New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-06-11
DIR. HOLMES ON 4 STRANGE DISEASE.

A WITTY LETTER READ AT THE ANNIVERSARY
MEETING OF THE MEDICAL SOCIETY AT BOSTON
pr HOLINESS DIAGNOSIS OF THE SINGULAR
CASE or MARY CHASE
At the celebration in Boston last Wcdnes-
aay OF the Anniversary Of the Massachusetts
Medical Society, the Rev. Dr. George T. Ellis on being
paled upon after the dinner delivered address IN the
course OF which he said that at ROAbury the church
record. Of tho rcyered old Indian apostle and pastor
John Eliot he had found this entry under date OF 1852
Mary Chase the wife Of william Chhre Sad paraltik
buoof VII ,iI into her backbone, 40 tina abe could not
s,r her BODY but NJ she hitcd. and hcd her with
great torture caused rr bnck 70 g0e ont OF go{h
she Inv years half great part Of the time sad
again, & she bore children after H.
DR. Ellis said that he had submitted this cose profcs
sionaliy TO Dr. oliver Wendell Holmes from whom ho
had received the following letter In reply which he read
No. 900 BKACoN-sr, June 3, 1891.
MY DEAR DIR ELLIS: consultation without seeing me
patient Is Ike murder trial without the corpus dech
being evidence Nou remember the story OF Mr. Jero
sniah Mason and the witness who had had vision IN
which the angel Gabriel Informed hm Of some important
facts subpoena the Angel Gabriel" 80 should cay, say
under the groen bodclohes long that am afraid she
We must guess well az We can under tho circum
stances The question is whether she had
nrt angular ainre. you consult such Author
ties hryant Dewitt 1nd the rcst II you not sat.
have said before when asked whom TO consult In such
.sses Go 70 ISa to Pscysi o, tbs fapous surgeon Of
name 10y witch II l. stu we'll known OF Potts disea
For II doc has the luck to mud out mnlady h IA
lled 10 lS like Tin Kettle Ia dogs tail, hnd lac
sosa cisttcring down tho highway ~ fame Ia postsy
eith ls aOlian attachtu, nj following az hls heels
AZ for lateral II that hal eSistd II
u tue Apostle bllOt would have said sho bulgod aids-
WRys, or solnethng like that instead OF syipg the back
bone banched out from bVs ginning TO end B'sideA
doubt II lateral curvature 10 apt 10 cause paFaly ala
Crooked backs are every where. tailors and dress
makers know, and Doboy expects to lie pscd because
shoulder 10 higher than the otheras Alexander tho
lFeats was, and Alexander Popes also.
duila whether Mary Chase had any real curvature
nj ALL Her looks to like Of niInoses
n Marshall Hall called certain forms hyseria which
Initiate different diseases abe paralysis
body OF hysterc patient Will take the look of all
kcrts of more affections As for mental
manifestations hyserc girl viii lie that sapphire
Uould blush aud she could give essons pro
SessisnA pickpocket In the art OF stealing Hyster1a
might well described ~ pose esson-possesslop by
seven devils except that this n quite insufficient
70 account for all the pranks p by the subjects OF
Rlis extraordinary malady.
do not want 70 say thing against Msy Cnass put
tnsDect that getting and tired ana hysterlc
he rot into bed which she found rather agreeable after
TOO much heusew0rk aud perhaps too much going 70
meeting liked II better and better eured herself np
tnte bunch which made h@r lonk ~ hsf back was