HEREDITY IN INSANITY. 91 



guessing upon which side the error lay, I ventured 

 the further question, " Did not another daughter of 

 yours commit suicide?" To which the lady replied 

 without a blush, " Oh yes, I had forgotten that." 

 On this point Maudsley says : " The more exact and 

 scrupulous the researches made, the more distinctly 

 is displayed the influence of hereditary taint in the 

 production of insanity. It is unfortunately impossible 

 to get exact or accurate information on this subject. 

 So strong is the foolish feeling of disgrace attaching 

 to the occurrence of insanity in a family, that people 

 not apt usually to say what is not true, will disclaim 

 or deny most earnestly the existence of any hereditary 

 taint, when all the time the indications of it are 

 most positive ; yes, when its existence is well known, 

 and they must know that it is well known. To elicit 

 an acknowledgment of the truth in some of these 

 cases, would be as difficult a task as to elicit from an 

 erring woman a confession of her single frailty." 



And yet, in spite of this hard lying on the part of 

 relatives, alienists have been able to trace distinct 

 hereditary taint in a large proportion of the cases 

 coming under their observation. Moreau put his per- 

 centage as high as 90. Burrows said 85, Hoist 69, 

 Jassen 65, Miche'a 50 to 75, Thurnam 51, Webster 

 32, Needhain 31, Guislain 30, Maudsley 28, and 

 Esquirol 25. 



These figures vary widely. They vary with the 

 amount of prevarication and untruth practised by the 

 relatives of the insane, and it is to be feared that 



