under trustees. In the investigation of this case, various respectable persons deponed that they had long known the individual, and considered him as decidedly imbecile in his understanding, and incapable of managing his affairs. On the other hand, most respectable evidence was produced, that he had been, when at school, an excellent scholar in the languages, and had repeatedly acted as a private tutor to boys; that he was remarkably attentive to his own interest, and very strict in making a bargain; that he had been proposed as a candidate for holy orders, and, on his first examination in the languages, had acquitted himself well; but that, in the subsequent trials, in which the candidate is required to deliver a discourse, he had been found incompetent. The Court of Session, after long pleadings, decided that this individual was incapable of managing his affairs. The case was then appealed to the House of Lords, where after farther protracted proceedings, this decision was affirmed. I was well acquainted with this person, and was decidedly of opinion that he was imbecile in his intellects. At my suggestion the following experiment was made in the course of the investigation. A small sum of money was given him, with directions to spend it, and present an account of his disbursement, with the addition of the various articles. He soon got rid of the money, but was found totally incapable of this very simple process of arithmetic, though the sum did not exceed a few shillings. This individual, then, it would appear, possessed the simple state of memory, which enabled him to acquire languages; but was deficient in the capacity of combining, reflecting, or comparing. His total inability to perform the most simple process of arithmetic was a prominent character in the case, analogous to what I have already stated in regard to the cretins. In doubtful cases of the kind, I think this might be employed as a negative test with advantage; for it probably will

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not be doubted that a person who is incapable of such a process is incompetent to manage his affairs.

It is a singular fact that the imbecile are, in general, extremely attentive to their own interest, and perhaps most commonly cautious in their proceedings. Ruinous extravagance, absurd schemes, ard quixotic ideas of liberality and magnificence are more allied to insanity; the former may become the dupes of others, but it is the latter who are most likely to involve and ruin themselves.

Before leaving the subject of Insanity, there is a point of great interest which may be briefly referred to. It bears, in a very striking manner, upon what may be called the pathology of the mental powers; but I presume not to touch upon it, except in the slightest manner. In the language of common life, we sometimes speak of a moral insanity, in which a man rushes headlong through a course of vice and crime, regardless of every moral restraint, of every social tie, and of all consequences, whether more immediate or future. Yet, if we take the most melancholy instance of this kind that can be furnished by the history of human depravity, the individual may still be recognised, in regard to all physical relations, as a man of a sound mind; and he may be as well qualified as other men for the details of business, or even the investigations of science. He is correct in his judgment of all the physical relations of things; but, in regard to their moral relations, every correct feeling appears to be obliterated. If a man, then, may thus be correct in his judgment of all physical relations while he is lost to every moral relation, we have strong ground for believing that there is in his constitution a power distinct from reason, but which holds the same sway over his moral powers that reason does among his intellectual; and that the influence of this power may be weakened or lost, while reason remains unimpaired. This is the moral principle, or the power of conscience. It has

been supposed by some to be a modification of reason, but the considerations now referred to appear to favour the opinion of their being distinct. That this power should so completely lose its sway while reason remains unimpaired is a point in the moral constitution of man which it does not belong to the physician to investigate. The fact is unquestionable; the solution is to be sought for in the records of eternal truth.

IV.-SPECTRAL ILLUSIONS.

The theory of spectral illusions is closely connected with that of the affections treated of in the preceding parts of this section; and I shall conclude this subject with a very brief notice of some of the most authentic facts relating to them, under the following heads:

I. False perceptions, or impressions made upon the senses only, in which the mind does not participate. Of this class there are several modifications, which have been referred to under the subject of Perception. I add in this place the following additional examples:-A gentleman of high mental endowments, now upwards of eighty years of age, of a spare habit, and enjoying uninterrupted health, has been for eleven years liable to almost daily visitations from spectral figures. They in general present human countenances; the head and upper parts of the body are distinctly defined; the lower parts are, for the most part, lost in a kind of cloud. The figures are various, but he recognises the same countenances repeated from time to time, particularly of late' years that of an elderly woman, with a peculiarly arch and playful expression, and a dazzling brilliancy of eye, who seems just ready to speak to him. They appear also in various dresses, such as

that of the age of Louis XIV.; the costume of ancient Rome; that of the modern Turks and Greeks; but more frequently of late, as in the case of the female now mentioned, in an old-fashioned Scottish plaid of Tartan, drawn up and brought forward over the head, and then crossed below the chin, as the plaid was worn by aged women in his younger days. He can seldom recognise among the spectres any figure or countenance which he remembers to have seen; but his own face has occasionally been presented to him, gradually undergoing the change from youth to manhood, and from manhood to old age. The figures appear at various times of the day, both night and morning; they continue before him for some time, and he sees them almost equally well with his eyes open or shut, in full daylight or in darkness. They are almost always of a pleasant character, and he seems to court their presence as a source of amusement to him. He finds that he can banish them by drawing his hand across his eyes, or by shutting and opening his eyelids once or twice for a second or two; but on these occasions they often appear again soon after. The figures are sometimes of the size of life, and sometimes in miniature; but they are always defined and finished with the clearness and minuteness of the finest painting. They sometimes appear as if at a considerable distance, and gradually approach until they seem almost to touch his face; at other times they float from side to side, or disappear in ascending or descending. In general, the countenance of the spectre is presented to him; but on some occasions he sees the back of the head, both of males and females, exhibiting various fashions of wigs and headdresses, particularly the flowing full-bottomed wig of a former age. At the time when these visions began to appear to him, he was in the habit of taking little or no wine, and this has been his common practice ever since; but he finds that any addition to his usual quantity of

wine increases the number and vivacity of the visions. Of the effect of bodily illness he can give no account, except that once, when he had a cold and took a few drops of laudanum, the room appeared entirely filled with peculiarly brilliant objects, gold and silver ornaments, and precious gems; but the spectral visions were either not seen or less distinct. Another gentleman, who died some time ago at the age of eighty, for several years before his death never sat down to table at his meals without the impression of sitting down with a large party dressed in the fashion of fifty years back. This gentleman was blind of one eye, and the sight of the other was very imperfect; on this account he wore over it a green shade, and he had often before him the image of his own countenance, as if it were reflected from the inner surface of the shade. A very remarkable modification of this class of illusions has been communicated to me by Dr. Dewar of Stirling. It occurred in a lady who was quite blind, her eyes being also disorganized and sunk. She never walked out without seeing a little old woman with a red cloak and a crutch, who seemed to walk before her. She had no illusions when within doors.

II. Real dreams, though the person was not at the time sensible of having slept, nor, consequently, of having dreamed. A person, under the influence of some strong mental impression, drops asleep for a few seconds, perhaps without being sensible of it; some scene or person connected with the impression appears in a dream, and he starts up under the conviction that it was a spectral appearance. I have formerly proposed a conjecture by which some of the most authentic stories of second sight may be referred to this principle; others seem to be referable to the principle to be mentioned under the next head. Several cases mentioned by Dr. Hibbert are also clearly of the nature of dreams. The analogy