BEAIN TROUBLES. 287 



interval,, have been followed by severe illness, which 

 has proved eventually fatal. 



Amongst the most remarkable and carefully- 

 observed cases of this kind is that of King Oscar of 

 Sweden, the circumstances of which were minutely 

 detailed by Dr. P. 0. Liljewalch, the king's first 

 physician. King Oscar had enjoyed fairly good health, 

 during the greater part of his life ; but before his last 

 illness it had been noticed that occasionally the heart's 

 action was irregular, oftener in spring than in other 

 parts of the year. In 1851 the heart became very 

 irregular in its movements, and the digestive functions 

 were impaired. Although he soon after recovered to 

 some degree, an attack of typhus fever, following the 

 loss of a beloved son, severely tried his constitution. 

 When slowly recovering strength after this, he un- 

 wisely omitted his usual autumn rest and excursion, and 

 devoted his mind to political matters requiring close 

 and anxious attention. In 1857 his health again gave 

 way, and it was at this time that the nervous mischief 

 was first noticed, which subsequently proved the 

 characteristic feature of the king's illness, and, in Dr. 

 Liljewalch's opinion, "brought him to his death." 

 The first trace of this nervous disease, says Liljewalch, 

 "manifested itself long since, although it. was not 

 until the last six or eight years of his life that, as we 

 have seen, it occurred with more definite, and at last 

 with such threatening symptoms. No one who had an 

 opportunity of observing him during a long period in 

 his daily intercourse, could avoid being amazed at the 



