The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-08-03
Bethlehem Hospital.

The London Daily Telegraph OF the 29th ult'
contains the following account OF visit to
Bethlehem Hospital, o celebrated insane
asylum of that city:
Portraits enough one could sketch on the
route through the building. 1t is hardly the
sufferers from acute mania perhaps that attlct
one the most. Here and there, over fine
and proud face, you see shadow pass Like
thunder-cloud, as the mans hour Of torment
comes upon him but in that there is still
scme courage and manhood left. Yonder,
stricken down by the worst kind of melan-
cholia, poor creature, his hair all gray or
grizzled, rocks himself incessantly to and ro
upon his seat, shrinks from touch as from
fire, and gives no answer to kindly saluta-
tion but 70 moan. If this be his state at mid
day, what is it when the night closes in Pass
on; and now how old, think you, is the rosy
gentleman half asleep in char by the CHM
ney cornerp The rosy gentleman looks up,
with surprising amount OF brisness. as he
hears The question, and answers, NINETY sir r
He is not dreaming. not romancing. He
came to this hospital-think of it in January,
1897, already forty-eight years old, and there
is still color on his cheeks. Lese cheerful,
but robust in his language to degree which
is;almost terrific, is On old sailor in the neigh
borhood. Our men swore terribly in Flanders,
but this grand old veteran would outswear
thirty troopers. Never was there an old gen.
tleman 80 utterly unfit for publication. The
worst kind of modern after-dinner converse
ton. compared to his wonderful utterances,
would be ''as moonlight unto sunlight, and as
water unto wine.n We had better join the
ladies'. ~ - -. ~
In thefemale wards, situated in the eastern
part Of the hospital, We meet with many more
cases of chronic and persistent delnsion than
amongst the men. The very first lady, for in
stance, whom we accost soon describes her
self as "Queen Of Heaven and EARTH" and
speaks Of her most gracious Majesty Queen
Victoria in sighting tone aud de hdut en- 6aS.
Altogether, it is more pitiable sight than
that Of the men, and for every obvious reasons.
Here, too, We meet with one Of the few inmates
who recall the old type Of insanity. A poor,
unhappy uni | sSs has Desn here M 1s
white hair hangs in great tangled heaps about
her, and there is an awful look, Like that OF
hunger, in her eyes as she presses towards the
door OF her little room, and would fain pass
on and hustle by you. Involuntarily o man
shrinks from the touch for just second, and
it is not your first impulse, but return OF
reason and your reverence for womaD, which
makes You accept and press the hand that she
offers you. Ah, it is thin, worn hand Hon
estly, one is glad enough to mount to the up
per galleries where the mora hopeful-at any
rate the ouieter-"cases" are to be met with.
Deoorors as private drawing room are many
Of these apartments, where some OF the
patients sit reading, others working, others
again practicing OF the piano. The strange
ness Of the whole scene, seems to grow upon
you. II these calm, orderly yourg ladies are
mad, who Is sane Who shall draw the precise
line OF -demarcation between the two states2
"They draw it themselves" is perhaps the
answer, t is mournfully true. A poor girl
who fs, in the strict conventional sense, o
young lady-eagerly accosta us as We pass.
iAsb one might guess, it is the old story OF q
love that came to nothing. The face is bright
stil, and pretty, though the fine eyes are
the voice. Sensibly and quietly, with kind
OF subdued esgerness that is wonderfully
touching, she pleads for her release she is
quite we'll she would be quite safe; she can
take care Of herself perfectly. A crucial ques-
tion is then asked; and ahe cries. "Ah but
shall tell you the, truth, or not the t, nth
When tell yon the truth, you keep me here"
engaged to O young gentleman ''and that the
greater part Of Europe belongs TO him." The
soft but earnest yoice-a lady's In every tone
trembles down into tears, but the eyes, though
suffused, look proud, and have touch OF
anger in them, as she SAYS, "you keep me
here because tall the truth" No quleter
voice could you hsaIi and you .IINa must ID Dc
from such an interview without pain and sick
ness at the heart.
No attempt has been made in this notice to
gloss over the fact that o visit to Bethlehem is
q still painful and trying journey but. as pub
Lie chroniclers, whilst deprecating any morbid
curiosity on such subjects, and refusing, to
satisfy it BY entering into many details that
might easily have been given, We ara anxious
to bear testimony to the excellence and order,
&c far as We could judge, of the general
arrangements. On one point, Indeed, it would
be impossible to speak with too much empha-
sis. The behavior of the patients themselves
is proof of the influence e1erted over them
by the mingled frmness and kindness Of the
resident physician, DR.. W. Rhys Williams,
who is welcomed with smile by all but the
most hopeless as he passes through the wards.
To that gentleman. as we'll as to DR.. Kemp
thorne, the resident medical assistant, the
best thanks of all interested in the good man
agement of Bethlehem Hospital are eminently
due, not less than our own acknowledgements
for personal courtesy.