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Leader (1850-1860), 14th July 1860, Edition 2 of 2, Page 9

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      * On6bacttrel)Uease8ofthebrain. By Fqubk...

      Comparative physiology may one day come to our aid in these curious inquiries , and we may ascertain what relation the development of the nervous system of insects , for example * and their consumption of neryous matter , bears to the quantity and quality of the instincts they put forth . Many ideas of a supernatural character appear to take their origin ii mental aberration , and while some insane persons enjoy beatific visions , or see the heavens opened before them , others are pursued by furies as tragic , if not as classic , as those recorded in

      old Greek plays . Thus a convict in Van Bieman ' s Land , haying murdered one of his overseers , escaped into the bush , and after a while went mad , rushing from tree to tree , endeavouring to escape an imaginary avenger whom he fancied was tracking him . At length , in an agony of remorse and terror , he gave himself up to the police , and prayed for death to release him from the spectre that was for ever present to his mind . In another case , the victim of aberration reproduced , though in a _ rougher and coarser way , the agonised remorse of Macbeth .

      The action of physical disturbance presents itself in a two-fold form . Insanity , from external injuries , is not uncommon ; and , on the other hand , there are cases in which a blow on the head , or even a wound involving loss of brain , has had a curative effect , and the madness or idiotcy has disappeared . Still more curious is the command of mind over body , as shewn by physical changes in various organs following , and apparently being the result of , long continued attention to the subject in the shape of expectation of the disease that actually , appeared . Cures of positive physical

      disorder through the action of mental impressions have occurred in all ages , and none were more remarkable than those of the Irish gentleman , M . Greatrex , who felt that he could remove disorders by simple touch . We now laugh at the application of royal fingers for the " king ' s evil , " and at the miraculous virtues ascribed to the hand of amurderer as capable of charming away a wen ; but these and similar magical practices of past times , or remote villages inourday ^ may not be entirely destitute of foundation , but be illustrations of the force of mental impressions produced by

      foolish means . The marked phenomena of speech accompanying ^ cerebral disorders suggest many puzzling considerations , both as to the portion of the brain which is effected , and the precise mental disturbs which has taken place . I ) r : Winslo \ v cites , on the authority of Dr . Osborne , the following extraordinary case which will illustrate these facts :-r-A gentleman of great literary and linguistic attain ^ ments was seized with an apopletic fit . In a fortnight he-was restored to the command of his intelligence , but was deprived of speech : His articulation . was not impairedj but he could only utter syllables , conveying no definite ideas . If the case had stopped here it would not . have been difficult to understand , but the peculiarity was tlrat although he coiM ^ correctl

      understood all that was said * 6 him , proving that he y associated sounds and ideas , and although he could read books in various languages , and write correct translations of them , he could not repeat or read any sentence correctly . By way of testing his powers I ) r . Osborne invited him to read the following sentence * containing a bye-law of the College of Physicians : — - " It shall be —in-the-power-of—the-CoUeg ^ to-examine ^ r-not ^ exaniine-any Jicen- ^ tiate previous to his admission to a fellowship , as they shall think fit . " This he rendered into gibberish thus : — " And the be what in the tembtho of the trothotodoo to niajorum or that emidrate ein einkastrai mestreit to ketra to torn breidei to ra fromtriedo as that kekreitest . " A second attempt made a few days afterwards With the same sentence was equally unfortunate . The patient gave another specimen of the same unknown tongue , in which , as in the first , German sounds , thought not German words , were

      conspicuous . It would be exceedingly difficult to surmise what mental difficulties this gentleman laboured under , and by what morbid process of association he was compelled to utter such sounds in the attempt to convey by speech what he would have written correctly in several languages . , Another curious symptom in certain cases is the * ' ocno state , m which the patient repeats whatever is said to him . Ramsay mentions an idiot boy who mimicked music in the same way . In some cases insanity leads to a loss of speech without any paralysis of the organs . Brierre de Boismont tells of a man insane for fifty-two years , and who did not speak for thirty yearis of the time . Shortly before his death his faculty of speech returned . We must here close our notice of Dr . Winslow ' s remarkable book , which is an invaluable magazine of facts , and which we are glad to find is only the precursor of another work which we hope ahortly to see .

