Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1875-08-11
ROBERT DALE OWEN.

another Account of His Insanity Written
Ism Not shaken. Oh
10 the Editor of the ". Y. Es,eni,,o
Post:
feel that I owe, both to the public
and my father, statement concerning
MS recent misfortune and the cause of
1t. Some three years ago, my father
began to write his autobiography, en-
gaglng to furnish an article for each
number Of the Atlantic Monthly. This
task, with other literary pursuits,
forced him to give six or eight hours to
intense work, daily; and his leisure
moments-if one may reasonably call
them Severe filed with reading or
conversation on some abstruse subject.
At the end Of few months his health.
which up to this time had been almost
perfect, began to fail; but be still per-
sisted IN his labor. He tried many
remedies without avail; and at last he
went, four months ago, a confirmed nerv-
GUS dyspeptic, to DR.. Jackson's Hygienic
Institute, in Dansville, n. Y. During
the first weeks Of his stay there he
wrote several articles for newspapers
and magazines, and delivered lecture
IN Rochester. In short he kept his
brain constantly at work. The result
was low nervous fever. He was
very i'll for many days, but passed the
crisis safely. With returning strength,
his old restless activity came back, and
IN spite of the warning of the physic-
1ans and my earnest entreaties, he in
sisted upon resuming his writing, or
rather dictation, for he was too feeble
to sit up or to hold pen. He was en-
gagged upon work to be called ssThe
Unity of God" His mind was at this
time clear and logical, his style pecu
liarly concise and forcible, and bis
dyspeptic symptoms had entirely dis.
appeared; but an irritable excitability
began to show itself, which soon be-
came alarming. He slept but little at
| night, and could not rest during the
| day. Both his mind and his body were
constantly at work.
His thoughts from this time forward
ran In new channel-the buying of
land, horses, etc. Four weeks ago the
first symptoms of actual arrangement
appeared. From that time to this he
has been growing more and more inco-
herent. 1 have watched ny father
through these changes with great care
and anxiety, and l see no foundation
for the assertion which has been made
In various newspapers that the Katie
King affair is the cause of his insanity.
| That it was both notifying and vex-
ing to him is undoubtedly true, and for
week or two it did throw a cloud over
his buoyant, hopeful temperament.
But this is all The deception of two
persons has not shaken my fathers
faith one whit. It would be a poor
faith, indeed, if it had. He has not
mentioned Katie King for the last six
weeks, and since his insanity he sell
dom speaks OF any matter connected
with Spiritualisn His mind seems to
have run back thirty or forty years. to
time when he passed his leisure days
on his stock farms. He carries about
constantly historical drama which he
wrote at that time, and this and the
first part of Threading My Way" are
the only books which he now seems to
care about.
The cause of the calamity which has
befallen us is simple-an overworked
brain. Ny father believed that his
strong Scotch constitution could, even
in his old age, endure all things; but,
richly endowed though he was with
physical and mental vigor, he could
not break Gods law of health with i'm
punity, and we, his children, cannot,
with all our love and care, shield him
from the effects of his error. May my
fathers fate be lesson to the undisci-
plined brain dyspeptics CT may use
such a term) who are SO mum erous
throughout this morbidly active land.
| ROsAAdoND DALE OWEN.
New HARMONY, Ind. July IA, 1875.