1&6 Facts relating to Hydrophohia. 



coBtinued well to the 13th of June, when she became fretful, and 

 complained of pain in the head and stomach. The mother prepar- 

 ed an infusion of senna, and when she attempted to administer it, the 

 child wonld shudder and become convulsed. The first circumstance; 

 that attracted the attention of the mother, was the peculiar actions of 

 the child when she drank, for she was thirsty, and asked for water, 

 but when she swallowed theAvater, she would choke and spit it out. 

 On the succeeding day. Dr. Mead, of Cliff Street, from whom the 

 particulars were derived, was called to attend the child. " He found 

 her lying quietly on her bed, cheerful and intelligent, for the child 

 was remarkably sprightly for her age, and seemed pleased with the 

 idea of being made well. She said she had no pain, except a little 

 in her stomach ; she allowed her person to be examined freely, but 

 when the nose was touched, she would recoil with shuddering, and 

 when it was pressed she would thrust out her tongue with a shriek, 

 and catch her breath as if suffocated. This was not incidental, for 

 it was tried several times with the same result. The cicatrix of the 

 wound appeared perfectly well, and there was no appearance of dis- 

 ease, or discoloration of the part. She was asked to drink some 

 water. She seemed thirsty, and readily assented. A cup was 

 brought, and she rose in bed, grasped it with both hands, and filled 

 her mouth, but in an instant she dashed the cup from her, and seemetf 

 to spit or blow the water from her mouth, with a force and sound, as 

 if it were ejected from a heated crucible, and fell upon the bed in 

 horrible convulsions. In a few moments she was quiet and compo- 

 sed again. These experiments were forbidden, as they added 

 greatly to the sufferings of the child. Several attempts were made 

 to administer medicine, but unsuccessfully ; for every effort to swal- 

 low even the smallest quantity, would bring on a spasm and a dis- 

 tressing constriction of the throat, which would eject it from her 

 mouth. The dread of water continued to increase, to such a de- 

 gree, that if a person approached her with a tumbler of water, it 

 would bring on a recurrence of tlie paroxysms. The spasms occur- 

 red spontaneously with increased power and frequency, until she 

 exhibited all the horrors of this fearful malady. The eyes were wild 

 and protruded, there was gnashing of the teeth, until the tongue be- 

 came lacerated ; with frequent spitting and foaming at the mouth ; 

 and retching which was peculiar. It returned at regular intervals of 

 a few moments, attended with but one effort, as if the stomach were 

 suddenly affected by a spasm, and forcibly expelled through the 



