Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1877-07-04
Vagaries or Lunatics.

Yes, sir, I'm the light of tho
world, said Ratchet faced. emaoia
ted man in the City Hospital for Tho
Insane on Wards Island. And he
looked at the superintendent. Or
E. Macdonald, seemingly EXPECTING
some acknowledgment of the truth of
his assertion.
Getting from the doctor nod Of "a
spectfnl assent. the patient CONT med
You know, doctor, that | have been
skinned alive here-burned alive
scalded alive. You know it. doctor
My bones have been taken out Of nv
body one by one. Ny head has baan
screwed off and screwed on again !"
Why did they take your head off y,
the doctor inquired.
"Oh, you know, doctor. You know
well enough" the patient replied re-.
proachfully. you know that NV
head is the moon and nv skin is tho
stars. Where would you get vour
light at night, ! should like to know
II 1t wasn't for me. Doesn't nv
blood supply light for all the street.
lamps in that big city over there~,
AS he said this, he waved his hand to-
ward the opposite shore, where the
thousands OF little gas jets glilnmered
through the darkness. Once" he
continued, my head was as bio as
our friend, thu doctors, here. Now
see how thin it is" And as he strokad
his poor, shrunken cheeks, his head
dropped upon his breast, his laws
dropped, and he looked unutterahlv
sad.
Yes, but" said the doctor, IRVING
to rally his patient, If your skin is
all taken off and your bones are taken
out, how is it that there is ANYTHING
left of you?'
The patient did not raise his ewes
from the floor. AS the doctor was
moving away the poor fellow mumbled
In answer that he supposed his body
was repaired as fast as it was de-
stroyed.
That's a curious case" said the
doctor. "lt is "A mixture of mania and
melancholia'
\ Stont-built, excessively nervous
man, with black hair and beard. was
next visited. He fancies that he has
an electric battery III him, and that
his enemies hold the wires, and lse
them to draw away his thoughts.
They came again last night, doc
tor. the patient said. "They came
and took my lungs out"
rms case reminds you of the pa
tient possessed of a similar hallucina-
ton described in Charles Reade's
"Terrible Temptation. Another fel-
low says that he has a doctor in his
body, who moves about to physic and
torture him.
:" Can you feel him today" DR..
Macdonald inquired.
80 yes, was the reply, 81 can
feel his shoulders pressing here" and
he put his hand on his left breast.
"Then where's his head 2" asked t he
doctor.
The patient felt all over his body
and about his throat, and then shook
his head, saying: d" don't know where
his head Is to-day"
\ very remarkable patient is an
elderly man, an eX-college professor.
who Is hard at work on a translation
of Horace, with copious foot-notes.
He. talks so learnedly and logically
that you wonder whether he has not
been confined by mistake. But pres
emily he tells you conlidentially that
Charles Dickens wrote Bleak House
for the sole purpose OF injuring him,
and if you should say anything about
poison, he Will Immediately tell you
that his whole system has been ruined
by being inoculated with the poison
contained in the lead of the water
pipes. He admits that he is insane,
but says that he is carefully STUDYING
poisoning theory, and has hopes OF
getting the poison out of his System.-