What Is Aphasia?

une oí me most canons auü tjaming of nervons diseases is aphnsia, whieh eonsists in the loss of power in the subject of it to reeall ccrt.iin words, and whieh in serious casos destroya all power of expression. An eminent Freneh judge who suffered from it would gay ! lis wife: "Givo me my- dear me? my - you know," and he would point to hia head. "Your hat?'" "Oh, yes, my hat." Sometimos again he would the iiell before going out and say to hfs servant, "Give me my nm - um - umbrel." "Yonr umbrella?" "Yes, my umbrolla." At tliis time he oxhibited uo otlior symptom of diminished intelligence, but was in the habit of discussing the most intricate points of law. Another invalid would substitute the word he desired to use with a paraphrase, as, for instance, when he wanted to mention liis "aunt'' he would say, the nearest relative by the mother's si'de. While in the simpler forms of the diseaso only a few words are lost by the suffere r, 'in more complicated cases his vocabulary is limited to pernaps noi more tlian lialt a dozen words In one instance the total volcabnlary of an apliasia patiënt consisted of five words, "yes," "no." "always," "three" and "helio." He answereil all nquiries with one of these words, and though when questioned concerning u nuniber he would inyariably say three, he would givc the accuratönuraber by exhibitinghis fingors. The grea test sufferers are unable to expresa themselves by writing as by speech. They lake up a pen eagcrly in their handa and either sorawl alew ünintelligible hieroglyphioe or writo Bome word whólly different from the one thev intend. Ño positive cure for this strange aberation is kntnvn, thongli the patiënte -sometimos recover, and the most curious feature of it is no general weaknesa of the intellect acoonijjanies it.