A good example of his condition is obtained from the following letter, in
which he makes his proposal of marriage:
My dearest G.--Y'day, I fondly believe, was as happy a day as I
ever spent in this weary would of Drink, Work, & Sin. All on A/c.
of you 'Matey'.
Do you not believe in love at first sight? I do most
emphatically assert that _the_moment_I_met_you_at_N._station_my_
fate_was_sealed_. I am not an old Turk, or even Mahommedan, but I
believe in FATE. And if I have your 'promise true' ('which ne'er
forgot shall be' mind) the '_I_ am yours and _YOU_ are mine'--(For
ever and Beyond) as the grand old Hymn phrases it. 'And _ye_ shall
walk in silk' (real--not celanese) 'attire an' siller hae tae
spare'--bonnie sang that, a' aboot _LOVE_
'And we shall all the beauties prove,
Of Hills and Valleys, Seas and Towns, etc, etc, etc.'
When I give my promise I make good. With St. Paul it is a case of
'What I have said, I _have_ said' always.
But perhaps you will rejoin: 'You have a wife?' Yes, but after
many years' treacherous thieving, lying, failure to do that which
she vowd, viz.: 'Love, _Honour_ & Obey', instead of putting me into
vicious Asylums, I am not risking her company again. So, as I
_know_ she won't (_and_cannot_even_if_she_would_) resist my Divorce
Action for her Desertion of me in 1921, you must wait until Autumn
for Ct. of Session Judge's decision. The cost is small for
undefended actions nowadays under the 1922 Act, which allows
'desertion' as a reason for granting Divorce. (It used to be that
Adultery must also be proved, but that was amended.)
So you are not taking on adulterous _lunatic_ (?) If you'll have
me, of course I'll settle a big sum on you for your own use, and make
over my insurance and estate by Will in your favour, less one or two
legacies for Charitable Institutions.
Meantime you are my nurse--I am your Guide, Philosopher, Humble
Servitor, and Lover. I could not sleep after 5 A.M. for thinking of
you--and my songs were all of thee, my ideal woman, for face and
figure and grace, and gracious womanly sympathy for a man without
friendly relations when he is in 'these places', but whose
relations were proud of him when his income was large. 'Telle est
la Vie' m'amie fidele.
'I fear no foe with thee at hand to bless', as Toplady wrote
together, in his immortal Hymn 'Rock of Ages'.
Tout a vous.
The above letter, with it's underscored passages ..., interpolations,
brackets and flight of ideas, yet at the same time coherent, is
completely characteristic of a hypomanic state.
..
He spends a great deal of his time writing letters to various members of
the staff, to the Sheriff of the County, to other high officials and to
his own relatives and friends.
A letter, addressed to the Matron, is typical:
Matron B.--Do you want to get hung at the Yard Arm as Pirates used
to get hung for Piracy on the High Seas?
If not, better come to terms with P. before the Directors are
apprised of _your_ piratical ways at G.
And that may be sooner than you dream.
Do your duty first--attend to your own private down-town
pleasures when off duty here. Otherwise the consequences may send
you into retirement without a pension, and with only a bad
character from your last place. P.
So long as this patient's threats are not taken too seriously, he is quite
pleasant to get on with, but he has to be handles with a considerable
amount of rope. He is able, however, to conform to regulations to a
wonderful extent; he has now had the privilege of parole for a good many
months, and has not in any way misused it.
-- Henderson and Gillespie's Textbook of Psychiatry
Revised by Ivor R. C. Batchelor
TENTH EDITION
