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Show SELECTED. The Sleeping Beauty. The St. Louis Medical Society on Saturday night appointed a committee rompo.-e'd of Dr. Dr. Edgar, Dr. .Tihnnon. r. McPheeters, and Dr. Kutubold, to make inquiries respecting the cac of Susan C. lTodey, -who ha attained no small celebrity as "'The Sleeping Beauty," having been, as it is alleged," some twenty one years in a state of uncon-cioaness, with the exception ex-ception of intervals of a few minute? daily. She was brought to this city last week, and is staying, or rather -looping, at the house ot Mrs. Davis, on Walnut street, between Fifth and Sisth. 'I he fact that the Medical So ciety has thought it worth while to examine ex-amine into the case removes the sus piuion of anything like humbug, and so it becomes really a suljeet for a very interesting inquiry- The committee called about 10 o'clock in the forenoon yesterday at the house mentioned, and soon afiet their arrival the girl awoke to consciousness con-sciousness for a lew minutes, and then fell back into her .ate of illegibility and sleep. The physicians f ,und that her pulse beat at abuut 108 or 10H per minute, and her temperature was licm from ninety-three to niueiy-seven. In iuiries were made as to her diet, her oonver.-atiun. and her past history. Alter making their ohseivations and taking a few notes, the commute retired. re-tired. Another viit was made at 0 o'clock in the afternoon, and another at 10 in the evening. The ease wa stated to be one which had never been paralleled in their experience. The report which they will make next Saturday Sat-urday wiil no donbt be interesting. The following particulars were ascertained ascer-tained of the girl's history : Susan C. Godsey, t-he suijeet of the inquiry, is twenty-nine years of age, and was born seven miles west of Trenton, Tren-ton, Gibsou. county, Teun., where her parents kept a small farui. Her family fam-ily removed to Obion county, where she was a sprightly, healthy little girl, and she went with them. After this she was occasionally taken ill with ihills and fever, but was partially relieved by the Use of quinine. Ou the 1st ol August, lii'.1, , wheu she was nearly eight years of age, she fell into a torpid, insensible, benumbed condition, in which as it is veraciouly stated, she has remained duiitig the last twenty-one twenty-one years, varied only by a very singular singu-lar and unparalled series of phenomena, which go on with the accuracy of clockwork. clock-work. Every morning, precisely at tin: first dawning of light, she is found awake. This state of wakefulness, however, does not ordinarily last more than frim four to eight minutes; very rarely it has been ten minutes. Dur- -L- J J:t,c and talks. After having been awake for the time stated, the patient is then seized with a kind of convulsion, her head moves from one side of the pillow to tho other, in what is called "a later-nal later-nal motion." These motions are very rapid, and appear entirely uncontrollable. uncontrolla-ble. She then bends forward her head, and a kind of hiceuping is heard in her throat, and she finally relapses into her former torpid condition ; her eyes are closed, her lips are firmly compressed, and no motion is visible except a constant con-stant agitation of the hands, which move about perpetually. This process is repeated every time the wakes, and also at intervals when asleep. Among the curious facts mentioned in connection connec-tion with this case is that of the numerical nu-merical regularity of the symptoms which precede the awakening. In a few minutes after she is seized with the convulsions and the laternal motion mo-tion as described, she has twelvo hic-eups; hic-eups; then adding one each time till she has sixteen. This usually takes half an hour. The order of number is then reversed. After having had a convulsion, followed by sixteen hiccups, hic-cups, the number is gradually lessened until eleven is reached, and then she awakes. Eroiu 0 to 2 in t lie morning she awakes every hour. In the afternoon, after-noon, however, she s'ecps until 3 o'clock and then at sundown. During the night she awakes at '.I and at 1 i o'clock. The next time is :( in the morning. It will thus be seen that the lady', who is the suljeet of si me strange nervous ner-vous derangement, is going through a seriesof convulsions, in the tnid-t of which she wakes at retmlar hours, and after a peculiar sound lias been emitted. emit-ted. When asleep she is alike insensible insen-sible to the effect of both soutid aud pain. (.lining the hist live or six years Miss Godsey has been subject to neuralgic neu-ralgic pains in the head and spine, and in almost constant paiu when' she is awake, and she readily disl inguishcs her mother and the Iriends who attend on her. Of course she has had no opportunity op-portunity ol enlarging her ideas, and iier mind is in uh:i-..t i he sftine state -.vit h legard 10 knowledge as when she wat eight years of age. She is unable to stand or walk, but can speak in z low lone of vui'-e, s!,r s.tys ihe u never sleepy, and never hungry. Small portions ol well-cooked well-cooked lood are supplied, ti l.tr dully, but she eiiioui stu s a preference as to what siie c;Os. She drinks tea ami coffee someum--.-, and very frcoueiuiy :isks for water, td.o bi allies in a very low aud subdued manner. IVi-sotially IVi-sotially she bus very frank, intelligent featur, s, black Lair, small mouth and dark eonp,exion. She h"s- vaI. :een aib-iided 1 L'rs. Glover and I Hiea. This is the fir-: time she ha been so far away Ir ".u ho.iio. having been brought for the pun-o-e of ur-.tlc-r-goine a tnedieal i::-p--ctr '1 y. . ..-hi hhs been ( iauniie f by numerous eminent phy-ician-. and Ler symptom-, are e u-i iered to be the re-'.t of an abnormal rmli'iun if tie- nervou-sy-ten:. unrnTa'.leVd m the hl-tory medietl -e:cnc--.V. I.'v',s 1 ..1,1, . Sa'aiUel Coti'ier 1. a.- been appointed Collector of internal revenue for Wa-h-ington Terrif-rv. |
