The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1880-04-09
LILY sLEEpa


the! hudc I!ss road, is puzzling tn,
medical 3s remarkable exampl,
of what 4 q mental philosophy a.
a double 5|ousless, This young lad,
has been e since her birth, and or
tho hrst annuary was confined e
her bed pInat disease, superirduced
by an over <ircness of tho delicate nerv.
Gus systol ec1toly sensitive, indeed
are the ne oi her back and legs that
the weigh 1lcs hand laid upon the af
fiicted par 1es her to scream with pain
Or. D.al} Of Kqddelrs Mills, who
has been Iipais attendant since she
was born et barfipg a general doll.
lungs, TO-, arc sound, aud she has good
appetite. On one or two occasions since
her first illness there has been relaxation
of nerve pain and her limbs and back have
so far resumed their normal condition that
she has been allowed to leave her bed aud
hobble about the house on crutchcs.
About six weeks ago DR.. Eads noticed
strange phenomena in connection with the
disease, and called in the assistance of Dr.
kenney of Paris. At frequent intervals,
sometimes in the morning, but oftener in
the early evening, Miss Collins appears to
fall into somnambulistic condition, marked
by complete physical and mental meta
morphosis. These changes from one condi.
tion to another are very sudden. The girl
turns on her right side, doubles her right
arm under her head and closes her eyes,
Her breathing is labored and spasmodic, q
low moaning is heard, the muscles above
hor oh 1,,r Al,
ers of her mouth are drawn up. In this
abnormal state the sensitive nerves appear
to become anesthetized. A brisk rubbing
of the parts affected causes her no pain, and
she has several times leuped from her bed
and walked about tho house, seemingly
without pain. Normally she is unable to
put her feet to the floor.
The strangest phase Of the disorder, how
ever, is the complete mental change which
takes place. She appears to change her
identity, and becomes in reality another
person. Normally she is very modest,
morbidly shy, and retiring young lady, in
telligcnt beyond her years, choice in her
language, of deep reflective mind, and
fond of reading the higher class of prose
and poetry. While in a somnambuilistic
state her mind and manner both undergo n
radical charge. She acts like a child four
or five years of ago, talks with an infantile
lisp, is erratic, reads nursery rhymes with
person SIZE aaalIs b. Ealtfs aha WIFI
pa and ma while in this state, and her real
parents, grandpa and grandma.
Another condition of mind occasionally
develops itself She will sometimes call
for her books and slate and proceed to study
her lessons, do difficult sums in arithmetic,
write letters to relatives, &C., all with her
eyes closed entirely. She recently wrote q
letter of four pages to relative and on read
ing it over, corrected several misspelled
words. She is proficient in the art of lace
making, and manages her needle as deftly
in the somnambulistic state as when in her
normal condition When aroused, she is
always laughing, and before waking has
frequent romps with those near her bedside.
She has no memory of her actions in the
somnambulistiC state. Normally she writes
with her right hand, but when in a SOM
nambulistic state writes with her left hand
altogether, and in either state pens fine.
but very different handwriting. DR.. Kenney
made a careful examination Of her while in
the state of somnambulsm and is convinced
that her eyes are really closed. He has
never come across similar case in his prac-
tce and Knows of no analogous case laid
down in the medical books.
A representative Of the Bulletin paid a
visit to Miss Collins last Saturday, and is
willing to be qualified regarding the truth
Of this statement. Numerous tests were
made to discover whether there was any
deception about her apparent somnambul-
ism. A book was held in such position
that it would have been impossible for her
to sec it had her eyes been wide open. A
page was selected at random without hes
itation she read it correctly, and described
woodcut illustrating the story. A news
paper article was read in the same manner.
Several articles were scattered about on the
bed within her reach, but SO situated that
she couil not see them. When asked to
describe them she did so instantly, picked
up several when requested to do so, never
hesitating or making a mistake. She sue
cessfully solved one Of the combinations Of
the "13-14-15" puzzle, moving the num-
bcred blocks to their correct positions al
though she could not even see the board
She wrote letter TO young lady friend
holding the pen in her left hand. Every
letter was perfectly formed, and the words
folio we'd the ruled lines. Although this
account appears little sensational it is ne g.
ertheless true in every respect and not hall
of her strange freaks have been described
Miss Collins bears an excellent reputation
for truth, is pretty, intelligent and lady
like little girl, and is innocent Of any attemp
at dcception.-AayscWe (Ky) Bulletin.