pressure, fainting from loss of blood, connate idiotism-shewing the support given by Phrenology to im-materialism, by accounting for these various defects, on the principle of peculiarity of condition of the organ of the mind rather than change in the mind itself. The lecturer next proved that the mind in its impressions and manifestations acted through separate portions of the brain, and not by the whole in the exercise of any one faculty. He then refuted some of the objections of Bostock. He then described the wonderful variety in the form of the human brain, as analogous to the diversity of character, talent, and connate propensities; quoting upon the point some of the opponents of Phrenology, and shewing, that although there were great irregularities in the skull, yet there was no difficulty in ascertaining from its form that of the brain, upon which that of the former was actually moulded in the gradual progress of ossification, and that there must be either gross ignorance or intended imposition on the part of those who argue that "there was no limit to the number of separate organs indicated by Phrenology," as the protuberances on the human brain and skull were symmetrical, regular, uniform in number, and differing not in situation, but only in proportion. Mr F. spoke with some severity of the ignorance, flippancy, and unfairness of the Edinburgh Review in its attacks, or rather satires, on this science, expressing himself gratified in meeting the objections of candid and scientific writers: he then entered at length upon the examination of the objections to Phrenology by its most able opponents, including Bostock and Prichard, in the admirable work of the latter on Insanity. The lecturer next pointed out the cause of so much ridicule against Phrenology, as existing in the extreme confidence of many of its professors, who too often attempted practical application of the theory without sufficient study and experience of its elementary principles; and admitted that the science was yet in its infancy, the superstructure and details in many instances yet remaining involved in doubt, and only to be determined by experience. He appealed to the conduct of the professors of Phrenology from Gall to Combe, as proving the candour with which they proceeded; and the eagerness they evinced in availing themselves of opportunities of visiting gaols, lunatic asylums, and other public institutions, for the purpose of making observations, and the open manner in which they conducted them in presence of the officers of the various establishments; and Mr Fife appealed to the audience whether such conduct was like that of men who wished either to delude themselves or to mislead others. Mr Fife lectured without notes, and for an hour and forty minutes he possessed the most eager attention of the audience, who testified their concurrence in the truth of the opinions he inculcated, by frequent expressions of applause.-Abridged from the Newcastle Chronicle, 14th May 1836.

SUNDERLAND. Mr W. J. Dodd, surgeon, has lately delivered a course of lectures on Phrenology in this town. We extract the following notice of one of them from the Sunderland Herald of 29th April:-"We think that Mr Dodd was more than usually eloquent on Tuesday night. His delineations of what may be termed the religious organs, veneration, hope, and marvellousness, were excellent. But it is in describing the combined action of the passions, by which such strange mixtures in character are produced, that Mr Dodd principally distinguishes himself. Viewing these addresses merely as metaphysical-putting phrenology with all its bumps, temperaments, &c., out of the question they must be regarded with interest even by the most he terodox unbelievers. The number of ladies present is very great, generally exceeding more than one-half of the audience.”

BELFAST.-Extract from the Belfast News Letter, 19th April 1836.— On the 6th instant, the seventh Public Meeting of the Natural History Society for this session was held, when a lecture was delivered by Dr Andrews on the construction of Electro-Magnets. On this occasion the following donations were presented :—Specimens of Natural History—From J. B. Bankhead, Esq. Tullyguilly, a Merlin; Mr James Hannan jun., specimens of the Pinna and of Asbetos, from Shetland; Dr D. T. Hincks, large specimen of Native Amethyst; Mr G. C. Hyndman, Skins of a Flying-Fox, Goatsucker,

