"Him," said the doctor, "I discovered to have been for years
guilty of conduct entirely incompatible with the hypothesis of
undisordered mental functions. He had accused his domestics of
peculation, and had initiated legal proceedings with a view of
prosecuting in a court of law one of his oldest friends."
"Whence you infer that, if my son has not for years been doing cranky
acts, he is not likely to be deranged at present."
This adroit twist of the argument rather surprised Dr. Wycherley.
However, he was at no loss for a reply. "it is not Insanity, but the
Incubation of Insanity, which is suspected in your intelligent son's
case: and the best course will be for me to enumerate in general terms
the several symptoms of 'the Incubation of Insanity:'" he concluded with
some severity. "After that, sir, I shall cease to intrude what I fear is
an unwelcome conviction."
The parent, whose levity and cold reception of good tidings he had thus
mildly, yet with due dignity, rebuked, was a man of the world, and liked
to make friends, not enemies: so he took the hint, and made a very civil
speech, assuring Dr.
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