The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1898-02-12

sill JedlOuS OIL my nuSUdHu, anu IL
you do not give me something to re-
lieve me l shall go out of my mind"
This accusation against the little man
seemed to me to be most ridiculous; In
deed, / could not help thinking that if
the accuser had been the accused 1t
would have been more in the nature of
things. / assured the lady l was eX-
tremely sorry for her, the more so that
l was quite incompetent to treat such
case, However, i advised that
wise mutual friend should be consulted
who would make things pleasant be-
tween husband and wife, for that in all
probability there were no grounds for
her suspicious. The husband protested
his innocence and declared there was
no cause whatever for her accusations.
The wife persisted in reiterating them,
and so the wrangle went on till sud-
denly she fell from her chair on the
floor in a fit, the spasmodic movements
OF which were so strange and varied
that it would be almost impossible to
describe them At one moment the
patient was extended at full length
with her body arched forward in a
state of opisthotonos The next min
ute she was in a sitting position with
the legs drawn up, making while her
hands clutched her throat a gutteral
| noise. Then she would throw herself
the most grotesque postures and make
the most unlovely grimaces. AT last
the mt ended, and exhausted and in
tears she was put to bed. The patient
was 1.-THE. muscular woman, and to
restrain her movements during the at
tack with the assistance at hand was
matter of impossibility SO all that
could be done was to prevent her in
juring herself and to sprinkle her
freely with cold water The after
treatment was more geographical than
medical, The husband ceased doing
business in a certain town where the
object Of his wlfe's suspicious lived.
He was enabled to do SO by the kind
ness Of friend who exchanged part Of
his district with him.
| This was not a case of epilepsy, for
| the muscular spasms of the patient
were not exactly similar to those Of
| that disease. Besides. there was no
! foaming at the mouth, or biting of the
tongue, and unconsciousness was not,
think, at any time fully at allegiance,
as Is the case in epilepsy. The attack
was well-developed hysterical tit,
with a good deal Of cataleptic rightly
of the muscles. The fit was not the
disease, but it was the symptom or
characterization Of a mind diseased CT
deranged, the state of the mind being
the result of the woman's brooding
over her real or imaginary wrongs.
r. 49, c,y,
| is fixed on an all-absorbing subject like
that Of jealousy, 1T may become I'M
hinged, and when this is the case the
brain may, think, occasionally relieve
itself by explosions of more or less
uncomfortable and misdirected muscu-
lar energy. It let's off steam, and per-
haps prevents the boiler from busting
But jealousy frequently assumes a vi
olent and destructive character, for as
the wisest Of the sons of men says;
Jealousy is cruel as the grave; the
Goals thereof are Goals Of fire which
hath a most vehement flame" Not
long after the above case came under
my notice read in the STANDARD news.
paper an account of three murders
each attributed to jealousy.
Again, jealousy In an unobtrusive
form may be found influencing the
course of many diseases, and some
times it may take such a deep hold or
| the mind of patient that 1t may be
considered the disease itself 1t is not
often, however, that a female patient
will reveal to third person the cause
4 Of her mental depression, loss of sleer
and appetite, and her unwillingness t.
leave her room and resume outdoor Elk.
ercise. A husband may throw some
light on case that Is making little OF
no progress toward recovery. I have
had cases illustrative Of this kind 0.
jealousy, and have had one lately, ant
this I know, that in treating them {
man requires to be diplomatist a:
well as a Observation-Disclosures.