Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-01-12

ported to a hospital, where, if he has good
luck. he may be entertained for a while
free of cost. Very often, however, the cpl
leptic forgets to observe some of the simple
details. Perhaps the man with false fit
straightens out his thumbs when he
clenches his fists in commissions. The man
who has genuine attack of epilepsy al
ways has his thumbs tightly inc sed in the
fist. Many a fakir has been ..goriously
ushered out of a hospital because he has
neglected this simple thumb rule. The
hurler of false fits generally carries In his
pocket n small quantity of soap, which he
uses to represent froth at the mouth, While
he gnashes his teeth. 1t is inconvenient for
.he fakir if willy physician finds sapona-
ceous compound in the epileptic's Walstcoat
pocket.
Many of the craft pretend to be in a state
of coma. They are not so far gone, how
ever, that they cannot hear conversation.
They often have to listen to bloodthirsty
remarks about knives and quantities OF
blood which are soon to flow. They will
lie still until they feel a scalpel toying
around their wrists. Under such trying
circumstances they have been known to
clear the operating table with single
bound. This knife test generally succeeds
where ordinary ordeals fail Paralysis is
regarded as luxury by the hospital fakir.
The skilled medical hobo hesitates to
attempt 1t, but the novice will rush into
state of paralysis where fakirs knowing
their limitations fear to tread. Often men
with normal temperature, normal respira-
ton and normal pulses have had the shall
low effrOntery to feign paralysis. The prick
of a pin or the sudden application of an
electrode is enough to disabuse their minds
of the belief that they are fooling the sur
geonS.
Proved Fatal.
There are many persons who affect hy-
drophobia. Very often they are in such
state of hysteria that they believe they
have been actually bitten by a rabid dog.
There n a
York city hospital year or so ago veter
mary surgeon who showed some symptoms
of hydrophobia. He said that he had gone
to visit a friend who was Ill. He found
upon his arrival that the invalid had died
in the night. He averred that a large mas
tiff stood guard over the body. The animal
attacked him The surgeons could see no
marks Of canine teeth The patient threw
himself into commissions, barked like dog
and then choked and gagged at the sight
of water. He said that he had been bitten
the day before he was brought to the in
stitution. The surgeons concluded that he
was shamming when they saw him devour
full meal with great relish, for hydropho-
bia constructs the CLOTHS and prevents the
patient from swallowing From friend OF
the veterinarian who visited the institution
later the surgeons learned that the story of
the mastiff was myth. The man was SIM
ply hysterical. He made so much noise
that he was sent to the alcoholic ward,
where his barking would not disturb the
patients as lnOcn as IN the DIVISION WneTe
he was placed. The strangest part of the
story is that three hours later the man
died, believing to the last that he had by
drophobia.
Cured His Barking.
There was taken to hospital in New
York city two years ago boy who barked
like a dog The surgeons found he was
merely hysterical. Whenever he barked
they made liberal use Of an electric bat
oft
tions, and he has never had any desire
to bark since his discharge from the hos
pital. He had never been bitten by a dog.
but had caught all the hydrophobia he had
from reading of mad dog bites in the news
papers.
Within a few blocks Of large city hos
pital there was hostler, tall, broad
shouldered fellow, who got the angina pee
toris habit. He was for month or so
taken in an ambulance to the hospital
every three days. The surgeons learned
his name and pedigree by rote and gave
him stomach pump treatment, which CT
fectually dissuaded him from riding in am
balances. He did not successfully smu-
late a single symptom Of the disease, yet
he always insisted that he had 1t. He is
still plying his vocation as hostler and is
a highly healthy organism.
Heroic Remedies for Fakirs.
There is not a more effective remedy for
taking than the stomach pump. Many a
man who pretends to have all kinds OF
strange diseases will weaken under this
heroic treatment and give the hospital
where 1t is employed a wide berth forever
afterward. This old-fashioned remedy IS
especially eff1cacious in the cases OF per-
sons who desire hospital lodging from Sat.
urday night until the following Monday
morning 1t Is also helpful in case Of
prisoners who to avoid going to the work
house for five days, make such bowling
declarations of misery that the keeper OF
the prison calls an ambulance and ships
them to the hospital to get rid Of them
Very often the prison fakir gains his point
and stays in a cot until his workhouse
sentence has elapsed.
There are some of the guild who are SO
devoted to their supposed ills that the
stomach pumps and drastic and bitter med
ic;nes have no terrors for them. There was
once fakir who for eight days submitted
to doses of qunine, ipecac and quassia
Every morning his stomach was washed
out. an attention which is worse than the
ten devils OF seasickness. One day there
were so many bones to set that he was
overlooked.
where he lay, Il have been neglected. No
body gave me my medicine, and / didn't get
my stomach washed"
Go to Any Extreme.
Many of the fakirs burn themselves ST.
perticially with carbolic acid, bandage the
burned arm or leg, and then hurry to hos
pital with a pitiful story Of accident. The
surgeons generally send such persons to the
dispensaries. Some men and women, de-
spairing en- account Of hunger, go to hos
pitfalls and declare that they are III. The
physicians find 1t very difficult to diagnose
the malady of these unfortunate and Ill
nourished fakirs, for the reason that they
feign no symptoms. They have genuine
cases of general misery. These persons are
often detained for weeks. 1t Is not an In
frequent thing for them to get well and
strong under hospital care, and then go out
and make a successful fight in the battle OF
| life.
Many of the professional fakirs. by rea-
son OF their devotion to their calling, de-
velop nervous disorders. Some Of them &C
| tually become hypochondriacs. There have
been cases on record where the man who
| has feigned disease has become sufferer
| from the malady which he has successfully
| counterfeited. Nature frequently visits upon
| such one terrible retribution. There are
| in the almshouseS outcasts who were once
| successful hospital fakirs. They are like
| the beggar who affected blindness until his
| eyeballs were scared and useless.
| Many of the men who scheme to befool
| ambulance surgeons have originally ner-
vous disorders. They are in a hysterical
| condition, which gives them a facility In
| feigning misery. to which person in nor
| NAL health could never attain. There are
those who. after study of symptoms. can