Evening star., 1883-10-03

q veritable Chamber OF Horrors and
HOtbed Of Cholera

A frightful description Of a visit to an Egyptian
nad-house Is given by the Cairo correspondent
OF tue Egyptian Gdzetse:
at was quite by chance" ne says, 'that
visited this veritabe pandemOnium on earth
last Sunday morning. I had little time to
spare on my hands before lunch, and so I ex-
pressed desire to fathOm the mystery of those
four blank red walls. which stand away in the
desert. to the right of the Abbasseeyeb road,
in the direction of the last slopes of the Mokat-
tam Hills. Grave suspicious were entertained
by many that the government lunatic asylum at
Abbasseeyeh was a hotbed of cholera and that
the existence OF the disease within its walls was
being concealed. We are ushered through a
deep. dismal arcnway into the recreation ground
OF the sylun, where the mad people were wan
derlng about in a solitary, purpOseiess way.
Turning To the left beneath an arcade we en-
tered dark doorway, just as the last of a herd
OF idiots had been driven in before us. We took
ten or fifteen strides along q somber passage,
and on reaching the wall made a quarter turn to
the right and stood facing long lofty corridor
lighted only by few small windows near the
Ceiling secured by iron bars
All along this corridor, at the base of the wall
on the left hand, the lUnatcs sat squatted on
their launches in a long and almost intermina-
blerow. To all appearance they were quiet
inoffensive. notwithstanding lot of creatures
literally clothed in Sackcloth. Their only oar-
ment consisted of q coarse sackcloth shirt de-
scending TO their Knees. with an aperture
through which to pass the head aud sleeves
falling half way to the elbows. They had not a
particle of linen about them. On our right
were the bedrooms. lofty. spacious. sOmber
apartments, entered through low doorways
The bedsteads were similar to those i'm use in
the native hospitals and barracks-irOn frames
and panks. The bedding and bedclOthes were
hlthy IN the extreme and swarming with vermn
Each room was crowded with beds placed about
an arms length from each other The stencil
was int0ierable, both in the apartments and the
Corridors No regard was paid even to the
most elementary notions of cleanliness.
At length we reached what can only describe
rs the chamber Of horrors; the apartment in
i'm whcn refractory patients were mastered and
treated 1t was lofty. spacious room with
plenty of light Here a most horrible sight
greeted u.s. All round the walls at regular dis
tanceS OF about six feet. We're arched cavities
commencing at the ground and extending to a
height of about two feet six inches The ex-
fremities of a curved iron bar were firmly fixed
IN the masonry on either side of each cavity.
The purpose of this arrangement was as follows
When a man became violent he was placed with
his legs bound and with his back against the
iron bar. in a sitting posture. his arms being
nrmly iashed to il. The cavity i'm the wall was
supposed 70 prevent him injuring his head by
swinging 1t backwards and forwards or by DASH
Ing 1T from side to side against the masonry.
AS we entered this veritable tOrture-chamber
The first thing that met our gaze was a recum-
bent figure surrounded by three or four attend
ants Upon close examination we discovered
a machine bearing a close resemblance to
weighing machine on the bascue principle On
this machine was seated a patient with the back
Oh his head against the padding ard his legs eX-
tended toward US. The three or four attendants
by whom he was surrounded were engaged in
binding his arms to rings fixed behind the back
part OF the machine. The left side of this
wretched beings head. at the height of the eyes,
was covered with blood and his left eye was al
most closed all the part surrounding it being
much swollen and in6amed. While the attend
ants We're engaged i'm tying him up, he was
eobbing, the tears streaming down his cheeks.
and he rocked his head gently from side to sde
as If in pain. occasionally glancing toward us.
While We stood gazing at the horrible sight he
did not attempt to offer the least resistance Of
Course the I'M ury which he had sustained may
baye been sef-inficted, but it is equally likely,
think. that he had been knocked down by one
of the keepers.
The appearance of this prison was filthy In
the extreme. The stencil was insufferabe. The
Kitchen, which was close at hand was gloomy
dirty sort of place. The wOmen's quarters were
even worse than those Of the men. They were
very crowded. and their generally filthy condi-
tiOn Is beyond description. Many Of the women
were hysterical and two of them were naked.
In the last room but one, q dark disInal-lOOk-
ing chamber, with only the doorway to admit
light and ventilation, in dungeon for 1t was
nothing else, without q single article of furni-
ture of any kind. two wretched women were
lying on planks on the bare stones. The hands
of one of them quite cold. and she
had the appearance of being attacked with
cholera in most virulent form. The other
woman was lying at the extreme end of the
apartment, but my military friend being unable
to stand the stencil any longer we old not ex-
anime her. The persons who accompanied US
In our visit did all they could to prevent US
entering this particular room. The AbbasSee-
yeh maG,hOuse contains, was assured by the
gentleman who was kind enough to show us
over the infamous establishment, nearly 800
lunatics, about eighty of whom are women and
one or two children. and there Is no classical
tion In it whatever except in the case OF males
and females. Those who are violently mad and
those only partially 80 are herded indiscrIm-
inately together. 1t seems that the only
remedy that is found ef'icacious In cases OF
violent madness is the shower bath.