I at first thought that a whip would be of some
service, and one day attempted a few strokes when unnoticed by any
person, we being by ourselves, and I having a strong suspicion
that this ailment sprang from the weak minds of women, who were
encouraged in it for the sake of the grandeur, rich dress, and
music which accompany the cure. But how much was I surprised, the
moment I struck a light blow, thinking to do good, to find that
she became like a corpse, and even the joints of her fingers
became so stiff that I could not straighten them; indeed, I really
thought that she was dead, and immediately made it known to the
people in the house that she had fainted, but did not tell them
the cause, upon which they immediately brought music, which I had
for many days denied them, and which soon revived her; and I then
left the house to her relations to cure her at my expense, in the
manner I have before mentioned, though it took a much longer time
to cure my wife than the woman I have just given an account of.
One day I went privately, with a companion, to see my wife dance,
and kept at a short distance, as I was ashamed to go near the
crowd. On looking steadfastly upon her, while dancing or jumping,
more like a deer than a human being, I said that it certainly was
not my wife; at which my companion burst into a fit of laughter,
from which he could scarcely refrain all the way home.
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