The Journal of Abnormal Psychology, vol 10 | Page 6

a time and that she must come to the table for her meals.
On the physician's next visit, two days later, it was found that the husband had not been able to induce his wife to come to the table, and that he had been unable to get her to walk. The physician then commanded her to get out of bed, which she did with great effort. She was then put back to bed and instructed to get up more freely and without such effort, demonstration being a visual one, in that she was shown how best to accomplish the task set. Finally, at the end of the visit, she was walking quite freely and promised in writing, for she had not as yet learned to talk, that she would eat at the table.
The next day instruction was commenced along the lines of speech. Upon being asked to thrust out her tongue, that organ was protruded only a short distance, and she claimed, in writing, to be unable to protrude it further. Thereupon it was taken hold of by a towel and alternately withdrawn from and replaced into the mouth. After a short period of such exercise she was enabled to thrust the tongue in and out. She was then instructed to breathe more freely; that is to say, to take short inspirations and to make long expirations, this in preparation for speech. She was unable to do this, the expiration being short, jerky and interrupted. Thereupon the examiner placed his two hands, one on each side of her chest, instructed her to inspire, and when she was instructed to expire forced his hands against her ribs in order to complete the expiratory act. After about fifteen or twenty minutes of this combination of instruction and help the patient was able to breathe by herself and freely. She was then instructed to make the sound "e" at the end of expiration. This she was unable to do at first, but upon persistence and passive placing of her mouth in the proper position for the sound, she was able to whisper "e." From this she rapidly went on to the other vowel sounds. Then the aspirate "h" was added, later the explosives, "p," etc., until at the end of about two hours she was enabled to whisper anything desired. Her husband was instructed not to allow her to use her pencil any more, and she promised faithfully to enter into whispered conversation with him, although it was evident that she promised this with reluctance.
Upon the next visit, two days later, she was still whispering, and when asked if she could talk aloud, shook her head and whispered "No," that she was sure she could not. Efforts to have her make the sound "a," or any of the vowels in a voiced manner failed completely. She was then instructed to cough. Although it is evident that a cough is a voiced sound, she was able to do this, in a very low and indistinct manner. She was then instructed to add the sound "e" at the end of her cough. This she did, but with difficulty. Finally, after much the same manoeuvering which has been indicated in the account of how she was instructed to whisper, she talked freely and well. When this was accomplished the husband was instructed to have her dress herself and to take her to: some place of amusement, and to keep her out of doors almost continuously.
At all times the patient had complained of a pain in her side which she claimed was the root of all her trouble. It had been "doctored," to use her term, by all the physicians in the city and, it was alleged, came after she had been lifting a paralyzed old lady in the house across the way. Despite all treatment this pain had not disappeared and the various diagnoses made--strain, liver trouble, nervous ache had not sufficed to console the patient or to relieve her. There was no local tenderness, no pain upon movement, but merely a steady ache. No physical basis whatever for this trouble could be found. Her medicine for the relief of it was discontinued, and so, too, were certain medicines she had been obtaining for sleep.
Upon each visit the husband and wife had been informed by the physician that he did not believe the trouble was organic in its nature, that he believed it depended upon some ideas that the patient had, and that, furthermore, it was the result of some mental irritation, compared for the purpose of fixing the point to a festering sore and which, if removed, would permanently eliminate the liability of such seizures. The patient and her husband were informed that the physician intended to delve to the bottom of this trouble and,