      July 14 1860.] The Saturday Analyst And ...

      JULY 14 1860 . ] The Saturday Analyst and Leader , G 57

      All Round The Wrekin* Spills Well Known ...

      ALL ROUND THE WREKIN * Spills well known Shropshipo proverb nerves Mr . Walter White , , i _ tlie uuthor ofmany-hooka oi -tvtvvelH , tor the titl «<» t ' a work tlutt aoBcribes nianv pkWeHquo places in England , beginning' with < luy * 8 Cliff , in Warwiclwhivo , with its accessorioH in ¦ the river Avon , and the " Htatolv rtovc , " celebrated by Fuller . The tenntii ! phenomena of the Bliwk Country next detain tho \\ iitur . and load him to admire , - " tho omnipotence of con 1 and iron . " lint . ¦ « t Wolverhamnton lie choiiijch - from Hi » oko and iioiho into IU'UIh and paHtnrcH . Oaken mid Wrottesloy Hull then jjiwh in review : the ttHtronomw tit tho hitter uetnn ? an the author ' s riroro ^ m the libvitry and the observatory . Chilliiiffton and HoKeobel , with the

      Koyal Oaki or its descendant , from whence the traveller may get a peep at the Wrelrin , and St . Bartholomew at Tong , next command attention . At this last place , Sir Thomas Stanley ' s tomb has an epitaph , which some antiquaries say , was < and it might . have been ) , written' by fcJhakspere .. ' Here it is : . . .. Not Monumental'Stone preserves our fame , Nor sky-aspiring Pyramids our name . The Memory of him for whom this stands , Shall outlive marble and defacer ' s hands : When all to Time ' s consumption shall be given , Stanley , for whom this stands , shall stand in Heaven . "

      Hawkstone Park . ' . the seat of Lord Hill , is fully described , and also the river of Ellesmere , a place ' " where was a castelle . " An » n . we find ourselves at Llan vitl » its Siluriaii and Cambrian rocks . Ere long we are in the vale of Seven ) . But we must hurry on . It is impossible to name all the places mentioned in the book ; we must , therefore , transport . ourselves to the City of Wroxeter , the Britis 7 i Pompeii , not , however , to extract our author ' s able description of the buried town , but ts recommend it to the reader ' s perusal .. The name of the place , he tells us , was well chosen by the Romans , " for Uricon is but the Romanized form of Wrekin . The Saxons , in their turn , combining : Wrekin-eeastre , originated the present name Wroxeter : "

      The view from the summit of the Wrekin , a heig-ht of 1 , 320 feet , is called bv an old topographer " delightfully awful . " Mr . AVTiite corroborates his testimony . His walk round the Wrekin is , however , r completed sooner than his book . Before we have got half through it , we find the task accomplished ; but having another fortnight ' s holiday , Mr . White journeyed back to Birmingham , on which town he bestows some half dozen chapters , and then visits other places ; the Potteries of Staffordshire among the number , proving , during his rambles , the truth of his motto , that , *• ' with unabated bounty the land of England blooms and grows ; waving with yellow harvests : thick studed with workshops , industrial implements , with fifteen millions of workers , understood to be the strongest , the eininingest , aiid the willingest our eartli ever had . " Those who thus think and feel with the author in connection with picturesque spots of our country will find abundant enjoyment in the perusal of this excellent Avoi'k .

      *Alt Ifomuf The Wrrt'tii. «Y Walter Wlil...

      * Alt Ifomuf the Wrrt'tii . « y Walter Wliltf , ( JUiipmuii mul Hull .

      Sea. Side-Books.* Poptjlar Marine Zoolog...

