622 THE CEREBRAL RELATIONS OF 



abortive amount of activity. Dr. Graves has placed on 

 record what may be taken as an illustration of this fact, 

 though he quotes the case merely as "a remarkably exag- 

 gerated degree of the common defect of memory observed 

 in the diseases of old age, in which the names of persons 

 and things are frequently forgotten, although their initials 

 are recollected." 



" A farmer, fifty years ago, had suffered from a paralytic attack, 

 from which he had not recovered at the time of observation. The 

 attack was succeeded by a painful hesitation of speech. His 

 memory was good for all parts of speech except noun-substantives 

 and proper names: the latter he could not at all retain. This 

 defect was accompanied by the following singular peculiarity : he 

 perfectly recollected the initial letter of every substantive or proper 

 name for which he had occasion in conversation, though he could 

 not recall to his memory the word itself. Experience had taught 

 him the utility of having written on manuscript a list of the 

 things he was in the habit of calling for or speaking about, in- 

 cluding the proper names of his children, servants, and acquain- 

 tances ; all these he arranged alphabetically in a little pocket 

 dictionary, which he used as follows : if he wished to ask any- 

 thing about a cow, before he commenced the sentence he turned to 

 the letter C, and looked out for the word ' cow,' and kept his finger 

 and eye fixed on the word until he had finished the sentence. He 

 could pronounce the word ' cow ' in its proper place so long as he 

 had his eyes fixed upon the written letters ; but the moment he shut 

 his book it passed out of his memory and could not be recalled, 

 although he recollected its initial, and could refer to it when neces- 

 sary. He could not even recollect his own name unless he looked 

 out for it, nor the name of any person of his acquaintance ; but 

 he never was at a loss for the initial of the word he wished to 

 employ." 



In regard to this memory of the first letter alone of a 

 Name or Word, the following passage from David Hartley 

 is not without interest. He said,* whilst illustrating his 

 celebrated doctrine of ' Association ' : " When a variety 



* " Observations on Man," 1748, Prop, xii., Cor. vii. 



