Star.
London, England, 1824-12-13 00:00:00

BOW-STREET.

Tux CAst or Miss Bteemesoer.—.-Our Readers will'recollect the
ease of this Lady, who had escaped from a private madhouse, and
was pursued to London by one of the officers of the establishment,
who applied to Sir IL Bisects, on Thursday last, for authority to take
her back, which the Magistrate refused to give. Saturday, Sir John
Chapman, late Mayor of Windsor, a brother of Miss Blenkinsopp,
and Air. Phillips, the person who made the former application, and
who is the resident surgeon of the establishment in question, waited
upon the Sitting Magistrate, Mr. Mnissittru., for the purpose of
offering a puLlic explanation of the matters contained in the News-
paper reports of Friday last. These Gentlemen were accompanied
by Mr. Cooper, the proprietor of Debates, and not Knight's lin.
tel, as stated by mistake in the former report.
Sir John Chapman said, that he was a partner in the asylum fro:n
which Miss Bletikinsopp bad escaped, and he was %veil :scquaimei
with all the eircumettices of that Lady's case. She was ueeth--
tionably insane, and had been so for a long time. She was ti caned
with even more than ordinary kindness in the Asylum, on account
the perfect harmlessness of her malady, and time natural mi
Oen of her disposition. Sir John here mentioncd.the nature of :he
delusion under which the unfortunate Lady is said to labour, bu:
we forbear, from motives of delicacy to the family, front repeating
the description given by the worthy Knight. He produced a Inter
to the Magistrate, which bad been received frorii Miss B.'s mothin,
wins is residing in a very distant part n& the country. That Lady
stated, that she had seen the statement relative to the escape of Inr
daughter, and complained of the remissness of the establishment in
suffering it. She spoke in the most affectionate terms of hers' un-
happy daughter," and bore testimony in the most unequivocal man-
ner to her insanity, and desired that her letter might be considered
sufficient authority for replacing her daughter in the Asylum. She
added, that great as the distance was, she would have come imme-
diately to London, but that another beloved daughter was just at
the point of death, and she (Mrs. IL) believed that her departure
would accelerate the fatal event. A notion might have gone abroad
that she had or was entitled to money, but that was not the case;
she never had any property whatever. Sir John Chapman said,
thete was one thing which he felt particularly anxious to explain.
It was stated that the certificate was signed by Dr. Vergusson, and
that no such name was to be found in the list of Phy-icians. It
was true that that Gentleman was not a member of the College, bet
he was a Graduate of the University of Edinburgh, and a most able
and respectable man. By the Act of Parliament, the signature of
one medical man was deemed sufficient to a certificate in insanity.
Sir Julia Chapman then begged it to be understood, that he made
no complaint of the publication of the case; he was a triend to pub.
licity, and with regard to the establishment in which he bad a
share, he and his partners always coos ed inquiry. t;iit only AIA.
I &traces, but any private individual, was perfectly welcome at all
times to inspect every part of it. 1k presumed, that after what
had been mentioned as to the state of the young Lady's mind, there
would be no objection to her being taken back to the asylum.
Mr. Mixstsucc said, he could give no order upon the subject,
but he supposed the hotel-keeper would offer no resistance to her
removal.
Mr. Capper said, he certainly should not resist the authority of
these Gentlemen. lie had been actuated in the step he had taken
only by a motive of humanity, conceiving, as he did, that the Lady
was perfectly sane, a belief that had not been shaken by his subse-
quent conversations with her. He never saw a person more rational.
Sir J. Chapman said, she was quite rational, perhaps, upon every
subject but one, and upon that there could be no doubt of her in-
sanity. Bet, did Mr. Cooper think her taking the postillion who
drove her for a ghost a proof of sanity ?
Air. Cooper explained, that the postillion, not satisfied with what
she gave him, followed !seem her apartment, and when she turned
round and saw him, she started and naiad, " Oh ! I took you for a
-ghost," and she then gave him a sovereign instead of a shilling.
After some further conversation, the Gentlemen left the office,
with thedetermination to convey Miss Blenkinsopp back to the Lu-

mask Asylum.