The Sleeping Frenchman.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 207, 18 June 1887, Page 7

The Sleeping Frenchman.

Dr, Cilvrcot, the well-known specialist, makes light of M. Chauffat's case, and says that too much fuss is being made over it in England. He is of opinion that his medical colleagues on this side of the Channel have nob had many opportunities of studying' phenomena of this kind. Dr. Charcot avers that h3'pnotism has nothing to do wich the case, and that M. Chauflat is merely a hysterical patient, whose illness, instead of assuming the form of convulsive attacks, reduces itself to "attacks of sleep." Such cases arc by no means rare. Afc the present moment there is at the Salpetri^re a woman who has been asleep for months. Nor is this the first time that she has succumbed to slumber. These phenomena have for a certain period been renewed at almost regular intervals. The case of the cataleptic Frenchman has attracted so much attention, and the name of Professor Charcot has been so frequently heard in connection with it, that no doubt a a description of the powers he possesses will be interesting. At the present timo all Paris is talking about an extraordinary ex poriment ho made recently with a female patient. Aftor first putting her in a cataleptic condition by staking a gong, he mesmerised her by stroking the crown of her head with his hand. He then " suggested " to her that ho and she had been conveyed under a tunnel to the Bois de Boulogne and were talking together confidentially. Having led the conversation upon one of the house surgeons, the doctor extracted from her a pi-omise that she would poison him the next day. At first she demurred, but ulti mately agreed to shoot him. The doctor's revolver would make too much noise. He added, " We are now back again at the laboratoirc ; here is a tumbler into which I will pour beer mixed with poison. When you are awake you must make our friend drink it. And, above all, whatever happens you must never remember that it is I who have persuaded you to administer the P So°soon a 3 the y° un9 " lady was awake she went up to the house surgeon in question, and, remarking that it was very hot, ottered him the glass of beer. He replied that ho was not thirsty, but to please her ho would drink it if she would first give him a kiss. At first she hesitated, evidently revolting from the treachery of kissing a man she was about to poison, but soon complied, and then, pretending to taste ifc herself, assured him that he need not fear the beer would do him any hai-ni. As he was drinking it she turned deadly pale. When he had finished, he feigned to drop down dead. The attendants came and carried him out, and a pretended police magistrate soon arrived. On his asking her whether she had no suspicion of the beer containing poison, sho assured him that such could not be the case, as she had tasted it and got no harm. Thus she had herself premeditated a defence.