I wish to bring under the notice of the Association the case of a gentleman who some years ago became notorious through the graphic pen of Charles Dickens, and whose recent death has drawn fresh attention to his strange mode of life. Already nearly 10,000 copies of a biographical sketch of the hermit have been sold, and a brisk sale, I am informed, is still going on, while a large quantity of crockery, tea services, &c., representing his dwelling, have been sold. Being familiar with the residence of Lucas, the so-called Hermit of Red-Coat's Green, near Hitchin, and having visited him, I feel considerable interest in the question of his insanity (if indeed a medical psychologist could question it), and in the larger question whether, if insane, the character of the mental disorder in this and similar cases calls for any interference with the individual's liberty.