PRANKS WITH THE MOUTH.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LIII, Issue 5953, 25 March 1880, Page 6

PRANKS WITH THE MOUTH.

1 . , , (Sngluh ffWPflf*}'' 'i-’f. ■ 1 .Themouth isnotto bo played pranko with, 1 but. it often is no. -The. heedless , practice of 'putting small .artiolesfo the; mouth either for. the, .purpose of ■ -holding, thotu for Aitew. ' moments, or for playing some tnok, has been frequently attended with very serious cense-. alienees. ' Yet,,the practice is common, Cepe-, rnally among young women, who may be seen holding pine between their, teeth while, dreasing. Medical attendants in. hospitals have frequent; cause itftoffod-rifoiflfcmth- fomfoo patients of a humble, rank for putting pins in their mouth when . they, ;hoTo oob«sipn to re--1 move any part of their dress. From long and unchecked, habits,-they seem unconscious of idoing anything improper, pr which might ; produce unpleasant results.--, '}■ i .-Children of bothflexeg'Beemfflmbsttohavo ah instinctive fftnoy to put playthidgs in their mouth, and sometimes therefore give'no end-, of trouble to'parents mid "nurses;/ ■ Notwitfo' [standing every '-precaution, ' distressing 1 aoci'dents occur. ; -i. feV'years ago a fine boy, son iof a : respectable man in our neighbourhood, swallowed astnhll’pieeoOf l braeSohain,With which he hid been BmuSing’himtelfby hultingit into hifl fobutlk The? bit' of Chain lodged in the stomachj and tho Ugh inedical aid was resorted to, the'pppr ehild languished land died,:!Only a: short-time ago, l as men- : ‘tiohbd'in the iflncefy a youhg boy in* Devbn^ ! 'shire died from* haying AUpvtedAsmkll'tfo' whistle to <Slfo from l his umotith into ihe’tfoohea, where it stuck, and baffled- attain pfca’at 1 removal;,.Death took; pltfCo from inability to brefoha.* <r;; f l m-’-'/i .fo. r -: '.-in: i ■ Remarkable instances are, related of needles -which hadjihean] accidentally; swallowed find* fog their way, point!;foremost,--through;the sides..of th,a.stomaoh,.and.thenca..to.-tna~ex-terior surface of the, body, where they are drawn out. If ap r l that they make’’ ti£sfc.Be^e^l i .fmir' harmless manner, and is np excuse for women thoughtlessly, it may ha Wversely, .putting needles. fo'their'‘mouth. i Those who !sdEt«doJhmK«/ great risk : of perishfog'fo ’ considerable.. t agony* 1 I f-aGcoasionally,« female - lunalict in.tth'eir imad freaks unwittingly!MU' •themselves by s waUofWfogfoeedles -which; .they l ImattagMiM storetei. l ‘A cast has. been.-men-tioned to us lof-a - most extraordinary degree of mad /.perversity; ■ A ;famalo lunatic- had i such-a morbid Graving for ? swallowing! small! parcels-b£ hoodies whiokfrom time to time; She •procured,! that ut lengthahe destroyed herself.. ■At.’a post-mortem' examination; ajrmaby----if; we mistake aot-r-as three hundred andninety : needleajiil alessOr greater Btate.of cbrrbSionwerei 'foundi lodged m<yariQUß--parts j6£t.hor body-."ln anotheri caßa! that! Mwo. keen .»»