THE MONOMANIAC. 205 



his hallucinations would prove tedious. Several very eminent men 

 occasionally attended him, yet his disorder experienced any thing but 

 a decrease. At length I ventured to suggest, that as sympathy alone 

 had caused the sufferers lapse from reason, the same action of the 

 mind might be found a successful agent in restoring him. The hint 

 was at once adopted by his afflicted relations, and in furtherance of 

 the plan, a gentleman of excellent literary abilities was employed to 

 sketch a short dramatic piece in which the hero was represented 

 as losing his senses, precisely in the same manner as Hill. The plot 

 then thickened intricacies and fresh characters were introduced, 

 calculated to take strong hold of the attention. A new hero also ap- 

 peared, whose misfortunes excited powerful interest, and really 

 awoke feelings in the breast far from a selfish nature in short, self 

 was entirely forgotten, whilst witnessing the representation. This 

 was just what was wanted ; troubles and sorrows now press faster 

 and harder on the young Hubert (the last mentioned hero), but with 

 admirable strength of mind, he repels every approach of distraction, 

 and manfully rises superior against even the attacks of poverty. At 

 this crisis the friends of the dramatic madman, are supposed to meet 

 with Hubert, and knowing that he has not the means of earning a 

 crust of bread, make him an offer of a handsome salary, provided he 

 becomes a companion to the maniac, and endeavours to restore his 

 senses. The proffer is agreed to ; Hubert takes his patient every 

 where, and engages him in frequent conversation ; at first humouring 

 him, but after a time, insinuating doubts as to the wisdom of letting 

 fancy divide the brain in the manner he does. The maniac listens ; 

 offers a feeble opposition, which Hubert stoutly combats ; he at 

 length gives way to the convincing arguments of sound sense, and 

 acknowledges himself to have been in error when supposing himself 

 as it were separated from himself. Of course, an entire cure is thus 

 effected, and the ex-madman is made to deliver a learned and com- 

 prehensive at the same time, lucid discourse on mental diseases, and 

 to comment upon the ridiculousness of the ideas entertained by the 

 mad. Finally, he laughs heartily at his former illusions, and plea- 

 santly remarks that a jest-book would cure any insane person in the 

 world, were he to deliver himself up to its tickling influence, and 

 quit his own stupid notions in order to do so. 



The time-serving production was admirably executed, displaying 

 both skill and judgment in the writer ; fortunately, too, a strolling 

 company of players had at the time, fitted up a large outhouse in the 

 town as a theatre, and very readily agreed to enact our drama, es- 

 pecially as they would be well paid for their services, It was not, 

 however, deemed prudent to entrust the principal characters to men, 

 who, whatever their abilities, could not be expected to enter with 

 real feeling into the parts, or more properly speaking, accommodate 

 themselves to whatever circumstances might arise ; the heroes were 

 therefore entrusted to two talented young men, who were related to 

 the patient. One was a surgeon, who, from having constantly been 

 in the habit of visiting asylums for the insane, and possessing great 

 penetration and observation, was exceedingly well calculated to fill 

 the madman, and portray those minute characteristics which a gene- 

 ral observer could scarcely be expected to catch, yet, which were so 



