Nebraska advertiser., 1878-12-19

wears her muscles have been in a f1ex-
ible state. Her sufferings while pass
ing into this new condition were ex-
traordinary. During this long sick
ness there have been times when she
had not the use of one of her senses.
For days she has been, to all appear
ances, dead.
The slightest pulse could not be de-
tected. There was no evidence of
respiration. Her limbs were as cold
as ice, and had it not been for some
heat in the region of the heart she
would have been buried. During
these twelve years she has virtually
lived without food. Pieces of fruit
and water have been introduced into
her mouth, bat scarcely any of them
ever made their way to her stomach
So sensitive has been this organ that
1t would not retain anything. 1t col
lapsed so that by placing the hand
upon it the spine could easily be felt.
There was no place for food. Her
heart wes greatly enlarged. Severe
pains passed from it through the left
side and shoulder. With the except
ion of slight intervals she has been
totally blind. Her eyelids were closed
for nine years. When she passed
from the rigid to the limp state, her
eyes opened and remained staring.
On the Fourth of July last the eye-
lids closed again, and have remained
30 to the present time. When / first
saw her she had but one sense-that
of touch. With that she could read
with five times the rapidity of one by
eyesight. She read by running her
fingers over the printed page as well
in darkness as in light. With this
sense she could discriminate the pho
tographs of friends, the faces of per-
sons in the room. &c. She never
sleeps. She does her most delicate
work in the night, preferring night
to day. Her rest is taken in the
trance state, which answers for sleep.
She performs none of the ordinary
functions of life unless it be that OF
breathing. She receives nothing and
gives out nothing, unless it is insensi-
BILE perspiration. Her circulation of
blood is sluggish, and, as conse
quence, there is very little animal
heat. She says she cannot die, for
there is nothing to die. Such, in
brief, is her bodily condition.
To me her mental state is more eX-
traordinary than her physical. She
has the power of second sight. All
places are alike open to her mental
vision. Distance interposes no bar
riers. No retirement, however seclu
ded, but yields to her penetrating Wis
ion. This power, of course, is con-
fined to objects and persons that in
terest her. She will dictate the con-
error. She will visit the family cir
cles of her friends in distant towns
and tell what they are doing and des-
cribe their personal attire. Persons
the house of her aunt,
whether acquaintances or strangers,
are instantly recognized. Any article
which has been mislaid she sees and
tells where it can be found. She dis
the most delicate shades
of color. She works in embroidery
and wax without any patterns. Her
are marvels of beauty.
She never studied botany or took
lesson in wax work, and yet she new
er makes a mistake in the form OF
flower or leaf. Holding her pen or
pencil in her left hand, she writes
with extraordinary rapidity, the let
ters being well formed and legible.
She wrote poem of ten verses in as
many minutes, her thoughts flowing
with the rapidity of lightning. In
cutting velvet leaves for pincushions
she holds the scissors by the kunck
les Of thumb and finger of left hand.
and bringing the velvet with thumb
and finger of right hand-both hands
being behind her head-she cuts the
leaves as sharp as if they had been cut
with die. In the early part of her
illness she cut over two thousand OF
these. To April, 1871, she had used
500 ounces of worsteds. To Dec
1875, she bad written 6 500 notes and
letters. When she passed from the
rigid to the limpid condition, three
years ago, she forgot all that occurred
during the nine years, and began to
talk about matters at the time of the
ear accident. The nine years have
been a blank and are still so to her.