? cordadl : the'rgriaati jFirenoh ; snrgebn,!.' Baron Dupqytren,: extraotedtwo hundred: and fifty-' four: needles throngh the skin,-to-which they; hadfound their way fromthostomhok ;• ■ | : In the : narrbtive ; bf ;i memorable r ‘c&e'a , \obn- 1 beoted‘with i Q‘uy’b Hospital, theteiSA curious 1 eailor-ndmed John Gdmmingsj'who, 1 in aApiiit Af- vulgar' brag, 1 and 1 mostly' l when- 1 hnlfmtoxicated, swallowed, elasp-kpives. I'-Ia 1 - 1799 he' ;hed s een 1 a French juggler "perform 0 jthe trick' of assumedly swallowfog< ‘kmvCs of that kill'd as a public Ontertfflnment. « The feat' Iwab so'cl'everiy : perfbim4di that tpd, speetatoi s--fo? folSaSt 7 sbuie'bf' the belief ' that * thd knives ’ raUished dOwn the ■ [throat of the juggler;fostfod of heing'pttt by BBnori f ih-hif mahOne bfth'e-.breaii-‘ IpuS' Sort'; and fo astonish his foessmktesi.he; Ibegßntp sdaUbw n clasp-knives. '' ,l He/-At’;flrafc’-‘ .WaUo%w*dh)|f lour,- ’which, 1 fortuhtitSly 1 £6t ! him}%^ > e^lle& ! .iri' ( th'e. ; ltßt»l vtayi aUd' ho. jincbnYehiehce enshed.-' Ho thbughtnomore ■IBOS; 1 WHfo ‘at Btetpfo J *Uriited fifete&i’lio'wfo bho day tempted; while dfinkihg with a party of sailors, to boast of his-former exploits, and Iwas ready to repeat his performance. A small knife evening : [fie swallo wqdfive emore. i ! j The - next, jxnprningl crowds of visitors oame to see him,.and in, ithe : course of the.day: he/ was;induced tp swallow eight knives more, making-in all fourteen. ’ " He paid dearly fpr . his frolic, fbr die,. was ■seized with*' ■constant', vomiting, ’atid' pain ih !the stomach. Taken to ( an : hospital, ■; he was [by efficacious medical - treatment, as ihe imagined, of all the knives he : had kwAl'lowed. Butin jbeen mistaken. ’ Portions of knives jundissolved remained in his stomach. Tha amount bf rehef, whatever ; it ! was,- did not cure the poor wretch of his fbUy;‘ At;Spithead in December, 1805, andi spmgwhat,.tipsy,.,hb resumed his boastfulness* bf i able; to swallow knives, and to» amuse the ship’s- bbmpany, swallowed pine claSp-knives, sotnC of them of a large size.. Again,he,.became ill, 'and was in -the liands of the ship’a surgeon for several mouths, dthihg whioh portions of knives were discharged. At length he was admitted as a. patient at Ppy’s.Hospital in 1807,"Bha'%ga!n'.'Hei baihe to thb Hbspital ih 180& ' 1 TheFe he l ¥emdined, rinkihg'hhder his died 1 dnd >^tdi of J H This ri ex£rkbrdinary else is 1 detaned ; in‘ the. i“ Medico-Chirurgical Transactions,” Tbl.' jXIL part i.i .to we must refer,for fpr our pagesi Atphe ipost-mortem examination, as, many as forty j different articles, one of . them a lieutenant’s uniform button-,;were found 1 in the stomach’ [of jthe'deceased-,. The, bone hafts,,pf , the! ■knives* were'partially consumed by lhehotibii | of the stomachic,! juices. The edges pf,. the | knives were likewise | similarly dissolved. ; Nature had erideptly made immense efforts ito neutraliße'aiid ' get rid .of the indigestible substances. Thg , jmqojunt; in the book, is,; 'accompanied with an engraved picture of the) forty articles—a wierd assemblage of ohiectsi 1 ; Taking the ' ‘ca s e all *, ih 1 till,; wo . ehoiild think 1 [tbatiu the annals’hf stupidity and brag there is nothing at all to matqh ifci .Amopg tragical', iprankswith! is unique/J t- -i > : 11 An incident will ko in I ', general reofflleotibh ; connected with,., -Pfy' the | eminent engipeep,: ;wH6Vpiahned f ,jthft' Tunnel and the .Great Western Eailway. Qne jday while divettihg aj child with of i sleight-of-hapd,’hji causing a half-spyaitaighto ; myateriouslysdisappearjand reappeqir* a stunI ning disaster boourred. I The trick consisted m i adroitly concealing the poin in hid‘mpiith|;and pretending to pring it put at hiß ; ear. . A]l at i once, before he wasyaware. -and to his dismay, the down intbhiS gullet. He tried to cough it Uplwithbut effect. There it stuck. Every surgical device was‘tried;’ to get hold of 'it :Mfchoi|t avail.......jfb^jpe’bimo. evident that if theicoin could notiha dislodged, fatal results would ensue- -It was a matter of life, and, death, , In. the, dire, .dilemma into which fie * had- ÜbedlefeslV 1 Brunei’s presence nf mind'did'not desert him. He deviseff sito ItrhioE'ihe could - be - strapped: • head -downwards, ■; in the hopP that thei half-sovereign'would>fall out of his throat hy the-forop of gravity, • jit was a paxnfhl experiment, but life was at stake. He was : fixed to the machine ihead downmoafc; kebping his mouth open. To'his inexpressible relief, the coin dropped.fromiitslurking-place and rolled to the.floor.< vThiscasetis taemofable:for this mechanical ingenuity displayed, and not less so as affording an.admonition nob to play pranks with the mouth—an admonitibb, however, which we fearwill be of little practical^alue... -:tv:‘h hi tvyx.iun >. We have- just.read the following acoount of tho death at Heidaiberg of Mr, Adolph who was.(formerly in. largo ipractice as a phytioian in Elberfeld and. its neighbourhood; One morning in. 1874 while dressing, he'- contrived in! some way, to get..a_ shirt-button between -his teeth./ ' Unconaoionsly,'awhile laughing,‘the button sUppbdlntO'the haokof his i mouth, and. thence into.the larynx. All the exertions of.. his surgical. friends to remove it were vain. l It Was ascertained that it sank into the right lung, which -soon'bepame irritated. Spitting of.. blood . -ensued, and; he was-himself looking forward to hia death as not very remote. He removed < to a iviUa -he had near Frankfort-On-the-MainQ- to pass 'his last days in quiet, n Hath-he iwiis surprised by-S violeht fit of coughing, accompanied by spitting of-blood, inn paroxysm of which the button wbs Ejected. His : 'health rapidly imi proved f oad'in a' couple of monthspragarding ; ffimAW Aii![qiuto':cared)ilioiroßuniedfhißi!pkoI foiiaional Work, and endoavofured to’ gather up i riie threads of (his-j former; praoticfe. v But .last j year unmistakable symptoms manifested themselves that the lung had not fully recovered from the presence in its substance of

a foreign body for Several ’ months. Ho spent the winter in the south of Europe, but returned almost jyorsb i thqu iho went. Ho gradually wasted away, and died. At present, as is .pretty !weU knorvn r th6>o iis a public performer in the ort>-of - awordj swallowing, whoso; pranks r at® watched with I intense ,interest by crowds of people who take i delights in witnessing foafo of dosorip. ;tion. By long practice from youth up wards, this indivictuad nas so trained his throat and ; stomach that ho can swallow a naked sword, itwenty-four or more-,inches in length, pomti ’downwards. There ho boldly stands in front [of a stage, drawn up erect to his full height, iwlth-.ift; straight sword in hie hand. Ho jthrowe,. book: hi*, head, so w -to-niako a clear way down his throat, and -poising the sword; iwithihis hands over kis;mouth, lots, it slip IBlowly.doivm and down tpl nothing but -.the handle,of the, Weapon is !or ! two ho draws! the sword carefully up Bgafo,-and with, a look •of triumph waves; it f amidst shouts., of, applause, as having per. fomed a valiant feat. '"i 1 • 'J

