Whenever this woman came near her she was at once seized with violent
trembling, which ended in a few minutes with vomiting and great mental
and physical prostration, lasting several hours. Her husband would have
sent the woman away, but Mrs. X insisted on her remaining, as she was a
good servant, in order that she might overcome what she regarded as an
unreasonable prejudice. The effort was, however, too much for her, for
upon one occasion when the woman entered Mrs. X's apartment rather
unexpectedly, the latter became greatly excited, and, jumping from an
open window in her fright, broke her arm, and otherwise injured herself
so severely that she was for several weeks confined to her bed. During
this period, and for some time afterward, she was almost constantly
subject to hallucinations, in which the Indian woman played a prominent
part. Even after her recovery the mere thought of the woman would
sometimes bring on a paroxysm of trembling, and it was not till after
her confinement that the antipathy disappeared.
Millingen[1] remarks that certain antipathies, which in reality are
idiosyncrasies, appear to depend upon peculiarities of the senses.
Rather, however, they are due to peculiarities of the ideational and
emotional centers.
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