The Kevin review. [volume] (Kevin, Mont.) 1922-1929, 1924-03-27

thO DiDiNj "1t1N IN - oDfN w Is
well as ever. Ned knew him at once
and nodded and gurgled.
"Well, Ned, how are you feeling? p
inquired Winton, sitting down by the
bedside.
Burns understood perfectly, but the
flood of meaningless s~yllables that
poured from his throat conveyed no
sense whatever. 1t was evident that
Burns was desperately anxious to tell
something, and that he felt his position
keenly.
Winton saw, too, that the old man
was not quite certain whether his re-
marks conveyed any meaning or not,
and he looked at him so hopefully
when he had finished speaking that
Winton could hardly bear to let him
realize the truth. But Burns did
realize it, and two tears trickled down
his cheeks upon the open book.
Winton produced a sheet Of paper
and a pencil, and handed them to Ned,
who, resting the Bible on his knee, be-
gan to scribble with this as a backing
for the sheet.
He handed the result TO Winton, but
hopelessly, for he could read that he
had written nonsense. 1t consisted of
a number of words and syllables.
strung together, but without the small
est intelligent significance. Suddenly
Ned snatched away the paper and tore
it into pieces, and flung himself back
moodily upon his pillow.
The doctor, a young graduate from
Edinburgh, had seen the incident. He
drew Winton away.
His minds clear" said Winton.
"As clear as yours or mine"
"And he understands what is said to
him"
every word"
"What's the trouble then?"
"The speech and writing centers in
the brain are affected" answered the
doctor. "We have them marked out
very accurately, you know. l expected
this before Burns recovered conscious
ness, as soon as / saw the location of
the wound.'
Bone pressing on them?"
"No. If there were 1 should have
operated. The blow on the head rup-
tured an artery, and the rush of blood
destroyed some of the brain tissues"
"Will he get well?"
"You see." he explained, "every ac-
quired human faculty has it's area in
the brain. Not the moral character, as
the laity are apt to think. A man
isn't truthful, or brave, or generous
because he has bumps as the
phrenologists suppose. But what we
learn in life is stored up and repro
duced when needed in certain definite
quarters. In rare cases one of these
storehouses may be destroyed, say by
a blow strong enough to rupture the
brain tissue without destroying the
vital centers. Then the corresponding
is unable to express itself.
"Now the speech center is one of the
most interesting of all, because it Is t
the most important, and we have it /
mapped out exactly. Every human
being speaks by means of a little tract J
called Broca's convolution, There's a 8
reading center and a writing center, a f
nusic-reading center, a Anticipating
,enter-probably; and SO on. It's just
ike putting a series Of telephones into
street of houses. There's even a t
french center and a German center,
Ind a Hottentot center, formed in the
Of the linguist. And if you
n particular telephone, of t
curse nothing can come through. j
Burns has had his speaking and
centers smashed. In the case q
f a very young person there would be n
Iope of recovery, because we use only 0
alf of our brains. Most of us use the
eft half. A child, whose left speak G
1g center had been destroyed, could 81
a new center in the I'M
right half Of it's brain. That's II
ecause its brain Is so plastic. But L
nat can hardly be done after thirty, I
nd practically never after reaching Is
liddle life. Why, you know yourself
nat it is impossible for a middle-aged p
erson to pick up a new language as G.
child can. Well, Burns must be
xty. His case is hopeless, though he m
i'll be as well as ever physically in tr
little while" to
That seemed to be the case. Burns w
recovering rapidly, but there was
} sign Of any return of the faculty Of pl
,eech. WInton was greatly worried hi
,out the old man he went constantly sa
the hospital, and sent him all sorts in
dainties. But he seldom stayed re
ng at Ned's bedside. The pathetic
ok in his eyes, the constant effort to tn
nvey some meaning, and the Bible sh
Of which Winton could make
ither head nor tail, were too dis nj,
assing. no
had now become inevitable that
should approach Judge Davis 70
the subject of a loan. He braced be
mself to the irvidious task and went ba
the judges office. 70
He found Davis alone at his desk. 70,
lie old man looked up, nodded in a sh,
endly way, as if nothing had passed, no
d Offeref Winton q seat, which was. 90