Kingfisher, and Maccaw, from New Holland; Mr Robert Patterson, speci. mens of young Cirripesa, taken in Larne Lough.—Miscellaneous Specimens From Mr Clewlow, impression of the Seal of Turlough O'Neil, found in the county Tyrone; Mr Doisy, New Zealand Flax (Phormium tenax) in different states of preparation; James Gibson, Esq. Ancient Sword dug up in the county Down; Mr John Grattan, Casts from the Skulls of Charles and Agnes Clarke, who were executed in Downpatrick, on the 5th of August 1831, for murdering Daniel M'Conell, with the intention of selling his body. An interesting correspondence on the subject between Mr Grattan and Mr Robert Cox, Editor of the Phrenological Journal, was read by the Secretary, extracts from which we subjoin. Mr Grattan sent the casts to Mr Cox, merely stating that they were taken from the skulls of a husband and wife, of remarkable character, who had belonged to the lower class of society, and had been uneducated; and that the man was near eighty, and the woman sixty, at the period of their decease; and he requested from him a sketch of what he would infer their characters to be from their phrenological developments. The following is the substance of Mr Cox's sketch :-"The man violent, passionate, cruel, and vindictive, though able to dissemble his rage; a fellow of such plausibility and hypocrisy, that, in spite of the baseness of his mind, he might long have kept up an external appearance of respectability; fond of authority, and exceedingly vain; humorous; courageous, but very prudent; not easily overreached, except by flatterers; somewhat avaricious, but so extremely fond of applause that he is likely to have spent with considerable freedom; addicted, probably, to the pleasures of the table; in fine, a man whose character might not have been conspicuous for its glaring immorality had he been well brought up; but it was to be feared that little estimable could be expected from an uneducated Irishman with such a head." This compliment to our national character seemed to be duly appreciated, if we may judge by the good-humoured burst of laughter with which it was received. The woman :-"A character the most unamiable that can be imagined; in temper similar to the man, but more reckless in her violence and fury; extremely quarrelsome, obstinate, and intractable; a tremendous scold, and one that would keep all about her in awe and obedience; her prudence and circumspection less than those of the man; extremely fond of children, but prone to treat them harshly when disobedient; very profligate, and her manners coarse, arrogant and brutal; one whose vicinity would be a considerable misfortune to well-disposed persons." A condensed report of the trial was next read, and then the following notes of the actual character of each :-"Charles Clarke, for many years, while under the influence of his brothers and sisters, an apparently respectable character. After their death, became possessed of their wealth, took to drink, and spent all he was worth in the society of a set of profligate parasites. In his later years drunken, brutal, riotous, fearfully blasphemous, and addicted to all sorts of profligacy and vice. The woman worse than the man; noted from childhood for her coarse and violent temper, and extremely profligate habits; exercised complete controul over her husband; a drunken and desperate virago; fond of her children when sober; remarkable for more acuteness than her husband, but much less cautiousness; never cared what she did whilst he, at times, displayed some remains of decency. He was remarkable for his low, coarse humour-she for nothing but her brutality; and both were held in such abhorrence as to have been totally shunned by their neighbours, nor could any person be induced even to furnish a eart to remove their bodies from the place of execution." The skulls, we understand, were lent to Mr Grattan by Dr Thompson, surgeon to the county Antrim Infirmary.

CORK. The course of lectures delivered by Mr Wilson at the Royal Cork Institution was concluded last week, and we are persuaded that we utter the deliberate sentiments of every individual who attended those lectures when we state, that, in each lecture, talent, research, and argument, were abundantly evinced, and that each position laid down by the lecturer was distinctly supported by authenticated facts. The lecture containing the practical

application of the science to educational purposes, was especially interesting and useful. In this lecture it was shewn how Phrenology aids education by pointing out those mental abilities which instruction and exercise may more beneficially develope, as well as by discovering the more dangerous propensities, to the power of which any individual may be constitutionally subject. Considered in this light, the science is of practical value, and is intimately (indeed in the opinion of some ESSENTIALLY) connected with the best plan of conducting education;-so strongly do several adopt this opinion, that they consider any system of education as radically defective which acts independently of the aid which phrenological science affords.-Cork Evening Herald, 8th April 1836.

PARIS.-Extract from a letter from Dr James Cox, dated Paris, 17th April 1836:-" Dr Broussais has commenced a course of lectures on Phrenology from pure zeal, and the amphitheatre is crowded to suffocation. Two thousand were estimated to have been at the first lecture. Three have been delivered. Never were such crowds seen at phrenological lectures before. The professor who lectured immediately previous to Broussais, finding him. self interrupted by the crowds of students who poured in during his lecture to be ready for Broussais, ordered the doors to be bolted on the day following. When the crowd gathered they broke down the doors, and one individual was nearly crushed to death. Indeed no one can attend who has not great strength of ribs. The lectures are very good."

