Strange Case of Trance.

Ellesmere Guardian, Volume XVII, Issue 1789, 31 October 1896, Page 2

Strange Case of Trance.

A WOMAN GOES OFF WHILE | SINGING, r A woman, lies m one of the wards of the . New York Hospital at the present time whoge condition has excited universal f attention for several weeks. She is % Mrs [ Monroe H, Roseaf eld, the wife of a musi- [ eal composer. Previous to her removal 6 to the hospital referred to, Mrs Rosenfeld x lay at her home for seventeen consecutive , 4*ys ia a a semi«comato_e condition, witk- _ out partaking of a. particle of nomrishi ment. During this period she was visited ' by a dozen of the best physicians, all of 3 whom failed to arouse the iuff erer from j her lethargic condition, or to afford any I permanent relief. In his natural desire r to relieve the suffering of his wife, Mr t Rosenfeld admitted to her bedside a host . of so called hypnotists, magnetic ourists, V Christian scientists, massage specialists, believers m the universal efficacy of oxyj gen as a remedial agent, and others whose 1 sympathy overran tneir knowledge. Une like the somewhat similar ease of Morris c Proni, the so-called boy-sleeper, at the 0 Beth-Israel Hospital, who was isolated - from the public by his docters, no one c was denied admittance to Mrs Rosenfeld's bedside while she was at home. Notwithstanding the publicity given to the case, ao definite remedy was suggested and no material benefit to the sufi ferer was obtained. _ Details of this extraordinary* case are 1 supplied by the New York Press. One i day her husband had inserted an adverf tisement for a servant, and had thereby secured the services of a domestic. The . girl came and worked half a day, and was ( 7 then discharged by the hysterical woman i for no apparent cause. Later m the day, g after the insertion m an evening paper, j he secured another servant*. Unable to , bear the unreasonable treatment of her { mistrtja this girl alio left. This annoyed c A_r Rosenfeld a great deal, as during the I previous week servants had been dischar- ] ged ia a like manner. He then, upbraided 0 his wife forcibly for her erratic conduct, „ whioh brought the tears to her eyes, and P she exclaimed, pathetically " You'll be j sorry when I'm gone." Tonohed by the ■} humour and pathos of the situation, and c alive to the inspiration, Mr Rosenfeld g went to the piano and composed a song with the title of his wife's remark. On 1 the following day when the song was i oompleted, m the presence of a number 2 of visitors, Mrs __o»e_.field attempted to 9 sing the song to her husband's accom- -, paniment, but, overcome by the associaj tion of ideas, when she reached the _ chorus, whioh runs as follows : — 9 None to fondle and caress yon, t None to brush your tears away, ♦ . , None to care for you m sadness, When you're feeble and grown grey ; I None to take you to his bosom, , None to call you then his own, I None to care if dead or living, ) You'll be sorry when I'm gone — 5 the singer fell upon the lounge weeping I hysterically, and lapsed into the lethargic condition m which she has remained ever since. The remarkable sensitive- \ ness of women to 'hysterical emotional \ conditions was shdwn upon every one of the women present, who began to weep 1 m sympathy with the' sufferer. Mrs ! Rosenfeld has been closely confined m the hospital for two weeks. She is being * treated man interestingly original p_an--1 ncr by the hospital physicians. This ' treatment consists of almost absolute isolation. None of her friends and not even ' her husband has been allowed to speak I to her while at the hospital. The theory \ of Dr Ball, who has the patient m charge lis that isolation will give her an entire ohange of emotional conditions. Deprived of the society of her husband and of the household pets by which she has been surrounded for many years, the doctors are of the opinion that isolation will produce a beneficial effect by reason of the new surroundings snd a production of psychical condition of the mind hitherto unknown to her. Isolation has been tried with success by the German physicians and by Charcot, the celebrated French expert. Although Mrs Rosenfeld constantly moans for the society of her husband, and m her delirium incessantly repeats his name, thedoctors think it inadvisable to admit him into her r presence. They are willing that he should see her face, listen to her voice, be near her, but her eyes must not rest upon him. Therefore while wearily waiting for the recovery of his wife, Mr Rosenfeld visits the hospital daily. He goes up into the ward where she is confined, peers m through the door, and looks upon his wife's face. Day after day this weary vigil has to be continued, but no glance of intelligence has cheered the weary visitant. Still pale, wan, and emaciated the woman lies m her tranced condition, and knows not ot her husband's watclif ul care. The physicians all con-: enr m the belief that while Mrs Rosenfeld's higher consciousness m m abeyance she is still cognisant of what is going on • liAiif Vi_m