Connecticut western news., 1879-10-22

brought us to corridor like the one below, with rooms opening off each side. A large sitting TO om at the end of the hall, over the old women's eating apartment, is occupied by several men. The smell is intolerable but the room looks moderately clean. My guide con- ducted me to room where are two idiot children. Several women were in the room, and all had something to say about the two wan and helpless dwarfs. On the floor, in the shape of horseshoe, lay the elder child, a boy. Hisf feet were in the air. Indeed, the weight of his body rested upon the small of his back, and, ever and anon seizing his feet with his hands, he converted his spinal col umn into rocker upon which he swayed back and forth, to his apparent amuse- ment. His limbs were much emaciated, the bones of the thighs and the forearm being clearly outlined through the al- most transparent skin. The other child, girl, rested on the bed. Her face was so pale and so old looking that, had l not seen the delicate little white Lands, I should have thought her an old woman. The illusion was perfected by the ap- pearance of her hair, which was snowy white and very thin. Meanwhile the women had engaged in dispute regard ing the cause of the children's imbecl- ity. One asserted that the mother fell off house forty feet high, and the other maintained that her husband kicked her. The fact is beyond dispute that the mother is person of sound mind, for was introduced to her few min utes later.
 THE OLD MEMS HovE1.
 This completed our view of the main building, and all that I had seen was worthy of commendation rather than censure. We traversed the yard to the wooden building where the old men lived. Here was contrast. The house was in state of wretched decay. The basement in which the meals were served was the most comfortable part of the establishment. Up stairs the same bleak walls, the same wretched beds that had seen so often, and everywhere the utter absence of ventilation. We descended to the yard again and crossed to the insane ward. On the left we passed small shanty in which were several old women, more or less helpless from age and disease. Here they were allowed to keep to themselves. I won- dered if they made confdants of each other if they told the stories of their lives, with all the happy and unhappy incidents. We had now reached the shanty devoted to insane men, and my cicerone began again.
 INSANE MEN OF BRooME COUNTY.
 "This first apartmentsis used as re- ception room for the visitors, and is also occupied by the man who has charge of this ward. am he. Everything isneat enough here, but not gaudy. We will now walk back through the main corri- dor, past the cells. This man to the left, quiet as he appears Che was sit ting on a chair reading an old news paper) "is very dangerous at times. We have to keep him locked up all the while we even serve his meals in his cage. The other doors are open, you will observe, and the inmates are now in the lunatics' sitting room back of this. The beds are hard, as you say but, you know, many physicians insist that the demented should sleep on hard mat tresses. There may be something in it Others have doubted it besides you We will now step into the rear room. (Throwing open door.) Here yor see about a dozen men in all conditions of mind. Some are convalescent others hopelessly mad. None are dangerous to themselves or others, as the warrant reads, so far as we know.
 WHAT Is NEEDED.
 "Here, as you rightly observe, Ii where reading matter is wanted. More than one-half of the people. you see il this room aresensible enough and have education sufficiently to read, but a' they have neither papers nor books they can only sit and worry and curse thei fate. You have several papers ? Thanks See how grateful the ,poor fellows are In the yard without, as you will see from this door," we stood at an open doc from which a few wooden steps led dow1 into dusty enclosure) "a few of thu men are taking the sun. You wonde that more of them do not go out, per haps, when this room is so warm and th' air so bad? We'll, the truth is that the. do not appear to care much for healtl or pure air. Open window there Johnnie. That's better. (Resuming. The fact is they get careless of life and, after all, why shouldn't they Pears to me should. They will clos the window just as soon as we go out and the door also. That is all there too see here." Not a word had bee
 uttered by patient in the room while
 was present. could not clearly decide ignorant as I was of the peculiarities ( each and all, whether such was the case
 because they had no ideas to express o because they wished to disguise me1 tai llameness which they were sane enoug
 to realize.
 THE TORTURE CHAMBER.
 It was only few steps to the fro1 !: door of the brick house in which the dt mented women dwelt. We had alread } viewed the mess-room in it's Lasemen ) reached from the mems quarters by l covered way. The front door havin . been unlocked by the young woman /: charge we entered reception room displaying few comforts in the shay