| Description Of Item | Illustration from the collection of Alexander Morison. Plate 87 of Morison’s 'The Physiognomy of Mental Diseases' (1840). Unsigned [Alexander Johnston].
'Portrait of M. F.; aged 20.
This young woman is of very weak intellect; her external appearance is comely, her features being good and her limbs well formed; her expression is rather vacant, and she is inclined to laugh without sufficient cause; she has an agreeable voice, and will sing a few verses of a song if the words are repeated to her; she will give a rational reply to a few questions, particularly if they relate to her wants, but she never speaks unless she be spoken to. She attends to the calls of nature, except during the night time; her catamenia are regular; she appears to have a little sense of shame, and to have an attachment to her attendant but is not inclined to associate with others; she feeds herself, but does not put on and off her clothes, although she is fond of any new article of dress.
She, occasionally, is employed at needle-work, and other easy occupation; she is about five feet in height' |