It was with great reluctance that Mivart consented to use Sinfi as
the recipient of the seizure, because of her belief that it was the
result of a curse. However, he at last consented, and ordered two
couches to be placed side by side with a large magnet between them.
Then Miss Wynne was laid on one couch, and Sinfi Lovell on the other;
a screen was placed between the couches, and then the wonderful
effect of the magnetism began to show itself.
The transmission was entirely successful, and Miss Wynne awoke as
from a trance, and I saw as it were the beautiful eyes change as the
soul returned to them. She was no longer the fascinating child who
had become part of my life. She was another person, a stranger whose
acquaintance I had now to make, and whose friendship I had yet to
win. Indeed the change in the expression was so great that it was
really difficult to believe that the features were the same. This
was owing to the wonderful change in the eyes.
To Sinfi Lovell the seizure was transmitted in a way that was
positively uncanny--she passed into a paroxysm so severe that Mivart
was seriously alarmed for her. Her face assumed the same expression
of terror which I had seen on Miss Wynne's face, and she uttered the
cry, 'Father!' and then fell back into a state of rigidity.
'The transmission was just in time,' said Mivart; 'the other patient
would never have survived this.'
Strong as Sinfi Lovell was, the effect of the transmission upon her
nervous system was to me appalling. Indeed it was much greater,
Mivart said, than he was prepared for. Poor Panuel Lovell kept gazing
at us, and then said, 'It's cruel to let one woman kill herself for
another; but when her as kills herself is a Romany, and t'other a
Gorgie, it's what I calls a blazin' shame. She would do it, my poor
chavi would do it. "No harm can't come on it," says she, "because a
Gorgio cuss can't touch a Romany." An' now see what's come on it.'
Mivart would not hear of Sinfi's returning at present to the Gypsies,
as she required special treatment. Hence there was no course left
open to us but that of keeping her here attended by a nurse whom
Mivart sent. While the recurrent paroxysms were severe, Sinfi was to
be carefully kept apart from Miss Wynne until it should become quite
clear how much and how little Miss Wynne remembered of her past life.
Mivart, however, leaned to the opinion that nothing could recall to
her mind the catastrophe that caused the seizure. By an unforeseen
accident they met, and I was at first fearful of the consequences,
but soon found that Mivart's theory was right. No ill effects
whatever followed the meeting. Sinfi's transmitted paroxysms have
gradually become less acute and less frequent, and Miss Wynne has
been constantly with her and ministering to her; the affection
between them seems to have been of long standing, and very great.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account