Virey in 1818 speaks of
an English child of eight or nine who was but 18 inches tall. It
had the intelligence of a child of three or four; its dentition
was delayed until it was two years old and it did not walk until
four. The parents of this child were of ordinary stature.
At the "Cosmorama" in Regent Street in 1848 there was a Dutch boy
of ten exhibited. He was said to be the son of an apothecary and
at the time of his birth weighed nine pounds. He continued to
grow for six months and at the expiration of that time weighed 12
pounds; since then, however, he had only increased four pounds.
The arrest of development seemed to be connected with
hydrocephalus; although the head was no larger than that of a
child of two, the anterior fontanelle was widely open, indicating
that there was pressure within. He was strong and muscular; grave
and sedate in his manner; cheerful and affectionate; his manners
were polite and engaging; he was expert in many kinds of
handicraft; he possessed an ardent desire for knowledge and
aptitude for education.
Rawdon described a boy of five and a half, at the Liverpool
Infirmary for Children, who weighed 10 1/2 pounds and whose
height was 28 or 29 inches.
Pages:
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650