system, no information could be obtained. The patient repeatedly and persistently denied any knowledge of having introduced them, either by the stomach or through the skin. Her mother, who visited the Asylum, could throw no light upon the subject, and was entirely ignorant of the fact until informed by us. She, however, recalled the circumstance that the patient purchased, at one time, ten papers of needles, and could account for only two of them. They were not obtained or introduced while in the Asylum. She was under strict surveillance, and had no means of obtaining any number of needles, and those removed were all rusted and bore evidence of having been a long time in the body. The stomach was closely examined after death, and was in a perfectly healthy condition, with no evidence of any previous inflammatory action. The only theory which seems to us at all tenable, is that they were introduced through the skin while she was under the influence of morphia, hypodermically administered, and while suffering from hysteria. That some were found in positions where they could not have been inserted by the patient, can be accounted for by their movements in the tissues, which were observed so often during the life of the patient. The diseased condition of the brain and its membranes was a cause sufficient to account for the abnormal mental action and conduct of her who had been “truly a mystery which no one could solve.” We close this remarkable case with a transcript of the post-mortem examination. _Autopsy._—Rigor present; body well nourished; anterior surface thickly studded with small cicatrices; abdomen covered with thick layer of fat. A small abscess in abdominal wall, two inches above umbilicus, three inches by one and one-half, was filled with pus and contained one needle. A second abscess, two inches above and to the right of the symphysis pubis, immediately under Poupart’s ligament, contained another needle. This pressed upon the peritoneum, which, though discolored by rust, was not inflamed. From the right breast, one whole and four broken needles, and from the left one whole and two broken needles, were removed. _Head._—Arachnoid opaque and thickened over right hemisphere. The left hemisphere was covered by a thin layer of pus, contained in the sub-arachnoid space. Marked depression of convolutions at vertex of both hemispheres. The brain substance was firmer than normal. The ventricles were empty, and the choroid plexus contained numerous small cysts upon its surface, filled with serum. _Thorax._—The lower lobe of the right lung was hepatized. A whole needle was found in the upper part of the lower lobe of the left lung. _Abdomen._—The liver was soft and fatty, and the spleen enlarged; kidneys were normal. The stomach was subjected to a critical examination. It was found normal, and there was no evidence that the needles were introduced into the system through that organ.