Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 6.djvu/608

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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY.

Angélique's relatives resolved, at length, to take the electrical girl to Paris in order to submit her to the examination of the academicians. During the public séance on the 17th of February at the Académie des Sciences, the secretary, Arago, published the experiments to which Dr. Sanchon had subjected the girl, and read a notice given him by this physician, which appeared in the official Compte Rendu of this session. It is as follows:

"I have twice," says Dr. Sanchon, "seen the electrical girl (Angélique Cottin). A chair which I was holding as firmly as possible with my foot and both hands, was suddenly torn from my grasp when she sat upon it. A little strip of paper which I balanced on my finger was blown away several times as though by a sudden rush of wind. A dining-table of considerable size, and quite heavy, was several times displaced and pushed by the mere contact of the girl's clothes. A small paper wheel, placed vertically or horizontally upon its axis, received a rapid motion from the emanations which proceeded from the child's wrist and elbow-joint. A very large and heavy sofa, on which I was seated, was violently pushed against the wall when the young girl placed herself beside me. A chair held to the ground by strong persons, on which I sat in a manner so as to occupy but half of it, was suddenly pushed from under me when the girl sat upon the remaining half. A remarkable fact is, that each time the chair was raised; it seemed to adhere to the girl's clothes; she followed it for an instant, and then disengaged herself. Two little balls of elder-wood, or small pieces of quill suspended by a silk thread, were disturbed, attracted, and finally separated one from the other.

"The young girl's emanations were not permanent during the day; they appeared in the evening, from seven to nine o'clock: this gives me the idea that her last meal, which she takes at six o'clock, has some influence in regard to them. They recurred on the anterior surface of the body, particularly at the wrist and elbow. They only recurred in the left side; the arm on this side was warmer than the other; a gentle warmth was radiated from it as from a member on which a vivid reaction takes place. This part of the body was trembling and continually affected by unusual contractions and quivering, which seemed to be communicated to any hand that touched her. During the time that I noticed this young person, her pulse varied from 105 to 120; it often appeared irregular. When the girl was removed from the common reservoir, either by placing her in a chair without letting her feet touch the ground, or by resting her feet against those of another person standing before her, the phenomenon did not take place; it also ceased when she put her hands beneath her on sitting down. A waxed floor, a piece of oil-cloth, or a plate of glass, put under her feet or upon her chair, equally destroys her electric faculty.

"During the paroxysm, the girl can hardly touch anything with her left hand without causing it to be thrown some distance; when her clothes come in contact with pieces of furniture, she attracts, displaces, and finally overturns them. This will be better conceived when the fact is known that, at each electric discharge, she endeavors to escape in order to avoid the result; she says that she always feels a pricking sensation at her wrist and elbow. In searching for the pulse in the temporal artery, not being able to appreciate it in the left arm, my fingers inadvertently touched the nape of the neck; instantly the girl uttered a cry, and disengaged herself from me. In the region of the cerebellum (I have tested this many times), where the muscles of the upper portion of the