Daily camera., 1898-06-23
JEALOUSY AS A DISEASE.
A London Doctors Peculiar Elk
perience with a. Patient.
The Treatment II More Geographical
Than Medical, Showing the :
Trouble to BE of Mem
tai Nature.

DIR. William O'Neill, late physician to
several Lincoln institutions, sends the
following account of a strange ex-
perience to the Lancet. 1t describes a
case of that very old and commonplace
complaint, jealousy, or spirit of jeal-
ousy," as it is named in the Scriptures,
where it is fully described and treated.
Some years ago, he states, was re-
quested to visit a lady who, it was rep
resented to me, was very i'll and re-
quired immediate attention. On en-
tering the house l was shown into the
so-called sick room, in which there
were three persons, all of whom seemed
to me to be in good health. There were
present an old lady (owner of the
house) and her daughter, who had ar
rived few days previously from a
neighboring county to spend two or
three weeks with her mother. and the
daughters husband, whose visit was
only to be for day or two.
The man was about 35 years of age,
small in stature, swarthy in com
plexion and plain looking. The wife
was a striking contrast to her husband.
She was rather tall, remarkably fair
and handsome and was a few years
younger than her good man. ] asked
which of them was the patient, but no
answer having been given to my in
quiry, | asked again. Then the young
er lady, with some hesitation, said:
No nj int
is Jealousy. ! amojealous of my hus-
band, and if you do not give me some
thing to relieve NE shall go out of my
mind"
This accusation against the little man
seemed to me to be most ridiculous; in
deed, l could not help thinking that if
the accuser had been the accused it
would have been more in the nature of
things. l assured the lady | was ex-
tIemely sorry for her, the more 50 that
l was quite incompetent to treat such
case. The husband protested his in
nocence 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 fit the spasmodic movements
of which were strange and varied.
At one moment the patient was eX-
tended at full length with her body
arched forward in a state of opsthoto-
nos. The next minute she was in a sit
ting position with the legs drawn up,
making, while her hands clutched her
throat, a cultural noise. Then she
would throw herself on her back and
thrust her arms and legs about, to the
no small danger of those around her.
Then becoming comparatively quiet
and supine, she would quiver all over.
while her eyelids trembled with great
rapidity. This state perhaps would be
followed by general convulsive move
ments, in which she would put herself
in the most grotesque postures and
make the most unlovely grimaces.
At last the fit 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 attack with the assistance
at hand was a matter of impossibility;
SO all that could be done was to prevent
her injuring herself and to sprinkle
her freely with cold water.
The after treatment was more geo
graphical than medical. The husband
ceased doing business in a certain
town where the object of his wife's sus-
picions lived. He was enabled to do so
by the kindness of friend, who ex-
changed part of his district with him.
The fit was not the disease, but it was
the symptom or manifestation of a
mind diseased or deranged, the state |
of the mind being the result of wom-
ans broodings over her real or imag-
mary wrongs.-London Mail.