Studies in Forensic Psychiatry by Bernard Glueck (best black authors txt) 📕

title="Page 165" id="pgepubid00188"> medical certificate which stated the following: “Patient is a native of Porto Rico; has been sailor and soldier; has occasionally used alcoholic beverages, but usually the light wines or beer; is very good-natured, occasionally melancholy and lachrymose; gave a history of ‘fits’, and was previously discharged from the army on this account. He was thought to be ‘queer’ in his organization and had more or less trouble with the men, who made fun of him. He was sent to the hospital from the guard-house in October, 1911, and his mental condition noted at that time. His present symptoms were described as delusions of grandeur: ‘Queen Victoria was his instructor in English’, ‘King Edward of England was his school chum.’ He thinks he was royal interpreter. He does speak a number of languages fluently and, so far as we can learn, with fair correctness (?).”

On admission to this hospital the patient was in excellent health physically; Wassermann reaction with the blood-serum negative. Mentally he was clearly oriented in all respects and fully in touch with his immediate environment. He comprehended readily what was said to him, and his replies, aside from his extreme tendency to fabrication, were coherent and to the point. Intelligence tests showed him to be intellectually about on a par with the average negro of his social and educational status.

When asked to give his family and past personal history, he recited the following: He knew nothing of his grandparents or parents, and denied having any living sisters or brothers. One brother died in Chicago in 1906; thinks he must have been murdered, because he himself was almost murdered in November, 1911, when they attempted to assassinate President Taft out in Wyoming. King Mendilic, of Cape Town, Africa, now dead for seven years, was his cousin. The patient himself was Prince of Abyssinia, where he reigned for eight years, having remained in that country from 1896 to 1899, and conducting the affairs of state the remaining five years by correspondence, with the approval of Lord King Edward. He stated he was born in Porto Rico in 1876, and calculates his present age as thirty-four, as this is 1912. About two months ago he received a letter from Queen Alexandra of England telling him he was thirty-two years, ten-twelfths and two days old, or thirty-two years, two months, two weeks, and two days. Asked how much ten-twelfths of a year was, he said: “Three months, three and two days.” When told that ten-twelfths of a year equaled ten months, he replied: “The calendar of the English era, which is ‘our calendar’, does not correspond with the American calendar, but, being in America, I believe I ought to figure from their standpoint.” He left Porto Rico at the age of six; does not know who took care of him up to this time, as he never knew his parents, stating that he was just thrown on the mercies of the country. At the age of six, upon the recommendation and advice of King Alfonso of Spain, he was taken to England by Queen Victoria, who came to Porto Rico especially for this purpose. When asked his opinion as to why Queen Victoria should have taken so much interest in him he stated that he did not know positively, but it may have been because he was related to King Solomon of Bible fame. Requested to explain this relationship to King Solomon, he traces it in the following manner: He was a cousin of King Mendilic, who in turn was the “third reigning seed” or stepson of King Solomon. Queen Victoria, whom he calls “Mother Victor”, because she took the place of his mother, sent him to “Hammenotia School” in Oxford University, which he attended for four and a half years, received his diploma, and was transferred to Cambridge College. Here he attended for four years. At the former school he learned the alphabet, went up to the seventh grade, learned some medicine about herbs, etc. “I learned some medicine, not all of it. I didn’t practice it much; just practiced it enough to do the country good. At that time we didn’t have any doctors.” At Cambridge he learned “The Reigning of the Thornes”, or the laws of the country. Upon request he described in minutest detail the city of Cambridge. When asked whether he remembered a large oak tree which grew on the banks of the river flowing through the city, he replied: “I should say I do; many a time I sat on the banks of this river during my student days.” Earlier in his student days at Cambridge he learned German, French, and English. It should be remarked here that the patient actually did know a few common phrases in several languages which he picked up during his sailor days. But he always insisted that he knew thoroughly twenty-two languages, and when asked to enumerate these he found himself in deep water and was obliged to invent the languages for the occasion. Nevertheless he stuck to this story, and was always ready to launch upon the task of enumerating his twenty-two languages.

After his four years’ sojourn at Cambridge, Mother Victoria sent him to “Saint Palestine”, Jerusalem, where he remained for fourteen months, learning the constitution of the country, by-laws, etc. Mother Victoria and Father Edward (Queen and King of England) brought him up so that he could properly reign over Abyssinia. He states that he saw Queen Victoria frequently, and was at her funeral in August, 1910, shortly after the death of Pope Leo. Lord King Edward died about three months later. The Queen died about the age of seventy-six, as did King Edward at the same age, from grief and senility. Here he adds that his maternal grandmother was sister to Queen Victoria. While at the English Court he held the position of “Prince of Escorts.” He left Jerusalem to go to school at Sydney, Australia, for one year. He then went to sea on Lord Edward’s naval reserve boat, which he had permission to use. Remained at sea for three years and four months, visiting China, France, Japan, Germany, Austria, Turkey, Italy, Havana, Archipelago. When asked to repeat these countries, he omits some of them and adds others.

