Catalepsy
a form of mental disorder, akin to hysteria, which is characterized by the person affected falling down suddenly in a state of real or apparent unconsciousness, and, save for some occasional muscular twitchings of the face and body, remaining rigid and statue-like for a period of time which varies from one minute to some hours or even days, and then all at once recovering consciousness as if aroused from sleep as a rule with no bad consequences to follow. Catalepsy almost invariably affects hysterical people only, and it is the prolongation of the un- CATAMARCA conscious condition to some days in certain extreme cases which has given rise to the fear which some people have of being buried alive under such circumstances.
CATALONIA (ancient Hispania Tarraconensis), an old province of Spain, bounded N. by France, E. and S. E. by the Mediterranean, S. by Valencia, and W. by Aragon. The country in general is mountainous, but intersected with fertile valleys, while the mountains themselves are covered with valuable woods and fruit-trees, the slopes being cut in terraces and pl plentifully supplied with water by an artificial system of irrigation. Wheat, wine, oil, flax, hemp, vegetables, and almost overy kind of fruit are abundant. There are mines of lead, iron, alum, etc. On the coast is a coralfishery. Catalonia, though less fertile than most of Spain, stands pre-eminent for the industry of its inhabitants, who speak the Catalan dialect. Pop. about 2,150,000; area, 12,480 square miles. It comprises the modern provinces of Tarragona, Gerona, Lerida, and Barcelona.