In his book on Psychological Principles the late Prof. James Ward defines “character” as “nothing but Nature modified by circumstance”, Apart, however, from the fact that much depends upon the meaning which we attach to the terms here employed, this generalization raises many questions which are worthy of consideration, and a discussion of its validity is not without interest.

To believers in portents the circumstances surrounding the evolution of a great personality are ever of interest, and to such the birth of the promulgator of the myth of the unconscious mind must especially appeal, surrounded as it is by features of a truly extraordinary character.

In 1910 I was holding the appointment of Medical Officer and Magistrate at Anguilla in the St. Kits presidency of the Leeward Islands, British West Indies, when the Administrator one day handed me a cable, asking if I would accept the Medical Superintendency of the “CentralLunatic Asylum,” Tanjong Rambutan, Perak, Federated Malay States. Fortunately the cable explained that Tanjong Rambutan was in the Federated Malay States, as neither he nor I had the slightest idea where it was.

The parallel between the phantasies and delusions of the individual and the myths and religious beliefs of the race is very close and extensive. In both cases we can trace the same “scotomata” to reality, the same logical inconsistency, and the same attempts to compensate for these defects (which of course are not acknowledged as such) by rationalization, by mystical interpretations, by appeals to blind faith, and by the denial of the capacity of human understanding to criticize or even to comprehend these “mysteries.”

This work was carried out mainly with financial assistance from the Medical Research Council, to whom the results have been com municated, and to whom our thanks are due.

Having regard to the paucity of information on the subject of the phosphorus and calcium-content of blood and cerebro-spinal fluid in the psychoses, and to the consideration that at this mental hospital a research laboratory in chemistry is available, it seemed desirable to investigate these matters.

Encephalitis lethargica, or epidemic encephalitis as it is now usually called, is becoming more generally recognized throughout the world, and while diagnosis is usually easy in those cases with a clear history, and who show the “encephalitic syndrome” to a marked degree, much confusion has arisen in the case of some patients who have shown clinical features which have led observers to arrive at a diagnosis of this disease when later investigations have shown that this conclusion has not been a correct one.

The presence of cholesterol in the cerebro-spinal fluid has been the subject of investigation by various observers. The following communication is based on a series of observations conducted at the Pathological Laboratory of the Maudsley Hospital, on specimens of cerebro-spinal fluid obtained from patients in the mental hospitals of the London County Council.

In connection with the malarial treatment of general paralysis of the insanein thishospital, we have endeavouredto producea secondseriesof malarialrigorsin such casesas had not shown sufficient mental or physical benefit after a first infection terminated six or more months ago.

The incubation period of naturally acquired benign tertian malaria is usually given as being from two to three weeks. Thus James (1920) states that the period is usually from 14 to 18 days, Stitt (1922) from 14 days, Acton, cited by Castellani and Chalmer (1919), 6 to 21 days, and Castellani and Chalmers (1919) from 9 to 12 days.

The following is a brief synopsis of some notes relating to the acidity of the fleces in epilepsy. These results were obtained and compiled as preliminary data, anticipatory to the carrying out of further investigations with regard to epilepsy. The fæcal acidity of 50 female epileptics, who were chosen at random from those undergoingtreatmentin hospital, was determined. These estimations were not detailed, but were of sufficient accuracy for comparative purposes. In each case the term “acidit” denotes that quantity of normal sodium hydroxide solution, measured in cubic centimetres, required to neutralize the total quantity of acids extracted from 100 grm. of the given specimen of fæces. Several analyses were carried out in each case.