A secret worth knowing: a treatise on insanity, the only work of the kind in the United States; or, perhaps in the known world: founded on general observation and truth / by G. Grimes.

  • Grimes, G. (Green), 1809-
Date:
1847
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A secret worth knowing: a treatise on insanity, the only work of the kind in the United States; or, perhaps in the known world: founded on general observation and truth / by G. Grimes. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.

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    circulating evil reports against me, and seeking every advantage of me in their power. During the last three years I did business in Palestine, I found an increase in the sale of goods, but a decline in collections that did not count well. I became weary of the business and sold out the property and stock of goods to one of my former clerks and a neigh- boring mechanic. The sale amounted to about five thousand two hundred dollars, and I, maniac-like, placed the bonds in the hands of Mr. X , besides sending him, for the previous three years, by his spies and runners, all the money I could collect, say about fifteen thousand dollars, more or less. I placed the books and notes on our customers in the hands of our successors in business together with a former clerk, to act as my agents in the collection of the money due us at. that place, which was at that time between twelve and fifteen thousand dollars—determined in my own mind to return to a farm and aid personally in winding up the concern. This brought me up to the first of January, 1838. In a few days after this I was persuaded by this man X , my partner in busi-, ness, to visit the town of Oarrollville, Wayne county, Tennessee, and purchase a half acre lot and appurtenances, together with a stock of dry goods, which purchase I made at his strong solicitation, amounting in all to about eight thousand dollars, and opened a new business in the name of Mr. X and myself. I visited Louis- ville, Kentucky, for the purpose of replenishing our stock of goods, while my partner was at home shaving off notes, drawing bills and getting our own paper discounted in bank, receiving all the money collecting at Palestine, leading the honest yeomanry of the country into endorsement after endorsement, and driving me through thick and thin, wet and dry, heat and cold. We ordered a stock of goods from New-York in the spring of 1838, for both houses, fifty-five miles apart. In addition to this, I received a lot of groceries from New- Orleans on consignment, consisting of two hundred sacks of coffee and a small lot of sugar, and was supplied with salt on consignment during my stay in business there. In addition to this I replenished our stock of dry goods occasionally from Louisville, by orders, and groceries from New-Orleans. I remained in business there two years, and during the time the sales for groceries and salt on con- signment amounted to twenty-five thousand dollars cash, and the same amount for dry goods, more or less—not recollecting the pre- cise amount—all this time sending groceries to supply my partner's store, and remitting him all the money I received for sales and col- lections; amounting to the amount of the sales, except what I paid over for salt and groceries on consignment, and even sent him a large portion of that money. He kept up his spies and runners all the time to receive money and prevent me from running away- I can inform the gentleman that I never run away except in imagin- ation—I run beside myself, as a great many other men have done. He never sent to me for money but what I sent him all I had—re- 2