DERANGEMENT OF THE FACULTY OF LANGUAGE. The case of Janet Whyte, reported by the late Mr William Gibson, surgeon, Montrose, in our 46th Number, p. 515, is commented on by our esteemed contemporary the Medico-Chirurgical Review, January 1836, p. 208. "It seems clear to us," says our contemporary, "that it was not the intellectual function that was injured, but the power of directing the tongue that was impaired. The patient said that she knew well enough what words she ought to use, but that she could not get them expressed. If the conception and remembrance of language had been lost, she would not have known what words to use...... We make these remarks because loose observations and indefinite statements are seldom of benefit to science." As the report stands, these remarks are unquestionably well founded; but an obvious inconsistency in it affords reason for suspecting that the statement alluded to by our contemporary is inaccurate. For Mr Gibson expressly says, that when the patient began to utter sentences," they were very unconnected and unmeaning, the different words being either wrong or strangely jumbled together." From this it is evident, that she had the power of expression, and that the defect was in the faculty of Language alone. In order to get at the bottom of the matter, we communicated this suspicion to Mr W. A. F. Browne of Montrose, and added the following request: "Could you conveniently see the woman, and ascertain what she exactly meant by saying that she knew perfectly what words ought to be used? Probably she told Mr Gibson that she knew the words perfectly, but somehow could not recollect them;' just as we say of any person that we are sure we know his name, but cannot recal it at the moment." Mr Browne's reply, dated 25th April 1836, is satisfactory and conclusive. “On Saturday,” says he, “ I had a long conversation with Janet Whyte, the subject of Dr Gibson's short paper. Her statements confirm your opinion, and are as follows. She was seized with headach, which she knew continued for some hours, but subsequently to this she lost all consciousness. She remained insensible and speechless for some days. She then recovered so far as to recognise objects, but she could not yet name them. On attempting to do so, she could speak with perfect ease,—that is, she could pronounce words; but she failed in applying the words to the things signified, in selecting the words requisite to express her meaning. For instance (the illustration is her own), she could distinguish her husband from a chair, but she could not name either the one or the other. She repeatedly and distinctly averred to me and Mr C. Watson, that this difficulty arose from her total inability to recollect the proper terms, and not from her inability to ulter

them. What places the truth of this beyond a doubt is, that she still occasionally labours under the same affection, She cannot conjure up words to express her meaning, and is obliged to leave her sentences incomplete. What classes of words are thus forgotten she could not tell. Her husband, whom I likewise examined, corroborated all that she communicated. Both parties are highly respectable, and their testimony may be relied upon."

CIRCULATION OF BLOOD IN THE BRAIN.-Nearly twenty years ago we had frequent opportunities of witnessing some interesting phenomena in a robust young man, who lost a considerable portion of his skull by an accident, which had almost proved mortal. When excited by pain, fear, or anger, his brain protruded greatly, so as sometimes to disturb the dressings, which were necessarily applied loosely, and it throbbed tumultuously in accordance with the arterial pulsations.—Medico-Chirurgical Review, October 1835, p. 366.

THE "TIMES" ON THE PHRENOLOGISTS.-Dull-witted and half.educated men always seek some by-way of notoriety, having just sagacity enough to discover that they have no chance of acquiring any reputation in the regular field of art and science. Among the most offensive of these quacks may be classed the phrenologists, or "bumpologists," as they are more appropriately called. Everybody knows what blunders these blockheads made over a supposed skull of Raphael, which turned out to be the head of a gravedigger; and we have already noticed some impertinent trash which has been poured forth respecting the skull of Dean Swift, which was pulled from the body and subjected to the scrutiny of these pedantic dunces. We see in more than one quarter that this disgusting folly is still at work: we cannot waste our time nor that of our readers by any detailed exposure of the absurdities which have been published, but we give one specimen as a decisive sample of the rottenness of the bulk. These worthies, then, have discovered, and are ready to prove, by the size of the "organs of wit and ideality" in Swift's skull, "both small," to adopt their jargon, that the world must be totally mistaken about the Dean of St Patrick's, and that the author of the Tale of a Tub and Gulliver's Travels had neither brilliancy nor originality! And there are gaping simpletons who swallow these crudities, and call them science!-Times of 30th December 1835.

