Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1869-11-27

was ,oinv 10 hi, her. The evidence upo. the
trial was quite sufficient to establish insanity,
and aft. r reaching the asylum she gave birth %
this child, confirming her story Of her betra! al.
! The Case Of Mary Harris.
A somewhat similar case Is that OF Mary
Harris who killed Adoniram j. Burroughs,
clerk in the Treasury Department. The re-
markable particulars Of that case and Of the
subsequent trial will be remembered. She was
bright, handsome young girl, employed in
millinery shop in Burlington. Iowa, where she
attracted the attention of Burroughs, who gained
her affections, promised to marry her. and af-
forwards married another. She followed him to
Washington with the purpose, II was supposed,
of bringing suit against him for breach Of prom
Use. On reaching here she went to the Treasury
Department and shot him dead, firing two shots
from small pistol. The flair caused great cN-
citement throughout the country, and noticeably
in this city, from the extraordinary circum-
stances attending the trail. Much popular SYM
pathy was shown for the girl. Secretary McCul-
lOch and his wife, and very many others Of
prominence took an interest i'm her case, and she
had a distinguished array Of counsel some of II
volunteered, i'm her behalf on the other side,
the brother of the deceased, the Rev. John G.
Burroughs, President Of the University OF
Chicago, made such notable efforts to bring
the prisoner to Justice; and, as II WIS
brother. as to bring down upon him the seyerest
animadyersions of her counsel. The trial was
marked by great acrimOny and feeling and sew
era, displays of temper between the prosecution
and the defence, including sharp personalities
between District Attorney Darlington and Mr..
Bradley, and scene between the District At
torney and the Court, Judge Wylie. The de
fence put up was 'parOxysmal insanity What
has been called the '.insanity dodge" has been
80 often practised by lawyers that it was i'll this
case looked upon by many as merely offered to
afford ten,er-hearted Jury chance To acquit
the fair criminal without too much strain upon
the conscience. The jury did acquit her, and
they were denounced and ridiculed without
stint by a portion OF the press OF the country,
a spooney sentimental set, unable TO do justice
when there was "A woman in the case. And when
Mary Harris on her discharge went TO Richmond
and set up in the millinery business, there was
another Outcry to the disadv antage of her jury.
But afterwards the signs of insanity developed
Enthusiastically. and she was finally taken to the
Government Hospital. So il she had been CON
committed indeed! After a course of thought
full treatment here she has been discharged. APP
parcntly cured, and Is now. We believe, engaged
in the Philadelphia post office.
Dipsomonia, or Thirst Mania.
At the end of a corridor in one of the wards
We saw lady dressed i'm black, standing by a
window, and who seemed to hold herself some.
what alOOf from the other inmates of the ward.
We saw her only at distance, but her appear
ance was lady-like and prepOsscssing. Yet she
was under treatment for dipsom0aia-the insane
thirst for alcoholic stimulants!
In the last two or three years quite a number
of patients of this class-persons whose intern
perate use of liquor, in the judgment of medical
men, becomes an nsan ity-have been received at
some cases permanent cures have apparently
been effected; in Others, the patients relapse
after leaving, as was the case with poor kind
hearted Robert johnson, son of ex-President
johnson, whose unhappy end is remembered.
Every body loved him; and he had qualities Of
mind to have enabled him to fill high position
with ability, but for the craze for drink.
The main difficulty i'm dealing with this class
of patients, experienced here, and in the two OF
three institutions exclusively devoted to
the care of inebriates, is the disposition of the
patients to leave the asylum when the immedi
ate effects of drinking have passed away, and
before opportunity has been afforded to
effect permanent cure. He is impatient OF de-
tentiOn when he seems TO be well. his friends are
an'lious to have him ont, and there is no legal
restraint applicable to hold him. DIR. Nichols,
in a late report, SAYS in this connection:
.'n a few weeks-sometimes in few days
after the dipsOmaniac is placed under restraint
and proper treatment, the immediate effects Of
drinking pass of, and to a casual observer he
appears to be entirely sane; and if he can then
jurisdiction by a writ Of habeas corpus, it will
probably set him at liberty. He Is
not sane, however. His moral and
intellectual powers are weak and deeply per-
pressed; every fibre OF his being seems to de
mand stinulants, and his thirst for them is in
tcnsc;and the moment he is discharged he resorts
to their with the unreas0ning directness
with which the brlitcs obey their Instincts. In
permitting him to renew his self-destruction-a
self-destructiOn that carries 20 much misery
along with it-sOciety rejects the guidance of
science, fails tn discharge its obligations 10 tire
Individual and to itself, and reaps 4 harvest OF
Ills which, in their severity and extent. Sec
ond to none that affect humanity. We know of
,llsfr
which the families OF incbriates often ex,,eri-
euce, who find themselves the anxious but pass
i've victims Of terribly destructive evil which
they have no power either to avert NY rcme,y.
1.-The question may be asked whether re-
straint, prolonged for year or two, will cure
dipsOmania. The answer OF science is we believe
that this form of insanity appears in this respect
to follow the law of other forms OF mental dis
ease. Itshould be recOliected that the cure Is
not undertaken in dilsOmania till the disease
has become chronic and deeply seated: hut If
there be- no constitutional tendency To this or any
other form Of insanity. and the Treatment H. con-
tinued till the sensibilties and strength, both OF
the body and the mind, become entirely normal,
the cure is likely to prove permanent"
The Patients and the Public.
We visited the entire establishment, but a
casual visitor I'm passing through even the wards
occupied by the most excited patients win meet
with very little to remind him of the raving ma
MAC OF the sensation novelist. But while out
bursts Of excitement are somewhat rare i'm
well-Ordered hospital there would be an obvious
improperly In throwing open all, or, indeed,
most Of the wards of institution for the insane
to general visiting. Highly excited patients are
never thus exposed. While il Is well to allow
the public a limited admission, that they may
form for themselves some idea of the general
care OF this afflicted class, it should be remem-
bered that these hospitals are for the insane, and
not for the sightseeing public. Even in passing
through the cOnvalescent and quiet wards care
should be taken not to wound the feelings of
any, and moments consideration should pre-
vent the thOughtless question, which We under
stand II 80 often asked I'm their Immediate pre9-
ence, sis this or that one insane?" =
The Community Of Five Hundred.
1t would be useless to attempt to describe in a
single paper all that there is of interest about
this immense establishment, with it's eccentric
community of five hundred people. Not the
least interesting features Of the place are the
perfect arrangements for cooking, ventilating,
and heating; the admirably ordered workshops,
stables, laundries, &C., &c. The bakeries, the
kitchens, and the store rooms are certainly mo-
dels Of their kind. DIR. Nichols holds that good,
wholesome food, well digested, Ia one Of the best
medicines for the insane, beEce the care
given to the quality OF the rood and its prepare
ton. --s, ... - ....-.4
The laundry r. an Institution worth a special
visit in its completeness and the ingenious nature
of the mechanical appliances used. During the
war, and when the asylum undertook the pat
riOtic work OF caring for large number of our
sick soldiers, as we'll as the insane or the army,
something like thirty thousand garments per