Having once deceived me, he wished much, that my opinion should be taken respecting the state of his intellects, and assured his friends that he would submit to my determination. I had taken care to be well prepared for this interview, by obtaining an accurate account of the manner in which he had conducted himself. At this examination, he managed himself with admirable address. He spoke of the treatment he had received, from the persons under whose care he was then placed, as most kind and fatherly: he also expressed himself as particularly fortunate in being under my care, and bestowed many handsome compliments on my skill in treating this disorder, and expatiated on my sagacity in perceiving the slightest tinges of insanity. When I wished him to explain certain parts of his conduct, and particularly some extravagant opinions, respecting certain persons and circumstances, he disclaimed all knowledge of such circumstances, and felt himself hurt, that my mind should have been poisoned so much to his prejudice. He displayed equal subtilty on three other occasions when I visited him; although by protracting the conversation, he let fall sufficient to satisfy my mind that he was a mad-man. In a short time he was removed to the hospital, where he expressed great satisfaction in being under my inspection. The private mad-house, which he had formerly so much commended, now became the subject of severe animadversion; he said that he had there been treated with extreme cruelty; that he had been nearly starved, and eaten up by vermin of various descriptions. On enquiring of some convalescent patients, I found (as I had suspected) that I was as much the subject of abuse, when absent, as any of his supposed enemies; although to my face his behaviour was courteous and respectful. More than a month had elapsed, since his admission into the hospital, before he pressed me for my opinion; probably confiding in his address, and hoping to deceive me. At length he appealed to my decision, and urged the correctness of his conduct during confinement as an argument for his liberation. But when I informed him of circumstances he supposed me unacquainted with, and assured him, that he was a proper subject for the asylum where he then inhabited; he suddenly poured forth a torrent of abuse; talked in the most incoherent manner; insisted on the truth of what he had formerly denied; breathed vengeance against his family and friends, and became so outrageous that it was necessary to order him to be strictly confined. He continued in a state of unceasing fury for more than fifteen months.