EDINBURGH PAUPER LUNATIC ASYLUM-We have been favoured by Dr Smith, the physician to this establishment, with a copy of his Report upon it for the years 1833-4-5, and have perused it with much interest and satisfaction. We hope that his strong representation of the defects of the asylum will induce the managers to adopt immediate measures for providing a new establishment, more in keeping with the advanced state of some other asylums for pauper lunatics in Britain. The following passages are extracted from the Report:-" The leading feature in the management is humanity, and a ready attention to whatever is likely to promote the recovery or alleviate the distress of the patients. A system of mild yet firm discipline is maintained, which, with the great regularity observed in the various domestic arrangements, exerts a soothing and salutary influence over the minds of the patients; in confirmation of which I may mention, that it is not uncommon to have, out of sixty-eight patients (the average in the establishment), not one under restraint. And in proof of the humane and kind treatment exercised towards the patients, instances are occurring from time to time of their returning to the asylum to express their gratitude for the attention they had experienced.”—“The patients are furnished with properly selected books, and they are encouraged to amuse themselves at different games. The women are employed in sewing and knitting, and assist in the work of the house. The want of employment for the male patients is much felt. But not the least improvement is the introduction of public worship inso the asylum; this measure, which was adopted at the suggestion of Dr Brunton and Mr Johnston in October 1827, has proved a source of great comfort and consolation to the patients selected to attend. And as my further experience goes to strengthen the favourable opinion expressed on this subject in former reports,

I would take the liberty of repeating it, by saying, that, through the introduction of public worship, a due respect for religion is not only kept up, but a power is brought into action, which seems capable of calming in a wonder. ful degree the disturbed and troubled feelings of the irascible maniac,-of breaking in upon the fixed despondency of the despairing melancholic, and of interrupting for a period the mazy reveries of the confirmed lunatic; and that therefore attendance upon public worship is to be viewed as a powerful means in the cure of insanity, and one from which much benefit is to be expected." The proportion of the cures is considerably greater in the fe males, being at the rate of forty in ninety-six, or about forty-two per cent.; whilst amongst the males it is only as twenty in eighty-six, or twenty-three per cent. This disparity may, I think, be accounted for from the disease in females being often of a milder character, their greater sensibility of constitution rendering them more liable to be acted upon by slighter exciting causes, the effects of which are less permanent and more easily removed, whilst at the same time the disease in them is rarely combined with apoplexy, epilepsy, and palsy. The women have likewise the advantage of occupation, which the men have not."-" Opium in full doses has been found to answer well in many cases of insanity, accompanied with feelings of dread on account of some supposed impending calamity, after fever and irritation had been subdued. By keeping the patient under the influence of it for several days, the train of incoherent and false ideas seems to be broken, and very often the patient is convalescent by the time the effect of the opium has gone off."

MODESTY OF THE LITERARY GAZETTE. The following letter has been addressed by Mr Combe to the Editor of the Literary Gazette:" Edinburgh, 23d May 1836. Sir,-In your number 'ONE THOUSAND,' you say that 'We could, were we vain enough to wish it, make a list of those (the authors whose first works we encouraged by our praise), with our comments on their upspringing from the shades of obscurity, which would be a remarkable document. On the contrary, we could oppose it by another list of those it has been our painful duty to censure and condemn; often when upheld by the most influential of our contemporaries: and we would put the challenge, Where are they now? Where honest, just, impartial, and fearless criticism set them at once; and whence no favour or delusion can ever raise them more, even for a moment.' Allow me to mention, that I have the honour to belong to the class of authors whom you have fearlessly condemned, ridiculed, and abused,* from my first publication in 1819 to the last; but you will judge by the testimonials which I herewith send you, whether your criticism was as 'honest, just, and impartial,' as it was fearless; and whether I am where 'you set me, -in the shades of oblivion. I am," &c.

We understand that the second volume of Dr Vimont's Treatise on Human and Comparative Phrenology is now either published or on the eve of being so. This work, with its splendid atlas, has been reprinted in Brussels, at about one-eighth of the original cost. Messrs Carfrae and Son, South Bridge Street, have favoured us with a sight of the Brussels edition. The plates, though not quite equal to the originals, are very good, and such of them as we have compared with those in the Paris edition are, with one exception, perfectly accurate. We are no admirers of the system pursued by the Brussels printers, of thus unfairly competing with French authors; but having learned from good authority that nearly the whole of the Paris edition of Dr Vimont's work has been sold, we trust that the cheap reprint will not be materially detrimental to his interest. The plates are excellently adapted for illustrating lectures, and every phrenological society ought to be in possession of them. We shall review the work as soon as the second volume is received.

Owing to a press of matter, it has been found necessary to add a sheet and a-half, or twenty-four pages, extra limites, to our present number. Nevertheless several articles intended for it are postponed till our next.