200 GLIMPSES OF NATURE. 



of the tongue to be brought well up to the teeth in 

 front of the palate, and in this case, such an act was, 

 of course, impossible. Again, consonants, such as 

 " v " and " z," were given imperfectly because, for their 

 correct pronunciation, the tongue must be in contact 

 with the front part of the palate. It was also curious 

 to observe that all the sounds made when the tongue 

 is brought in contact with the hinder part of the palate 

 were correctly rendered by Mr. Nunneley's patient, 

 with the exception of the final " g." Mr. Huxley ex- 

 plains this on the ground that, " for a good final ' g/ 

 the cavity of the back part of the mouth must be com- 

 pletely stopped by the tongue." These curious cases 

 open up for us a new view regarding speech. 



They may also serve to remind us explicitly that 

 speech even more truly is in its essence a brain-act ; 

 and that even given a perfect tongue, we are unable 

 to exercise it unless the brain's health and vigour are 

 intact. 



