The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1904-10-25
A Modern - 60
Dip Van Wrinkle


The case Of a woman who slept for
.weny consecutive years. the longest
~ 70 the present time, Is reported by the
French neurologist, NJ Lancereaux IN
the Bulletin de fAcademie de Medicine
as Marguerite b, was Of a neurotIe
and hYsterical family, and had ALWAYS
been delicate and nervous. on May 81,
!ssS following severe fright, she was
seized with violent attacks Of hysteria.
lasting about twenty-four hours after
which she fell into the profound sleep
ABOVE mentioned. which was interrupted
sYsry month or every month and a half
by sudden convuIsive attacks. During
t ms ume she was kept alive entirely by
CURED just before her death at the end
on Nay snt q, y isds at siefP o'clock !, the
denly seized with crisis Of hyst sGh
similar to that Of the beginning Of her
new CONFUSION lasted nearly four hours
without interruption. The pa
tient. without being positively awakened.
herself on the he'd.
On the following day, the 18th, the con-
y movements were not renewed.
N. B. passed her hand before her
eyes as IL 10 remove a vel. then onensd
them, appeared to see and to hear. and
s I,,e 70 recover possession Of herself and
put herself In communication with the
e1terlor world, for she endeavored to un-
derstand some words which a priest adj
dressed to her.
''on the 26th, at o'clock In the morn
ing, she is more awake. opens her eyes
upon being ordered to do so. reacts to
plnching of the skin of the arm. and says
IN a weak voice that she has been
plncned. The attack of sleep
with all its accessory symptoms has def
Then. gradually regaining self-oon-
seriousness, she recognizes with diffculty
the persons about her. She is informed
OF the present date; but she has trouble
AZ nrst 10 recall the order OF succession
ried back to a distant period. and s She Is
suoconscious of blank in her existence.
She asks her age; her mother, subtract
ing the years passed in sleep, tells her
tnat II IS twenty-five years, and presents
70 her, as being her sister, a niece born
the evening Of the beginning of her sleep.
however it is difficult for her to enter
into precise details with regard to past
events. II can be proven that she has
lost the remembrance of the occurrences
immediately preceding her sleep, while
she has retained clearly enough the
memory of earlier occurrences. She does
not remember either having been sict e7
having had her teeth extracted. or anv
of the unusual incidents during the
cult TO affirm that she may not have
been, up to a certain point, conscious OF
What was passing around her DR.
Liegeois. who had occasion to visit her
several years before her death ana WEI re1
attempted TO treat her by suggestion.
thinks that she was not absolutely un-
conscious, and the same opinion was ex-
pressed by DR.. Noisin, by DR.. Salpetriere
and also by DR.. Farez
Had she awakened under more favor
able conditions. the patient would un-
ooubtedly have gradually recovered her
memory. Indeed. like an epileptic after
an attack. she was absolutely uncon-
scious OF the circumstances which had
Immediately preceded her crises OF sleep
whereas she remembered earlier events
very well. and confirmed also the opinion
H oh G rasd according to whom the
hysterio-epileptic attack.
one circumstance which particularly
impressed Dr.: Charlier was that on her
her childhood and not that OF the wears
which preceded her attack In
spite of the psychic notifications result
telligence was restored no less Completely
on awakening. and the patient Responded
clearly to questions put to her. and would
recall on the following day what mad
happened to her in the evening"
The woman's death occurred Nav 2s.
1908. the third day after her awakening
years and two months. With regard 70
the nature OF protracted sleep in this and
similar cases. N. Lsncereaux comments
as follows:
rs this sleep natural sleep? IT does
not seem so. for IL we look at the ewes,
We perceive that the eyelids are palpf-
SUNG ouhkins. SSltateo by little culver
opened 1t Ii common to find a sort OF
strabismus which does not appertafn to
normal sleep. Besides the silence IN
such cases is always absolute. FOR noise
is not heard, and pinching the skin as
well as the most diverse torturas. can he
practised without the subjects retaining
the least recollection on awakening.
THE title of the sleeper applied to this
patient and to most of the patients OF the
same nature is not. therefore, exact since
II Is not question Of natural sleep, but
rather OF psthologic state which mani
testify is to be compared to the state OF
peculiar to certain animal
species among whicsh, at a given mo-
tative life are, so to speak. annihilated -
made for The Literary Di-
ssst.
To DESTROY Iuaeefm