when he was 16 years old. A thoroughly good history was
forthcoming. He was brought for examination on account of his
extreme changeableness, his failure in several occupations, his
tendencies to swindling and his extreme lying. As a young child
his mother had to correct him much for prevarications. Soon
after he was 9, when both his parents were already dead, he
forged a school certificate and was felt to be a bad influence in
the home of his guardian. About that time he also stole money
from pockets on a number of occasions. In school he was regarded
as an undesirable pupil on account of his underhanded behavior,
and one teacher who had observed him for long wrote that he
showed marked inclination towards lying. At the time he was 15,
he was somewhat retarded in school life, but was told he had to
decide upon an occupation. After a stormy period he announced he
would become a gardener. After doing well for a month or so at
his first place he began to tell compromising stories about the
wife of his employer. He gave himself out to be the son of a
general who was going to inherit a large sum of money. On the
strength of this he managed to get hold of expensive articles he
desired. A short time afterward he wrote to his guardian he was
fitted for higher pursuits than that of gardening. Soon
afterward he ran away to a large town. He now wrote that the
word freedom sounded like the sweetest music in his ears. He
acknowledged that he had started on a career of criminality, but
decided to do better. At this time he attempted to make his way
by offering his compositions at a newspaper office where they
were declined either because his productions were immature or his
authorship was doubted. One editor loaned him some money, but he
got much more by representing himself to be a collaborator of
this editor. He soon failed to make his way and attempted other