The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1883-02-23
FUNNY CRAZY FOLKS.
Some ofthe Strange Things for which People
are Adiudged Insane.


are Adiudged Insane.
An instance had lately been brought
to light in one of the courts in which
an eccentric old millionaire, whose pro-
perty wasn't willed according to the
wishes of certain would-be heirs, is
charged with having been of unsound
mind because he sometimes wore odd
stockings, forbid his family to read
newspapers at the table and told his
son it would be good for his health to
walk to and from his business instead
of riding in carriage. In addition to
these overwhelming evidences of in
sanity he was unable to understand tho
mechanism of fire extinguisher, and
on certain occasion, when he had
company to dinner, declared his inabil-
ity to carve a chicken according to the
approved scientific methods. Another
alleged lunatic, who was confined in
an asylum for a time, but is now at
large, was incarcerated because he
mistook fire-extinguisher for soda
fountain, or something Of that sort. He
also refused to let the asylum barber
cut his hair. Insanity is sometimes
said to take the form of failure to pro-
dict what the fashion in dress will be.
A wealthy merchant tailor was lately
charged with insanity because he pur-
chased quantity of figured cassimeres
which were too loud in style and color
ing to be saleable. A desire to get
away from confinement in an asylum
is considered by the keepers and ply
sicians in charge as conclusive evidence
of mental unsoundness.
A case has lately been investigated
in which the chief evidence produced
by the officers of the asylum to prove a
mans insanity was that he had pro-
vided himself with knives, saws and a
key in order TO effect his escape. There
are people who are just queer enough
to assert that this is very good evidence
of first-class sanity. Another person
has been charged with insanity because
he will insist on carrying revolver in
his pocket. If this should ever become
fixed evidence of insanity there is
great danger of an immense accession
to the ranks of asylum inmates. An
other man has been charged with in
sanity because he gets mad when col
lectors present him with bills, and an
other because he writes letters which
the readers have difficulty in under
standing. Samuel Obreight, of whom
the newspapers were full a short time
since, was charged with insanity be-
cause he filled his customers glasses
with beer instead of froth. The beer
drinkers would doubtless be very much
gratified if that kind of insanity would
increase indefinitely. The late Mrs.
Sarah Burr willed the bulk of her i'm
mense property to charitable oil Gets
instead Of her loving relatives. 1te
relatives are now of the unanimous
opinion that she was out of her head,
and offer as testimony to prove their
claims the fact that she generally
bought "specked" or damaged vegeta-
bles because they were cheap, never
allowed herself to get cheated in bar
gain, and always paid her bills. Mr..
Stokes, dead millionaire, who failed
to meet the expectations of some of his
relatives, had the insane habit of put
ting his stockings under his pillows at
night, and was guilty of perpetrating
atrocious puns. The stony-hearted
court failed to agree that these circum-
stances argued unfitness to make will,
although the puns were very bad, no
doubt.
A good-looking young lady has been
confined in a New York state asylum
for a long time, because she labored
under the delusion that several men
desired to marry her. If all the good
looking young ladies who were afflicted
with that particular delusion were in
carcerated, avery large increase Of asy-
lum accommodations would be required
at once. A West Albany blacksmith
was sent to the Utica asylum. He got
away, and the testimony by which he
was sought to be reincarcerated was to
the effect that he had on various occa-
sions, when very drunk, smashed
things generally, kicking the table over
and chasing members of the family
about the house with hatchet. On
one occasion he had also raised rum
pus in the asylum, but claimed that he
had done so because the keepers did