working under defective pressure. One circumstance which has led to dementia being confounded with the defects of age is, that one of its symptoms is that memory loses hold of events near to the present in point of time, sooner than it does of those events which are more distant. Delusions which do come, fancies which take possession, are generally connected in some way with a substrate fact of the past life of the individual; and there is a gradual decay, which the impostor would find it impossible to simulate; indeed, one rule for the guidance of the medical jurist in all these cases might be:-Look always for gradual changes in cases of real disease; look for sudden transitions in cases where the will of the individual is attempting to take the place in the production of physical events-of the great slow laws of [279 nature. This is a good rule! The will jumps-the law of nature creeps! The gradual decay above alluded to is marked by the darkening of that glass through which the senses, at best, darkly see! The power of recognizing persons, places, and things goes, and there is no return. The mind lies in circumstances, like a waterlogged ship in the waves. Sans every

thing! Even in this stage of the disease a man might commit crime, or, in other words, might do harm to himself or others. But little or no difficulty is likely to arise from attempts to feign senile dementia in this its last stage. There is an actual repugnance in strong humanity to sink so low-to seem so weak. After death, Cæsar's clay may keep the wind from whistling through a chink, but not before. We find then, as a fact, that it is rather those forms of mental disease which arise from undue excitement that are chosen for imitation by impostors, than those which arise from defective development or diminished activity of the faculties. It is to be remembered, with reference to dementia and our diagnosis of it, that where it is not the result of some severe mental shock, it is the consequence of organic disease of the brain, which almost invariably, in time, reveals itself in paralysis. So time fights for truth here too.'

2408. Feigned Mania and its Detection.-There is a

The case of John Jakes, Devon Easter Sessions, 1855, ante § 400, is interesting in this connection.

method in all madness! But the method which is in mania, and is the result of the regular laws of unhealthy action, differs widely from the method which is imposed upon the incoherence of simulated madness by thought. The very close observation of mental disease by one of a sufficiently powerful intellect thoroughly to understand and appreciate its manifestations, might lead to such a deceptive reproduction of a number of symptoms as to puzzle many individuals, not trained to distinguish between very fine shades of expression as indicative of varying springs of action. And the tendency which the human mind has to make real and earnest what may be begun in fun and frolic, or may be undertaken with the sole object of deceiving, is one thing which tends to complicate the investigation. Good acting will often give a shape to life. The story is told of Mrs. Siddons, that on one occasion after a successful representation of Lady Macbeth, she was found wandering about the passages which lie beneath and behind the stage, wringing her hands and muttering, “I can't get out,"-so does the ideal become the real! It is the history of the making of all things!

409. Experienced Observation will generally Detect Simulated Insanity.-But it is to be remembered that those who have occasion to feign (280 insanity are not those who are qualified to give a faithful representation of the whole life of an individual under the influence of mental disease, and that their opportunities have not been such as to enable them to become intimately acquainted with the whole of the manifestations of the abnormal state. And, owing to the circumstances, the difficulty of feigning insanity so as to deceive a physician well acquainted with the disease is very great, so great, indeed, that Dr. Conolly affirms "that he can hardly imagine a case which would be proof against an efficient system of observation."

1

2410. Feigned Mania: Tendency to Overact.-One observation which is of practical importance to those who are desirous of distinguishing the real from the imitated form of

Inquiry concerning the Indications of Insanity, p. 467.

the disease is, that what the knowledge of the impostor lacks in extent, he invariably tries to compensate by the intensity of his acting. He overacts the few symptoms with which he is familiar, while he neglects many other symptoms that have considerable diagnostic value. Where, therefore, a considerable exacerbation of prominent symptoms occurs, in conjunction with the absence of less easily observed manifestations, it gives, at least a high probability of imposture. Dr. Bucknill has some good observations upon this point which are worth quoting. "The feigning madman," he says, “in all ages has been apt to fall into the error of believing that conduct utterly outrageous and absurd is the peculiar characteristic of insanity. The absurd conduct of the real madman does not indicate a total subversion of the intelligence; it is not utterly at variance with the reasoning processes; but it is consistent either with certain delusive ideas, or with a certain perverted state of the emotions. In the great majority of cases, feigned insanity is detected by the part being overacted to outrageousness and absurdity of conduct, and by the neglect of those changes in the emotions and propensities which form the more important part of real insanity. Sometimes mania is simulated-the man howls, raves, distorts his features and his postures, grovels on the ground or rushes about his room, and commits numberless acts of violence and destructiveness. If he has had the opportunity of observing a few cases of real insanity, and if he is a good mimic, he may succeed in inducing a person who only watches him for a few minutes to believe that he is in the presence of a case of acute mania; but if the case is watched for a few hours or days, the deception becomes apparent. No muscular endurance and no tenacity of purpose will enable the sane man to keep up the resemblance of acute mania: nature soon becomes exhausted, and the would-be patient rests, and at length sleeps. The constant agitation, accompanied by symptoms of febrile disturbance, by rapid pulse, foul tongue, dry and harsh palate, clammy skin, and the long-continued sleeplessness of acute mania, cannot be successfully imitated. The state of the skin alone will frequently be enough to unmask the pretender. If this is found to be healthy in feeling, and sweating from exertion of voluntary excitement and

