New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-04-11

and habits. But We put it to the authorize
whether better results might not be q
pected from placing him under the care q
his wife. who loved him, to shutting him u
in an asylum among incurable mad men q
his companions for life.
Such was orr position as far as am abb
| to describe it.
The decision rested with the Lord Jue
tices. They decided against US.
Turning deaf ear to our witnesses an,
our argulnents, these merciless lawyers dc
clared that the doctors individual assertion
OF my husbands insanity was enough to
them. They considered Roland's comfor
to be sufficiently provided for in the asylum
with an allowance of ESQ year, and t,
the asylum they consigned him tor the res
OF his days.
So tar as l was concerned, the result O
this Infamous Judgment was to deprive 10,
OF the position of ROland's wife; no lunati,
being capable of contracting marriage il
law. So far as my husband was concerned
the result may be best stated in the Ian
guage of popular newspaper which pub
lisbed an article on the case:
"lt is possible" said the article wish
could personally thank the man who wrote
it-"for the Court OF Chancery to take a
man who has large fortune and is in the
prime OF lite, but is a little touched in the
head, and make a monk Of him, and then
report to itself that the comfort and happi
ness OF the lunatic have been etfectually
provided tor at the expense Of ESQ year.
Roland was, however, determined that
they should not make monk Of him, and
you may rely upon it, so was |.
| But one alternative was left to u.s. The
authority of the Court of Chancery within
Its jurisdictiOn) is the most despOtic au-
thority on the face of the earth Our one
hope was in taking to fight.
The price Of our liberty as citizens of
England was exile from our native country,
| and the entire abandonment Of Roland g
fortune. We accepted those hard condi.
tons. Hospitable America offered us q
refuge, beyond the reach of mad doctors
and Lord Justices. To hospitable America
our hearts turned as to our second country.
The serious question was how were we to
get there!
We had attempted to correspond and had
failed. Our letters had been discovered
and seized by the proprietor of the asylum.
Fortunately we bad taken the precaution of
writing in CIPHER of ROland's invention,
which he had taught me before our mar
rage. Though cur letters were illegible,
our purpose was suspected as q matter of
course, and watch was kept on my hus-
band night and day.
Fooled in our first attempt at making ar.
engagements secretly for our flight, we con-
tlnued our correspondence (still in cypher)
by means of advertisement in the newsps-
pers. This second attempt was discovered
IN Its turn. Roland was refused permission
to subscribe to the newspapers, and was
forbidden to enter the reading room of the
asylum.
These tyranical prohibitions came too
late. Our plans had already been commu-
nlcated, we understood each other. and we
we had now only to bide our time. We
had arranged that my brother had friend
OF his, on whose discretion we could
thoroughly rely, should take it in turns to
watch every evening for given time to an
appointed meeting place. three miles dis.
tant from the asylum. The spot had been
carefully chosen. 1t was on the bank of a
lonely stream, and close to the outskirts of
thick wood. A waterproof knapsack.
containing change Of clothes, a false |
beard and wig, and some biscuits and pre-
served meats, were hidden in hollow tree.
My brother and friend always took their |
fishing rods with them and presented them
selves engaged IN the innocent occupa-
ton OF angling to any chance stranger who |
might pass within sight of them. On one |
occasion the proprietor of the asylum him
self rode by my brother On the opposite |
bank of the stream and asked politely if he |
had had good sport!
For fortnight these staunch allies of |
ours relieved each other regularly on their |
watch. and no signs of the fugitive appear |
ed. On the fifteenth evening, lust as the |
twilight was changing into night, and lust |
as my brother Whose turn it wasl had de- |
cided on leaving the place, Roland sud
denly Joined him on the bank of the stream.
Without wasting a moment in words the |
two at once entered the wood, and took the
knapsack from its place of shelter in the
hollow tree. In ten minutes more nv hus-
band was dressed in suit of workman's
clothes, and was further disguised in the
wig and beard. The two men set forth
down the course of the stream, keeping in
the shadow Of the wood until the night had
fallen and the darkEes hid them. The
night was cloudy; there was no moon.
After walking two miles, or a little more.
they altered their course. and made boldly
Tor the high road to Manchester, entering
IN it at point thirty miles distant from
he city.
On the way from the wood Roland de.
'crlbed the manner in which he had effected
lis escape.
The story was simple enough. He had
to be suffering from nervous i'll
less. and had requested to have his meals
q his own room. For the first fortnight
he two men appointed to wait upon him
n succession. week by week, were both
more than his match in strength The
he third man employed, at the beginning
# the third week, was physically a less
Ormldable person than his predecessors |
'eeing this, Roland decided when evening
anne on committing another "act of vio-
ence." In plain words, he sprang upon the
eeper waiting on him in his room and
jagged and bound the man. This done, he
aid the unlucky keeper (face to the wal)
n his own bed, covered with his own cloak, |
that anyone entering the room might
oppose that he was lying down to rest He
al previously taken the precaution to re- {
love the sheets from the bed, and he had
ow only to tie them together to escape by
he window of his ROOM situated on the |
PIPER floor of his house. The sun was set-
ng, and the inmates of the asylum we're {
tea. After narrowly missing discovery
y one OF the labOrers employed in the I
rounds, he had climbed the garden clos {
re, and had dropped on the other side-a t
zee man. G
Arrived on the high road to Manchester. t
y husband and my brother parted. s
Roland, who was an excellent walker, set a
nth on his way to Manchester on foot. Il
BY the first train the next morning I ,
aveled to Manchester and took lOd ging t
the suburb of the city known to nv a
lsband. A prim, smoky little square was e
tuated IN the immediate ighbOrhood. | b
Id we had arranged that whichever of US
st arrived in Manchester should walk n
ound that square between twelve and one j,
the afternoon, and between six and seven
the evening. In the evening l kept my d
'pointment. A dusty, footsore man. in a
abby clothes, with hideous beard, and
knapsack on his back, met me on nv first 81
ak round. He smiled as looked at him O
b! knew that smile through all DISCUSSES. il
was in my husbands arms once more!
My story is told. l am writing these