The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1905-07-27
A Modern = .
Dip Van Winkle

The case OF woman who slept for
twenty consecutive years. the longest
period of sleep that has been observed
up TO the present time, is reported by the
French neurologlst, M. Lancereaux, in
the Bulletin de TAcademie de Medicine
(Paris, March 3D. The patient, described
as Marguerite B. was Of neurotic
and hysterical family, and had always
been delicate and nervous. On May 81,
lSeS, following a 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 interrr ted
every month or every month and a -lalf
by sudden convulsive attacks. During
this time she was kept alive entirely by
injections OF nourishment The writer
thus describes her awakening, which oc-
Cured just before her death at the end
OF her twenty years sleep:
On May 81, 1903 at o'clock In the
%oTRlng ds@ly se,1sa rth the patient r,1 was sa,
similar to that of the beginning of her
pathologic state On the oath a
new convulsion lasted nearly four hours
without interruption The pa
tient, without being positively awakened.
succeeded In moving herself and raising
herself on the he'd.
'On the following day, the 25th the con-
NulslYe movements were not renewed
M. B passed her hand before her
eyes as II to remove veil, then opened
them, appeared to see and to hear and
lfltQ 10 recover possession OF herself and
put herself in communication with the
exterior world. for she endeavored to- un-
derstand some words which a priest ad-
dressed to her.
ing, she is more awake. opens her eyes
upon being ordered to do So reacts to
pinching of the skin of the arm, and says
INA IN q weak voice that she has been
pinched. The attack of sleep
with all its accessory symptoms has def
initely ceased.
Then, gradually regaining self-con-
sciousness,. she recognizes with difficulty
the persons about her. Sht informed
OF the present date: but she has trouble
at frst to recall the order of succession
Of oisd she e days; "a ,,,.,. Her memory is car
subconscious of blank in her existence
She asks her age; her mother subtract
inR the years passed in sleep. tells her
that II Is twenty-five years. and presents
to her, as being her sister. a niece horn
the evening OF the beginning Of her sleep
However. II is difficult for her to enter
into precise details with regard to past
events. 1t 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 sick or
having had her teeth extracted, or any
OF the unusual incidents during the
course OF her illness. 1t is difl-
cult to affirm that she may not have
what was passing around her DR.
Lfegeois, who had occasion to visit her
several years before her death, and who
attempted TO treat her by suggestion
thinks that she was not absolutely un-
conscious and the same opinion was ey-
pressed by DR. Vosin, by DR.. Salpetriere
and also by DR. Farez.
Had she awakened under more favor
able conditions. the patient would un-
doubtedly have gradually recovered her
memory. Indeed like an epileptlc after
an attack. she was absolutely uncon-
scious of the circumstances which had
Immediately preceded her crises Of sleeu
whereas she remembered earlier events
very we'll. and confirmed also the opinion
Of Charcot; according to whom the
lethargic sleep was only a modified
hysterio-epileptic attack.
zone circumstance which particularly
impressed Dr.; CS.arlier was that. on her
awakening, M b spoke the dialect Of
her childhood and not that Of the years
which preceded her. attack. In
spite OF the psychic notifications result
ing from this extraordinary affection in
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 had
happened to her in the evening"
The woman's death occurred May 2S
1908, the third day after her awakening
from her continuous sleep OF twenty
years and two months. With regard 10
the nature OF protracted sleep in this and
similar cases. M. Lancereaux comments
as follows:
rs this sleep natural sleep? 1t does
not seem so, for II we look at the ewes.
we perceive that the eyelids are palpi-
tating. blinking, agitated by little CULVER
ings. or by throbbing. and If they are
opened 1t is common to find sort OF
strabismus which does not Rppertain "a
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 tortures, can be
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
1t is not a question of natural sleep, but
rather OF a pathologic state which mani
festly is to be compared to the state OF
hibernation peculiar 70 certain animal
species, among whicsh, at a given mo-
ment the life OF relation and the vege-
tative life are, so to speak. annihilated." !"
Translation made for The Literary Di-
gest.