INFIRMITIES OF SPEECH. 465 



after an attack of apoplexy, was thus affected, and in tl)e hotel where 

 he staid he was mistaken for a foreigner. Dr. Osborn, with a view 

 to ascertain the nature of his imperfection of language, asked him to 

 read aloud the following sentence from the by-laws of the CoUeo'e of 

 Physicians: "It shall be in the power of the college to examine or 

 not to examine any licentiate previous to his admission to a fellowship, 

 as they shall think fit." lie read as follows : " An-the be what in the 

 temother of the ti'Othotodoo to majorum or that emidrate ein einkrastroi 

 mestraits to ketra totombreida to ra from treido as that kekritest." 

 Several of these syllables are difficult and unusual. 



As indicated above, it is necessary to distinguish between the 

 memory of xoords and the memory of how to say words. Where the 

 latter memory is lost, the disorder is sometimes called atactic aphasia. 

 The patient may retain a few words, and use only these. There was 

 at the Bicetre Asylum for many years a man who invariably used the 

 monosyllable " Tan " when any question was put to him. (He went 

 by the name of "Tan.") This, with the exception of an oath (S 

 N d D !), composed his whole vocabulary. His history, long un- 

 der observation, furnished some useful data with regard to the physio- 

 logical relations of aphasia ; but we cannot here dwell on this. An- 

 other instance, mentioned by M. Broca, was that of a man who had 

 only four words besides his name (which he pronounced " Lelo " for 

 " Lelong") ; they were, yes, no, three, and ahcays. He used yes and no 

 at proper times, but he made use of the word three in order to express 

 any number, although he knew well that the word did not always con- 

 vey his meaning ; and corrected the mistake which he made in speak- 

 ing by holding up the proper number of fingers. Whenever yes, no, 

 and three, were not applicable, he used the word always {tovjovrs). M. 

 Broca infers from this man's case 1. That he understood all that was 

 said to him ; 2. That he used with judgment the four words of his 

 vocabulary ; 3. That he was of sane mind ; 4. That he understood 

 written numeration, and at least the values of the first two orders of 

 units ; 5. That he had lost the faculty of articulate language alone. 

 It is to this atactic aphasia alone that M. Broca limits the term aphasia. 

 Another example of it may here be given from Dr. Trousseau. A lady 

 came to consult him with her son, aged twenty-five. This young man 

 could articulate two words only, no and mamma. " What is your 

 name ? " " Mamma." " What is your age ? " " Mamma, no." He 

 yet knew that he did not answer as he ought. He had taught himself 

 to write with his left hand, the right being paralyzed, but had not got 

 beyond signing his own name, " Henri Guenier." " Since you write 

 your name," Dr. Trousseau told him, " say Guenier." He made an 

 efibrt, and said, "Mamma." " Say Henri.'''' He replied, "Ko mamma." 

 " Well, write mamma.''"' He wrote Guenier. " Write wo." He 

 wrote Guenier. However much he was pressed, nothing more could 

 be got from him. 



VOL. VII. 30 



