Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1885-06-06
EFFECT OF FRIGHT ON THE MIND.

An interesting account of the mental
states induced by fright was given some
time since by DR.. Fazio, who was an eye
witness of the great earthquake at 1schia
He says the emotions awakened by the cat
astrophe were Of the most varied character
During the fifteen seconds that the shock
continued everybody stood still, seemingly
rooted 10 the ground with terror. Men
were weak in the knees and shook as with
ague, feeling as though they were about to
fall. Soon this stiffness was broken by loud
cries and boWls, and every one rushed to.
ward the shore. Then women and children
fell into convulsions or appeared to be semi
paralyzed and speechless Rudeness and
brutality were mingled with self sacrifice
and heroIsm of the most exalted character.
Six hours after the catastrophe the still
ness of death reigued over Casamicciola.
Men wandered about the ruins half clad
and silent, as if risen from the grave; wo-
men were excited and hysterical children
of eight or ten years seemed dazed and stu
unconcernedly, eating whatever attractive
food they could find in the ruins. 1t was
most interesting to see the different ways in
which individuals were affected by the
shock.
The keeper of a refreshment booth, who
had lost everything, kept Offering his delica.
cies to those who passed by, just as though
his whole stock had not been swept awayin
the debris caused by the earthquake. A sur
geou, covered with blood and sorely wound
ed by the falling beams, was concerned only
for his instruments, and inquired after them
of every body whom be encountered. An
hysterical woman, who had been bedridden
for mouths, jumped up and saved nerselfby
flight, and remained permanently cured.
A very considerable number of instances of
this kind are we'll authenticated, aud the re-
ports seem to show that diseases not gene
rally classed as nervous, and, at all events,
not wholly nervous in character, often dis
appear under influences of strong emotion.
al character Many persons at Ischia, who
were brave and full of energy Immediately
after the first shock of the earthquake, be-
came depressed, or wholly apathetic, later
in the day, or had convuls!ons, or alternate
fits of laughter and crying. Sometimes an
attack of melancholia was induced which
continued for months, and many people be-
came incurably insane. These were: per-
haps, persons having the insane tempera-
ment, though the actual manifestation of it
might never have taken place except under
the influence of great nervous shock. In
many instances there was an aversion for
food, lasting for hours after the catastrophe.
There were several instances in which
the hair was whitened by fright, and even
some boys 10 10 IA years showed heads
sprinkled with gray. Many of the unfor.
tunates who we're buried in the ruins ex-
hibited the greatest Indifference to their
fate, following listessly with their eyes the
motions of those busted with their rescue.
Those whose occupations had led them to
acquire habit of GOODNESS in danger SEEM
ed TO retain their perturbability. A for
eign officer, whose legs were imprisoned
under some heavy timbers, drew out
cigarette and smoked it with the utmost
nonchalance. One man, as soon as he was
pulled from the ruins, shook his rescuer by
the hand and presented him with his card.
Another, who lay in the debris for twenty
hours, Immediately looked at his watch in
order to ascertain the exact moment OF
his deliverance. A lady who had just
been extricated from a mass of rubbish
would not bulge from the spot until she
could ascertain the fate of her pet dog, which
was buried with her. One woman, who
was nearly covered up in the debris, heard
a man calling loudly for his daughter. She
| atGraCleu Ills allcutlOu ~ anu SuSISSu-
ed in making him believe that she was his
lost child. So cunningly did she practise
this deception that the old gentleman had
rescued her from the ruins before the trick
was discovered.
Most of the people, however, who were
imprisoned beneath the ruins were too in
different to their fate to make any attempt
to get free through stratagem. 1t is Curl
Gus fact that most of them had become re-
gardless of the flight of time, and had not
the faintest idea as to how long they had re-
mained buried In very many cases those
who had been wounded by falling buildings
were obliged to undergo severe surgical
operations. Most of them experienced no
pain while under the knife, though they
were manifestly in condition of excessive
sensibility to most of the impressions of or
dinary liie.-N. Y. Sun.
CLOSING AND OPENING OF THE MAILS.
ry.On O.D