282 NATUEE STUDIES. 



days ; l but one of Bonaparte's aides-de-camp lost 

 his memory for several years. 



Instances such as these enable us to understand the 

 true meaning of those comparatively slight attacks of 

 failure of memory which most of us experience from 

 time to time. In the first place, we do not find much 

 evidence enabling us to assign to one or other of the 

 two classes of memory-failings above indicated a 

 greater or less degree of importance, whether such 

 failings occur in a marked or slight degree only. 

 Inability to commit new matter to the memory with 

 customary facility seems as likely to be a sign of 

 mischief as inability to recollect matters forming 

 (ordinarily) a part of our stock of familiarly known 

 facts. Again, it is clear we need not fear that the 

 mind is necessarily going astray because for a time 

 the memory fails in slight degree. We see that very 

 serious failures of the power of memory may occur 

 where the brain has suffered no irreparable mischief. 

 But since we see that much overwork will cause 

 serious temporary mischief of this particular kind, we 



1 During this time Bonaparte's mind seems to have been 

 affected. " He merely made some gestures of melancholy resig- 

 nation on every occasion when," during the battle of Semenowska, 

 the aides-de-camp sent by Ney " informed him of the death of his 

 best generals. He rose several times to take a few turns, but 

 immediately sat down again. Every one looked at the Emperor 

 with astonishment. Hitherto, during these great shocks, he had 

 displayed an active coolness ; but here only a dead calm, a mild 

 and sluggish inactivity." Count Segur, referring to Napoleon's 

 state at this time says : " The Eussian autumn had triumphed 

 over him." 



