The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-01-15 00:00:00

FANCY BALL AT COLNEY HATCH.

The Special Reporter of the Daily Telegraph gives the fol.
lowing interesting description of a Fancy Ball given at
Colney latch on Tuesday evening :
Last evening witnessed the successful issue of a
scheme which for many weeks had kept the inmates
of the Middlesex County Asylum in a state of blissful
preparation. A beneficent scheme it was, and not
that only, but one which resulted in a very pretty and
charming spectacle,' well worth travelling down from
town to see, even on a wintry January night. The
initiative of it arose, I am informed, with the present
Chairman of the Committee of Visitors, Mr. W. H.
Wyatt, whose experience elsewhere had led him
to conclude that an advance from . the ordinary
Christmas ball to one which appealed moist
strongly to the imagination, and more power.
fully excited the interest of the patients, could not
fail to produce good results. His suggestion com-
mended itself to the authorities generally, and was
taken up with Such ardour that the entire
.work of
fitting 'upwards of 200 patients with something'of
fancy dress was done within- the building by ready
and untiring hands. Here let me show some little
consideration for the "burdened ratepayer," who
may, perhaps, feel disposed to question whether
any portion of his hard earnings should go
towards providing Colney Hatch with the means
of such "high jinks " as a fancy ball. The
"burdened ratepayer," with whom, as a ratepayer,,
it is impossible net to sympathise, may make
himself easy about the expense of last night's
Proceedings, inasmuch as they cost the county
but little more than fifty pounds. It is as-
tonishing what a proper number of deft fingers,
directed by an inventive fancy, can do with cheap
Materials. Cotton stuffs alone were used for the
patients, and these with a proper quantum of coloured
Paper and artificial flowers, served to transform the
two hundred inmates into characters of many lauds
and climes, not to speak of personages whose habitat
it would be very hard indeed to determine. The pre-
paration of these dresses had an effect which alone justi-
fied Mr. Wyatt's benevolent idea. Not only did it'
keep scores of patients employed in a work which to
them possessed the greatest possible attraction; but it
appealed to those powers of imagination and associa-
tion which often survive the decay of all others.
Many a happy day, depend upon it, did the manu-
facture of calico robes' tinsel crowns, spangled
doublets, and what not beside, bring to these poor
lunatics, and delightful was the anticipation of wear-
ing such splendours amid a gay and brilliant corn-
Pany ; for it should be clearly understood that the
committee's invitations were not limited to the in-
mates of the building. Cards were sent to magistrates,
Clergymen, physicians, lawyers, soldiers; and all
these classes had representatives in full professional
attire. Deputy-lieutenants, bewigged barristers,
gowned and hooded University men, grey-coated
volunteers, and scarlet-coated regulars helped to make
up a motley and brilliant throng; while the rest of
Berrie SO3 guests bravely tried to play the parts
mediwval jestere, Counts di Luna Hungarian
cavalry, Figaros, Spanish Dons, cavaliers, bandits,
and what not else that is fondly supposed to contain
the true elements of the picturesque. Nor were the
ladies behind in efforts to diversify the scene, though
the costumes worn differed more in points of detail than
in, any other reepect. Very charming some of them
were, and not a few might have passed muster as
admirable studies of historical modes. Altogether the
visitors entered thoroughly into the spirit of the occa-
-81", scarcely more than a score appearing in the
ordinary dress of our prosaic day.
The arrangement of the nand hall in which the
;lancing took place was admirable. Save for the
buffets, orchestra, and 'a platform reserved for special
visitors, the whole of the spacious floor lay open to the
dhlicers, while accommodation was found in the
gallery, and beneath it for some hundreds of the
Patients who , could, not be permitted to take any
Other part than that of on-lookers. These, of course,
Wore their ordinary attire, and presented a striking
Contrast ts the parti-coloured, ever-shifting crowd
below. Their enjoyment, however was not less evi-
dent, as they watched the scene some with the
unrestrained delight of mere children, others with
the almost patronising composure of age; others
again, with fitful changes from animation to
Iteerning lethargy. But the most remarkable
thing about that affecting company was the
Perfect order and decorum tl.ey observed. An eqnal
(tiumber of sane people would have - given far more
"rouble, and, I am bound to say, not have been half
80 intereeting. Looking upon them it was impossible
to
-eep,from speculation as to the ideas suggested in
their disordered minds by a scene a hich must have
dimly recalled many a childi.h story. As -with the
crowd in the gallery so with the der (Tie below—the
Ptcple whom seemed most happy
were the wearers of
calico finery and tinsel splendour. At tiret the visitor
Pad some difficulty in distinguishing the sane from the
?Rail; but after a little while the proe,ess was easy
enough. The insane danced far more vigorously than
their friends who had come from the hard real
World outside; and nothing was more amusing
than to see a gentleman accustomed to the ordinary
L'"riguid walk through a quadrille, paired off with a lady
tcate whose highest enjoyment it was to dance in the
sense ofthe term. Nor was this all. The visitors
from outside made no more pretence at playing the
Parts they assumed than do the supers at a stage fee-
tivvitY. Figaro had no life in him, the bandit was re-
rf,tarkable for mildness, the sailor never once shivered
Lull timbers, the gentleman in short doublet and trunk
Zese seemed more embaraseed by the state of his legs
'4'l was becoming, and the Albanian laboured under

the difficulty of deciding what to do with his arsenal of
weapons. But the patients, many of them, went in
for dramatic business with praiseworthy earnest-
ness, and had a very shrewd notion of the
obligations they assumed. There was a Faust who
went about in skull-cap and long gown, carrying a roll
of manuscript, as though expecting every moment to
see Mephistopheles rise through the floor. Another of
more cheerful disposition, armed with the Wader of
toe ancient jester, administering sounding blows with
edifying industry, and appeared to think that he was
the life and soul of humour. Sisters of Charity and
black-veiled nuns, though not objecting to dance,
were, in the intervals, models of primness and pro-
priety, while all round the walls were scores
of fantastic dresses, whose wearers appeared to
be deeply impressed with the necessity they
entailed of doing something out of the com-
mon. Only in a few instances, to my knowledge, did
they revert to the delusions of their ordinary every-
day life. One case was that of a man who asked me to
share his delight at the prospect of quickly seeing his
dear wife and children. The doctor had promised to
let him go soon, and often gave him a "screw" of
tobacco. "Ah," said he, "I once had a hosier's
business worth £lO,OOO a-year." Another was also
expecting to go out in a few days, but he was sorely
exercised in mind respecting a tailor from Scotland
who had worked mischief to . his sister, and about
whom he spoke with an emphasis not the less
bitter for the number of Biblical quotations
used. My second friend had a long story, and
a very ironical how with which to break it off when
the attention of his listener obviously began to flag.
Episodes of this kind were, as I have said, extremely
rare, and it is a simple matter of fact that a stranger
not previously informed might have passed a great
part of the evening before finding out that he was in
company with hundreds of men and women whom the
law would not hold accountable for their actions. So,
with rare enjoyment and undisturbed by a single un-
pleasant episode, the evening passed away, and the
first costume ball at Coluey Hatch scored a brilliant
success.