New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-08-10

on the move; and not feeling anxious 10 remain
and be entertained by the ladies whether sane or
not am unaware) who sat in q remote corner en-
gagged upon their embroidery, FASTENED aftr the
reireatiDg mass.
Now we descended into the "l0wer depths.
Supdry and divers eiaculations of repuensnce and
unwiliipeuess escaped from the lips of the ladies'
"a they wendell their way down, down through the
damp and dismal regions which formed such
striking contrast to the elegant apartments we had
lust left. Ii seemed like descending into cave.
The air was chilly, the walls cold, forbiddlng and
upholstered, the pathway not over smooth and
altogether the prospect Of pleasant time was IN
danger Of receiving slight dsmper.
Aswe passed through the stone-paved, stone
rooted, stone-walled cavern, which rds " made by
Glands" began to muse with excessive wonder
ment on the meaning of all thls. Heavens!
thought J. care the poor victims Of shattered in-
"tellect incarcerated in the gloomy cells which
"surround me Sad indeed must be the wreck
"of that mind which is so fallen that il may not be
further FRUSTRATED BY residence in such place
a. as thisr' The grated doors of the cells were
protected BY damp white curtains hung from the
inside and visions Of horror began TO ill my brain
az | copiured up msges of the poor manaced
vretches who grOaned in mental darkness aud
bodily disease within. Determined 70 solve the
mystery. approached door where the curtain
was partially removed, and Pc ering In beheld-and
felt better We were IN the cellar
salt in bags butter in tubs and stalwart cones
were the only occupants of these cool and airy re-
positories and the aspect of affairs was materially
changed by the discovery.
As We proceeded on our winding way percep-
tble breeze played with the ladies' hair and the
gentlemen coat tails which breeze, as we further
advanced, eventually became what my friend Pc
Ter vould call ga stiff blow" The feminine pOr-
tor of our community hung on to their bonnets
and screamed timid little of laughter; the
eeutleu en- held down their heads and STAYED along
through the darkness with c0mmendabe and reso-
Int perseverance, | say 4" darkness ST. might
saw pitchr darkness. Believe me, sir, you couldn't
see your hand before you. Here we were, hetero-
genous admixture of masculinity and feminlnity,
cropiug our way through subterranean passage
aosirst hiph wind with not ray OF light 10 lllu-
mine our path, and nothing but the encouraging
voice of the guide far ahead TO lure us on And IN
the far distance we beheld hideOus object-'oaat,
we could not tell-which looked like huge white
butterfly. huttering its BrObdignagian wings IN
throes of agony ar the end of the cavern through
which we CROPPED our way Is it any won
der that the ladies' screamed Is it any wonder
that the gentlemen INDUCED in loud and express
sive phrases characterized by more int nslty an
vigor than elegance Is it any wonder that the
ladies' frequently remarked" There I've run
:" against somebody" Is It any matter OF aston
tricts" was heard to say to the maiden supposed
10 be clineing to him in the Egyptian gloom,
q" Goodness gracious, Maria, what IS sgOlng to hap
"pen" ~ Is it any wonder that one young lady
tainted, but could MT stay so because the wind
blew 80 hbrdl Not much. But the cause OF ali
this madness Of the elements" was soon made
apparent; for as we drew near the hdeOus specter
which had before seemed so appalling it was found
to be monstrous-what shall call 1t l-tan-
whizzng around in great inClosure like an old
fashioned churn and sending torrents OF fresh air
rushing through the dark alley, penetrating the
provision cells and passing through yentilators into
all parts of the huge building Sucn continuance
as this never saw before, though presume you
have yet doubt there is another OF such dlmen-
siOns.
Just as we had about concluded to return, and
save our heads from collision with the whizzing
bow-hard" before ne, we observed a small door
leading of at the side which soon introduced
us into the realms of light and civilization once
more.
Omittipg some minor matters we were soon in
troduced to the printing Office, where the publca
ton Of Tie opal is conducted by patients of the
Asylum Ii is somewhat larger than had antlc-
pated, including fonts of type for the production
of such Job work as may occur in the Asylum
or its belongings at this time pamphlet was in
course of publication, containing report OF an Of
fetal nature if l remember right. / entered into
conveuation with the most rational looking young
man pTesebt-a cOmpostor- and in a few moments
learned that he was one of the patients though
verify should never have suspected IL had he not
hin self informed me- Here tarried so long that
the party passed on without me--the guide turned
the key ia the dOOr--and / icas lOcked IN Not
relislipg the idea of becoming denizen of these
precincts, | effected a release; and fastening
rapidly through several apartments, missing there
by in Il great measure contemplation OF their Pc
culiar features | overlook the assembly in
fine hall listening TO the dulcet notes Of an ANA
teur strng-band, which produced strains of the
most delicious harmony which the peculiar
romance Of madness served 10 invest with the
most potent power. The players were three in
number-frst aud second violin, and guitar ni
am told that their insanity resulted ia great
measure from their devotion to their instruments.
Certainly they played in very superior manner.
After some pOpula, oyertures had been performed
to the evident delight Of all, they nGdled as out oil
their presence with a we'll known tune which was
expected to land us on the other side OF tie River
jordan.
could not help noticing the elegance and taste
which chara cteuzed te rooms bordering this hall.
They were decidedly fine, and though small their
beauty Was doubtless greatly enhanced b. tue
surprise ielt at seeing them here where i hardly
expected IT, i began 10 think whether fuDatlcs
lite was so rery dreadful after all; for not a room
greeted my vision there which poor devil Of
scribbler like this deponent would not be delighted
to occupy As | was about passing out OF the
hall my attention was rivoted by the sweetest lit
tie gem of boudoir that have seen these many
days 1t was hung with two or three large aud
beautiful eDgrayings Of the very fret order the
walls sbone like polished ivory, and the marble
tipped table at the head Of the snowy bed was
oveIhung by lovely picture of a rosy child, LOOK
ing down upon me with large blue eyes and smiling