subtract, and multiply; and complaining that her head ached. Her sleep, also, was continually interrupted by cyphering in her head in the night. These symptoms continued to increase for two days, until, at last, they became intolerable, and the family physician was called. He was a phrenologist, and no sooner learned that she experienced pain in the head together with this counting propensity, than he asked her what part of her head pained her? She replied, "Here," placing her thumb and finger upon the two organs of Calculation. He, of course, applied local remedies to the afflicted organ, with a view to allay the irritation, and soon effected a cure.-Vol. v. p. 96; Feb. 1843.*

V. Case of Hysteria, with extraordinary Acuteness of some of the Senses. Communicated by Sir G. S. MACKENZIE, Bart.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE PHRENOLOGICAL JOURNAL.

DEAR SIR,-The following copy of a letter from a clergyman was sent to me nearly six years ago, at a time when Mesmerism had not attracted my notice. The case referred to in it was evidently one of natural sleep-waking; and it is to be regretted that so little of it is known, as it appears to have been one of great interest. Now that the subject is better and more generally understood, we may hope that such cases, when they occur, will not be concealed. Yours faithfully, G. S. MACKenzie.

24th October 1843.

24th January 1838.

DEAR SIR, It is perfectly true that our poor friend, who has now been some months with us, presents one of those singular and almost incredible cases of hysterical or nervous affec

* It appears from the following paragraph in the American Phrenological Journal for July 1843, that the circulation of the work is by no means encouraging. "In the two last numbers the Journal has copied somewhat largely from the Edinburgh, partly for the sake of variety, as the two preceding numbers were wholly original, partly because of the intrinsic merits of the articles copied, and partly as a sample of the English Journal. Readers, which like you best? If you like the Edinburgh best, you can have it entire (after this year); but if you like the hasty productions of the editor's pen best, they are at your service. It is certainly much more easy to copy than to originate, especially as the editor gets nothing for it; all the time spent in editing the Journal is just so much time spent not only without his receiving any pecuniary compensation, but with an actual loss, as the Journal barely pays for its paper and printing. Tell us which you will have?"

tion which are at distant intervals witnessed under the dispensation of the Almighty.

The overthrow of the regular functions of the nervous system was occasioned by the almost sudden death of her father, to whom she was most fondly attached; who was seized with illness during her absence from him, and died a few hours after she returned to her home. I cannot enter into any long details of the case, which has been attended with all those varieties which have long characterized the complaint, among medical men, as the Protean disorder. The extraordinary powers communicated to the other senses by the temporary suspension of one or two of them, are beyond credibility to all those who do not witness it; and I really seldom enter into any of the details, because it would be but reasonable that those who have not seen should doubt the reality of them. All colours she can distinguish with the greatest correctness by night or day, whether presented to her on cloth, silk, muslin, wax, or even glass -and this, I may safely say, as easily on any part of the body as with the hands, although, of course, the ordinary routine of such an exhibition of power takes place with the hands, the other being that of mere curiosity. Her delicacy of mind and high tone of religious feeling are such, that she has the greatest objection to make that which she regards in the light of a heavy affliction from God, a matter of show or curiosity to others, although to ourselves, of course, all these unusual extravagances of nervous sensibility are manifest for at least twelve out of every twenty-four hours. She can not only read with the greatest rapidity any writing or print that is legible to us, music, &c., with the mere passage of her fingers over it, whether in a dark or a light room (for her sight is for the most part suspended when under the influence of the attack or paroxysm, although she is perfectly sensible, nay, more acute and clever than in her natural state); but, within this month past, she has been able to collect the contents of any printing or MS. by merely laying her hand on the page, without tracing the lines or letters; and I saw her, last night only, declare the contents of a note just brought into the room, in this way (when I could not myself decipher it without a candle), and with a rapidity with which I could not have read it by daylight. I have seen her develope handwriting by the application of a note to the back of her hand, neck, or foot; and she can do it at any time. There is nothing unnatural in this; for, of course, the nervous susceptibility extends all over the surface of the body, but use and habit cause us to limit its power more to the fingers. Many, even medical, men, take upon themselves to declare that we are all (her medical attendants as well) un

der a mere delusion. We ask none to believe any thing if they prefer not to do so, and only reply-The case is equally marvellous either way; either that this our poor patient should be thus afflicted, or that eighteen or nineteen persons of my family and friends, in the daily habit of seeing her, should fancy she is, for every twelve hours out of twenty-four, doing, at intervals, that which she is not doing. There are many exhibitions of extravagant powers which she possesses, that we talk of to no one; for, finding it difficult to acquire credit for lesser things, we do not venture on the greater. Her powers entirely cease the moment the attack passes off. A considerable swelling has at times been visible at the back of the head, which has yielded to the treatment.

This is a most hasty sketch of a case which would fill a folio. Some false things are reported, such as, that she can tell the colours when in our pockets! &c. All absurdities. All she does consists with our general natural powers. For myself, I can only say, that, much as I was confounded at first at what seemed contrary to nature, I now only see nature run loose, as it were, in the unrestrained powers of some of the senses, when others are suspended.

