1 84 Traces of Unity in the 



year this lady lived in France, and spoke only french ; 

 after this time she came to live in England, and began 

 to speak english. When about twenty she married an 

 american, and from this time, for about twenty years, 

 she lived sometimes in America, sometimes in England, 

 speaking english habitually, and french scarcely ever. 

 When I saw her first, her mind was feeble, and that was 

 all : when, after an interval of about two years, I saw 

 her last, she had forgotten everything connected with 

 her married life, her english not excepted ; and if asked 

 who she was, and where she was, she gave her maiden 

 name, and mentioned the street where she had lived in 

 Paris when a girl. So completely had she forgotten her 

 english, and gone back to her french at this time, that 

 it had become necessary to change an english for a 

 french maid. What happened in this case, and hap- 

 pens to a greater or less extent in all cases of the kind, 

 as well as in old age, is the very reverse of what might 

 be expected to happen. It might be expected that the 

 memory of early events would be the first to fade, and 

 that of recent events the last ; but in reality this is no 

 necessary inference from the facts. If mind be spirit, 

 indeed, it is possible that it may, as it were, go on 

 widening through a series of concentric circles until it 

 reaches its maturity, that, so long as it retains its 

 full vigour, it may keep hold upon all the memories in 

 each of these circles, inner and outer, arid that after- 

 wards, when a contrary movement to that of develop- 

 ment is taking place, the mind may fall asleep, as it 

 were, in circle after circle, until at last it only remains 

 awake in the innermost circles of all ; for if it be so it 

 will follow that the memories of recent events, whicli 

 are in the outer circles, will be the first to fade, and 

 those of early events, which are in the inner circles, the 