effort, it will afford good ground for suspicion. If, after this, the patient is found to sleep soundly and composedly, there will be little doubt that the suspicion is correct."

2411. Simulation of Chronic Mania.-"Chronic mania," continues Dr. Bucknill, "may be imitated; and if this should be done by an accurate observer of its phenomena, who also happens to be an excellent mimic, it cannot be denied that the imitation may deceive the most skilful alienist. It is remarkable that two of the most perfect pictures of insanity presented to us in the plays of Shakespeare are instances of feigned madness—namely the madness of Hamlet, assumed to escape the machinations of his uncle, and that of Edgar in Lear, assumed to escape the persecutions of his brother. These inimitable representations of the phenomena of insanity are so perfect that in their perusal we are insensibly led to forget that they are feigned. In both instances, however, the deception was practiced by educated gentlemen; and on the authority of the great dramatic psychologist, it may perhaps be accepted that the phenomena of insanity may be feigned by a skilful actor like Hamlet so perfectly that no flaw can be detected in the representation. Fortunately for the credit of psychologists, insanity is rarely feigned except by ignorant and vulgar persons, who are quite unable to construct and act out a consistent system of disordered mind. It must be remembered that all the features of every case of insanity form a consistent whole which it requires as much intelligence to conceive and to imitate as it does to conceive and to imitate any dramatic character. The idea which the vulgar have of madness is of quite a different kind. They represent it as a monster, half man, half beast: the emotions they represent unchanged and human: the intellectual functions they represent entirely perverted, grovelling, bestial. They think that madness entirely alters the character of a man's perceptions and utterly destroys his judgment, so that he not only ploughs the shore and sows salt for seed, but that he cannot recognize his own son or avoid the destruction of his life. In more homely cases, it will be found that men feigning insanity pretend that they cannot read or write or count ten correctly, or tell the day of the week or how many

children they have: they answer every question wrongly, which a real lunatic, who could be made to understand the question and answer it at will, would certainly answer right."1

2412. Further Rules for the Detection of Feigned Disease. Where, also, there is considerable variation of the symptoms in the presence of different individuals-ex. gr., where in the presence of a medical man, known to be such, the symptoms are more carefully produced, while in the presence of others they are produced in such a rough-hewn shape, as is calculated to carry, through a witness, to the medical man, the presumption is in favor of feigning. In most cases effort can be detected in all the assumed ravings-the effort of argument, for it is always the impostor's desire to prove to persons, who are present, and may be observers, that he is really mad; and, owing to this circumstance, the endeavor is not unlikely to fail: for persons really insane are, not unfrequently, in the presence of a stranger, calmer and more quiet than at other times. There is always some assertion in the ravings of one who only feigns insanity. The manifestations are all prominent. Many discrepancies are to be found in assumed insanity. Mania is, really, the brain working under such high pressure that its ordinary action is interfered with. But there is no dulling of any of the faculties. Friends are almost invariably recognized; names, dates, occurrences, and places are remembered. The senses seem to be somewhat more acute than they were in times past. The impostor not unfrequently endeavors [281 to make assurance doubly sure, and introduces a few symptomps of dementia into the stratagem, and so he is discovered! In simulated insanity, the memory is often found to be defective: recent events with

Bucknill's Diagnosis of Insanity. M. Orfila says that as there exists in the world a very false idea of madmen, the one who simulates insanity after this idea will perform at every instant contradictory and false acts. Thus he will pretend not to remember his past actions; he will not recognize those whom he knows very well; he will not make a single correct reply to questions that are addressed to him. His features will not have the expression of such a violent condition; he cannot for so long a time prevent himself from sleeping; he will play the fool, particularly when he thinks himself observed; finally, his pretended malady will not have developed itself until he feared the pursuit of justice; it will not have been preceded by that originality of character, by those marked symptoms of moral disorder, which are observable in the majority of cases of insanity. Med. Leg. tome i., p. 400, Paris, 1848.