequently
great disorderly movements. Those phenomena have
bean considered as depending something else than
tho irritation of the norve there semi-circuar
eapss n the which have been considered having
peculiar power But think the question is clearly de-
cded for in reach the without touch
ing at all these semcircular canals, and produce
10 flucp i'm
that the OF addition has power in that way to
produce very diSorderly movements.
In man AM affection OF this nerve is frequently
followed by the greatest disorder have been called
than once to see patients who have been con-
sdered afflicted with serious affection OF the BRAIN
but who had nothing but affection of the auditory
nerve less quickly controlled, and at rate
not threatening a fatal termination as the supposed
disease would done. In Of those
abscess In the mastod bone, behind the ear was the
OF all the trouble. The abscess opened and
the patient got we'll the patient at Elmira, and
the sble physician who performed the operation, and
the cure was perfect.
INABILITY TO BRIDLE THE UNRULY MEMBER.
There are other which consist merely
In disorder IN movement. but also in some disorder Of
the mind assocated'wiih it, There in which,
through some irritation, patient will utter certain
words and always the most desirable words most
eminent mathematican-One OF the four or FIVE most
able and ingenious mathemacians of the age-s suffer
ing from this affection. He certainly, regards
power of mind, above most men with whom 1
quainted. But very frequently. under this affec-
ton. a word. aud often which no man in
society ought to utter, will come to his lips.
He has sometimes the power of contract
ing his lips before the sound comes,
that he may be saved from the modification Of
being heard But sometimes 1t occurs with such
rapdity that it uttered fully, and the poor has
the modification Of saying something that very few
educated men would say lLaughterl My friend DR..
L. G. Seguin related the case of clergyman who was
troubled this way and whose affection took peculiar
form. Immediately after having begun the Lords
Prayer after having said, "Our Father which art In
Hcaven." he invariably exclaimed, "Let Him stay
there" Great laughterl OF course he had to give up
preaching.
lady OF the highest nobility in England had TO leave
court for similar She gave utterance 10 the
most unpleasant things for people TO hear. "You are
very stupid" or "Ths is madness in you" And she
said things the Queen to body else and
that quite suddenly frequently nterrupung
On for the purpose In two of those that OF the
mathematician and the lady, both of whom have seen
have ascertained that the affection dependent
irritation OF certain parts OF the stomach and bowels
Once patient, young lady, was brought 70 me b.
hcr father My Office up stairs at the time. hap
pcned TO be down stairs when the gentleman came.
asked him TO 90 up and told him would follow in few
minutes The father turned 20 end said, Please pay
attention" did not know what he meant, but said.
"Is your daughter 80 very ID 4" "Oh, no, but just
listen" Ibstened, and lust 7hen the lady called out
Hooi hoo hoo hooi" fin itating peculiar unreport
able tcne, 10 which the sound utteredJ His
daughter was afflicted WI h that peculiar trouble which
has no name In science which consists In the eacula
ton OF the sound ofa word Some Of those PATIENTS es
pocially those VIII are hystericsl, bark like dogs;
which has given se to the hysterical barking.