Chapter Seven of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll depicts a tea party. Crowded together at one corner of the table were the March Hare and the Mad Hatter. They appeared to be using the sleeping Dormouse seated between them as a cushion. They rested their elbows upon the Dormouse while speaking to each other and Alice. During the tea party, they gradually moved around the table, changing seats.

After an unfortunate encounter with the Queen of Hearts, where she accused him of “murdering” the time and then called for his head, the Mad Hatter made every attempt to stop time in its tracks, going so far as to carry a pocket watch with only the date present.
The Dormouse was apparently only pretending to be asleep and was encouraged to tell a story. When she did not understand the Dormouse’s story, Alice interrupted it with questions, much to the annoyance of the March Hare and Mad Hatter. Clearly, they did not want Alice to join them, and eventually, she leaves in disgust.

The phrase, “Mad as a Hatter,” has a factual basis in symptoms found in hat makers. Apparently mercury was used to process the felt material used in hats and inevitably, the vapors were inhaled. Exposure to the vapors affected the nervous system and could be fatal. A possible true historical model for the Mad Hatter is Theophilus Carter, the inventor of the alarm clock bed. Another possible source for the Mad Hatter character could be Roger Crab, a soldier under Oliver Cromwell. Mr. Crab was struck on the head and renounced his business as a hatter, choosing a life of poverty.