lobes of the cerebrum was very great, the depressions, also, for the middle lobes, were very deep. Although, viewed externally, the cerebellum would have been pronounced large, yet, in consequence of the tentorium having been exceedingly low, the cerebellum must have been very small, and the posterior lobes of the cerebrum, consequently, very large. In the temporal regions the skull was thin and semi-transparent; the frontal sinuses were small, though their external appearances would have led. to a different conclusion.

"Although the skull, phrenologically considered, might be thought deficient, yet its capacity was, in reality, very great, capable of containing such a brain as we might expect in so remarkable a genius. I took an ordinary skull, and making a section of it on the same level with that of Swift's, I compared their outlines (drawn on paper) together, and found that the latter exceeded it in a very remarkable manner, particularly in its transverse diameter."

From these observations of Messrs. Houston and Hamilton we are enabled to glean some information with regard to the pathological appearances still existing in the cranium, ninety years after its interment; and it is fortunate that the skull fell into the hands of these gentlemen, or, in the phrenological mania which then existed, it is more than probable that these appearances would have passed unrecorded. At the same time we must remark, that the peculiarity of the disease of the eye, on which Dr. Mackenzie has addressed us, seems to have completely escaped the notice of any of the persons engaged in these investigations.

What the exact recent appearances were we have not been enabled to discover. If they were known to, they have not been handed down by any of Swift's many biographers. We have made diligent search among the newspapers and periodicals of the day, but have not been able to discover anything further than that which is already known, viz.: that his head was opened after death, when it was found that his brain was

"loaded with water."(a) To this may be added the tradition of old Brennan, his servant, to whom we alluded at page 55, and who, according to Dr. Houston, on the authority of Mr. Maguire, boasted, "that he himself had been present at the operation, and that he even held the basin in which the brain was placed after its removal from the skull. He told, moreover, that there was brain mixed with water to such an amount as to fill the basin, and by their quantity to call forth expressions of astonishment from the medical gentlemen engaged in the examination.”(b)

We have reason to believe that the medical men who attended Swift in his last illness were his friends, Mr. Nichols(c), then Surgeon-general, and one of the surgeons of Dr. Steevens' Hospital, and Dr. Grattan, a very eminent physician at that time in Dublin, both of whom are mentioned in Swift's will. The examination was made by Mr. Whiteway(d).

(a) Dr. Lyon's manuscript remarks upon Dr. Hawksworth's Memoir, quoted by Mr. Monck Mason in his History of St. Patrick's Cathedral. See pages 407 and 408.

(b) Phrenological Journal, vol. ix. p. 606.

(c) John Nichols succeeded Mr. Proby in the office of Surgeon-General. He was one of the corporation of Steevens' Hospital, and the first surgeon elected to that institution. He died in 1766.

Dr. James Grattan was the son of a clergyman, and one of seven brothers remarkable for their great abilities. He was appointed physician to Steevens' Hospital in 1733, and died in 1747. Swift left him in his will the use of his strong box.

See the notices of these gentlemen in Swift's Works by Sir Walter Scott, vol. i. pp. 522-3; vol. xix. p. 36; and vol. xviii. pp. 499 and 530.

(d) John Whiteway, nephew to Mrs. Whiteway, so frequently referred to in the life and writings of Swift, was a very distinguished surgeon in Dublin about the middle of the last century. Swift bequeathed him "one hundred pounds in order to qualify him for a surgeon," and "five pounds to be laid out in buying such physical and chirurgical books as Dr. Grattan and Mr. Nichols shall think fit for him." He was the first surgeon appointed to St. Patrick's Hospital; he was elected surgeon to Steevens' Hospital in 1762, and died in 1797. He was a very skilful operator, and generally employed the flap operation in amputations.

Accurate casts were made both of the exterior and interior of Swift's skull, and from these and the drawings furnished to us by Mr. Hamilton, we are enabled to furnish the accompanying accurate illustrations.

This represents a profile view of Swift's cranium, to the description of which, in the foregoing pages, we may add, that, in its great length in the antero-posterior diameter, its low anterior development, prominent frontal sinuses, comparative lowness at the vertex, projecting nasal bones, and large posterior projection, it resembles, in a most extraordinary manner, those skulls of the so-called Celtic aborigines of Northern Europe, of which we have elsewhere given a description, and which are found in the early tumuli of this people throughout Ireland(a). The curved horizontal line marks the section formed in making the post mortem examination.

The annexed illustration is taken from a cast of the interior of the cranium, and is one of exceeding interest, inasmuch as it accurately represents the appearances described by Messrs. Houston and Hamilton, particularly the enormous development of the vessels within the cranium. It resembles the cast of

(a) See a Lecture on the Ethnology of the ancient Irish: 1844. See also the Irish crania in the museum of the Royal Irish Academy.

a recent brain much more than that of the interior of a skull, and shews the very small anterior lobes, the great size of the glandulæ Pacchione; the exceedingly small cerebellum,-not the result either of compression or degeneration during life, nor

produced by disease, but as a natural formation; as may be seen by the very low position of the tentorium. It likewise exhibits the immense size of the posterior and middle lobes, particularly the former. We do not find any appearance of disease in the anterior lobes, either on their superior or orbital surfaces, as far, at least, as the interior of this cast of the skull is capable of demonstrating.

Before proceeding further in this inquiry, or making any observations on the detail of symptoms, and the post mortem appearances enumerated, there is one more circumstance connected with the last illness and the death of this illustrious man which should be brought to light, particularly as it has escaped the notice of most of his biographers. After the Dean's death, and subsequently to the post mortem examination, a plaster mask was taken from his face, and from this a bust was made, which is now in the Museum of the University, and which, notwithstanding its possessing much of the cadaverous appearance, is, we are strongly inclined to believe, the best likeness of Swift,-during, at least, the last few years of his life, now in existence. The engraving at page 66 most

accurately and faithfully represents a profile view of the right side of this bust, the history of which it is here necessary to relate. This old bust, which has remained in the Museum of Trinity College from a period beyond the memory of living man, has been generally believed to be the bust of Swift; but as there was no positive proof of its being so, it has been passed over by all his biographers, except Scott and Monck Mason, the former of whom thus describes it: "In the Museum of Trinity College, Dublin, there is a dark plaster bust, or cast, of Dean Swift. It is an impression taken from the mask applied to the face after death. The expression of countenance is most unequivocally maniacal, and one side of the mouth (the left) horribly contorted downwards, as if convulsed by pain." He further adds: "It is engraved for Mr. Barrett's essay;" but if it was, it never appeared, and has never before been published either with or without Barrett's essay (a). Sir Walter has greatly exaggerated the amount of contortion which the face exhibits; on the contrary, the expression is remarkably placid, but there is an evident drag in the left side of the mouth, exhibiting a paralysis of the facial muscles of the right side, which, we have reason to believe, existed for some years previous to his death, for we find the same appearance (though much glossed over by the artist), together with a greater fulness, or plumpness, of the right cheek, shewn in a very admirable marble bust of Swift (probably the last ever taken), in the possession of Mr. Watkins, the picture-dealer, of this city. Here, then, we have another and a very important and well-marked feature in this very interesting case, brought to light above

(a) In Nicholl's edition of Sheridan's Life and Writings of Swift, we find a full-face portrait of the Dean, said to have been taken the night after his death. It was this, perhaps, led Sir Walter into the error we have alluded to. Mr. M. Mason supposed, but without adducing any evidence to support his assertion, that the engraving in Sheridan's Life of Swift was taken from this bust. We are inclined to believe Mr. Nicholl's statement that the engraving was made from a picture taken after death.