396 



to Dr. Cheyne's observations read at the last meeting, and 

 was chiefly intended to refer to a case published by Dr. Os- 

 borne, which afforded some peculiar opportunities of inves- 

 tigating the nature of this affection. 



The subject of this case was a gentleman of about 26 

 years of age, and of very considerable literary attainments. 

 He was a Scholar of Trinity College, and also a proficient 

 in the French, Italian, and German languages. When re- 

 siding in the country, one morning, after bathing in a neigh- 

 bouring lake, he was sitting at breakfast, when he suddenly 

 fell in an apoplectic fit. A physician was immediately sent 

 for, and after being subjected to the appropriate treatment, 

 he became sensible in about a fortnight. But although re- 

 stored to his intellects, he had the mortification of finding 

 himself deprived of speech. He spoke, but what he uttered 

 was quite unintelligible, although he laboured under no pa- 

 ralytic affection, and pronounced a variety of syllables with 

 the greatest apparent ease. When he came to Dublin his 

 extraordinary jargon caused him to be treated as a foreigner 

 in the hotel where he stopped ; and when he went to the 

 College in quest of a friend he was unable to express his wish 

 to the gate-porter, and succeeded only by pointing to the 

 apartments which his friend had occupied. The circum- 

 stance of his having received a liberal education, and his 

 tractable disposition, rendered this case peculiarly favoui'- 

 able for ascertaining the true nature of the affection, and 

 the result of Dr. Osborne's observations during sevei'al 

 months were as follows : 



1. He perfectly comprehended every word said to him, 

 and his conduct and habits were those of a man in a sound 

 state of mind, and were exactly those which his friends stated 

 to be peculiar to him before the seizure. He had no pa- 

 ralysis, and the motions of his mouth and tongue were exe- 

 cuted with the force and rapidity of ordinary health. 



