or even to take the necessaties of life. His landlady was instructed to supply him with every thing that could minister to his comfort, as if in a compliment out of her profound respect for the honour he had conferred on her by lodging in her house, but to be paid privately by Mr C. This took effect at once. As long as he had to pay, he pretended he had no appetite, and that he could not eat; but when the compliment was mentioned, he acquired vigorous powers of digestion, and ate readily. His complaint was in the lungs, and one day, when very ill, he was met by a friend at the head of the Vennel, a very steep lane in Edinburgh, leading from the Grassmarket to Laurieston, and held the following discourse:- "I have had a sore battle," said he. "With "whom?" "With my body to be sure. When at the foot " of the Vennel there, it rebelled and would not mount; but "I assured it that I had never yet submitted to my body, and was resolved it should not conquer me now. I told it that

66

So,"

"it might take its time, but ascend it should to the top. continued he, "I set out, but had not got ten yards when my "body rebelled again, and refused to mount; but I just replied, "that up it must go, and that it was in vain for it to try to get "off; and so to it again I went; and here I am you see: I have "forced it up, after half a dozen of stoppages. I am deter"mined that I shall never be beat by my body." The real cause of the rebellion was weakness and want of breath. this disseveration in personality of himself from his body, he reminds us forcibly of the metaphysicians, some of whose discourses about the mind's independence of its organs are not much superior in sense to the foregoing dialogue.

In

Among the last acts of his life were, preparing to rise, not to yield to his body, and desiring a chair that was out of its place to be put in its proper position.

His head decreased in size during the progress of his insanity, and to such an extent that he observed the circumstance himself, and said that he required a smaller size in each successive hat that he purchased. His intellectual faculties were obviously feebler in the latter years of his life, for he became incapable of collecting money by presenting receipts, and performing some other little picces of business

which in former years he had accomplished, and his forehead very perceptibly diminished and retreated during the corresponding period. He accounted for the decrease in the size of the hats he required, by ascribing it to the sublimation of his brain; he said he was becoming purely etherial, and that the grosser particles of his head were evaporating daily.

"The body was opened forty-two hours after death. The small "size of the forehead was remarkable. The integuments were 66 very adherent, and the skull so dense as to be sawn with diffi"culty. It was of very unequal thickness; and the forehead pre"sented a large frontal sinus of great depth, which also extended "backwards over the orbitar plate nearly to the bottom of the "socket. The dura-mater adhered firmly, but presented no "unusual appearance, except being, in common with the skull "and brain, more highly vascular on one side than on the other. "One hemisphere was turgid with blood, and when cut into, presented numerous red points, a very deep red brown corpus striatum, and a little bloody serum in the ventricle. "The other was rather paler than natural, forming a contrast "in every point with its fellow. Nothing else remarkable was "noticed in the head; and no symptom indicated, during life, "this inequality of affection. The head was under the average "size, but high, particularly towards Self-esteem and Firm"ness."

These appearances, particularly the great density of the skull, and the remarkable extent of the frontal sinus backwards over the eyes, show the existence of long-continued morbid action in the head, and afford a strong presumption that the anterior region of the brain, which is the seat of intellect, had undergone a diminution even greater than that indicated by the external surface of the bone. It is also worthy of notice, that the corpus striatum, which was evidently much changed in structure from the healthy state, serves to form, or rather to increase, the mass of brain corresponding to the organs of the intellectual faculties.

ARTICLE III.

NOTICE OF THE NATURAL DISPOSITIONS AND TALENTS OF MR JOHN VANDENHOFF, AS INFERRED FROM HIS DEVELOPMENT.

(Communicated by Mr George Lyon.)

SEVERAL years ago a phrenological friend (Mr G. Combe) put into my hands notes of several developments, with a request that I would draw the inferences which they indicated. Of these, one belonged to a Member of Parliament, another to a Writer to the Signet, and the third was Mr Vandenhoff. I had not (as I never have in these experiments) the most remote idea of the source from which the developments were taken; and, least of all, could I suspect that of Mr Vandenhoff,—a gentleman with whom I was not only personally unacquainted, but whom I had never so much as seen. I was only informed that the development belonged to "a gentleman between 30 and 35 years of age-well-edu"cated-moves in good society-a learned profession-not "the church."

The development is as follows:

From the above information and development I drew the following sketch :—

The combinations which rise to the view of a Phrenologist, from considering this development, are so interesting and so pleasing, that I have been almost tempted to think that Phrenologists ought to have admitted a special faculty and organ of sympathy; for it is scarcely possible to contemplate the harmonious activity of such a combination of the primitive faculties without this supposed faculty becoming active. I can, therefore, have little doubt that the individual in question is an almost universal favourite; at least, I know that I entertain a most sincere regard for him, slight as our acquaintance is; and, presuming upon this acquaintance, I hope he will permit me to deviate somewhat from the mere secundem-artem style of sketch, and be a little more discursive than is usual to me.

sent.

I have said that he is a universal favourite; hence I suspect that many a dinner-invitation lies on his table, and few are the parties where the landlady, in arranging her party, does not make it a sine qua non that he should be preHuman nature, however, is selfish, and I will by no means pretend to say whether at times Mr V.'s company may not have been sought more on account of his admirable tact at telling a story, than for certain other more valuable qualities which he possesses. Perhaps he has had penetration enough to perceive this, and thus certain thoughts might

steal across his mind, and certain resolutions might be formed, that he will be more wary in future in regard to the stories aforesaid. But has he been enabled to keep these resolutions? Has the earnest, yet respectful request circulated round the table, after the cloth was removed, for a repetition of what was heard by some, but not by all who are present, been always refused? And when his consent has been obtained, and the story told in his own inimitable way, the high approbation with which it has been received, Well that's capital! Done to the life! &c. will re-echo round the circle; and as the love of praise is as little a stranger to his bosom as is the delight of witnessing the happiness of others, and of contributing to this happiness, I do not think that the first story will be the last. I trust, however, that he will not number me amongst those who perceive no other qualities of mind or sentiment, because I have noticed this talent sooner. I have done so merely because it is a very striking one, and because it happened first to attract my attention; for I shall have little faith in Phrenology if he is not a humourist, if he cannot tell a story with that exterior gravity which is of the essence of humour, and if he cannot accompany this with that imitation of voice, manner, language, &c. which enter into the composition of a complete actor. He has nothing more to do than to try it, if he has not done so already, and he will find that he is an actor of no ordinary power. Indeed, I think he must often have perceived himself insensibly endeavouring to catch the tones and manners of those around him, with the farther capacity of personating or conceiving those feelings and passions indicated by that natural language which he is so prone to imitate. Hence, too, he will be an excellent judge of human nature; for he has the power, to a considerable degree, of penetrating into the motives and sources of the conduct of others, and of tearing off the veil with which the less artful fancy that they have concealed themselves. But let it not be supposed that this power is even allied to suspicion. I know few indivi