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285
delighted with its brilliancy, and put his hand fearlessly into the
flame, to draw it back instantly with screams and cries of pain.
He appeared to be ignorant of the nature and uses of all the
objects around him, and when people made passes at his face
with swords and knives he did not shrink nor even close his eyes.
When shown the reflection of his face in a mirror he looked
behind the glass to find out who was there. If he saw any glitter-
ing substance he tried to grasp it, and if he could not reach it, or
if it were withheld from him, he wept.
A few days after his arrival he was taken around the walls of
the city to see whether he could recognise the gate by which he
had entered ; but not only was this endeavour of no avail, he did
not appear to notice anything around him with intelligence, and
when brought close to an object he stared at it as though he had
never seen the like before. Every human being he met, whether
man, woman, or child, he called by the one word Bua (boy);
every dumb animal, whether dog, cat, goose, or hen, he called
Ross (horse). He seemed pleased with white animals, but those
that were dark coloured or black awakened in him disgust and
tear. A black hen happened to cross his path, which set him in
such a panic that he screamed and made a great effort to run,
which, however, was impossible, as he could scarcely walk without
help.
He seemed to come only gradually to the use of his senses.
He had been several days in the Tower before he noticed the
striking of the clocks and the ringing of the church bells, and
:hese sounds were listened to with great astonishment.
Some time afterwards a wedding procession, headed by a band
of music, happened to pass under his window, and he drank in
the harmonious sounds with ecstasy, remaining in the same atti-
tude of absorbed attention long after the music had ceased to be
audible to his companions. By way of experiment, the soldiers
took him one day to a parade and stationed him close to the
largest drum of the regimental band ; but at the first strokes he fell
into convulsions, and was obliged to be carried off without delay.
He was happiest when allowed to remain in his chamber, sur-