Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-25
FREAK OF LANGUAGE MEMORY.
A Woman in Delirium Recalls Things
Long Forgot.
From the London Lancet.

From the London Lancet.
An interesting and minute account of the
action of memory in delirium is given by
a,sdoctor. The patient was woman sew
5nty years of age, suffering from broncho-
pneumonia.
The chief point of interest in this case
lies in the delirium. From the night OF
March until the evening of the 18th (when
the temperature fell suddenly she was
sometimes wandering while awake and con-
tinually talking in her sleep, but when
spoken to would be perfectly sensible, and
so long as she was engaged with one of
the attendants or doctor would answer
questions &c. When the temperature fell
on the 18th she became quite dellrlous ana
remained so until the 10th, when she grad
ualfy returned to reason. On the night OF
the 18th and on the 14th she was found to
be speaking in a language unknown to those
about her. 1T sounded as If she was re-
peating some poetry sometimes or carry
ing on a conversation at others. She re-
peated the same poem time after time.
This language was found to be Hindustani.
On the 14th, in the evening, the Hindustani
began to be mixed with English, and she
spoke to and of friends and relations of her
girlhood On the 18th the Hindustani had
disappeared altogether, and she was talk
ing to and of friends of a later date in En-
glish French and German.
1.-The patient was born in India, which
country she left at the age of three years
and landed in England, after a five months
voyage before she was four years old. Up
to the time she landed she had been under
the care of Indian servants and spoke no
English at all. her only language being
Hindustani. On her coming to England
The ayah was sent back and she then began
to learn English and from that time had
never spoken Hindustani. She apparently,
on the 18th. went back in her delirium to
her very earliest days, when she spoke
again the first language she ever heard.
The poem was found to be something which
the ayahs are in the habit of repeating to
their children. and the conversations were
apparently with the native servants one
being recognized as a request that she
might be taken to the bazaar to buy sweets.
A lady who has lived much of her life in
India and who speaks the language trans
lated some of the conversations which the
patient carried on with her imaginary Wis
itors.
Through the whole delirium there could
be recognized a sequence. AS time went
on the friends she spoke of were of later
date, and she took events in their proper
order. She apparently began at the be-
until, on March 10, she had reached the
time when she was married and had her
children growing up, boy and girl 1t is
curious that after lapse of siXty-siX years,
during which time she had not spoken
Hindustani, this language of her early
childhood should be recalled in delirium
The patient now speaks English, French
but although she knows a few Hindustani
words she is quite unable to speak the
language or put one sentence together. She
SAYS that she has no recollection {nor had
she any before her illness) of ever having
been able to speak Hindustani.