The sun., 1882-08-20
TIE LUNATICs or CdTERHAM.
A Fair Martyr TO English Social Prejudice
and her Asylum Companions.

A Fair Martyr TO English Social Prejudice
and her Asylum Companions.
LONDON, Aug. 4.--Twico / saw her. How
sweetly pretty she was. but she looked so sad.
1t was dinner timo. On her right sat n creature
whom shall not attempt to describe. lest you
might believe that am inventng. With singu-
lar disregard for knife and fork this phenomo-
nal being helped herself gluttonously with
knotty and hairy hands OF abnormal length to
dish Of Australian meat and rice. / suppose
she was woman. as her garments were femi-
nine On the other side. a girl with head OF
amazing development and the waist OF n cuirns-
sler Tapped the contents Of her plate. Her face
was not human; her manners were those Of
brute. There we're twelve persons sitting
around tho table. After all, Darwin may have
been right. for these must have descended
from other ancestors than man. There are
hundreds OF similar beings under the same
roof, for this is the asylum Of Caterham. in the
county OF Surrey. about seventeen miles from
London. In this female refectory alone large.
clean. and well ventilated. where the dinner
was brought on little wagons propelled by in
mates. the majority have no other instincts
than those of the animal. Leave them alone.
put them in cottage by themselves. and in q
week they would crawl like beasts.
Pity. then. this pretty girl. with her rosy lips
her beautiful teeth. hor small hands. and her
woful look. whose case they believe is hopeless
and who is doomed to the end OF her days to
such companionship. But why after all, pity
her? The ,matron. an intelligent and kind
experience and inquiring mind. say that she
Is not in the least affected by her surround
csed Il soas Us to opsn
pie in sumptuous rooms. possessed of the lux
uries Of life. speak Of themselves as the most
such real misfortune in genuine flesh and blood.
=, This girl was born in the highest society.
one Of those fashionable streets leading out OF
Mayfair. Children covered with hncry were
her first companions. suddenly when she was
yeterate gambler. shot himself dead. having
lost his last shilling. Her mother had dieda
accept tho bounty Of friends. whose Kindness
ssbe could never repay. she became a goverpess.
s ms TSS haH
parting, they had exchanged lovers, promises
On his return he heard that the beautiful girl OF
children of a merchant in Fitzroy square. His
shallow love vanished like the morning yapor
heart. he would have loved her the more; with
his brute's nature, he deserted her and soon
married an helress. One morning she, read Of
Help was Called Wien she awoke from insen.
sibilityt after many hours she was honeessy
She had not been framed for such repeated
trials. She is ending her miserable life in an
don parishes to receive re- % the imbec and luna
tics Of the poor for relation has come for
ward to place her In private refuge. ..
friend, come ana rub against her She plays
Sundays her voice is heard in the church. and
the wife of a neighbor, a person of no over
sensitive nature. told me that the iirst time she
heard 1t she was moved to tears.
The matron and the keepers reckon much on
the aid OF the least stupid inmates. or course.
such girl is OF priceless value to them. 1t
was on a Monday evening in winter. On that
day. every week during the cold months, the
lum meet, after a recreatiye fashion. in fine
room. at one extremity OF which stands a small
stage. There Is music and dancing and some
only take part in this last amusement. as the
lunatics would be quite incapable OF il. en-
seat at the piano. surrounded as, usual by the
lowest Of her low COMPANIONS; Her voice, ex-
as a prayer to heaven. had for my ears unutter-
able accents Of despair and OF hone. Many
H sse Ssn II ne
den when Patti sings her most fayorite airs.
Look at the man yonder with the handsome
high official Tears come down his cheeks
That man was not q high 9fhcal. Twenty years
station master on branch line Of the Northern
Railway he was sober. steady and much liked
by the three porters under him: The night was
tensity. The station master was at his pSst.
The branch consisted OF single line. The
behind time. he lot the up train go on its jour
ney thinking he would stop the other when
afterward, Just as there was nome ntary pause
in the tempest, and as the, little staff was still
IN the nsSt air. e e
claimed the station H. master +, they S, have run
haved like IA hero. Self-pOssessed he gave
| orders to his porters, directing one to summon
| doctorsand assistance. and leading the others
to the scene Of tho disaster There he multi,
| piled himself He was q man Of wonderful
| strength. Pushing through tho scaldnG steam
as indifferent, and cool rs If i We're mere
| mist, he seized the engineer and the fireman Of
| the down train. who We're half buried under the
wreck of the locomotive, and wrested them
| with his scorched arms and hands he still res
cued from the blazing carriages six travellers.
be saved. IFrGhtfu! scalds entirely disilgurcd
his face. Where his hair was not burned. 1t
had grown suddenly white When he was
talked to, he did not answer. He has never
| opened his mouth since. This collision took
| place twenty years ago
Mr.. Adams, the principal surgeon of the Ca
terham Asylum at the time oi my last visit
| puts much trust in baths as "a means OF cure
| Besides a swimming bath thcro is a Turkish
Adams records every day with minute care hS
meteorological observations; and has come to
| the interesting conclusion that a low tampcra-
| ture exerts a very bad Influence on the physical
and moral condition Of his patients. Damp
WenlHeT Always lncr'Hs'S lHc i'p lUlIy III Il
| terham. The inmates are as much as possible
employed at some work, either II or out Of
doors. The gardens ara beautifully kept, and
extensive fields belong 10 the asylum. Tho
| patients are, however, never permitt"d 10 work
| for the farmers of the neighborhood. although
| such arrangements could he made 10 the nd
vantage of the treasurer OF the asylum, the
farmers and the lunatcs themselves. In Bel
| GUM. near Antwerp. poor patients are thus
| employed and the result is satisfactory.
Long hours Of recreation are allowed to the
! inmates. Men play cricket and ball the women
| skip the rope, and play battlcdoor and shuttle
| cock. No doubt life is rendered az pleasant as
possible TO the unfortunate creatures, and every
care il taken Of them. The only criticism | shall
permit myself to direct against Cnterham is
that ms usual in English charitable institutions
even allowing here for:tha spcci al care which
paupers OF this kind rcquire-the part OF the
expenses allowed TO the officials is quite out o
proportion with the general cost of the inmates
fArI. IllnIht Innl -