399 



ducing those sounds, and as he was previously in possession 

 of this art, we are justified in asserting that he forgot it. 



It may appear unaccountable why we should be liable to 

 forget the use of the vocal organs, but never forget the use 

 of the other voluntary muscles. Thus while we have those 

 instances of persons pronouncing one word when they in- 

 tended another, we have no instance of an individual running 

 when he wished to stand, or leaping when he wished to sit 

 down. This, however, admits of being adequately explained, 

 by the nerves concerned in the muscular apparatus of speech 

 being derived from the brain and highest portions of the 

 spinal cord, and consequently liable to be disturbed by apo- 

 plectic affections ; while the nerves of the limbs being derived 

 from the cervical plexus, or lower portions of the spine, are 

 unaffected, except by such causes as may produce paralysis. 



Dr. Osborne referred to the Ephimerides Curiosce for a 

 case in which the art of writing was retained, while that of 

 speaking was lost; and also alluded to that of Zachai'ias in 

 the Sacred Scriptures, who, although deprived of speech, is 

 related to have written "The child's name is John." 



Those instances which have been recorded of persons 

 after wounds or apoplectic seizures ceasing to speak their 

 usual language, and resuming the use of some other lan- 

 guage with which they had been familiar at a former period, 

 appear to be of the same nature as the present. The recol- 

 lection of one language, and its train of associate actions 

 being lost, it was most probable that the vocal organs should 

 move in that train to which they had formerly been accustomed, 

 and fall into the use of another language. It is highly pro- 

 bable that a similar occurrence would have taken place in 

 this patient if he had only cultivated one language besides 

 English, but having been conversant with five languages, 

 the muscular apparatus ranged among them, forming a kind 

 of polyglot jargon, which was formed without any rule, was 

 inconsistent with itself, and wholly unintelligible. 



VOL. II. 2 M 



