St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-07-19
HYSTERIA MYSTERIES
Men as Well as Women Suffer
From This DisagPeeable
Disease.
Manifestations Of DiSordepea
Nerves and DePanged In
agination.
Chicago Furnishes a Very Re-
maPkabie Case Of En-
durance.
Victims Of This Malady Will
Even Suffer Social Dis
grace.

pronounce hySteria psychical rather
than physical ailment, and thereby do
away with the popular impression that
only women are hysterical, writes Mar
garet Manton In the New York Herald.
1t is impossible TO know how far the
human mind may be influenced by
fancy. There is more than one case on
record of people who have died under
the impression that they were i'll of
mortal disease when they were really IN
perfect health physically, thus proving
absolutely the theory that mind dOmi-
mates matter.
One of the best known physicians in
New York is at present attending
lady equally well known who pretends
to have hemOrrhage of the lungs. She
is taken suddenly and alarmingly ill
and the doctor is called and finds her
coughing, strangling, and splitting
blood. These paroxySiSms are followed
by the most extreme weakness.
Il became suspicious of her," said the
physician. "when | firSt called, and
quietly took some of the blood home and
analysed it. | found that it was, as
had suspected, venOuS blood, which had
not come from lung tissue. [ deter
mined to watch my fair patient. | did
SO. and with the help of mirror | saw
her use small penknife about her
mouth.
"Afterward, under the PretenSe of eX-
amining her throat, | found that her
gums and the roof of her mouth were
lacerated In the most cruel manner. She
had done it herself in order 10 produce
the blood.
''Of course" continued the physician,
this would not cause the weakness
which she feigned, and in order to make
the deception more complete she had
taken 1rugs-tO depress the action of the
heart, and render her really weak"
The lady is the wife of a well known
lawyer, woman of charming presence,
well read and more sensible and practl-
cal in general affairs than the average
of either men or women.
The only object she can possibly have
is to attract sympathy and attention.
The same lady sometimes Stimulates
neuralgia of the heart. and does it so
well that her son, who is himself ply
STEFAN, is completely deceived.
If doctor were to attempt to expose
fraud of this kind he would simply be
Indignantly dismissed and some one
more polite called in his stead.
Perhaps the most remarkable case of
endurance on record is that of a young
woman who was brought before clinic
in one of the Chicago hospitals.
She claimed to nave lost the sense of
feeling, but as she had before displayed
hySterical tendencies the medical men
were inclined to be skeptical and sub
jected her to severe tests.
A needle was thrust through her lip
and hot iron used to cauterize the
wound thus made. The patient bore
the pain without f1itiching. Still the
doctors were not convinced. She had
small ovarian tumOr, of the presence of
which she was conscious. and which
had probably caused her hysterical con-
ditiOn.
She had been advised before to have
the tumOr removed, and now, in order
to prove that she really could not feel.
she asked that the tumOr be removed
and refused to take any an8sthetic.
This was interesting, and the class
gathered close around the table. The
surgeons made all possible display of
instruments, sponges, basins, aud vari-
Gus other parsphernalia, thinking the
patient would weaken, bnt she did not.
She lay and watched the proceedings
with the utmost calnness, and when
the ncision was made her face betrayed
not sign of pain.
1t began to look as if she would stand
the test, but suddenly she tainted, and
when she revived her wonderful nerve
had failed her. She confessed that she
had been Shamming, and begged the
surgeons to deSist, but as the operation
was necessary one they gave her an
an8thetc and went on.
Whether it was because the cause had
been removed or on account of the
salutary lesson she mad received no one
knows, but the young woman never had
another attack of the hySteria.
A few years ago man was employed
in thriving Western city as Superin-
tendent of public instruction. lie was
handsome, polished in manners, thor
oughly educated, and favOrite in So
cety. He achieved some fame as a
public speaker, and figured conSpicu-
Ously in politics. There was every evil
denee that the man was of sound and
practical mind. but he proved to be
complete victim of hysteria.
He would have the most violent at
tacks of insanity and allow himself to
be bound. Then he would struggle to
free himself until the cords cut into his
flesh.
At other times he would lose the use
of his limbs. fall helpless in the street,
and be carried home.
Once, while making an address. he
fell in a fit, and when he recovered he
declared that he had lost his nearing.
For more than week he feigned deaf
ness. but he betrayed himself a num-
Der of times. His browning act was to
plough a turrow in his scalp with
pistol bullet, thereby disiguring him.
self for life.
Hysterical people nearly always have
morbid appeuteS. They will not eat
substantial food, but live upon chalk.
lemons, tea leaves, and other equally IN
furious things.
One patient was an inVPterate de-
vOurer of charcoal.
The loss of speech and hearing, ard
even of sight. are very common pre-
! lenses. Kleptomania is another form of
hysteria, and many physical crimes may
be traced to the same source, showing
that the victims of this strange malady
will not only voluntarily suffer physical
pain, but social disgrace.
The numerous people who have gone
to sleep and remained so Tor weeks,
only swallowing food and drink when it
was put in their mouths and making no
sign of consciousness, must endure in
tense discomfort.
Not long since patient in one of the
private wards or city hospital was
being treated for cancer of the stomach.
Everything he ate was vomited At
last it was discovered that he had coll
cealed a quantity of opium pills. He
was one of the many people upon whom
opium acts as an emetic, and he chose
| to deliberately suffer the agony of maui
sea, pay large fees 10 doctors and nur-
ses, and spend his days in hospital,
when he might have been about his
business active and well.
Another characteristic of hysterical
people is the ease with which they de-
Scend to the gates of death and as sud-