The Cleveland leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1865-1865, 1865-07-21
Characters IN the BIaekwslF. IsIand
Lunatfe Asylum.
L. ann


The Lunatic Aslyumis noble structure.
with two wings, the whole forming two
two sides Of rectsDgle, and an octsgonal
building In the center, st the junction Of
the two wings. It is located very near
the northern extremity of the leland, fne
view being obtained from the upper win
dows over the widening vsters Of East
River, with its many Islands and blooming
banks. DR.. II. l.. Parsons is the resident
physician. The number Of patients UNDER
going treatment at the present time COM
prises los males and 457 females. Thew
frequently arrive at the rate of three or
four dsy-sixteen having arrived last
wsek-snd are not discharged quite SO
rapidly ss they come.
Some of the men are employed in the
garden, and all the vegetables that are
used on the place are raised By the pa
tients.
In most ssylums, the number of men ex-
eeeds the number of women confined. Here
the converse OF the rule is apparent. Itis
accounted for by the fact that the causes
os insanity bear more heavily upon wo-
men than upon men. The women who are
patient at the asylum srs generally of the
poorer classes they Iit at home are con-
fined 70 a nsrrow rage of thoughts,
while the men have more liberty snd
freer access TO the world. A very
large proportion Of the insane are for
eigners, and most Of these are fsnnsles. Or.
Parsons ascribes the fact in s measure, to
homesickness, TO the strange and exciting
surroundings of q new country upon wo-
men of feeble minds. And the mania
sometimes incident upon child d-birth is
frequent cause Of insanity among women.
Alcoholism is another common cause, both
with women snd men. Incorporate per-
sons become insane either from the imme-
diate effects of a single "spree" or from
long continued use Of alcohol; though DE-.
Parsons is of the opinion that the latter is
the more frequent cause of insanity. Ven
ereal diseases are also frequent.
AN INTERVIEW WITH MRS. PRESIDENT BU-
CHANAN.
In going through the Female Depart
ment with Mr.. Lee, one of the officials, he
introduced US to an elderly woman, who
said that she was the wife of President
Buchanan, and asked US if we belonged 70
Lincoln. We answered in the negative,
saying that we belonged to the New York
Tribune.
"Fhe editor is Pompey the Great, isn't
he ? asked the old lsdy earnestly.
"No; he left the management soma
years ago, and the paper is now ably con-
Quoted by other parties"
"DOes the Tribune bslong to Lincoln p
No, it belongs to Universal Freedom"
VINO doos Lincoln holoney to ~
We answered devoutly that, to the best
of our judgment, he belonged to death and
immortality, and then, beng told by the
old lady that we weren't of any account,
We modestly sequiesced and passed on
The next party who attracted out stten-
tion was good looking young woman, who
sat on high stool, with tragic air, snd
informed US that she wss Queen Elizabeth
os R-ssiAnA Sha said there was great
mistake in the people calling uer gUUu
Queen Bess; that she wss nothing of the
kind; she acknowledged liking for our
friend, calling him dear Raleigh, but said
that her whole life was embittered by the
poignant remembrance Of the death Of
| Essex.