The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-10-18

ings of the Imagination should play alone
on the nervous system, which, of course,
is the most susceptible. Even the invoi-
untary muscles are acutely subject to the
impressions of the mind. Here are some
applicable examples taken from Dr.
! Tuke's work on the Influence of the Mind
Upon the Body"
You may see a person with govt" says
Abernethy in his lectures, who is almost
unable to move with pain but produce
shock on his nervous system by telling
him that the house is on fire and he viii
scamper about like a limpllghter." Smoi-
lett tells us in one of his novels of Capt.
Lismahago, who went into house and
cried out to an old man with the goat,
Mad dog! Mad dogp' when he jumped
up and ran out of the house, "even into a
pond of water opposite" In such exam
pies it is immaterial whether the terror
arises from real or imaginary cause; the
remarkable, though familiar, fact is thar
strong mental image or impression in
fuses new power into the nervous ana
muscular systems. The very fear which
In a healthy person may produce excess
sive muscular contraction-a convulsion-
Will serve to nerve the limb of the Grip
PIE podagric just sufficiently to enable
him to escape from danger. But were
this all we could not deduce this occur
renee as an Illustration Of the cure of the
temporarily overcome but the disease re-
naming. In the second case, however,
adduced in the following Illustration, an
actual cure would appear to have been
effected.
"A captain of a British ship Of war;"
says DR.. Rush, who had been confined
for several weeks to his cabin by sevre
mt of the govt in his feet, was suddenly
cured by hearing the cry Of Fire on
board his ship. This fact was commu-
nlcated to me by gentleman who was
witness of it. Many similar cases are
upon record in books Of medicine. Shall
in another place insert an account Of
one in which the cure effected by fright
eradicated the disease from the system
so completely as ever afterwards to pre-
vent It's return" Here is the case, COM
municated by Judge Rush, the doctors
brother: Peter Fether, the person cured
is now alive, householder in Reading
70 years Of age, a native OF Germany,
ana very hearty man. The FIRST fit Of
govt he ever had was about the year 1773
and from that time till 1875 he had q
regular attack I'm the spring Of every
year. His feet, hands and elbows were
much swollen and infiamed; the fits last
ed long and were excruciating. In partic-
ular, the last fit in 1885 was SO severe
as 10 induce an apprehension that It would
inevitably carry him of, when he was
suddenly relieved by the following acci-
dent: AS he lay in a small back room
adjoining the yard It happened that one
Of his sons, in turning a wagon and
horses, drove the tongue Of the wagon
with such force against the window near
which the old man lay stretched on a
bed as TO beat in the sash Of the window
and to scatter the pieces Of broken glass
all about him. To such a degree was
he alarmed by the noise and violence that
he instantly leaped out OF bed forgot
that he had ever used crutches and
eagerly inquired what was the matter. Ills
wife, hearing the uproar, ran into the
room, where, to her establishment, she
found her husband on his feet, baw]inR
against the author OF the mischief with
the most passionate vehemence.
From that moment" continues DR..