He then came to the United States for the purpose of electioneering, stump-speaking, etc., all to benefit the government. He then became a United States interpreter in the Philippines from 1896 to 1902, at a salary of $75 per month and expenses. He then returned to Porto Rico, where he remained until 1910. Following this he attended the funerals of Queen Victoria, Pope Leo, Lord Edward, and his cousin Mendilic, and finally came to Chicago, where he enlisted as first-class sergeant in the United States Army. He was sent to Fort D. A. Russell, Wyoming, to serve in the Hospital Corps, at a salary of $48 per month and maintenance. There everything went well until he got to worrying and crying, so they sent him here. He acted thus because he was ill-treated, was not treated right for a man of his abilities, was sworn at too much, and called bad names by the enlisted men. They did this because they were jealous of his “politicalness”, his education; he never swore, drank, or gambled like the others did. Was robbed of his every possession in Cheyenne, Wyoming, by members of the Ninth Cavalry and Eleventh Infantry. Lost $1400 in the past five months in cash and property. They robbed him of his horse, buggy, clothes, and jewelry, including chain, watch, finger ring, a pair of jasper earrings. He could hear them talking about him day and night; feared to leave his room, for he was continually threatened. They were going to kill him. On this account he was taken to the hospital and kept under close guard, because they could protect him. He had to leave at night. He did so after having received a telegram from the Surgeon-General of the Army, asking him to report to the Hospital Corps at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, Washington, D.C. As one of the main reasons why they had it in for him he gives the following: There was a car line running from Fort D. A. Russell to Cheyenne, the fare being ten cents. The men wanted it reduced to five cents. As the one in charge of the canteen he had it in his power to approve or disapprove of this reduction. He disapproved of it because he didn’t think that ten cents was an excessive charge for a three-mile ride, especially since they spent so much money on drink, etc. He had a runabout motor car, so they thought this was why he disapproved of it. “In consequence they were on my trail.” Part of the way to Washington he came in a private car, but this they deprived him of at Omaha, Nebraska. Perhaps they did this because they thought it was too large for him, but, inasmuch as it was assigned for his private use, they had no business taking it away from him.

During the recital of the foregoing the patient was bright and alert, and his attention was easily gained and very well held. He quickly understood everything that was said to him, and replies were prompt, relevant, and coherent, though, of course, entirely colored by his bizarre fabrications.

During his sojourn at this hospital he was a model patient in every respect, worked diligently with a farm gang, though frequently dilating upon the fact of having the responsibility of the whole gang on his shoulders. On several occasions he gave evidence of being of a highly sensitive make-up, becoming readily insulted, but he always reacted to these real or imaginary insults in a mild and kind sort of way, always preferring to go out of people’s way rather than retaliate. Hallucinatory disturbances were never manifested.

The story of his past life was gone over with him on a number of occasions, but on each occasion he gave a different, highly fantastic recital of his past adventures, always using high-sounding words and phrases and high-sounding names, many of which he mispronounced. Many of the words used by him were of his own coinage, if one were to judge by the sound of them. He was always very pleasant and agreeable, and enjoyed reciting his past immensely. In all these bizarre and marvelous adventures he played the chief rôle and occupied the center of the stage.

He was finally induced to give an explanation of his extreme love for lying, which he gave as follows: “It isn’t because I don’t know better, doctor, but because I think it will make me feel better, that’s all. When I tell of all these big things it makes me feel that I am a little above the common herd of negroes, and then I never tell anything to hurt anybody.”

He stated that he couldn’t really separate the true from the false in his stories, and that he seemed to have little or no control over this tendency to exaggerate things and to weave into real occurrences all sorts of manufactured detail. “I know one thing, doctor; that it’s been a habit of mine all my life. I have always tried to exaggerate a bit. It makes me feel, for the time being, that I’m above the other negroes, that’s all. I know I always try to make an honest living, and this habit of mine never interfered with me.”

A good deal more could be furnished from the records of this man’s case in illustration of his pathologic disposition to lying. An ordinary negro soldier, he succeeds in projecting himself, by means of his ready and very fertile fantasy, into the most wonderful situations and in rubbing shoulders with royalty. If we inquire into the causes operative here we first of all see