2 9 NATURE STUDIES. 



paralysis, which commenced in the lower extremities, 

 gradually increased, and, after the king, feeling his 

 inability any longer to fill the high position to which 

 Providence had called him, transferred into the hands 

 of the crown prince the government of the United 

 Kingdoms, his deep melancholy gave way to a pro- 

 gressive indifference, even for those things which in 

 his health he had regarded with the most lively inte- 

 rest." The rest of Dr. Liljewalch's account relates to 

 the gradual failing of King Oscar's powers, mental 

 and bodily, and is too technical to be quoted verbatim. 

 It is noteworthy that the power of speech began to be 

 affected early during the progress of the disorder, and 

 later was lost altogether. From this we should be led 

 to regard failure in the power of verbal expression as 

 a later, and therefore a more alarming, symptom of 

 cerebral mischief, than diminution of the power of 

 fixing the attention. The post-mortem examination of 

 King Oscar revealed extensive disorganisation of the 

 brain. 



A case somewhat similar to that of King Oscar is 

 related by Dr. Forbes Winslow : f< A gentleman con- 

 nected with the Stock Exchange was suspected to 

 have disease of the brain. His symptoms were as fol- 

 lows : general muscular weakness, occasional paroxysms 

 of severe headache, slight paralysis of the superior 

 palpebras and of the left eye, occasional sensation of 

 numbness in the right foot. The mind was not appa- 

 rently at all impaired. He continued, up to the period 

 of my being consulted, fully competent to discharge 



