River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1886-12-16

The understandable case of catalepsy
or trance ever known in Western Penn
sylvania, perhaps, is that of Miss
Maggie Beading, an 11-year-old girl
living ut Banksville, a small mining
town, For over two years she has been
in what seems to be a trance. During
this time She has had but three lucid
intervals, one on last Saturday. lasting
for less than a minute. only long
enough for her to say, please give me
drink. The other two periods were
during the early part of her strange
sickness. The first one lasted for
about two weeks, but the second only
a few hours. Over half the time she
has passed in a sleep of stupor, from
which nothing could arouse her.
Two years and two months ago Mag
gle fell down flight of stairs, injuring
her spine, and four hours afterward she
went into commissions Gradually her
body grew rigid, her breathing became
slower and slower. and finally seemed
to cease altogether The beatings of
the heart and pulse were so faint they
could bcarly be detected She con
tinued in this state for six hours when
her limbs began to relax, her breathing
became perceptible, and her eyes
opened. But, to the surprise of her
relatives and attending physicians, she
did not regain consciousness Her
eyes did not have a dull vacant look,
but seemed fixed on something far
above her nearly all the time. She
would lie in bed and lift up one arm to
its full length, while a strange smile
illumined her features, About four
weeks after she surprised those who
were sittingaround the bed by murmur-
ing the name of little girl who had
died about two weeks before she met
with the accident. She did not speak
again, but, by the motions of her arms.
indicated that she saw an apparation
lowering over her
Her mother, bending over her, asked
her if She saw any others there. She
seemed to hear and understand the
question and answered it by strange
smile. Mrs. Beading then repeated the
names of a number of relatives and
friends who had died. and at the utter
ance of each name the same sweet smile
was an affirmative answer.
To test her further, Mrs. Beading then
repeated the names of her children and
residents of the little town who she had
known were still living, and asked her
if She could see any Of them. She made
"a .f 6 fbal,
names. her features remaining perfectly
impassiye. Then the mother spoke the
name of an aunt who had died about
seven years ago, and the daughter eyes
~prrkled and her features indicated as
plainly as words could do that she saw
her In thiscondition She has remained
for rs months. She sings a great deal,
more now than during her early illness.
Sometimes She seems in transports Of
ecstasy, and look Of joy and pleasure
that cannot be portrayed by words IL
lumines her face. At such times she
sings her favorite songs, among which
are. I've been washed in the blood of
the lamb, bright angels are lowering
near" and one of which the first line
is ..Some build their homes on the over
drifting sands" One of the most
wonderful features Of her strange case
Is that she now weighs about l25
pounds. only five pounds less than when
she was hurt two years ago. In all
that time She has tasted nothing but
milk toast and chicken broth. never
over four ounces day, and has even
gone for three days at a time without
food.