The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-03-05
LIVE AND DIE IN TUBS.
PATIENTS SITTING IN WATER
NIGHT AND DAY.

OchIe and other Games-SOme
est Bits of Gossip with the Water
at Blood Heat.
From the New Orleans Times Democrat.
In the general hospital at Vienna a re-
markable innovation has been made. 1t
has been decided that certain people must
live and actually die in tubs of water.
Night and day many of them up TO
their chlns in water which is kept at
blood heat. these patients pass a strange
existence. 1t is not a colorloss life. this
aquatic one. Great efforts have been
made to make it bright and full of in
terest. As a result, strange scenes are
constantly being enacted. Life in a tub
would not strike the casual observer at
first thought as exhilirating. And yet
cold facts prove that so adapted is hui
manity to its environment that content
ment and even a cheerful spirit, is COM
patible with tub dwelling.
There is precedent for this latter-day
tub life to be found In classical reminders
of the philosophical Diogenes, who also
dwelt in a tub.
The constancy of the treatment Is so
literal that virtually the patient who once
enters, unless cured, never leaves his tub.
The visitor to the water cure department
of the Vienna hospital is abruptly adj
mitted to a chamber of great size, where
are groups of covered bath tubs. Each
tub is occupied by a man or a woman
sunk in water 10 the chin. There is no
lack of enterprise on the part of these
unfortunates IN the way of efforts at self
or mutual entertainment. 1t Is palpably
in the air, however, that they are all there
on husiness-the important business of get
ting well-and the one first and general
principle adhered to and enforced by
each and every patient physician and at
tendant is to keep constantly, so to speak,
in soak mp to their neck.
Upon recent visit to the hospital the
tubs were observed to he all occupied, ana
the visitor was informed by the house
surgeon that there was a waiting list of
thirteen patients all anxious. The last
man was especially so because of his In
nate superstition regarding the, to him,
ominous chance, that had made him NO.
10. The tub dwellers while being observ-
ed by the visitors referred to, were anus
ing themselves by reading, playing mu-
steal Instruments and cards and smoking,
One inventive genius had a little work
table laid on top of his tub dwelling, ana
with tools. brass wheels puleys, shafts
and springs was evolving from the assert
ment what might be either an eiBht-day
clock or an anarchistic bomh-hring ma
chine, or possibly he was at work on that
old ingnus fatuus which had lured so
many perpetual motion.
The gregariousness of mankind was well
illustrated by the fact that some of the
tubs were grouped so that four would be,
at their circumference, in touch with each
other, while a few tubs were remote and
isolated. In this wet little world there
We're, as in the great outer world, few
individuals who preferred solitude and
self-communion. One of the groups of four
tubs contained a quartet of jovial friends,
whose spirits could never be dampened,
although their bodies were never dry
one member of this quartet was fair,
r0uO0-fDGe0 German
fat and probably over forty. The other
three were men, one of them quite bald,
and all looking as II they had never abb
stained from any of the good things of
life until they had, possibly as a result Of
high living, taken to water as last re-
sort.
game of pinochle. They were playing
with the regulation double deck in vogue
with pinochie experts, ana exhibited con-
siderable finesse In their desperate deter
mination to hang on to Jack of diamonds
until the queen of spades came along to
help him count forty, or gamely letting
trick after trick be taken with the beguil-
ing hope that the one ace needfui 10 make
up the four and score a hundred would
come in the next draw.
The least careful of the quartet of card
players was the jolly German frau, whose
dimpled pink and white and fat bare arms
and shoulders attracted more attention
from the visitors than did the game 1t
run she could get out of 1t than to be the
first to score a thousand points. Her
cherished score was the number of hearty
laughs which she could evoke and join In.
Every time IL came her deal she would flip
and sail the cards so recklessly that sew
eral times one fell in the water In the
other players tubs. This did not injure
the cards, 1t was observed because they
were possibly a special make, having a sort
of celluloid finish.
There was a pretty general indulgence
In tobacco. A few OF the men smoked
pipes but the general preference was for
paper-clad cigarettes of Turkish tobacco.
Three men were smoking chibougnes as II
their faith In water was so great that they
wanted their tobacco smoke bathed.
Among the cigarette smokers was young
Spanish woman, whose dark lustrous ewes
and luxuriant glossy black hair which
ures all conspired against her complex
ion TO make her beautiful.
The otherwise pretty Andalusian's COM
plcxion was exceedingly detrimental. and,
In fact she was under treatment for a
humor Of the blood. She was very bright
and hopeful, and an attendant said her
case was not chronic. She was regarded
by the colony as transitory and merely am
phiblous and not,as they were. devoted, IL
might be for years. IL might be forever, to
completely aqueous existence.
An interesting patient was young man
an artist. Zolnay had been seriously
burned in a hotel fire, where he had suf-
fered through an act of herolsm in res
cuing a bedridden old woman who had
been forgotten by others who were selfish
and cowardly Zolnay had been a great
sufferer, but after three months INNER
sion had at last experienced an inexprcss-
ible relief from pain and discomfort
Great patches Of cuticle had been burn
ed from his body, and in places the un-
DERIVING flesh was charred TO considera-
BILE depth. The young Austrian's youth,
perfect health. vigor, and determination
to survive had made II possible for the
water cure to save him.
Zolnay said In French, which he spoke
like an educated artisan: 81 do not think
/ am over sensitive or faint of heart but
] grew TO have such a terror Of physical
pain that my resolution gave way and
could not bear 20 have my wounds dress
ed No lint could be made Of such gossa-
mer lightness, or oil OF such smOOthness
be found, that I could endure. The idea
OF being condemned TO life In a tub was
odious, but 40 was that or death. MY
first plunge so irritated my wounds and
nerves that tainted, but gradually be-
came accustomed 10 the water. and now
its yielding softness seems like heaven in
the freedom from pain which ] sometimes
happily enjoy for long intervals. The
Inconvenience of this life In tub seem
greater than they really are. IL Is won
derful how n man can get used TO any
thing. Sometimes ] feel ready TO die Of
ennui. but God willing ! shall be out
~ lon a akin L. hrosin-