bite
of the tarantula feel themselves attracted to the boundless expanse of
the blue ocean, and lost themselves in its contemplation. Some songs,
which are still preserved, marked this peculiar longing, which was
moreover expressed by significant music, and was excited even by the bare
mention of the sea. Some, in whom this susceptibility was carried to the
greatest pitch, cast themselves with blind fury into the blue waves, as
the St. Vitus's dancers occasionally did into rapid rivers. This
condition, so opposite to the frightful state of hydrophobia, betrayed
itself in others only in the pleasure afforded them by the sight of clear
water in glasses. These they bore in their hands while dancing,
exhibiting at the same time strange movements, and giving way to the most
extravagant expressions of their feeling. They were delighted also when,
in the midst of the space allotted for this exercise, more ample vessels,
filled with water, and surrounded by rushes and water plants, were
placed, in which they bathed their heads and arms with evident pleasure.
Others there were who rolled about on the ground, and were, by their own
desire, buried up to the neck in the earth, in order to alleviate the
misery of their condition; not to mention an endless variety of other
symptoms which showed the perverted action of the nerves.

All these modes of relief, however, were as nothing in comparison with
the irresistible charms of musical sound. Attempts had indeed been made
in ancient times to mitigate the pain of sciatica, or the paroxysms of
mania, by the soft melody of the flute, and, what is still more
applicable to the present purpose, to remove the danger arising from the
bite of vipers by the same means. This, however, was tried only to a
very small extent. But after being bitten by the tarantula, there was,
according to popular opinion, no way of saving life except by music; and
it was hardly considered as an exception to the general rule, that every
now and then the bad effects of a wound were prevented by placing a
ligature on the bitten limb, or by internal medicine, or that strong
persons occasionally withstood the effects of the poison, without the
employment of any remedies at all. It was much more common, and is quite
in accordance with the nature of so exquisite a nervous disease, to hear
accounts of many who, when bitten by the tarantula, perished miserably
because the tarantella, which would have afforded them