It is certainly a case which would be an instructive one in the consideration of the physiology of the human frame; but she, poor thing, is most averse to experiments being purposely made on her: but in her every-day life among us, we have no lack of proof, for all we believe and know.

Between the attacks she is as perfectly in a natural state as ever she was in her life. There is but one paradox in her state, and that is, that she can at such times hear some sounds and not others, though very much louder,—and see some things and yet not others, though placed before her. She could hear a tune whistled when she would not hear a gun fired close to her. It is certainly the absorption or absence of mind that occasions this; absent to some things, though present to others, like any absent man; and thus Dr Y- accounts for it.

In making this communication to you, in part to vindicate the testimony of my friend Mr M, I have really exceeded my usual custom and resolution, for I do not think it fair to the poor sufferer herself to make her too much the talk of others. Very few believe what we tell them, and, therefore, we are in no degree anxious to open our lips on the subject. All I know is, that I should not have believed it myself, had I been only told of it. I must beg, therefore, that you will not. make any undue use of this communication, by handing my letter about to any one. The friend for whom you ask the in

VOL. XVII.-N. S. No. XXV.-JAN. 1844.

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formation is perfectly welcome to read it, or I should not have written it. If the case were my own, the world should be welcome to it; but a young female of much sensibility might be much embarrassed by finding the world at large in possession of all particulars on her recovery, should God so please to permit.-I am, &c.

[The following case of uncommon acuteness of the sense of touch is extracted from Southey's Omniana, vol. ii. p. 18.— ED.]

"When I was in Germany, in the year 1798, I read at Hanover, and met with two respectable persons, one a clergyman, the other a physician, who confirmed to me, the account of the upper-stall master at Hanover, written by himself, and countersigned by all his medical attendants. As far as I recollect, he had fallen from his horse on his head, and in consequence of the blow lost both his sight and hearing for nearly three years, and continued for the greater part of this period in a state of nervous fever. His understanding, however, remained unimpaired and unaffected; and his entire consciousness, as to outward impressions, being confined to the sense of touch, he at length became capable of reading any book (if printed as most German books are, on coarse paper) with his fingers, in much the same manner in which the pianoforte is played, and latterly with an almost incredible rapidity. Likewise by placing his hand, with the fingers all extended, at a small distance from the lips of any person that spoke slowly and distinctly to him, he learnt to recognise each letter by its different effects on his nerves, and thus spelt the words as they were uttered; and then returned the requisite answers, either by signs of finger-language to those of his own family, or to strangers by writing. It was particularly noticed, both by himself from his sensations, and by his medical attendants from observation, that the letter R, if pronounced full and strong, and recurring once or more in the same word, produced a small spasm or twitch in his hand and fingers. At the end of three years he recovered both his health and senses, and, with the necessity, soon lost the power which he had thus acquired."

III, NOTICES OF BOOKS.

I. Zeitschrift für Phrenologie, &c. &c. Drittes Heft. September 1843. Heidelberg: Karl Groos.

The German Phrenological Journal. Edited by GUSTAV VON STRUVE and EDWARD HIRSCHFELD, M.D. No. III. September 1843. Heidelberg: Karl Groos. 8vo.

We observe with pleasure the steady progress of our German contemporary. The present Number contains a va riety of interesting communications, the matter of some of which, though new in Germany, it would be superfluous to lay fully before our readers. Article I. is a translation of that section of Dr Gall's work "Sur les Fonctions du Cerveau," which expounds the anatomical evidences in favour of a plurality of the organs of the mind.-Article II., "On the Reflective Faculties, by Gustav Von Struve," is a clear exposition of the functions of the organs of Comparison and Causality, compiled from other phrenological works, and enriched by some acute observations of the author, a portion of which has already been published by Mr Combe, in the 5th edition of his System of Phrenology, vol. i. p. 181.—Article III.-Account of Traugott Julius Schönberg, a musical genius, who died at the age of five years, by R. R. Noel, Esq. The cerebral development of this boy is strongly confirmatory of Phrenology.-Article IV. Cases of morbid excitement of different organs, by Dr Hirschfeld. The first case reported is that of a coachmaker at Bremen, the inventor of a new kind of self-moving carriage, and whose Constructiveness became so much excited, that whenever he thought of the least thing related to that faculty, he felt a severe headache in the situation assigned to its organ. Two other cases of cerebral disease are extracted from the American Phrenological Journal and our own pages.-Article V. is a paper by Mr Von Struve, entitled "Johannes Müller and Phrenology." This we consider to be by far the most important contribution to the present Number. Johannes Müller, as many of our readers must be aware, is an eminent physiologist and professor in the university of Berlin. In his particular science, he occupies the highest rank among its living cultivators. His Elements of Physiology is familiar to the English student in the translation of Dr Baly. In that work, the learned professor unintentionally furnishes many striking proofs of the soundness of phrenological doc