The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1874-07-28
IMAGINATION AND DEATH.

IMAGINATION AND DEATH.
HOW EASY 1T IS TO DIE-TRICKs OF THE M
AGINATION AND THEIR FATAL POWER.
The Brooklyn Eagle, apropos of the
hydrophobia fright, gives some strange facts
connected with the power OF the imagina-
ton. That the imagination will kill is GER
tain. Many of our readers will remember
the case Of the gardener at either Heidelberg
or Gottingen. This man was working in the
garden fresh spring morning, in the
very prime ofhealth. 4 student passed him
with the words:
"Ah, Fritz, passed bad night, eh2'
"No, sir. Never ielt better"
''rm glad to hear it. Thought you looked
pale. Your garden looks beautiful, Fritz"
Thank you. SIR"
Comes along another student.
"GOOd morning, Fritz"
''GoOd morning, sir"
System little out OF order?"
mo, SIR
"You look bad, heavy eyed, and pale"
"Didn't know it. sir"
"A mere spring debility, I SUPPOSE Good
morning"
Fritz (solus)-I do tsel sort of queer like.
Comes along professor.
"Well, Fritz, how are che violets?
"BeautifIil, sir, beautiful"
"You don't look very beautiful. What is
the matter with you? Let me see your
tongue. Your forehead clammy, too.
think you bad better go home to bed,
Fritz"
II do feel queer. SIR"
al should think you would. Go to bed
! Keep quiet for a few days"
al believe will, SIR"
"I see DIR. 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 is the matter with me?
| "Sringoliana, Fritz. evidently. Go to bed
my man. And here, send this to the dis
pensray, and take a tablespoonful every
hour. Don't eat till / see you again. I'll
curious case, very curious"
Fritz went 70 bed. The doctors came.
They walked on tiptoe; spoke in whispers,
/ THEY DARKENED THE ROOM.
They gave HIM medicine, i. e., spoonsful oi
pure water, and pills made of bread.
They left him. That night Fritz grew
weaker and weaker. And In the morning
the students and the faculty were shocked
with terror and horrified, in the midst OF
their laughter at poor Fritz's fears, when his
weeping daughter came to tell them that her
stout, strong father OF 30 odd years lay dead
at home, died of phantasy. There is no
case better authenticated.
Another case is that of the French ciimi-
nal condemned to death, and given to the
doctors 10 experiment on. He pleaded for
I an easy death, and they gave it to him in
/ this wise. They stretched him, naked, on q
table, blindfolded his eyes, placed basins of
/ water at his arms and knees, prieked him
with a pin, not drawing blood even. They
dropped from four walls little drops into the
/ basins, so that the unfortunate man could
hear continuous drip, caused, he supposed. }.
| by the trickling of his own blood. The
doctors held their watches.
"Another halt hour and it viii be all over
You don't feel any pain, 10 your"
"No, doctor, but feel my strength CO.
| ing"
'sOf course: of course. 1t will be like fall
1 ing into Sleep"
In an hour and quarter the poor fellow
was dead.
/ Several other examples of the power of
imagination over life, as well authenticated
as either of the foregoing, might be cited:
but these viii suffice. We now come TO the
last case. that of the man Entwistle, who
died yesterday.
Iu this last case EntwIstle's imagination
was worked on by the stir in ths papers re-
/ garSing hydrophobis, His imsginaiipn be
came excited az the narratives told him in
the papers, and ous of them, about It's dread
tai effects. The fear it begot OF water. the
| irreDresSible tendency to initiate the con
\ JOrtiOn- be bad read or heard of, displayed
the mania that attends an Imagination ex-
cited 10 the uttermOst by fears of what it
will suffer, and which accepts as present
that which at frat it only feared for the ia
Ture. As the fears grew, the imagination
quoted, and the result has been the same.