The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1884-11-13
Sleep V1glls.
From the Gentleman's Magazin,

i
The best authenticated case of automa-
tism pure and simple in man is the famous
case of the French Sergeant F., reported
by DR.. Mesnet. When q years of age F.
was wounded on the left side of the head
by.a ball. Immediately thereafter, his
right side being paralyzed, he became
| senseless. Three weeks afterwards he
awoke to consciousness in the hospital at
Mayence.
For year the paralysis of the right side
continued, but this condition improved
under treatment. Curious periodical aber-
rations Of the intellect, however, began to
appear about three months after his mis-
hap. These latter symptoms occurred at
intervals varying from fifteen to thirty
days, and they lasted from fifteen to thirty
hours. His abnormal periods were there
fore short, as compared with his normal
ones. The peculiarities of his abnormal
period were very marked. His eyes were
wide open his movements were regular
| but automatic he went wherever he was
directed ; when he stumbled over an object
he felt about for the obstruction and then
passed on one side !; and he ate and drank
as usual, and rose and retired to rest at his
! accustomed hours. More curious was the
fact that pins might be run into his body
without eliciting the slightest exclamation
OF pain. To electricity he was equally in
sensible be heard not, but rarely saw, and
did not distinguish what he ate OF drank
His sense of touch alone was present, and
that in an elevated degree but curiously
enough, when placed in an appropriate
position, he might be made automatically
to express in pantomime the movements
OF accommodating OF skirmishing in an
enemy's country. He could hum a tune,
and sang from roll of paper placed in his
hand as if it were a vocal score and, as
refreshment, swallowed between his songs,
! without griIace, q r2ixtare ST strong vim
egar and water.
That the sense of sight, although def
cient, yet played part in directing the alb
normal life of F., was apparent in an ex-
pertinent of DR.. Mesnet, in which, when
engaged in writing letter, a screen was
interposed between his eyes and his letter.
The Sergeant proceeded for little time
with his letter, finally, however, coming to
a halt as his words became illegible, but
without exhibiting a sign OF annoyance
and when sheet after sheet of superim-
posed series was Withdrawn as he wrote,
so that each sheet contained but few
words of his letter, he continued to write
on, signing his name on the last sheet as if
it contained the whole of his communities
ton, and correcting the imaginary writing
which he supposed was represented before
him. His tobacco pouch being removed
after the manufacture of a first cigarette
he neither saw nor smelt the missing OBJ
ject, but when placed in his hand the au-
| tomatism of his nature asserted itself, and
another cigarette was duly manufactured
| The most notable case of this kind
showing the likeness of the purely sense
rial state of life to the dream-and also
giving the transition stage connecting the
sensory state and the intelligent life Of
every day-thus linking the dream witt
the waking life, was that of young
| woman who, previously in good health
| fell into river, lay insensible for six hours
and in ten days time lapsed into fit Of
stupor. From this she recovered in foul
hours, only to find that the power of speech
and the senses of taste, smell. and hearing
were in total obeyance. Sight and toucl
aroused no ideas, though automatically
responsive movements attended the opera
ton of these two senses. Her vision al
short distances was quick, and her genera
sensibility exceedingly acute. Friends
and relations were unrecognized, and she
ate with q sign of disgust, the most nau
seous substances. She made no effort to
feed herself, but when the spoon had a few
times been conveyed to her mouth she au
tomatically continued the act OF feeding
Gradually she appeared to acquire ideas
and formed limitations of flowers from pa
per with which she was supplied and this
process of educating her mind as if SHE
were still child proceeded until she was
able to do worsted work. Ultimately the
ideas connected with her past experiences
began to dawn upon her. A picture OF {
troubled sea agitated her from the dull re
membrance of her unpleasant association
with water and the sight of a young MAI
to whom she had been attached gave he
pleasure, while she became fretful wheI
she did not see him at the accustomed
times. Thereafter she took notice Of hel
surroundings, began to articulate a few
words, and exhibited in due course norma
symptoms of emotion when she knew tina
| her lover was paying attentions elsewhere
After a fit of stupor excited by jealous.
she really awoke from sleep of year,
duration, to and herself surrounded by he
friends at Shoreham, and in the full pos
session of her natural faculties, save hear
ing, but without the slightest remem
brance of her acts in her year of mind
allegiance.
There is little need to pursue thes
strange but instructive histories further
and we may now proftably turn to conside
the parallelism between the automatic pa
tient, the somnambulist, and the victin
of commonplace abstraction.
| In the study of the sleep-yigm, we NEE
as before with stages ana gradations whic
carry us from the waking dream or revert
to the more typical form of somnambuIisr
proper 4 forM of seep-vigil is known
for instances, in which. the subject passe
naturally, md without disturbing inter
va, from the abstraction of the wakin,
state into true somnambulism. Gale,
himself relates that he fell asleep whih
walking, and was aroused by striking hi
! foot against stone. Other cases are con,
mon enough in medical pages, in which
persons have continued to MAY q mnsinn