292 NATUEE STUDIES. 



according to his judgment, were not consistent with a 

 healthy state of the brain." About two years after 

 this peculiarity had been noticed, this patient expe- 

 rienced a slight epileptiform seizure whilst at his 

 chambers, during a very hot day in the month of July. 

 " As this attack was considered to have been one of 

 syncope, and to be caused by the then high state of 

 the temperature, little or no notice was taken of it. 

 Previously to travelling on the Continent, he had 

 been working unusually hard, eating and drinking 

 very sparingly, sitting up late at night, and rising 

 early in the morning. In fact, he acted with great 

 indiscretion and imprudence, and the result was an 

 attack of brain disease, affecting the mind, a fort- 

 night after his arrival in Paris." In this case, the 

 post-mortem examination revealed the existence of 

 chronic disease of the membranes of the brain mis- 

 chief which seemed to have lasted for a considerable- 

 time before death. 



As we have already explained, it is not so easy to 

 find illustrative cases of the less alarming forms of dis- 

 traction. Even in cases where serious mischief has 

 followed these slighter mind-troubles, the symptoms 

 immediately preceding such serious illness have com- 

 monly been of a more marked kind, and these alone 

 have usually been regarded as really belonging to the 

 case. Nevertheless, all who have given careful atten- 

 tion to mental maladies, can speak of instances in 

 which the less serious forms of distraction have been 

 noticed early in the progress of cerebral disorders ; so 



