her sister frequently stood in front of
her, and that she knew she wanted her to go with her.

_Under Observation:_ For about three weeks the patient
showed a variable stupor. She would lie with a mask-like
face inaccessible, cataleptic, drooling saliva, often with
her mouth open. When taken up, she was usually perfectly
flaccid, but once she let herself slide on the floor after
she had stood immobile at the window. Sometimes there was
marked resistance to passive motions, especially when
attempts were made to open her mouth or eyes, or on one
occasion when the examiner tried to open her hand in which
she held her handkerchief. Yet when one persisted in urging
her to respond there frequently could be elicited more or
less marked reactions. Thus repeatedly she could be made to
obey some commands, as showing the tongue, etc., even when
she would not answer. Once when her eyes were opened, tears
rolled down her cheeks--again, she usually reacted to pin
pricks by slight flushing, once she said, "Stop! it
hurts." Again, she said, "Leave me alone, I want to sleep."

So far the description of this reaction is that of a benign
stupor. There were, however, other symptoms. In the first
place, she could sometimes be made to open her eyes and
write, although she would not speak. In spite of the
penmanship being careless, there were no mistakes. This
exhibition of an unhabitual and more difficult intellectual
effort when the patient was mute is suggestive of an
inconsistency. So was her habit of sometimes singing a
hymn, "Rest for the Weary," when no other sign of mental
life was given. But, more important than these, she could
not infrequently be induced to answer questions and at such
times she spoke promptly and with natural affective
response.

A number of her replies were of the type to be expected in
a benign stupor. In the first place, she spoke of her
condition as "going off to sleep" and also as "death," "I
was dead all day." "I died three times yesterday," or she
merely described it by saying "I go off into states when I
lie with my mouth open and eyes closed, and cannot speak or
open my eyes." When asked how she got into this condition,
she said "My sister died and I think it was on my m