The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1875-09-30
POOR CLARA MORRIS.


SHE TELLS HOW THE FRENCH PHYSICIANS
TORTURED HER-THE NATURE OF HER Dis
EAsE-DR. BARKER's TIMELY ARRIVAL.
A reporter OF the New York Sun called on
Clara Morris soon after her arrival in New
York. In the course of long conversation
he remarked: 1.-The public are anxious to
hear about your health, Mrs. Harriet" $50
you know" she answered with just the
slightest tremor in her tones, 81 am very
grateful, indeed, for the interest the public
seem to take in me. l have been very
cynical about my dear public but do APP
We'll, am better. have been suffering
with this disease for about three years, not
| as badly all the time. 1t
has been gradually growing worse.
Inc trouble is not curvature OF
of the tour upper joints of the spinal COL
umn." IA tissue forms around these Joints"
explained MIR. Harriet, sand eventually, un-
less the progress of the disease Is retarded,
grows between the joints, thus interfering
with the nerve currents" 1.-THE disease
continued the lady, sis very painful, excru-
cistingly so. There are hours and hours
when can get no relief except by clasping
my hand behind my neck and thus sup
porting my head. L wss telling this to a
gentleman friend while abroad. MY Godv
4 10 nave seem YOU go LDrOUR0
| whole scenes on the stage in New York, and
supposed it was merely eccentric man
| nerism.' There was no mannerism about
| that 1T was a necessity. L be-
| came really alarmed when / found
that when l struck the upper
joint / felt the pain in my head-in
my brain; then determined to see Ouch
esne, the medical am of Psris.'' ''She was
advised To have her back burned here, but
thought electricity would cure her." said
| her husband. "Duchesne said il would kill
| Der, and that The moXa was the only thing.
They frightened her into consent
ing to having the operation
performed by telling her that she would
loose her mind within two years. This de-
clded her, and il also decided her TO refuse to
take chloroform. She would not consent to
| be out of her mind a moment. "rhe ex-
animation was about as bad as the opera
tioD," said Mrs. Harriet. "First, they took
needles and stuck them into my arms and
limbs, in order to see how much the nerves
were affected. On one side it was found
| there was little feeling, on the other more
than was normal. Then they pinched me
and pounded me until was
BLACK AND BLUE.
Then they tried to tickle me. Wen, you can
no more tickle me than that book. Prot.
Ball sat in front of me and tickled away, and
1 sat looking him very gravely in the face.
MY Godr he said, stopping and looking up,
MADAM, you are a most remarkable
woman That was about the oniy bit of fun
L had in the whole affair. After all this ex-
animation it was decided that must be
burned. Then the waiting snd thinking
about it was awful. What was Just about
as bad as the actual burning, was when,
attsr | was seated, the doctor took out his
pencil and went to marking on my back
where was to be burned. UghI 1t was hor-
rible!' and she shuddered az the recol-
lection. 81 was TO be burned six times"
she continued, ''and L stood it we'll enough
until the fourth, when the iron slipped, and
instead of making dab it made a long
burn. That was almost too much for me,
but in making the fifth turn somehow the
doctor got some OF the hair in my neck
againt the iron, and do you know, the very
smell of that burning hair upset me entirely,
| bounded out OF that chair like an India
rubber woman. l really believe l should
have died il they had touched me again with
that iron. Well, after that they were going
to put large seton in my neck,
put woman like 1 objected to that,
as il would leave scar. Then they were
going to complete the burning; but DR..
FOrdyce Barker arrived in Paris about that
time, asked co De admitted to the council,
and persuaded them to give up torturing
me any more. Taking my hand and holding
it to the light, ms showed them that had
hardly drop of blood in my veins, and was
unable TO stand such treatment then. He
advised me to go home, to rest, and live on
generous food, cultivating all the appetite
possible, and then st The end OF six months
perhaps L might be in condition 10 have the
operation repeated. He says these enlarge
ments are not the cause OF my disease, but
the result-the result of hard work, over
| work aud so he saws "rest" But that's
hard. 1 havn't a lazy bone in my body,
and now, after years of hard work, it's
difficult to lay the harness aside"