94 ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE 



" Then ensued a brief interval of about two years, 

 during which time she was in fair health, but was again 

 taken down as before, and was sick for nearly seven 

 years. During part of this time she was very low, and 

 we watched day after day at her bedside, expecting 

 each day would be the last; but she again rallied, 

 and gradually her bodily strength and reason returned 

 to her. 



" She was well for about five years, when she seemed 

 to be taken with a low fever and gradually went down 

 to her present condition." 



Such is the son's account of the case, and from it we 

 learn that the history of nervous trouble dates back at 

 least forty years, and the inference is that the first 

 indications of lethargy then made their appearance. 



The details of the conditions that existed during the 

 different attacks are almost entirely wanting, and it is 

 unfortunate that we are left almost completely in the 

 dark regarding the nature of the convulsive seizures 

 that occurred. Subsequent history would lead us to 

 believe that these were, in all probability, hystero- 

 epileptic in origin. 



About the year 1862 the patient fell into a state of 

 lethargy that lasted for seven years or more. The con- 

 dition was not one of complete unconsciousness, and 

 although the woman appeared to sleep almost con- 

 tinually, occasionally she would wake up for a minute 

 or so at a time, and converse in a rational manner. 



It is not possible to make more than general state- 

 ments in regard to these attacks, but it is beyond doubt 

 that the conditions were not identical with those that 

 characterised the last attack. Evidently the condition 

 of lethargy was not so profound. 



The announcement of the death of a warm friend 

 was the immediate cause of her awakening. The 

 return to even an approach to a normal condition of 



