Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-02-25
THE GREEN-EYED MONSTER.
[Lancet.1

Lancet
Among the multltudinous and null
Hilarious cases of disease reported
year after year in the columns of the
Lancet | have not seen a case of that
very old and commonplace complaint.
iealousy-or spirit OF jealousy" as it
Is named in the Scriptures, where 1t Is
fully described and treated. | would
! therefore ask permission to mention Il
nat has come under my care.
Some years ago | was requested to
visit n lady who it was represented to
me was very i'll. and who consequently
required immediate attention. on en-
tering the house ! 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
We're present an old lady (the owner
of the house, and her daughter who
had arrived n 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 30 years of age,
small in stature, swarthy in complex
ion, and plain looking. The wife was
a striking contrast to her husband.
She was rather tall, remarkably fair
and handsome, and was few years
younger than her good man. Afte'
taking a seat j asked which of them
was the patient. but no answer having
been given to my inquiry l asked
again. Then the younger lady with
some hesitation said: II am the patient
and my complaint Is jealousy. am
Jealous of my husband. and II you do
not give me something to relieve me /
shall go out OF my mind" This ac-
ousatlon against the little man seemed
to me to be most ridiculous; indeed, l
could not help thinking that II the ac-
cuser had been the accused IL would
have been more in the nature OF things.
l assured the lady I was extremely
sorry for her, the more so that l was
quite incompetent to treat such a case
However, / advised that n wise mu-
tual friend should be consulted who
would make things pleasant between
husband and wife, for that In all prob
ability there was 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 fit, the spasmodic movements
of which were so strange and varied
that Il would be almost impossible to
describe them. At one moment the |
patient was extended at full length |
with her body arched forward In n
state of opisthotonos. The next min |
,,te she was in a sitting position with |
hands clutched her throat cultural |
noise. Then she would throw herself |
on her back and thrust her arms and |
legs about to the no small danger of |
those round her. Then becoming COM |
quiet and supine she would |
CULVER all over while her eyellds trem-
hled With great raploity. This state |
perhaps would be followed by general |
movements in which she |
would put herself into the most gro
tesque posturcs and make the most |
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 ut hand
was q matter of impossibillty, so nil
that could he done was 60 prevent her
herself and 70 sprinkle her
freely with cold water. The after treat
ment was more geographical than med
zeal. The husband ceased doing busi-
ness In certain town where the OBJ
ject of his wlfe's suspicious lived. He
was enabled to do so by the Kindness OF
n friend who exchanged part OF his
district with him.
This was not n case of epilepsy. for
the muscular spasms OF the patient
were not exactly similar to those OF
that disease. Besides. there was no