Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1899-05-06
A WOMAN'S JEALOUSY.
A Strange Case That Was Reported by an
English Physician.


DR.. William O'Neill, late physi-
clan to several Lincoln (EuGland) in
situations, eends this account Of Il
strange experience to the LondCn
Lancet. 1t describes II case of that
very old and commonplace COM
plant, jealousy, 'or spirit OF lenl-
ouSy. rs it IL named in the scrip
ture-. where it is fully described
and treated.
"Soi>e years ago" he states. l
was requested to visit lady who,
it was represented to me, was very
i'll and required immediate atten-
ton. On entering the house | was
shown into the 50 called sickroom,
in which there We're three persons,
all of whom seemed to me to lie III
good health. There were present
an old lady, owner of the house, and
her daughter, who had arrived L
few days previously from a neigh
boring 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 i'll stature, swarthy in
complexion and plain looking. The
wife was Il striking contrast to her
husband She was rather tall, re-
markably fair and handsome and
was few wears younger than her
good man. l 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:
~ am the patient, and my COM
plant is jealousy. am jealous of
my husband, and if you do not give
me something to relieve me ! shall
go out of ny mind.
This accusation against the little
man seemed to me to he most ride
ulous. Indeed | could not help
thinking that if the accnser had
been tho accused it would have been
more in the nature of things. as
sured the lady Twas extremely sorry
for her, the more so that was quite
incompetent to treat such case.
The husband protested his limo
cence and declared there was no
cause whatever for her accusations.
The wife persisted in reiterating
them, and so the wrangle went on
till suddenly she fell from her chair
Oh the floor in a fit the spasmodic
movements of which were strange
and varied.
AT one moment the patient was
extended ut full length, with her
body arche1 forward in state of
opisthotonos. The next minute she
was in sitting position, with the
legs drawn up, making, while her
hands clutched her throat, gut
tural 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 culver all over,
while her cyelids trembled with
great rapidity. This state perhaps
would he followed by general con
vulsve movements, in which she
would put herself into the most gro
tesQue pastures and make the most
unlovely grimaces.
AT last the fit ended, and, eX-
hausted and in tears, she was put to
bed.
THE patient was 1.-the, muscu-
lar woman, ana to restrain her
movements during the attack with
the assistance at hand was 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
geographical than medical. The
husband ceased doing business in a
certain town where the object of his
wifo's suspicious lived. He was
enabled to do so by the kindness OF
friend who exchanged part of his
/ district with him.
This fit was not the disease, but
it was the symptom or manifesto,
ton of mind diseased or derangcd,
the state of the mind being the re.
suit of the woman S broodings over
her real or imaginary wrongs.