The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1878-08-22
BELLEVUE, La, THURSDAY, AUGUST %, 1873.

awake she could not play better than a
child of eight or 10 years of age, she
performed very fairly in her sleep; in
deed, had it not been for the thumb diff
ficulty, she would have played very well,
but she hadto twist her thumbs in a pc
culiar manner to prevent touching the
black spot through which she appeared
to see. v.3 Sd f.te sssfI
Still more extraordinary were her
drawing powers when asleep. / have
still portrait of herself done in one of
those frances, and one night she drew
in crayons on her door an exquisite fig
ure of an angel. Although when awake
she could not remember the events that
had taken place during her trance, in
her frances. she solved the difficulties of
her waking moments,
One night she was much provoked at
the appearance of bonnet sent by her
milliner, as far too small for the fashion
of those days. When she woke the next
day she found she had got up in her
sleep and altered the bonnet most skill
fully by letting in some cardboard COW
cred with black silk. el .,fiz.st
It was quite a common thing for her
to go'to bed with her masses Of raven
black hair down her back and to find it
most deliberately plated on waking up.
in the morning and have also known
her to alter articles of wearing apparel
in her sleep. She also seemed to have
a gift of second-sight. In one Of those
frances she was noticed to be in very
low spirits, and at last burst into, tears.
On being asked the cause of her tears,
she said she could see her betrothed in
London flirting with another girl.
Shortly after came letter from her
guardian with such accounts of the
young mans behavior with the girl of
whom Lillian had been jealous, that the
engagement was broken off.
She told most of our fortune in her
sleep; but in my case, am bound to
confess, without success. Whether she
was more correct in regard to herself,
do not know. She foretold that she
would be killed by fall from her horse
at the age of 80. But it seemed unlike
| ly she would live to that age if her SON.
nambulism continued, as after these
frances she often had the most fearful
/ illness, both heart and brain being af-
fected by them. One of the worst OF
these came on after trance she had
fallen into at church; she walked, still
asleep, out with us afterward, but un-
/ luckily woke in the Champs Elysees,
and was SO terrified that it was with diff
ficulty we got her home. When at
length we did so, she had a terrible ILL
ness, from which she was scarcely ex-
pected to recover. She had the best
physicians in Paris, and they one and
/ all declared hers to be the most won-
derful case of somnambulism heard Oi
in the present generation, with one ex-
ception-that of a young man, the par
ticulars of whose story. however, dc
not know.
The disease (for such it really was)
was accounted for by them as the re.
suit of an over amount of brain, caus
ing consequent pressure. She may be
said to have had brain for waking
purposes, and one that acted when she
was asleep. What one brain knew, the
other did not. Evidently the sleeping
brain was the .cleverest. The waking
brain lacked intelligence. While the
sleeping brain was active, she was in {
state Of somnambulis1n, and could dt
things that could not possibly hav'
been attempted in, her waking moments
Her condition was, of course, unnatur
al; it was diseased-very curious ant
unhealthy. The cleyerest doctors il
Paris who were consulted could d.
nothing for her. 5 - - s'''
:. What became of this extraordinar,
girl after she left school do not know
: ( quite lost sight of her, and have don
so for quarter of a century. But still
her portrait often reminds me of her
It is y water colors, somewhat coarsel
but c1everly drawn, and gives a goo
idea of her. Her massive braids of hal
it especially exhibits to perfection; sh
, wore it in o coronet over her head in
style peculiar to herself. The pictur
has, however, a disagreeable impressi0
upon those who look at it, from the far
J that the eyes seem to follow you whel
ever you 60. 4s,.T.
, For ourselves at school, ] can not sa
) whether we felt most fear of our unjust
al school-fellow or most curiosity abol
her, curiosity which we were alway
able to crafty in her sleep. She ws
conscious herself that she often sal
things in these frances which she woul
not have said when awake, and used
beg us not to repeat to her any of Il
: things she had said to US, which, hov
ever, our natural sense of honor woul
have forbidden as from doing nor, i
3 deed, did we take any unfair advantas
of her popularity, only when she W
i inclined to talk in her sleep we, We
r content to listen, and to gather son
:. portion of her unusual history Cha,
: bers's journal.
q 1t would make O stone image tul