lng during this flate; saad t 
_of 1782. 
1804. | 
during many years, and then return- 
ing to their native city, found them- 
felves fo many ftrangers at home. In the 
cafe lay before you, you will fee a man 
who, during twelve years, appears not 
to have exited ;.and though hiseyes were: 
open all that. time, he had lott their ule, 
with the relt of his fenfes, till. he as fud- 
denly recovered the ufe of them all. 
This ficgular and terrible diforder, in 
which the Joul fuddenly lofes the full ex- 
ercife of its faculiies, has, I think, been 
called by phyticians by the Greek name 
katoches. In this ftrange diforder the pa- 
tient remains in. the fame pofition of his 
members in which he happens jo be when 
all his intelle&ual and. corporeal, powers 
hive been fuddenly isterrupsed. Le re- 
mains with his eyes open, but without fee- 
ing 5 he his neither RENAEP ED nor hear- 
‘equently. it 4s 
only a few ei ‘ops of blood which preduce 
thefe terrible effects, ualefs they oceali, n 
fudden death. 
In the Memoirs of Stockholm, of Oc- 
tober i784, 
ed the followmg cafe; and pevhaps, being 
written in the Swedifh larguage, it may 
come with fome novelty to your ieaders. 
‘¢ Oluf Olufson, a peafant, in the pa- 
rifh of Retneby, in the province of Biet- 
ting, now aged 41, had been a failcr in 
his youth, was of a itrong conilitution, 
and had once nearly perithed i in a.ttorm. 
He was feized with fever in June 3771, 
which appeared by pains in his body, 
great heats, and vioicnt head-ache ; he 
foon loft his fpeech, and thoitly after, his 
internal and external fenfes. 
¢¢ About a month afterwards, the fever 
and heats abated ; but he had become fo 
lean during this malady, that it was difh- 
“cule to difeover in him a flefhy fibre.—_ 
His body refembled that of a fkeleton co- 
vered by a flight fkin. 
‘© He remained lying on his back con-’ 
tantly, and immoveable ; his hands on 
his breat, his legs firetched out, and his 
eyes generally ciofed. 
years in this helplets tate, tillthe fummer 
Except a jittle miik infinuated 
between his lips, and fumetimgs a {poon- 
ful of wine or brandy, and at the fame 
time, a pinch of f{nuff, he ablolutely 
took no other food. No one can recol- 
Je&, during all this time, that he ever ex- 
prefted a with for. focd.. He could pafs 
over four days, and fometimcs a week, 
without taking milk. As he had neither 
“fieth nor fat, this conftant pofition did not 
eceafion him any ulcers in his back. 
Singular Cafe of Inertia, 
Mr, Arvid Faxe has defcrib-. 
He paffed eleven 
435 
6 His brother,:Anders Olufson, thewed’ 
every fraternal affeétion for him, and dur-. . 
ing thefe tedious and melancholy years, 
he {ought every means to rettore him to 
life, (tor his prefent ftate could fearcely bet 
called life,) whieh the mott tender friend- 
fhip fuggetted... He boded fome plants, 
with wnich he fomented his head frequent~. 
ly. _Olut appeared to: recover a certain 
degree of fenfation, regain alittle ftrength,. 
and deemed gradually’ reftored, but he 
cave no mark of perception nor realioning. 
He appeared ima refilels tate, and full of 
alarm, in the prefence of any perfun. 
‘© Inthis fate he remained a contiderable. 
time before he would fuffer himleltto beob- 
ferved ftepping out oflhis bed, which, there. 
fore, he generally cid in the night, or when 
the family were out inthe fields; then would 
he drag himfelt to she {pot vac he could 
fake a litle milk ; but frequently, by the 
unexpefted entrance of any one, he was 
feized with greai trepidations,and frequenr- 
ly remained ftretched out on the ground, 
without tne leaft capabilicy of motion 
Atlength his brether, refulved to make 
him quit bis ufual abode, would take him 
out, give other nourifhmenr, (though' he 
ever preferred miik,) adding | {ome 
ftrengthening fubftances, bathed his head 
with cold water, by a {pring at fome dit- 
tance from the houfe,, Although the 
patient had recovered his bearing and 
feeling, he ftill remamed extremely feeble» 
and meagre; without powers of articula- 
tion, and with icarcely: any trace of nea- 
fon ; habit, however, made him capable 
of going eel to draw water trom the 
{pring to bathe his head. 
‘Twelve years had pafled fince the 
commencement of this malady; and. he» 
aftonifhed the village, when pheye faw him 
fuddenly recover the ule of his phyfizal 
faculues... This happened on the 8th of 
Auguit 1783, when he returned with 
water, in the prefence of his brother, of 
his two fifters, and the feryants, as they 
were preparing to drefs for church. Te 
was then he was {feized with fhiverings, 
tremors in his arms and legs, and faid, in 
a Serna Waoice, .< Lord. God ! this is» 
amazing | where ° have I been all this 
time ?” 
<¢ At this moment a vein in the pista 
of his head opened Of itlelf, and there fell » 
out about fix drops of olood ; another vein 
opened at the extremity of the right nof- 
tril ; another at the chin ; -and there ran, 
as if from both ears, nearly as much. 
blood. 
‘ Nex ge about this time he alforecover- 
gL z ed 
