Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1874-01-01
CurIosit.es of Lunacv.

There ale cases where blows on the
head have benefited the brain. and
produced extraordinary chances Tor
The better Mabilon was almost an
idiot till, at the age Of twenty-six, he
fell down stone staircase, frsctured
his skull, and was trapanned. From
that moment he became a genius
s'ngLOF "a ticAaid mentions = case Of
three brothers who were all nearly i'll.
lots One of them was injured on the
head, aud from that time he brighten
ed mp, and is now 4 successful barrist
err. Wallenstein, too, they say, was a
mere fool till he fell ont Of a window,
and awoke with enlarged capabilities.
A patient in an asylum was the victim
of many decisions. He was paying
off the rational debt, going into part
rership with Baron Rothschild, and
forming lodge Of female Freemasons
One day an epileptic patient, irritated
at being perpetually asked to buy inn
aginary shares, gave him a tremendu-
Gus blow on the bridge of the nose
From that time he improved rapidly,
and acknowledged that the blow had
had SOLDERING effect, and had quite
knocked the nonsense out Of him.
There is no doubt that this was the
secret Of that cruel old remedy for
madness, the circulating swing, men.
toned fayorably by physicians of the
last century. This horrible swing was
small box fixed upon pivot, and
worked by windlass. The infexi-
BILE maniac, or the maniac expecting a
paroxysm, was firmly strapped in n
sitting or recumbent posture. The
box was then whirled round at an av-
erage velocity Of hundred revolutions
a minute, and its beneficial effect was
supposed to be heightened by reyers,
ing the motion every six or eight min
utes, and by stopping it occasionally
with a sudden jerk. The results Of
swing (Which occasionally brought on
conclusion Of the BRAIN were pro-
found and protracted sleep, intense
perspration, mental exhaustion, and a
not unnatural horror Of any recurrence
to the same remedy, which left a NOR
al impression thaC acted as a perma.
nent restraint. That the results were
often beneficial We have indisputable
evidence.
The cases of suspended conscious
ness after brain injury are well worthy
attention. A man who awakes out OF
sleep Is conscious Of lapse OF time,
aud can generally even guess its du
ration; but the man struck on the brain
is often unconscious of any lapse. A
man was struck in the street and was
aiterward delirions. He was uncoa-
scious after the blow for fourteen
DAYS. lie was then dellrious and ma
niacal for ten weeks. When he be-
came more tranquil they brought him
to the asylum in a straight.U aistcoat.
He soon recovered, but when he be-
came conscious he hid clean forgot
ten the fourteen days trance, and the
ten weeks delirium and mania
AT the battle of the Nile an English
captain was struck on the head by a
shot, and became unconscious. lie
was taken home with the wounded,
and remained in Greenwich Hospital
fifteen months deprived of sense of
speech. At the end Of that period an
operation was performed, and the
brain relieved from the pressure. lie
instantly rose from his bed, and con
tinucd the orders to the sailors which
had been so abruptly interrupted tif~
teen months before. Dir. Abercrom
bic gives an analogous case. A lady
was struck with apopleXy while sit
ting at the whist-table. Il was
Tuesday evening when she fell, and
she lay in d stupor all Friday and Sat
mday. On Sunday She suddenly le-
covered her consciousness; and her
first words were, "What are trumps?"
The clock work had stopped at that
point, and now the pendulum again
commenced to swing.