A gentleman of the Court of
the Emperor Ferdinand suffered epistaxis when he heard a cat mew.
La Mothe Le Vayer could not endure the sounds of musical
instruments, although he experienced pleasurable sensations when
he heard a clap of thunder. It is said that a chaplain in England
always had a sensation of cold at the top of his head when he
read the 53d chapter of Isaiah and certain verses of the Kings.
There was an unhappy wight who could not hear his own name
pronounced without being thrown into convulsions. Marguerite of
Valois, sister of Francis I, could never utter the words "mort"
or "petite verole," such a horrible aversion had she to death and
small-pox. According to Campani, the Chevalier Alcantara could
never say "lana," or words pertaining to woolen clothing.
Hippocrates says that a certain Nicanor had the greatest horror
of the sound of the flute at night, although it delighted him in
the daytime. Rousseau reports a Gascon in whom incontinence of
urine was produced by the sound of a bagpipe. Frisch, Managetta,
and Rousse speak of a man in whom the same effect was produced by
the sound of a hurdy-gurdy. Even Shakespeare alludes to the
effects of the sound of bagpipes. Tissot mentions a case in which
music caused epileptic convulsions, and Forestus mentions a
beggar who had convulsions at the sound of a wooden trumpet
similar to those used by children in play.
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