The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1874-02-07


There are cases where blows on the
head have benefited the brain, and pro-
duced extraordinary changes for the better.
Mabillon was almost an idiot at the age Of
70, he fell down stone staircase, fractured
his skull, and was trepanned. From that
moment he became genius, DR.. Pritch-
ard mentions a case Of three brothers who
were all nearly idiots. One of them was
injured on the head, and from that time
he frightened up, and is now a successful
barrister. Wolleustern, too, they say, was
mere fool, till he fell out of n window
and awoke with enlarged capabilities. A
patient in an asylum was the victim Of
many delusions. He was paying of the
national debt, going into partnership with
Baron Rothschild, and forming a lodge Of
Female Freemasons. One day an epilep-
tic patient, irritated at being perpetually
asked TO buy imaginary shares, gave him a
tremendous blow on the bridge of the nose.
From that time he improved rapidly, and
acknowledged that the blow had had a
sobering 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 mad.
ness, the circulating swing, mentioned
favorably by physicians of the last century
This horrible swing was small box fixed
upon pivot, and worked by windlass
The 'infexible" maniac or the maniac
expecting paroxysm, was firmly stripped
in sitting or recumbent posture. The box
was then whirled round at the average
velocity Of hundred revolutionsa a minute
and its beneficial effect was supposed to be
heightened by reversing the motion every
six or eight minutes and by stopping il
occasionally with sudden jerk. The
results of this swing (Which occasionally
brought on conclusion Of the brain) were
profound and protracted sleep, intense
perspiration, mental exhaustion, and a mol
unnatural horror of any recurrence to the
same remedy, which left moral impres
sion that acted as permanent restraint
That the results were often beneficial VIZ
have indisputable evidence.
The cases of suspended consciousness,
after brain injury are well worthy of at
tention. A man who wakes out of sleer
is conscious Of lapse of time, and can
generally even guess its duration, but the
man struck on the brain is often uncon.
scious of any lapse A man was struck in
the street, and was afterward delirious
He was unconscious after the blow fol
fourteen days. He was then delirious and
maniacal for ten weeks. When he became
more tranquil they brought him to tn.
asylum in straight-eoat. He soon recov.
cred, but when he became conscious he
had clean forgotten the fourteen days
trance and the ten weeks delirium ant
mania. At tbe battle of the Nile an Eng
lish captain was struck on the head by 1
shot and became unconscious. He wal
taken home with the wounded and remained
in Greenwich Hospital for fifteen months
deprived of his sense and speech. At tn,
end Of that period an operation wa.
performed, and the brain relieved from the
pressure. He instantly rose from his bec
and continued the orders to the sailors
which had been SO abruptly interrupted
fifteen months before. DR.. Abercrombis
gives an analogous case. A lady was
struck with appolexy while sitting at the
whist table. 1t was Thursday evening
when she fell, aad she lay in stupor al
Friday and Saturday. On Sunday she
suddenly recovered her consciousness, and
her first words were, "What are trumps? p
The clock work had stopped at the point
and now the pendulum again commenced
to swing.