| Description Of Item | Two four-page leaflets, both titled ‘melancholia’, with brief descriptions of 6 patients with this diagnosis. From the collection of Thomas Laycock.
Transcription of pamphlet one:
William Laugskail – aet.56
Patient was a divinity student & the cause of his insanity was much study. He is neither suicidal nor [illegible] He has been suffering from chronic [illegible] catarrh. His attitude is stooping and his expression is melancholic.
Robert Hunter – aet 67
The present is the third time he has been admitted into this asylum. He is neither epileptic nor suicidal but is [illegible]. His talk is quite incoherent + unintelligible. He has a delusion as to his having been accused by the matron of stealing. Talks incoherently about visions which he has been [having?] the night attendant says ‘he takes curious turns, lies at full length on the bench groaning + lamenting in the morning while in the afternoon he becomes quite cheerful.’
James Shaw – aet 35
The cause of insanity is supposed to have been an injury to the head. He is dangerous, melancholy + reserved. He suffered much from depression of spirits before the derangement. He believes that people conspire against him; + that he has no occasion to work any more as a large sum of money has been left to him. Has attacked his mother + threatened to kill her. Has also destroyed the furniture. Occasionally says in an alarmed manner ‘you’ll not allow them to kill me.’ Thinks he hears the voices of people talking to him.
Transcription of pamphlet 2:
Melancholia
Mary McNab aet 50
The patient [was] neither epileptic suicidal nor dangerous [of a disposition]. Her manner + expression are very excited. She is in a state of alarm from her delusion that she hears voices in her head & stomach. She is very restless & sleepless during the night + fancies that part of her brain is wanting. She sometimes refuses her food. Her talk is quite incoherent. She says she cannot get [salt?] through her head [illegible]. The attendant says she expressed a desire to destroy herself + subsequentially attempted suicide by dashing her head against one of the stone steps of a staircase. Requires the constant use of [illegible] to enable her to check the suicidal tendency.
Isabella Christie or Brown – aet 54
The cause of this patient’s in-sanity was the [son?] of her husband, + anxiety +care on account of the [illegible] of attending to the management of his business (farming). She is very incoherent. Believes all the good blood in her body has been removed + that she has been my magic ‘put back in the world for eight years’. Her mother, sister & brother have all been [contained?] in an asylum. She is sometimes violent. Says everything is going against her + is constantly moaning [illegible?] + wringing her hands.
Catherine Moffat – aet 32
The cause of her insanity is unknown but is supposed to have been a disappointment in love. She is suicidal but neither epileptic nor dangerous. No member of her family is known to have been insane. Expression and countenance is puzzled and confused. She answers questions incoherently. Says she is sometimes in this world + sometimes in the other – that in a dream she went to hell & there received a ‘commission’ to destroy herself. Refuses her food + says it is poisoned. |