Sketcher.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 353, 12 February 1903, Page 2

Sketcher.

THINGS DONE IN SLUMBEE 4 of the trickß and feats of ("g> ?r\te sleep walkers would take your V ShR breath away,' . say a nerve specialist. 'I have in mind instances all the way from a sleep walking lighthouse keeper to an unfortunate murderer. But this latest achievement of the night prowling fraternity ranks above all others like grand opera above a tenminute vaudeville skit. The I peculiar thing is that the young woman subject accomplished something while asleep which years and years of practice could not teach her, . And still more wonderful, beginning with the night in question, she had no farther difficulty in advancing steadily in her accomplishment. ' The case of the young woman was of singularly steady growth. It began years ago with insomnia, the subject being then a mere child. Insomnia duly gave way to an excessive desire for sleep, and this in turn brought nightmares which in time frightened the subject so that she learned to dread the very idea of sleep. Developed Into Sleep Walking. 'ln time these nightmares gave way, and then came the period of sleep walking which ended in, the case I am going to tell about. At first the sleep walking did not seem so serious a proposition. One or the other member of the family would awaken in the middle of the night to find the white-robed figure of the young woman walking silently through the room. In time, however, the subject showed inclination to visit the streets in her night attire, and from then on the family was miserable. I was called in and prescribed things that did not help. I advised mechanical means to startle the patient into wakefulness upon leaving her bed. Wet towels were spread in froßt of the bed. One night the towel worked. The next night she walked over them as if they were so much soothing eiderdown.

' More strenuous means had to be used. and I advised a tub, partly rilled with cold water, into which the patient would hare to step upon leaving the bed. For one whole week the tub worked. After that the young woman stepped into the water, got a towel and dried her wet feet, and proceeded as if nothing had happened. ' No remedy seemed left excspt to set a watch. One of the young woman's brothers volunteered, and for som;thing like two weeks played watchdog and slept stretched across the outside of her door, Night after night he 'nabbed' Mb sister in time to prevent her from leaving the room. A BemabkabliE Musical Pbogrammk. •Another peculiarity of the young woman was that in the midst of a family of remarkable amateur musicians, she seemed to have as little talent for music as a Hottentot. From the time that she was a small girl she had received lessons on the piano, but the surprise of it all was how little she managed to learn. ' One night—the young lady had shown the night before that she had acquired the knack of walking clean over her brother without waking him—the family was startled to hear the piano strike upon the floor below. The piece played was 'Subinsteia's Melody in ¥,' not an excessively difficult piece of music, but the way it was played was described afteiward by the family as simply perfection. The brother in front of the door was the first to awaken, <

~?He? . ;.*ußhed downstairs and there, seated calmly on the' piano stool, sat his Bister; in alt her white daffiness. The young man was at first too much surprised to interrupt, then he hastened upstairs to summon the rest of the family, already stirring, to see the unusual performance. It was this, in my opinion, which cured the girl of her night habit, for by the time the other members of the family were arranged about the sleeping player she finished the last ohord of the piece undisturbed. With the last note she arose, and, with eyes wide open and looking at every one in the room as if fully awake, went back to her room and to bed. For once none disturbed her even then.

'Next morning she mentioned that she did not remember having had a similar refreshing night of sleep. None told her. of her performance. ' I feel as if I could play the piano this morning,' she said; presently, and Bat down and played the piece of the night before exactly as she had played It while asleep. By consent of the family until now nothing has been told her of her midnight musicale, but the young lady cannot understand how she suddenly manages to find music so easy after her long tussle with the notes. MILKBD Cows Whils Asluep. 'Oat in Caldwell, N. J„ there was a remarkable case of sleep walking. The subject was a farmer. Ha owned a large herd of cowp, and it was necessary to mUk early morning before the animals were turned loose in pasture. Again and again it happened that the farmer arose during the night, dressed himself, got his milk pails, lighted a stable lantern and wandered into the cow stall to begin to milk. For a long time the only ones that thought the farmer crazy must have been the cows, But after a while his wife missed him and upon searching found him seated alongside a cow, holding the tail under his aim, owing to fly-time, and milking away for dear life.

