The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1891-11-24


glass hand.
The owner OF the hand looks after his
own extensive business affairs. and Is
said to be cultured gentleman with only
one idiosypcrasy.
DR.. Hammond has another curious pa
tient who sometimes calls for treatment.
This IA rural Clergyman who has liv-
ing In town on the Hudson River. He
has hallucination that he can converse
only In rhyme, and all attempts TO break
him OF the habit have proved futile.
On his first appearance In DIR. Ham,
mond's Office the poetic clergyman shook
hands with the physician and broke out
into verso as follows:
"Dear Doctor Hammond
! hope you arc we'll.
I've come n long distance
Ny troubles TO tell
Folks call me crazy.
But that's an inanity
Unless rhyming is craziness;
I've not got insanity"
DR.. Hammond Is something OF q poet
himself, so he remarked:
"rn DO what I'm able;
Just sit down at that table"
He says that tho clergyman's ability at
rhyming is marvellous. He can rhyme
with the most outlandish words and with
OuL 6tOppluk kOI ~ iuOnouL W tnlHh. Al
this respe Ct the doctor thinks his queer
patient follows the example Of most other
poets.
DR.. James Z. Kelly, OF No. 16 East Twen-
ty-ninth street. has had long hospital
experience and private practice and has
had some peculiar patients.
One was stout lady OF means who had
previously been operated on for a tumor
and who could not be persuaded that an
other had not grown In her abdomen. She
was reduced mentally almost to insanity,
and at last he agreed to operate upon her
and remove II.
She has been put under the influence OF
ether, and DR.. Kelly. having satisfied
himself that no leison OF any kind existed,
removed several pounds OF useless and
superHuous fat from the outside OF her
abdomen. She recovered quickly from
the effect OF the operation, and to this day
declares that her life was saved by the re-
moval OF that awful tumor."
DIR. James Harrison said that he had
patient who believed that there was a
clock In his stomach. He said that he
could hear every tick = the clock, and
that the noise kept him awake at night.
When the clock struck IL this patient
had an awful attack. He would double up
on the floor and declared that every blow
OF the pendulum struck him on the heart.
1T will only take little while to wear
out my heart" he said to the doctor.
DR.. Harrison finally induced the man 10
drink a lotion which he assured him
would eat away the handspring and stop
the clock from ticking. The experiment
was a success, and the patient was after
ward enabled to sleep without being dis
turbed.
Another patient was certain that he had
swallowed lizard which was gradually
eating away his liver. He explained that
while In the country on a vacation he had
knelt down and drank from running
brook.
He felt certain that small lizard had
gone down his throat with the water. The
reptile was growing, he said, and he could
feel II inside OF him.
The physician was forced TO deceive the
victim OF imagination or the latter would
probably have become insane.
He procured a small lizard, gave his pa
tient choroform and subsequently showed
him the reptile. A sudden cure was eff
fected and the relieved sufferer promised
to never drink again from brook
DR.. Cyrus Edison, OF the Health Board,
said that people with all sorts of hallucina-
tions were constantly being examined by
the city authorities as TO their sanity.
A woman used TO call on him who was
convinced that the evil one was within
her. She told the doctor that she could
feel Lucifer jumping up and down.
She worried so much over 1t that she
became dangerously ILL., DR.. Edison turned
her over TO the church authorities, who
succeeded In expurging the evil one after
long and severe struggle.
DR.. Edison had a patient who believed
that his right arm was paralyzed al
though he was able TO use IL without
trouble. He declared that the arm was
insenslbe 10 pain, and he would permit
persons 10 stick pins, needles and even
knife blades into 1t, apparently without
feeling any painful effects. His disregard
Of pain was entirely due to his belief In
the delusion.
A case that never became public was re-
Gently before the city officials. IL was
that OF well-to-do baker on Third ave.
nue.. who imagined that he had the head
OF Russell Sage on his shoulders.
He declared that Uncle Russell had be-
wltched him and changed heads. Al
though the baker had no chin whiskers he
was forever pulling at Imaginary ones. as
Mr.. Sage used to have whiskers when the
baker had seen him. His friends took
charge OF the baker and had him removed
to a private asylum.
An uptown doctor has n patient who
imagines about once a month that he is @
dog At such times he crawls on his
knees aud hands and barks like canine.
m. Y. Journal.