      SEA . SIDE-BOOKS . * POptJLAR Marine Zoology seems in increasing demand , ami though few visitors to qur sea-side haunts are prepared for any elaborate investigation of the ponders of the shore , many . are eager to know enough to take an intelligent interest in an aquarium , or some such means of amusement . A few years ago , Dr . Harvey produced his admirable sea-side book , which , seems to have suggested the pretty work by Mr . Eraser , called " Ebb and FlowS' in which will be found clear and pleasant descriptions of tides and currents , aspects of the shoi'e and changes on our sea . coasts , together with chapters on sea weeds , shells and shell fish , sea anemonies , jelly fishes , true fishes , and the birds freqnenting marine localities . This little book is elegantly illustrated , and Will we hopo redeem the sea-side excursions of some hundreds of young ladies and gentlemen from the tediousness of perfect- idleness , only relieved by remarkable displays of wonderful trousers and crinoline .

      < - * --M'rrAVra ^ ffHV-bCTCTk 4 s-basedTipoTro- € ^ by Dr . Hart-wig , and does not confine itself , like "Ebb and Flow , " to the sea shore , but plunges into great oceans in search ; of whales , dolphins , and other huge inhabitants of the mighty deep . The account of the mo 3 t interesting fishe 3 is well given , urid those to whom such narratives are new will read , with surprise , oi' the Anobas , or climbing fish of East India , China , and the Moluccas , which , by being able to keep its gilla under cover and prevent their drying can make inland excursions and climb trees in search of its usual prey . The Hassar ( Boras ' CastalaJ , is another of tliose amp hibious fishes , and belongs to South America . It will spend a whole night in wandering from a pond which has dried up in search of another which , has retained its water . and ¦ for

      The Hassar is also remarkable for making a nest for its eggs , watching its young with something like maternal affection . The battle oi life , upon which Mr . Darwin founds one portion of his theory , must rage with extraordinary energy against souie creatures , when a cod has to lay nine millions of eggs a year , and sturgeon seven millions , in order to keep thoir respective breeds in their due numerical strength . Mr . WraxaU ' s book app ears to be very well put togothcr , but when he speaks of thoso curious organs the pedicollariro of fcho sea urchins , as seizing and convoying prey to-the mouths of the creatures to which they are attached , ho is saying somowhat more than it would be easy to prove , although wo have no doubt , they' are not parasites , but do in some way contribute to the nutrition of the creatures from which they

      grow . , „ An amusing instance of learned ignorance is gravely quoted ii'om Professor Luckhart ^ as furnialiing the " best idea of the present position of science , " with regard to the phosphorenoo of various sea . eroutmvfl . Tlioloarnod professor IIrst talks about , phosphorus , which he tolls us is probably prosont in larger quantities than wu aro nwan > ; but not finding in this substanoo n probable explanation of the plunoinoiion , he j , i " dispospdlL to . J hnik ol ^ olu «^ i () . j ! urront 8 andu * this hypothesis lias no foundation , he " conjfioturefl ' the light may coma ' from ohomioal decomposition , a « uppoaiik > n on which wo may rost , " unlops wo prefer to oonroas our perfect , ignorance m tlw matter . An unoomfortablo conclusion , although in reality far profornblo to tin ' vain cilbrt to appenr wiser than wo nro . . Wo said Mr . Fmsor ' n book wna a pretty one , nnd imwtol iM » ' » mation mm * ootvoot ; but wo nro nnrprisod at him saving nnoiii twenty varieties of « ctinif » aro nlrendy known to naturaliefa n » l « j onjing to our shores . " Mr . Goose enumerates sovenly-fh-o b |> ock » oi

      Wbamt Mo,C, ' Nylv'hvvt \V.Fmm.V. Win /*...

      Wbamt Mo , c , ' nylV'hvvt \ V . FmM . v . Win /* - > " »> ' I-mh .-.-. II .- Wrnxull , IIoiilnion and Wrl ^ 'ii .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), July 14, 1860, page 9, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_14071860/page/9/