NOTE VII.-P. 130. N. B., aged 16, was described to me by his father, who came to consult me, in regard to his management, as a boy of a singularly unruly and untractable character, selfish, wayward, violent without ground or motive, and liable under the paroxysm of his moodiness to do personal mischief to others; not, however, of a physically bold character. He is of a fair understanding, and exhibits considerable acuteness in sophistical apologies for his wayward conduct. He has made little progress in any kind of study. His fancy is vivid, supplying him profusely with sarcastic imagery. He has been subjected at different times, and equally without effect, to a firmly mild and to a rigid discipline. In the course of these measures, solitary confinement has been tried; but to this he was impassive. It produced no effect. He was last in a very good seminary in a town in where he drew a knife upon one of the officers of the establishment, while admonishing him; and produced a deep feeling of aversion in the minds of his companions, by the undisguised pleasure which he showed at some bloodshed which took place in this town during the disturbances of 18-. He has not appeared to be sensually disposed, and he is careful of property. His bodily health is good, and he has never had any cerebral affection. This boy was, further, described to me as progressively becoming worse in his conduct, and more savagely violent to his relatives. Still I easily discovered that he was unfavourably situated; for his relations appeared to be at once irritable and affectionate; and the total failure of various plans of education was throwing him entirely upon their hands. As an instance of the miserable pleasure which he took in exciting disgust and pain, I was told, that when 13 years old, he stripped himself naked and exposed himself to his sisters. When I saw him, (December 8th, 18-) he received me courteously but suspiciously; his demeanor was soft, but there was a bad expression about his mouth; I believe his eyes gave him the appearance of softness; they were large and dark; his skin was smooth; he was small of his age, not having grown for some years. On my addressing him in regard to his peculiarities, he equivocated and became irritable; and he asserted that he was under impulses which he could not resist. He spoke unkindly of his father, and tried to snatch out of my hand a very wicked letter written by himself to one of his relatives, which I produced as an evidence of his misconduct. This peculiarity seemed to pervade his views of his own conduct, that he contemplated past offences, not only as what could not be recalled, but also, as what ought not to be remembered to his disadvantage. Having satisfied my mind by careful observation, that the accounts given by his relatives were substantially correct, and that the ordinary principles of education, how. ever skilfully applied, would here lead to no salutary result, I suggested the following line of treatment, as calculated to give him his best chance of moral improvement. Let him reside in the neighbourhood, or, if possible, in the family of some person competent to undertake this charge, under the attendance of two trustworthy men, who should be subject to the authority of the superior above alluded to; one of these persons should be in constant attendance upon him; but if coercion should be required in order to induce him to comply with reasonable requests, both should be employed so as not to make such violence necessary as should produce the slightest bodily pain. The object of this plan would be to accustom him to obedience, and by keeping him in a constant state of the exercise of this quality, for such a length of time as might form a habit, to adapt him to live in society afterwards, on terms of acquiescence in its rules. Now the principle of management suggested here, is that ordinarily applied to insane patients alone; but this young man could not be considered insane in any accredited use of the term. He was totally free from false perceptions, or inconsequential thoughts; he was neat in his person, agreeable in his address, and of an intellect above rather than below par. Yet, education in its appeal to the moral principle had been tried on him in many various forms with total unsuccess: youth was advancing into manhood; and his chances of attaining a state, in which he might be a safe member of society, were becoming slender according to any of the usual methods of moral education. The case seemed to warrant the application of the principle recommended; and after much thought, I determined to try it in the only way in which it was practicable to me, namely, in the walls of an establishment, a few miles from the place in which I resided, the proprietor of which was well known to me for excellent judgment and an amiable character. I took him to this establishment, accompanied by his father and another relative, showed him at once into his apartment; and briefly told him, why he was placed there; and how inflexible he would find his restraint there, until he should have gained habits of self-control. At the same time pointed out to him the beautiful and wide grounds of the establishment, and the many comforts and enjoyments which he might command by strict obedience. This I stated to him in the presence of his two relatives, whom I then at once removed from the room. When I saw him about an hour afterwards, the nearest approach to surprise and annoyance which he made, was the expression, "that he never was in such a lurch before."He wished to see his father again before he left the house, not, however, apparently from motives of feeling, but in order to address some persuasives to him against the scheme. I refused this interview. For about a fortnight he behaved extremely well. He then lost his self-command, kicked his attendant, and struck him with a bottle of medicine. On this, I went over to see him; he vindicated himself with his usual ingenuity; but looked grave and somewhat frightened,when I told him, that if he repeated this offence, he would be placed in a strait waistcoat, not indeed as a punishment, but as a means of supplying his deficiency of selfcontrol. He expresses no kindly feeling towards his relatives; but confesses the fitness of his treatment and confinement. It appears to me, that he is tranquillised by his utter inability to resist. January 16th, 18-. Visiting N. B. to-day, I told him, that he might write letters to his father or uncle, but that he would at present receive none from them. To have refused him permission to write letters would have been tyrannical; besides, they would afford insight into his character; to have allowed him to receive letters, would have been an interference with that principle of entire separation from his family, which I wished to maintain, until he should have learnt the value of those ties to which he has been indifferent. He made complaints in very unimportant matters against his servant, to which I paid attention, but gave no credence. Great unfairness in these remarks. I have endeavoured to make him understand, that in dealing with Mr. N―, the proprietor of the establishment, and myself, he can neither enjoy the pleasure of making us angry, nor hope for advantage from sophistry. But that strict justice will be done him, upon the terms originally stated to him. In a letter to his father about this time, I observe"The plan evidently works well. He is practising selfrestraint successfully; not indeed from conviction of its moral fitness, but from having ascertained its necessity. He is aware of the state of entire subjection in which he is placed; and yet his spirits do not flag, neither does his health suffer. It is curious, that he has ceased to use his old argument in conversation with me, that past conduct ought not to be taken into the account in regard to present proceedings." From the time above alluded to, during his stay at the establishment, which I continued for fourteen months, no farther outbreak against authority took place. He ceased to be violent, because the indulgence of violence |