ristic almost invariably found in inebriates
who have committed a crime, is a strange apathy and indifference, a
total lack of concern regarding their state--a trait common also to
ordinary criminals, but in a less marked degree. They make themselves at
home in prison without showing the faintest interest in their trial or
in the offence which has caused their arrest, and only when brought
before the judge do they rouse themselves for a moment from their
lethargy.

A well-educated man, after a varied career as doctor, chemist, and
clerk, during which time he had been constantly dismissed from his posts
for drunkenness, met a policeman in the street and killed him, in the
belief that the officer wanted to arrest him. When taken to prison, the
first thing he did was to write to his mother begging her to send him
some pomade. When interrogated, he informed the examining magistrate
that the interrogatory was useless, since he had already chosen a fresh
trade, that of photographer. It was only after several months of total
abstinence in prison, that he began to come to his senses and to realise
the gravity of his situation. (Tardieu, _De la Folie_, 1870.)

_Contrast between Apathy and Impulsiveness._ This apathy alternates with
strange impulses, which, although strongly at variance with the
patient's former habits, he is unable to control, even when he is aware
that they are criminal.

_Crimes peculiar to Inebriates._ Since modification of the reproductive
organs is a common cause of hallucinations, inebriate criminals
frequently suffer from a species of erotic delirium, during which they
murder those whom they believe guilty of offences against
themselves--generally their wives or mistresses. This is partly owing to
the sexual nature of their hallucinations and partly to the wretchedness
of their homes, which are in such striking contrast to the rosy dreams
inspired by alcohol and which tend to increase the melancholy natural to
drunkards. They imagine they are being deceived and their impotence
derided, the most innocent gestures being interpreted as deadly insults.

In the prison at Turin, my father had under observation two of these
unfortunate beings, one a man of sixty and the other quite young. Both
had murdered their wives with the most revolting cruelty, because they
believed them to be unfaithful, although in reality both the women led
blameless lives.

_Course of the Disease._ The continued abuse of alcohol e