The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-04-15
A REMARKABLE INVALID.

AlN DGIlC\
a REMARKABLE INVALID.
The Singular Freaks Of Pretty Miss Collins.
From the Louisville Courier Journal
MILLERsBURG, KY, March l5
The case of Miss Lizzie Collins, whose
queer somnambulistic freaks, superinduc-
ed by a nervous affection of the spine,
were first brought to the attention OF the
general public by the letter of a local cor
respondent, is attracting considerable at
tention among medical men. The Cou;
rier.Journal correspondent, in company
with the representative of the New York
Sun, visited her on Saturday last. Her
father. Mr.. William Collins, is we'll
to-do farmer, living about three miles
from here, on the right-hand side of the
Ruddel's Mill road. He is we'll known
in this vicinity, and bears an excellent
reputation for honesty and truth. Liz
zie is his second daughter, and will be
fifteen the last day of the present month.
/ In figure she is about the average height
of women, measuring FIVE feet seven and
halfinches. She is of delicate frame,
and weighs ninety-nine pounds. She
has a pretty face, inheriting the beauty
of her mother, who was considered the
handsomest woman in Nicholas county.
From infancy Lizzie has been deli
cate, and all told has had but about sew
enteen months schooling, yet she is in
telligent beyond her years, and very
lady-like in manners. Last New Years
her spine began to trouble her, and she
was forced to take to her bed. DR.. D.
D. Eads, her medical adviser, says that
the nerves in all parts of her body are
super sensitive, so much so that the
pressure of ones hand on her feet, legs
or back are excruciatingly painful. Her
lungs, heart, etc., are nominally healthy,
and she has good appetite. Some days
the nerves of her body are less sensitive
than on others, and she is allowed to
move about the house on crutches.-
About six weeks ago, strange phenome-
ma in connection with the disease began
to manifest themselves. At irregular
intervals, sometimes in the morning, but
generally in the early evening, the girl
to all appearances falls asleep, always on
her right side, with her right arm
doubled under her head. Her eyes close,
her breathing becomes short and spas
| modic, and q low moan escapes her
lips. The muscles above her eyes twitch-
convulsively, and her mouth is frequent
" thrown to one side. While in this
condition she manifests what in mental
philosophy is called double conscious.
ness. The nervous sensitiveness van
ishes or is deadened, and she has been
known to jump out of bed and walk
about the house unaided and without ap-
parent effort. When in her nomal con-
dition the weight of . persons hand laid
upon any portion of her spine will cause
her to scream with pain. In the abnor-
NAL state brisk rubbing of the back is
unnoticed. But stranger even than this
physical change is her mental metamor-
phosis. As soon as she enters into the
new state, she acts like one in somnam-
bulism, but very unlike her natural self.
| In fact, in her normal and abnormal con-
ditions she appears to have two separate
identities, physical and mental. In her
normal condition she presents body,
the nerves of which are sensitive in q
high degree. In her abnormal condi-
ton the nerves lose their sensitive quail
ity. Naturally she is shy and quiet in
manner, choice in her selection OF words,
and intelligent in conversation. In the
somnambulistic state she is the reverse,
romps with strangers, talks with an in
fantile lisp, has the pettish, wiIlfuli man
ner of spoiled baby, and reasons like
child. When herself she is fond of
reading the more abstruse books, poetic
and prose masterpieces. Abnormally
she cares only for nursery rhymes and
books written for little children. But
there is also another phase of this
strange condition. She will frequently
call for her books and slate and proceed
to study her lessons: do difficult sums
in arithmetic, write letters to relatives,
etc., all with her eyes closed entirely.
She recently wrote letter Of four pages
to relative, and, on reading it over,
corrected several misspelled words
While in this state of somnambulism
size calls DR.. Eads and his wife her pa
and ma, and calls her real parents grand
pa and grandma. DR.. Eads has attend
ed her from early infancy. When arous'
ed from this strange state she is always
laughing, and before waking has fre-
uuent romps with those near her bed
side. When awake she has nc recollec-
ton of what she did or said in the SOM
nambulistic state, and is really two sepa-
rate persons.
When awake she writes with her right
hand altogether, and when asleep she
writes with her left hand altogether, and
in either state pens fine but very diff
Herent handwriting. DIR. kenney, of
Paris. made careful examination of her
while in state of somnambulisnl, and
states that her eyes are really closed all
the time. He has never come across
similar case in all his practice, and does
not know of a similar case on record in
all the works known to the medical pro-
fession. The gentleman who accompa-
MED your correspondent on his recent
visit had paid professional visits to a
Young lad dy nearly similarly affected,
Miss Fouchre, of Brooklyn, New York,
whose case puzzleu tne uieoicai uleu anu
was the wonder of the ignorant and su-
perstitious last spring. DR.. Hammond,
of New York City, who has had nearly
half century's experience in the treat
ment of nervous diseases, claims that
people afflicted with hysteria are much
given to deception. Fearing that Miss
Collins was doing something Of the sort
to impress her ever'credulous and less
critical friends and relatives, we made
use of several tests to ascertain whether
she in reality saw without seeing. Turn
ing the pages of book at random, a
passage was selected and the book held
| in such q position that the sick girl
could not have seen the printed page,
even had her eyes been wide open
Without hesitation. she correctly read
the passage selected A number of OBJ.