/.Wei"- learn ■ that In the course of hi#; performances a doubt arose as to: the reality of ’ hia sWOrd-BWallowfog- ' 1 It was sceptically: imagined that the blade of the sword did not 'reallygotdown the throat, but 'wont ‘Up into the handle, in-the mature of a "juggle; To settle the point, Dr P. and a distinguished naturalist ih the metropolis 1 attended' A" pe'rfomiance, ahd after close examination; dot 1 iolarfld 'that the - blade Of ’ tto 'svford actually; jwent down' fote stomaoh;- 1 ' How kuon 1 ' ihoUld' be VithoUt danger' to. life seemed' inu comprehensible.' But the 1 phenorhenotl waa explained in this tviie. Through long pressure; the stomach of the performer had been thrust’ doWh’fnom its natural position to,tlje lower part of"the abdomen, thus oansfog’a abnormal condition of f hings; by which? means - 'the' l s'Word ■ could be swallowed in its entire 1 llengthi; : ThA whole th ! violatiou Of nature, ’and"- 1 the'-; wonder •is •" how'- with ’such''’derangements it is ! possible for ! 'any !ono' to ‘ 1 live. 11 ? Our informant,, : ' Dr 'T.f ‘says 1 that ; tho ■’ feat' bf ,6 SWOrd -‘sWMlOw-; ing;^ "■ however"dexterously,; jhwbver milch the ' tliiifOat ’ and olhor parts; (have accommodated themselves to the ■of ithe weapon, is extremely hazardous. jWith all thf dare"that 'may be beatewedi-tnq, jpOinfc of the Sword may'seme day appidetitAlly ' ipunethre, abßbluteiy f 'piorcß ■ through the/ istoniaohi'and' death wduld of' opUrse bo the" joonspquence., ‘To think 'mati ’plftyfog/ 'with'hiS'life in this way for the sake of gain mid pubiie ehtortaiumorit! ■ I into a fix' Oven 'more- dreadful 1 than that of ißruU’eL*’ He 1 professed ’to'be ftb.e to perforin; a trick With a bayonet' fixed bn the end' of a musket. , It was an awfqlly hazardous prank, far heybnd c tha(f ( bf'-Sw&libWihp; A sword; 6 Ho held the musket, aloft with 1 the' butt-end upper moSt,''and'- -bpening ,; his ! 'mOuth, 'aliowed? [bayonet to gp down his I ' throat 1 ." HaVfog got ’ it this ‘-lefigth, b© clenched the. part of the ;I»ybnek ! bet#^b > IPbdi»/,'witli',’ teeth,*ind handmg the'mhsketiWith his" hand s, to ‘ ■' pre*-* iy enl tU’bhe Side' 'or Other;-' 'wailced; about with, it ...in. this, perilous 1 attitude on the Stage. 1 ' JremendoUs 1 applanSe! ■ Now as to whit ; ocoihrrefi; )!|l lfi reads 1 likb a 1 hidepus i : • -r,'■ ' !:> .-<• ..(//.» ,-;.J 'fr t romanoe. -/•■■-' ■' •; ; ■;■/,■ 1 At a pbrtbrmanoe bne daiy of ' the’bAybnet andseenliogo wrong; c Theto was', a Sfogger; 1 a-flutter; . The,'; pbServers'were surprised’, norrbriStriiok; I '' The: iswayingof. the upraised ‘inuSkefc' had.caused it 1 to snap off, At the part’of khe'bayonet where it,Wak %USfaindd : by the teeth of the', performer; the feSUlt; befog that the shaft bf the b»ybnet Was 'left ,>tlnk' ont' of right br ■reach in his jthroat;' Anything mote applallfo& thUtf he imagined. Perhaps in thb; tyabf bf 1 the* moment ■' ;tbb ■’ perib^net , ‘ recollected the f, device' resorted to' by ’Briinbi. fo -; A* , iristeWt6few'himself bn 1 ' ! hur, l hai3i; lJ and, a with 1 the aid of his 'assistants, 'Stood' vritfi'-Kis feet uppermost against the wall. The effort' was Bttcwßaful. By its own weight the h»y|U* net deteeridetf from its/ place- in thevthijoat, . and at length it was -pnUed from; the r mbutH'. j t-A 'forfcunato .escape! ’.The jforfcifctii^e‘of this remarkable sword-|wallpwer j may ’be a matter of admiration,'his feajaa', [wonder, but we may say with the old dfama : tist— , | . Scarce I praise their venturous part, WhO tamper with such dangerous art. .. } | 'Whatever fe.ats of‘skiU * are fond| of bnOWing off,’.we should in a friendly way reebmmend you'to abstain from playfog.any sorb bf pranks mth'yoifo moUth. | . " , .