' The case of the farmer, however, was but temporary, though his little son, shortly after the old gentleman's night excursion, took to the same means of diverting himself. A tiny 6ryear-old, he crawled out of his little bed and in his little nightshirt wandered through the darkness a distance of a mile up the road to the home of his grandparents. There, of course, he was put to bed to finish his night's rest ; The little chap cured himself by fright. One morning, a particularly dark one, he woke up when he was about half way between the two houses he knew so well. He almost died of fright, and so strong was the impression that he never again attempted to get out of his bed at unusual hours. Found His Sisteb Mubdebbd.

* A very sad case of murder happened in a little country town in Italy about eight years ago and was traced to sleep walking. A brother and a sister, both in poor eircumstances, lived together in a small house near the outskirts of the town. 'One morning the brother found his sister choked to death in her room adjoining hia own. Blue finger marks were about her throat. Terrified beyond expression, he ran to give the alarm, and, as might be expected, tha.fi.rst thing to happen was that the brother was arrested. 'On the trial it was proved that a gash in the throat of the victim had been made by a ring worn by her brother. The latter remained immovable as far as admitting his guilt was concerned. He was tried and acquitted, the opinion being that in a fit of nightmare and sleep walking the man choked his sister to death. In time 1 ; the miserable fellow believed himself that he was the guilty one and he brooded, and shortly after he was released from prison he died of a broken heart. 'I wonder how many know that the famous' Asleep at the Switch,' that terror in the mouth of the amateur elocutionist, was provoked by a case of sleep walking. The real incident which gave rise to'the lines happened in Pennsylvania, in a freight yard, where the, night switchman was startled one night by the day switchman. The latter, fully dressed for work, declared that he was the bearer of an order from the train dispatcher and that, a certain switch was to be set contrary to the orders given earlier in the evening. The night watchman had never heard of such a thing as a sleep walker and had the prowler not awakened in theniekof time and given himself away by his exclamations of surprise, there might have been an accident.

'ln one of the smaller lighthouses in the harbour of New York there was an < xtraordinary case of sleep walking. The house was one of the more unimportant kind, useful only in case of fog, the light being lighted at sundown and nothing but thaiogbell in case of thick weather being the particular care of the keeper. Several times it happened' in the middle of the night, with stars shining brightly and the moonlight showing several miles of glittering water up and down the harbour, that the fogbell began to ring out dismally. Before long inquiry was made by the captains' vessels wno had reason to take the light seriously and who wanted to know what was the matter with the man in charge. Then it was found that the keeper was a sleep walker, and that, unknown to himself, he was sending fog signals into the clear night.

Animals Also Supeeb. ' There is every reason to believe that sleep walking is not limited to the human animal. I once had a dog—l bought him for the purpose of studying his extraordinary trait—and if he was not a sleep walker there never was one. I watched the animal frequently. He would arise from deep sleep and with open eyes ; wander about the room looking at me and sniffing around corners. Then he would wake up. The entire demeanour of the animal would change. Half crazy with joy at seeing me, he would jump up and misbehave himself as no well traintd dog should, But he was not supposed to be well behaved, and was purposely allowed his own way. I learned more about Bleep walking in that animal than I could have done from a dozen cases in human subjects. ' Some suppose that a sleep walker will awaken at the least noise. From tine incidents I have told you, you may see whether this is true or not. A sudden noise may, and usually will, startle a sleep walker into wakefulness; but a noise which he himself creates will have no more iff ct on him than angels' songs. Sleep walkers vary in their ailment as do all other sorts of afflicted. What is a rule for one is not a rule for all. In fact, each walker seems satisfied to work things out on his own peculiar hook. The trouble is more common among people than you might suppose, for where there is a case you really hear about it unless it is your business to fight the trouble,'