Year: 1878

The fortnightly meeting of the Psychic
logical Society was held recently at the
hall, Chandos street, London, Mr. Ser
geant Cox in the chair. The subject of
debate was Psychology of Wit and
Humor," by Prof. O. j. Plumtree.


The professor, before beginning the
discussion, said when down at Swindon
three weeks ago he was asked to visit a
lady whose case was worthy of considera-
ton. He went with the uncle of the
lady and visited her. He found the lady
to be about thirty-four years of age, a
widow, and with two children. The lady
was lying on sofa in the corner of the
room. The lower part of her body was
as white and hard as marble. When she
was removed from Bath to Swindon, a
box had to be made in which the lower
part of her body was placed.


1t appeared that in 1868 her husband
died, and one day afterward, when she
was coming down stairs with her two
children in her arms, drum was sound
ed, and the start shocked her so much
that she fell down stairs, and from that
date she gradually grew worse. She
lost the senses of sight and hearing, and
afterward the power of speech. She felt
a strange feeling concentrated in her
cheeks, and it occurred to her that she
might be able to carry on conversation
by others writing on her cheeks. He
found that the jaws had been locked for
two years, and no solid food had been
taken by her during that time. She was
fed on soups, milk, cream, etc. She
determined to test the sensibilities OF
the cheeks and lips. Her friends began
to write words with the finger on the
cheek, which she perfectly understood.
He found her eyes closed, and when the
upper lid was forced up the eyeballs
were turned upward, the same as q per.
son in mesmeric sleep. She also was
unable to move her fingers. She took
the pencil in her mouth, and guiding il
with her hand, she wrote her reply.


There was on remarkable phenomenon
that the patient could tell colors by
touch. He tested her by asking what
was the color of his coat. She put it tC
her cheek, and after a few moments
wrote on the slate that it was dark gray
and small red spots. She also was able
to tell the chief characters in a photo
graph if the carte were passed across
her lips and cheek. Ii she grasped the
hand of a stranger she could tell at any
future time who it was. She also was
able to tell the melody sung or played tC
hor, if in tho former the hand of Tho
singer was placed on the cheek of The
lady, OF in the latter if her hand was
placed on the piano when the performer
was executing.


She was quite resigned to her fate, ani
seemed to be quite happy. He believed
that any lady or gentleman could SET
this lady if they visited her at her home
at Swindon.


The chairman said SUCH stactS were la
more convincing than all the essays tina
could be written on the subject. There
were produced two letters from the lady
which were correctly spelled and in pro
per sentences. She, in answer to queG
tion, thus describes how she distin
guishes colors:


"Black feels raised and harsh; Whit
smooth, cold and dead; drab and gray {
little raised, smooth and cold; red smooth
and very hot; blue smooth, but CRATES
little-what mean by this, it edges m.
teeth, and all my nerves-brown yer.
grating and hot. Other colors canno
explain how L tell them"