TWENTY YEARS WITHOUT FOOD.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2282, 16 November 1889, Page 2

TWENTY YEARS WITHOUT FOOD.

The fa.-ting girl o" Brooklyn, MoHfe Fiiacho , reepeoting wh'ra so mack has been published, (h uti'l a l l (re, though on tbo vary brink of Ihe grave. Aa thore aro many who perhaps aro unaware of the details of this case it m\y be well lo reonpitu'a'e the ua'iant f'ictfl of her roost extraordinary lite. H:r paron'a were Brooklyn peoplo, well kmwn, aa;i died while rhe waa yet at school . A fall from a how c, followed shortly afterwards by a fall from one o? tho Btreet ozra, m which she sustained aovoro Injuries to tho spine, bo incapacitated hor that she has beon for twoand-tweity ycara m bed. The case was from tho firat a vory bewildering one to <h-j When excited, the nnrvoua Byat«rn Boomed unooutrollable. At othor tiiicß she wa^ para'y.-jod. Thon " oaino 1088 of fi^ht, epeeoh, and, last, of hearing. Long death ike trance saporvenod, lasting sometimes as loog a« twenty days. From these ehe would recover without warning, and then re* ' lapse. For the first two month* the patent took no nourishment. Then she ' had a little very light food for a abort time. For more than I wanly years, however, ft U stated on repalablo rntborl'y, that iho has not takan eeffio'ent food to keep a ohlld alivo for a week. Aboat three : months after her accident ehe went Into ■ a rigid lr»noe ; fioally, after four day*, the masolos of her left arm and hand relaxed, those of the reat of the body remaining rigid. Her head rested lightly on her right arm, whhh wan thrown up-' ward. For nine ye»ra the remained In' this position. At times she oould not articulate, bat anually uhe spoke bb welt ai any one. H<sr eyev woro closed ;at times she w*a In a atavo of "ecstwy." Thon she told bar visions of friends and things onsern : the Bights that her spirit harl bo9n privileged to behold.

Powers of seoond-slght wore developed and bore severe tastl g. frha ate nothing, but cukdd oco«olonal)y for the jntoa of sweat frn!t«. Hor condition was very variable. Sight would go, and then baoomn pretern»tarally aoafce. So with hearing and tonob. She would describe a visitor os be ojme a lon/; w»y off always oor.eotly. She oonld sco abaormally, and diatlngulsh oolora of the nicest shades In wools. We bave ia cur possession, sayi "Light," sant by a person who saw It ezecnted while the eyes wore tightly oloaod, a Denature beaatlf ally wcUten and snrronndod by most elaborate symmetrical fl^riohrs. It li like oopper-plate engraving. At times her body would become oold and olammy, except In the region of the heart, the bia'.ing of which was soircely perceptible. This was her state ap to 1875. Then the rigidity UU her, but with it went tho memory of the previous nine year*. At this particular time her olalrvoyauod was oven more remarkabfo.

We give an aooonnt of one teat out of whloh she oame triumphant, "Mr Henry Parkhn;st made many expetlmeuti to tent her powors. She repeatedly read sealed letters he gave her, and, as a ornotal test, be took a letter at random from the waste basket of an acquaintance, tore it In strips, and (hen oat the etrlpj Into rqaarea. He shook the pieoes well together, pnt them into an envelope, and sealed it. This be handed the blind girl. She pissed har hand

over It several times, took a penoll, and wrote the letter verbatim. MrParkhnrst opened the envelope, arranged the pleoer and found abe had made a perfect oopy.< " Not satisfied, with the assistance of 2 friends Me Parkharat eeourrd an ancient mining report, yellow with age, and with averted faoa so that ho might not tea the oontenlo he toro oat a page of tabu* luted figates vrlih frxplanatlon. This hoi folded end toro into noores of pie Mi. Somo of the pleoea fell oa the f >oi? and

vroco allowed ta remain there. The o herfl he pat Into snj envelope, and sealed, and handed to one of bta assistant who pat them In another envelope whloh he also scaled and banded to the

third, who enclosed it In the some ma»net Then the party went to Miss Fanoher'i

room, and asked her to glvo them the contents of the envelope. She took it -lv Uf hacd and wroto ; "It Is nonsense ; figures m whloh thore are blank places, words that are Incomplete, and sentenoes m whloh words are misting." She wrote on, io some sentences skipping three or four words, and began with the last five letters of a word having ten lottara. The table of figures she made oontalnod blank spaoos, but she wrote it out } and the gentlemen returned to Mff Parkhurat's, where tboy arranged the pieces m their original form. They found that the oopy made by Miss Fanohev was absolutely oorreot, and the blank spaces represented the plooes left on the floor. When these were fitted m the broken sentences were complete." : Since 1875 her life has remained practically the same. She has been gay and high spirted when consoions ; fall of fan and conversation. Hhe has been able to nae bei hands, and works the most beautiful embroidery. Her faoa and nook are plump, but her limbs are terribly emaolated. She bus reoantly had a bad relapse} and Ler llfo Is despaired of, as It has been many a time before.