thority. "He may not have sufficient strength of memory and vigor of intellect to make and to digest all the parts of a contract, and yet be competent to direct the distribution of his property by will." J "A man may be capable of making a will, and yet incapable of making a contract, or to manage his estate."2

§ 368. We are to bear in mind, however, that testamentary dispositions generally imply an exercise of memory. The mind must be able to bring up before it scenes and persons connected with the past as well as the present, for without such ability persons may be overlooked who would otherwise have hold a prominent place in the act, and transactions forgotten which might naturally be supiiosed to have an effect upon its dispositions. A will which makes no mention of relatives who had a natural claim on the bounty of the testator, and in regard to whom he apparently entertained only the kindest feelings, creates a suspicion that his memory was at fault, and unless the fact is satisfactorily explained a strong presumption is raised against the validity of the will. Many old men who have begun to lose their faculties have a passion for making wills, and, so far as the form is concerned, they are abl6 to do it correctly; but they are often governed by the whim of the moment rather than any definite views of the claims which others may have upon them, and not having them brought to their notice by any one else, they are liable to overlook them unintentionally.

1 Stevens and Wife, e. Vancleve, 4 Wash. C. C. 262.

'Harrison r. Kowan, 8 Wash. C. C. 5H0. Nowhere has the subject of testamentary capacity been treated with so much good sense and regard to scientific truth, as in the charges of the court from which the aUivc quotations are made. With the progress of sound views on tliis subject, the correctness of the principles there laid down will only be the more firmly established.

CHAPTER XI.

PEBRILE DELIRIUM.

§ 369. Cerebral affection, of some kind or other,, we have considered as essential to the existence of insanity,— as constituting in fact the whole disease; but there is another form of mental derangement of very common occurrence, in which the cerebral affection is only an accidental symptom of severe disease in the brain or some other organ. The functions of the brain are disturbed in each, but they differ so widely in their causes, progress, and termination, that the propriety of distinguishing them from each other for medico-legal, as well as therapeutical purposes, is universally recognized. Few diseases terminate in death without presenting at some period or other of their progress, but more particularly towards their close, more or less disturbance of the mental faculties: organic diseases of the brain, especially acute inflammation of its membranes and its periphery, are generally accompanied with delirium; and it is sometimes a symptom of acute disease in other organs, in consequence of the cerebral irritation which they sympathetically produce. It is seldom entirely absent in fevers of any severity, and is readily determined by inflammations of the mucous and serous membranes, particularly of the alimentary canal. In inflammation tff the lungs, liver, spleen, and kidneys, it appears only towards the last period of the disease when it is approaching a fatal termination. Surgical operations, too, that prove fatal, are ordinarily attended at last with delirinm. In chronic diseases, such as cancer, dropsy, consumption, the mind is seldom impaired, except that occasionally, during the final struggle, it wanders

over the mingled and broken images of the past. Delirium is also produced by intoxicating agents, when it simulates mania more perfectly than when it arises from other causes; but this form of the affection will be discussed in a different place.

§ 370. Delirium sometimes occurs suddenly, but generally comes on gradually, and is preceded by premonitory symptoms, such as pain or throbbing in the head, heat of the scalp, and flushing of the cheeks. Its first appearance is manifested by a propensity of the patient to talk during sleep, and a momentary forgetfulness of his situation and of things about him, on waking from it. After being fully aroused, however, and his senses collected, the mind is comparatively clear and tranquil, till the next slumber, when the same scene is repeated. Gradually, the mental disorder becomes more intense, and the intervals between its returns of shorter duration, until they are scarcely, or not at all, perceptible. The patient lies on his back, his eyes, if open, presenting a dull and listless look, and is almost constantly talking to himself in a low, muttering tone. Regardless of persons or things around him, and scarcely capable of recognizing them when aroused by his attendants, his mind retires within itself to dwell upon the scenes and events of the past, which glide before it in wild and disorderly array, while the tongue feebly records the varying impressions, in the form of disjointed, incoherent discourse, or of senseless rhapsody. In the delirium which occurs towards the end of chronic diseases, the discourse is often more coherent and continuous, though the mind is no less absorbed in its own reveries. As the disorder advances, the voice becomes more indistinct, the fingers are constantly picking at the bed-clothes, the evacuations are passed insensibly, and the patient is incapable of being aroused to any further effort of attention. In some cases, delirium is attended with a greater degree of nervous and vascular excitement which more or less modifies the above-mentioned symptoms. The eyes are open, dry, and bloodshot, intently gazing into vacancy, as if fixed on some object which is really present to the mind of the patient; the skin is hotter and drier; and he is more restless and intractable. He talks more loudly, occasionally breaking out into cries and vociferations, and tosses- about in bed, frequently endeavoring to get up, though without any particular object in view.

§ 271. While delirinm thus shuts out all ideas and images connected with the present, it sometimes revives the impressions of the past, which had seemed long before to have been consigned to utter oblivion, in a manner unknown in a state of health. A case once occurred in St. Thomas's hospital, of a patient who, when he began to rally, after a considerable injury of the head, spoke a language that nobody could understand, but which was, at last, ascertained to be Welsh. It appeared that he was a Welshman, and had been from his native country about thirty years, during which period he had entirely forgotten his native tongue, and acquired the English language. But when he recovered from the accident, ho had forgotten the language he had been so long and recently 'in the habit of speaking, and acquired that which he had originally learned and lost.1 Dr. Rush mentions, among many other similar instances, that the old Swedes of Philadelphia, when on their death-beds, would always pray in their native tongue, though they had not spoken it for fifty or sixty years, and had probably forgotten it before they were sick.2 • § 372. When delirium, or, more properly speaking, the disease on which it depends, proves fatal, it usually passes into coma. Occasionally, however, it disappears some days or hours before death, and leaves the mind in possession of its natural soundness. Though enfeebled by disease, and therefore incapable of much exertion of his faculties, the patient is rational and intelligent, recognizes perfectly well his reli

tions to others, and on familiar subjects can arrange his ideas without dictation or guidance.

§ 373. So closely does delirinm resemble mania to the casual observer, and so important is it that they should be distinguished from each other, that it may be well to indicate some of the most common and prominent features of each. In mania, the patient recognizes persons and things, and is perfectly conscious of and remembers what is passing around him. In delirinm, he can seldom distinguish one person or thing from another, and, as if fully occupied with the images that crowd upon his memory, gives no attention to those that are presented from without. In delirinm, there is an entire abolition of the reasoning power; there is no attempt at reasoning at all; the ideas are all and equally insane; no single train of thought escapes the morbid influence, nor does a single operation of the mind reveal a glimpse of its natural vigor and acuteness. In mania, however false and absurd the ideas may be, we are never at a loss to discover patches of coherence, and some semblance of logical sequence in the discourse. The patient still reasons, though he reasons incorrectly. In mania, the muscular power is not perceptibly diminished, and the individual moves about with his ordinary ability. Delirinm is invariably attended with great muscular debility; the patient is confined to his bed, and is capable of only a momentary effort of exertion. In mania, sensation is not necessarily impaired, and in most instances the maniac sees, hears, and feels with all his natural acuteness. In delirinm, sensation is greatly impaired, and this avenue to the understanding seems to be entirely closed. In mania, many of the bodily functions are undisturbed, and the appearance of the patient might not, at first sight, convey the impression of disease. In delirinm, every function suffers, and the whole aspect of the patient is indicative of disease. Mania exists alone and independent of any other disorder, while delirium is only an unessential symptom of some other disease. Being