Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1886-06-26

IfhlAzdclrh,a TInc41
sNemD every hospital and house of
correction II the country has It's regular
attendance Of malingorers, said a phys
ician at the Episcopal hospital ''Some
are most cunning IN their schemes to
become patients Tho comfortable bed.
the good food and the kind attention
they receive ara the temptations 10
mako them try these receptions. re-.
member a case in point Of a wonderfully
clever Piece of feigning 1t was a
woman who was brought to this hospital
several months ago with hemorrhage
from the lungs. She was poor, weakly
looking thing, very thin and had
cough She did indeed have diseased
lungs. We could not find out sufficient
10 comprehend the true nature of it.
however. 1t was an obscure complaint
We gave her good, strengthening
food and treatment and she grew quite
tat. She even made herself quite use
full IN the wards. The strange thinV
was that every time we spoke of dis.
charging her she was sure TO be taken
sick during the night and we would find
her with her clothes all covered with
blood that she epat from her mouth. AT
last we began 10 suspect something and
we set watch. How do you think she
managed1 Why, she used to take her
lower lip between her teeth and bite It
on the inside until il bled profusely.
When we discovered her secret she was
sent away, probably only to play her
trick upon some other hospital
AnOfbar M 90 xtroo xr.bsIr I -. -.
ing at the university. A man was
brought in with hip. ONT disease. The
slightest touch would make him cringe
with pain and he could not even bear
any one to sit on the side of his bed.
His leg showed no particular signs of
disease beyond being thinner than the
other and the flesh about the Joint
seemed fallen away. He could not use
the leg at all. We fed him up and doc
tored him and he, too, with the help of
a crutch and q foot-sling used 10 do
odd jobs about the hospital Whenever
we tried to make him use the limb, how
ever, he would always be taken sick and
Complain Of his Joint
AT last we began 10 think him In
durable and proposed to send him to the
Home for lncurables The day after
we made this proposition to him he said
he was better and be got up and walked
out OF the hospital without even a stick.
That man has been in evory hospital
IN Pennsylvania, always With hip Joint
disease. He never nsed his leg and con-
sequently II was slightly shriveled in
comparison with the other. and ont of
1t be made capital Heart disease has
been feigned IN a manner most pulling
TO. medical men- ! have known man
come into the hospital with every symp-
tom Of valYulaF disease-the paipita-
<ti0n, the loss of breath and even the
Snffpsion OF bl0od-yessels Of the face.
Good food and warm q uarters, with no
work to do In particular, always prove
the rock on which they split. They be-
come more or less lively, and when dis
charge i spoken Of q sudden and unao-
countable attack comes on, which is
immedlatslY followed, by discovery of
Il once saw case of epilepsy feigned
IN such marvellous way that for DAYS
we were all taken in. The man used to
have paroxysms of spasmodic character.
foamed at the mouth and bit his tongue
I'LL 1t became blue and swollen. His |
limbs became rigid and he was insensi-
bic 70 pain. We found him out first of
abby discovering that his pupils were
sensible TO the effect of light, Then we
found that the spasrns were entirely
feigncd and the foam produced by q
small piece OF soap in his mouth. We |
plnched him and pricked him and even
applied the actual cantery, but all was
of 20 avail AT last. some one hit on
the plan Of cutting down sup
plies and making him take hor-
ribly nasty medicine This treat /
mont cured him and he Quilted the hos
pital, vowing he would never return to
such miserable place. He visited sew
etal others, However, and, unless he Is
dcad, is probably still pursuing his
malingering method of earning iiYeli-
hood.
1T is not by any means an uncommon
t1nlng Tor people to come in with wounds
and even. fractured. limbs which have
been procured purposely. That seems
an Incredible statement, but it is never
less true. The records of hospital
only tell the names of the diseases and
when the patients were discharged, but
the nurses and house doctors could tell
many a tale of patients with well as
sumed complaints and Intentionally con-
Sracted troubles. Rheumatism is so
easily feigned, and how is doctor to
swear that the patient does not feel the
pain he processes to experienee2'
I !