Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1874-07-23
The Imagination and Death.

ENTwIsTLE, the printer who was bitten
by dog in April last, died yesterday
Some believe he died of hydrophobia;
still more believe that he died merely of
the fear of it. AS it is perfectly apparent
that the disease is a sealed book to
science, either belief may be the true one.
That the imagination will kill is certain.
Many of our readers will remember the
case of the gardener at either Heidelberg
or Gottingen. This man was working in
the garden on fresh spring morning, in
the very prime of health. A student
passed him with the words:
"Ah, Fritz, passed bad night, eh?"
"No, sir. Never felt better"
Pm glad to hear it. Thought you
looked pale. Your garden looks beauti
full, Fritz"
THANK you, sir"
Comes along another student:
Good morning, Fritz"
"Good morning, sir"
System little out of order?"
"No, sir!'
"You look bad, heavy-eyed and pale"
Didn't know it, sir"
"A mere spring debility, ] suppose.
Good morning"
Fritz (soIus)-I do feel a sort of queer
like.
Comes along Professor:
"Well, Fritz, how are the violets?"
Beautiful, sir, beautiful"
"You don't look very beautiful. What's
the matter with you? Let me see your
tongue. Your forehead clammy, too. |
think you'd better go home to bed, Fritz. "
81 do feel queer, sir"
/" / should think you would. Go to bed.
keep quiet for few days"
81 believe ! will, sir"
81 see DR. Brock coming this way
ask him. Good day, Fritz. I'm sorry to
see you in this state.
Good day, sir"
Up comes the doctor.
doctor, what's the matter with meY"
Springoliana, Fritz, evidently. Get
to bed, my man. And here, send this to
the dispensary, and take tablespoonful
every hour. Don't eat till / see you
again. III call after the lecture is over,
however. BE very careful. I'll bring
Dr. Wolff with me to see you. It's
curious case, very curious"
Fritz went to bed. The doctors came.
They walked on tiptoe; spoke in whis-
pers. They darkened the room. They
gave him medicine. g., spoontuls of
pure NdJtT, anu pms vi DlCdu'
They left him. That night Fritz grew
weaker and weaker And in the morn
ing the students and the faculty were
shocked with terror and Mortified, in the
midst of their laughter, at poor Fritz
fears, when his weeping daughter came
to tell them that her stout, strong father
of thirty,odd years lay dead at home
dead of a phantasy. There is no case
better authenticated.
Another case is that of the French
criminal condemned to death, and given
to the doctors to experiment on. He
pleaded for an easy death, and they gave
it to him i'm this wise: They stretched
him, naked, on a table, blindfolded his
eyes, placed basins Of water at his arms
and knees, pricked him with pin, not
drawing blood even. They dropped
from four vials little drops into the basins,
so that the unfortunate man could hear a
continuous drip, caused, he supposed, by
the trickling of his own blood. The doc
tors held their watches
another half-hour and it will be all
over. You don't feel any pain, do you?"
"No, doctor, but feel my strength
going"
"Of course; of course. 1t will be like
falling into sleep"
In an hour and quarter the poor fell
low was dead.
Several other examples Of the power
of imagination over life, as well anthem
ticated as either of the foregoing, might
be cited; but these will suffice We now
come to the last case, that of the man
Entwistle, who died yesterday.
In this last case Entwistle's magma
ton was worked on by the stir in the pa
pers regarding hydrophobia. His imagi-
nation became excited at the nara ives
told him in the papers, and out of them,
about it's dreadful effects. The fear it
begot of water, the irTepressible tendency
to initiate the contOrtions he had read or
heard of, displayed the mania that at
tends an Imagination excited to the utter.
most by fears of what it will suffer, and
which accepts as present that which first
it only found for the future. AS the fears
grew, the Imagination strengthened, just
as in the cases already quoted, and the
result has been the same.-Brooktyn kdr
gle.
D,,~snp NJ Con