88 ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE 



make up for lost time. He was rather weak mentally, 

 but appeared ashamed of his sleepy tendencies, which 

 seemed to get worse as he grew older. He lived to be 

 about sixty years of age. 



Dr Aug. Eobinson of Annapolis has kindly given 

 the following notes of a unique case : 



" John T , son of a pensioner, is now about sixty- 

 two years old. When he was twenty-eight years of age 

 his father committed suicide by cutting his throat in a 

 fit of insanity. Before his father's death John had 

 shown symptoms of melancholia, He would sit by the 

 hour over his father's bench (cobbler's) laughing and 

 talking to himself, and working himself into a frenzy, 

 fighting imaginary foes, and going into immoderate fits 

 of laughter. 



" I cannot ascertain, after much enquiry, how long 

 this condition of things lasted before he lapsed into his 

 present state, but this much is certain, for the last 

 thirty years or more, about the end of September every 

 year, he falls into a deep sleep or. stupor, and, as his 

 present condition is a fair sample of the manner in 

 which his winters have been passed since he was first 

 attacked, I will describe him as I found him on Monday, 

 10th December 1888, and repeat what I was told by 

 his friends regarding his attack this autumn : 



" About 31st August Jack went to bed after eating his 

 evening meal, as usual, without exhibiting anything out 

 of the common in his manner or otherwise, or giving 

 any reason for the supposition that he was out of sorts 

 in any way. On the following morning he did not get 

 up, nor has he shown any more vitality than any sleep- 

 ing man up to this time. His sleep is very quiet 

 without any stertor, indeed it is as calm as that of a 

 child. Twice in every twenty-four hours he is taken 

 up, a person supporting him on each side, holding a 

 vessel for his convenience. He knows enough to 



