The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-08-04
KIDNAPPING.
whs Case OF . Bride Inamured In ths
TrsntOn Lunatie AsyIuna-she 10 DIS

TrentOn Lunatie Asylua-shs ~ Dhs"
charged by ths Courts. ..
Ifora the N. y Times Of this "sorn"'0.
when Charles Reades celebrated novel OF
s'Very Hard Cash." hrst appearedin Arthe- year
Round the medical faculty OF England became
30 indignant that Mr.. Dickens thought 1t neces.
sary to state in his periodical that he was not
responsible for the opinloO of writer's, whose
serial stories were published by him. Physicians
then secuted the idea that any sane person
would be kept by the manager OF an asylum IN
his institution; but subsequent relations nave
only shown that truth Is stranger than hcton;
tl at scenes such as pictured in Mr.. Reade's
work had actually occurred, where parties
through the jealousy of friends, had oeen I'M
prlsoned in asylums and kept there until SUCH
time as it was thought necessary they snoulu DC
released.
In New Jersey within the past few weeks, and II
the assertit ms made by counsel remain uneX-
plained, the statements, with certain facts, show
that fragrant and willtul violation OF tue free
dom of the subject had been committed. One
could not have thought ii possible that in this
age any sane person could have been ''crobed,
cabined, and confnedn In lunatc asylum, but
the matters which came to light yesterday on
the hearing of an application for writ OF habeas
corpus showed too plainly the iaseness OF that
supposition, for DR.. Buttolph, the keeper OF the
Trenton Lunatic Asy lum, made affidavit that he
had under h's charge q Mrs. Frances j. herrlt,
whom he believes not insaHe but had kept her
there because the usual formalltles OF law Tor
her admission had been gone through. The
mis-. merritt III QuGoblOu was tuC MiuOH VI tiV
late William Morton. On the 4th Of July last,
sheltbought itIbest to change her condition, but
at that time her troubles seemed TO have com
menced. She got married to Colonel ii. d.
Merit, o young gentlemen OF tEenty-four or
twenty FIVE years of age, rather low in stature,
but good looking. Five days after she lett her
home at the request OF her brother, Edward
LIVINGSTON Price who had her conveyed in
q carriage TO the Bergen County Poor House,
thence she was taken to Hackensack,
where a jury was smpaneled uader
beng given to her husband, she was declared
insane, and was next transferred to the Trenton
Lunatic Asylum, where she was discovered by
her husband, who had learned OF her deten ton
there from q friend. When the matter came
before Judge Bedle at the Hudson Court-house
yesterday, Mr.. GIlchrist, on behalf OF her rela-
tives opposed her discharge for the present on
the ground that a new trial was to be had, at
which the husband was expected to be present.
part of the lady, opposed this delay, on
the ground that it was narrowing to her
feelings to be thus kept in confinement,
aud read letter from a Mrs. Thifen, a
friend to Mrs. Merit, which stated that she was
undoubtedly oil sound mind, On the other side
there we're two afIidavits read, one from Mrs.
Merits rnother and the other from Mr.. "a
brlskle, the family physician, stating that the
woman had been for some time insane; and 1t
was argued that none could tell so well as those
two the state OF the adY's mind. Counsel for
the applicant ponte1 out an irregularitY in the
preceding before the Chnncello and on this
ground the Judge charged that the la1y's com
initial was not regular, and she should be dis
charged. The matter thus rests for the present,
but the question of her sanity will be again
tried before jury.