Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1874-07-17

pare them for a new entrance into the
world. A green and shady court adjoins
the hall of this ward, and the door be-
tween Is not closed during the day; the
windows of their rooms, which are on the
! ground floor, look out on the walk most
usually traversed by visitors, and their
prison life is made as light as possible.
After a glance at the library--the Gus
todian of which is patient, who in
| formed the reporter that few books but
| novels, magazines, and illustrated works
we're in demand-the Chronicle man re-
turned to the office, where he found Dr.
Shurtlef ready to attend him through
the female department, the inmates of
which numbered, on May I, 343. Posted
conspicuously over the doors is the notice,
Male visitors not admitted" q rule
| strictly adhered to, except in the case of
those who have relatives there, when they
can see them in one of the many recep-
| tion-rooms.
This entire department is presided
| over by matron, whose only superior
officer Is the Superintendent. She has
| in each ward two assistants. whose duties
are the same as those in the mems de-
partment. In the first or receiving ward
the reporter visited the room of one
who, in the five years she had passed
lHcIG, mas tIlplOycu all HtT tllut III TIC
| adornment of her apartment With en-
cravings and colored prints from maya
zines, with many-hued paper and water
color paints she has decked her room
with almost every device under the sun,
showing in many of her groupings taste
and rare ingenuity She is always glad
to see. visitors, and spoke in pleased
way of the Sunday-school people who
visited her the day before, saying "They
brought good spirits with them" Stand
ing behind the door was a middle-aged
woman who would no sooner catch the
eye of the stranger than she would drop
profound courtesy; she seemed TO shun
| observation, and the moment one looked
| at her she made the old-fashioned
obeisance in a timid, deprecatory man
ner. Far different was the low and not
ungraceful sweep of the head of one
who, with a vacant smile, saluted the
visitor. She was seated on
bed in her room in precisely the
same attitude as the day before.
Her feet, bound together, rested on
chair, and her leather-muffled hands
were in her lap as she slowly bent her
body backward and forward in time with
the never-varying tune she was humming.
| Afterward piercing shrieks were heard
from her room, and the reporter was in
formed that it would be necessary to keep
her in bonds to prevent her from denud-
ing herself To all of the patients the
Superintendent had some pleasant or
cheering words to say, in this ward, and,
with one exception, relevant replies were
given. The exception was woman in
strait:jacket necessary to restrain her
from tearing her clothes to tatters), whose
only reply to his inquiries was the most
| savage Vengeful smile the reporter ever
saw on the face of a human being. The
reporter afterward saw this patient at
dinner, where she was fed by an attend
ant, and as she looked up. she had still
that vindictive expression. A sad, dis
tressed-looking woman who was only ad-
mitted the night before was kindly ad-
dressed by the doctor, and in hesitating,
broken words she tried to tell him where
her home was.