Jump to content

Page:Illustrations of Madness.djvu/101

From Wikisource
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
80
illustrations of madness.

osity of the reader is sufficiently satisfied concerning the mischievous and complicated science of event-working. Although the fable may be amusing, the moral is pernicious. The system of assailment and working events deprives man of that volition which constitutes him a being responsible for his actions, and persons not so responsible, in the humble opinion of the writer ought not to be at large. After the commission of murder or treason, it would be considered an inadequate defence for the perpetrator to alledge that he had been irresistibly actuated by the dexterous manoeuvres of Bill, or the Middle man ; nor is it at all probable, that the accurate records of Jack the Schoolmaster would be admitted as evidence in a court of law.

There are already too many maniacs allowed to enjoy a dangerous liberty ; and the Governors of Bethlem Hospital, confiding