Aged thirty-two, admitted 28th June 1821. This patient had been
once in very respectable life, was occupied as a ship-broker, and
his derangement was ascribed to heavy losses and disappointments in
business. He appeared to have been a very genteel man; perfectly
harmless and well conducted for some time after his first admission:
but afterwards his disorder became high. He tore his clothes, and
became, in his opinion, a very great man. He had in his own hands the
insurance of all outward-bound ships from the River Thames to every
part of the globe; and, in fact, no ship left the river without having
Mr. St--m--e’s seal affixed to her. He knew every body by name, but
none by sight. He transacted all his business without ever seeing the
principals; and ever since he came here he had done, in imagination,
insurance business to the extent of hundreds of thousands.
He was at all times very cheerful, danced and sung, and made many
promises of conferring numerous appointments and lucrative situations
on his poor fellow-patients. He was at length found to be paralytic,
and was discharged. His friends were respectable, and he was known to
many opulent merchants in London.