The Portland daily press., 1874-11-21
This reasoning was unanswerab,e. It was,
completely thrown away upon

tlon mad no chance against Roland's faryent
entreaties. The days OF his residence at
Eastbourne were drawing to close. If let
let him return to the asylum an unmarried
man, months, years perhaps, might pass be-
fore our union could take place. Coud eX-
pect him, could expect any man, to endure
that cruel separation, that unrelieved sus
pensep His mind had been sorely tried al
ready; his mind might give way under it.
These were the arguments that carried
weight with them in my judgment. / was Of
age, and free to act as l pleased. You are
welcome, if you like, to consider me the most
foolish and the most obstinate of women. In
sixteen days from the date of the picnic Ro.
land and were privately married at East
bourne.
My father-more grieved than angry, poor
manufactured to be present at the cere-
mony; in justice to himself. My brother
gave me away at the altar.
Roland and l spent the afternoon of the
wedding day and the earlier part of the eve
ming together. At nine o'clock he returned
to the Doctors house, exactly as usual; hav
ing previously explained to me that he was in
the power of the Court of Chancery, and that
until we succeeded in setting aside the pro-
ceeedings of the lunacy commission, there
was jealous necessity for keeping the mar
riage strictly secret. My husband and I
kissed, and said good-by till tomorrow, as
the clock struck the hour. I little thought,
while I looked after him from the street door.
that months on months were TO pass before
saw Roland again.
A hurried note from my husband reached
me the next morning. Our marriage had
| been discovered, 1--WE never could tell by
whon,) and we never had been betrayed TO
| the doctor. Roland was then on his way
back to the asylum. He had been warned
that force would be used used if he resisted.
Knowing that resistance would be interpre-
ted, in his case, as new outbreak of mad
ness, he had wisely submitted. ST have
made the sacrifice" the letter concluded; sit
is now for you to help me. Attack the Com
| mission in Lunacy-and be quick about tW
We lost no time in preparing for the at
tack. On the day when I received the news
| of our misfortune, we lest Eastbourne for
London, and at once took measures to obtain
the best legal advice.
My dear father-though was far from de-
serving his kindness-entered into the mat
| ter heart and soul. In due course of time we
presented petition to the Lord Chancellor,
proving that the decision Of the Lunacy Com
mission might be set aside. ..-r gE
We supported our petition by quoting the
| evidence of Roland's friends and neighbors,
| during his three years. residence in the Lake
| country as free man. These worthy people
(being summoned before the Lunacy Com
m:ssion) had one and all agreed that he was,
as to their judgment and experience, perfect
| ly quiet, harmless, and sane. Many of them
had gone out shooting with him. Others had
often accompanied him in sailing tezcur-
sions on the lake. Do people trust mad
man with gun, and with the management
of boat? As to the "act of violence %
which the heirs -at-law and the next of kin
had made the means of imprisoning Roland
in the madhouse, it amounted to this. He
had lost his temper, and had knocked man
down who had offended him. Very wrong,
no doubt, but if that is a proof of madness
| what thousands of lunaticS are still at large
Another instance produced to prove his in
sanity was still more absurd. 1t was solemn
ly declared that he had put an image of the
Virgin Mary in his boat when he went out on
his sailing excursions! have seen the i'm
age; it was very beautiful work of art. Was
Roland mad to admire it, and take it with
him? His religious convictions leaned to-
ward Catholicism. If he betrayed insanity in
adorning his boat with an image of the Vir.
| gin Mary, what is tie mental condition of
most of the ladies in Christendom, who wear
the cross as an ornament round their necks ?
We advanced these arguments in our petition
after quoting the evidence of the witnesses.
And, more than this, we even went the
length of admitting. as an act of respect to
the court, that my poor husband might be &C.
centric in some of his opinions and habits
But we put it to the authorities whether bet
ter results might not be expected from plac-
ing him under the care of a wife who loved
him, and whom he loved, than from shutting
him up in an asylum amoug incurablc mad
men as his companions for life.
| Such was our petition, so far as am able
to describe it.
| The decision rested with the Lords JUS
tices. They decided against us.
Turning deaf ear to our witnesses and
our arguments, these merciless lawyers de-
cared that the doctors individual assertion
OF my husbands insanity was enough for
them. They considered Roland's comfort to
be sufficiently provided for in the asvlum,
with an allowance of seven hundred pounds
a year, and to the asylum they consigned
him for the rest of his days.
So far as was concerned, the result OF
this Infamous judgment was to deprivs me
of the position of Roland's wife no lunatic
being capable of contracting marriage by law.
so far as my husband was concerned, the re-
suit may be best stated in the language OF a
popular nwspaper who published an article
on the case. ''It is possible" said the article
4 wish could personally thank the man
who wrote it-s'for the Court of Chancery to
take man who has a large fortune, and is
in the prime of life, but is little touched in
the head, and make monk of him, and then
report to its self that the comfort and hap
piness of the lunatic have been eifectlally
provided for at the expenditure of seven
hundred pounds year."
Roland was determined, however, that
they should not make a monk of him, and,
you may rely upon it, so was [.
But one Alternative was left to us. The
authority of the Court of Chancery within
its jurisdctionl is the most despotic authority
on the face Of the earth. Our one hope was
in taking to flight. The price four liberty,
as citizens of England, was exile from our ma
tive country, and the entire abandonment of
Rolands fortune. We accepted those hard
conditions. Hospitable America offered us a
refuge, beyond the reach of mad-doctors and
Lords Justice. To hospitable America our
hearts turned as to our second country.
The serious question was how we were to
get there?
We had attempted to correspond, and had
failed. Our letters had been discovered, and
seized, by the proprietor OF the asylum. Fort
unately we had taken the precaution of writ
ing in "cipher'' of Rolands invention,
which he had taught me before our marriage.
Though our letters were illegible, our purpose
| was suspected as matter of course, and a
watch was kept on my husband, night and
day.
Foiled in our first effort at making ar
rangements secretly for our fight, we con-
| .huco Jul correspondence (Stlll III clp0er)
by means Of advertisements in the news
papers. This second attempt was discovered
in its turn. Roland was refused permission
| to subscribe to the newspapers, and was for
bidden to enter the reading-room of the asy-
lum.
These tyrannical prohibitions came too
late. Our plans had already been communi-
Gated, we understood each other, and we
had only now to bide our time. We had ar
| ranged that my brother and friend of his,
on whose discretion we could thoroughly rely,
should take it in turns to watch every even-
Ing for given time at an appointed meeting
place, three miles distant from the asylum.
The spot had been carefully CHOSEN. 1t
was on the bank Of lonely stream, and
close to the outskirts of thick wood. A
waterproof knapsack, containing a change
of clothes, a false beard and wig, and some
biscuits and preserved meats, were hidden in
hollow tree. My brother and his friend
always took their fshing-rods with them,
and presented themselves as engaged in the
innocent occupation of angling to any chance
strangers who might pass within sight of
them. One one occasion the proprietor of
the asylum himself rode by my brother on
the OnnoSita hanL or tho etroop, opd osL~od