The Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1893-1901, 1893-10-11
CURING 4 NERVOUS CRANK.

Treatment Employed In Restoring . Wei
Man Who Imagined He Was III.
On the east side lives a physician who's,
success in the treatment Of nervous die
orders has brought to him, rather agains,
his " wishes, considerable practicl
among a class whom he describes a
nervous cranks." One Of these pa
tients, . man Of large means, had caused
no end of trouble to the doctor, who,
seeing that the case was purely one Of
mental i~diosyncrasy. was unwilling Ia
prescribe q course Of drugging or other
injurious treatment. The man insisted
that his nervous system was completely
unstrung and that the physician should
take his case in hand.
There you can see how nervous l
m said the patient one day, in the doc.
tors Office, as he picked up an incandes-
cent electric light bulb from an adjoin.
ing table. Look at that. See how that
carbon coil inside of the bulb vibrates
and trembles from my nervousness.
very we'll" replied the physician, de-
termined 10y to deal with the case in
another way, you are more nervous
than | supposed, but l think l can fetch
you out all right in five or six weeks"
An assortment Of bogus pills and DO
tlons was given to the patient, and hs
was placed under a rigid rule for sleep,
diet, baths and exercise. His physical
health, which had been excellent to be-
gin with, improved steadily; but his nerv-
Gus condition, as indicated by the fuc-
tuations OF the incandescent bulb, which
he found Q veniently at hand every
he visited the doctors Office showed
little or no trace of mending.
One day, however, near the end Of tn.
fourth week, the patient, upon taking
the bulb from its accustomed place and
holding it up to the light. was surprised
find that the vibrations of the carbon
were almost nothing. Beaming with
new hopefulness, he called the physi.
clans attention to the fact. The latter
surprised and delighted. The IA,
tient tested himself with the bulb in hie
right hand, then changed it to his left
and then repeated the operation, always
With the same gratifying result. The
treatment had done its work. He felt
ike a we'll man. He was satisfied from
he first that those rills would fix him.
HE sailed for Europe the other day."
'emarked the physician, "and as he is to
enain abroad for five years | guess,
here IS no danger of his learning how l
'ured him. He was SO taken with the
.ea of testing the condition of his nerv-
system by the vibrations of the car
ION in that electric light bulb that l hui
nored his fancy. After three or four
'eeks OF careful living, and when he had
ut himself into first class physical con-
ition, | simply changed the bulbs for
For the ordinary bulb containing
carbon coil ! substituted one that l
made with a fine coil Of oxidized
liver wire closely resembling the other
nd which was SO stiff that it was capa-
lie OF almost no vibration when the bulb
as held in the patients hand. He took
/, saw that the vibrations had ceased
nd concluded that he was cured,
I'm some way, perhaps by accident or
hen in condition of mental excitement,
had noticed the trembling Of the car.
in a bulb when held in the hand, i
I'D had instantly made up his mind that 9
} was suffering from nervous disorder. 9
. insisted upon using the same means {
testing his progress toward recovery !.
at had first persuaded him that he was : !
!, and ! was compelled to acquiesce s
ID treat him from that basis. He had
identity had little experience with these =
ibis. Ordinary tests and observation
ould have shown him that no man,
'weyer sound, can hold an ~incandescent
lib in his unsupported hand SO steadily
the carbon inside Of it will not vi.
ate. New York Herald.