The daily gazette., 1883-11-07
an EoYrrIAx mAD.noUsE.
A veritable Chamber Of Horrors and Hot
bed OF Cholera.

BEU VI NtANANAes
A frtehtfui description Of visit 70 an
Egyptian mad d-house Is given BY the Cairo
of the EgNptian Guxettc:
SIT was quite by chance be Gays, "tnat
I visited this yeritabie pandem0nium upon
earth last Sunday morning. ] had . little
time TO spare on my hands before lunch and
so expressed desire to fathom the mys-
terry Of those four blank red walls, which
atand away in the desert, to the right OF the
Abbassceyeh road, 10 the direction OF the
last slopes OF the Mokattam Hills. Grave
suspicious were entertained by many that
the Government Lunatie Asylum At AbbAs-
sceyeh was n hotbed OF cholera, and that tho
existence OF the dieease within its walls was
being concealed. We are ushered through
a deep, dismal arcbway into the recreation
ground Of the asylum, where the mad peo-
Die were wandering about In solitary, pur-
poscless way. Turning to the leit beneath
an arcade, we entered dark doorway, just
"a the last Of herd OF idiots had been
driven IN before us. We took 10 or 10
stricea along d somore passage, ano on
reaching the wall made o quarter tnrn' 70
the right, and stood facing long LOFTY cor
rldor, lighted only by few small windows
near the ceiling, secured by Iron barf.
All along this corridor, OF the base Of the
wall on the left hand, the lunaties sat
squatted on their haunches in long and
almost interminable row. To all appearance
| they were quiet, inodensiye, miserable
| looking lot OF creatures, literally clothed In |
sackcloth. Their only garment consisted OF
| q coarse sackcloth shirt, descending to their |
knees, with an aperture through which TO |
| pass the head, ard sleeves falling hall way |
TO the elbows. They had not particle OF
linen ABOUT them. Ga our right were the
bedrooms, lofty, spaci0us, sombre apart
| ments, entered through low doorwaye. The
bedsseads were similar to those 10 use in the
native hopitals and barracks--lron frames
and planks. Tho bedding and bedcloihes
were filthy In the extreme auc swarming
with Yermin. Each room was crowded
with beds placed about an arms length
from each other. The stencil was intoler-
able, both In the apartments and the corri-
dors. No regard was paid even to the most
elementary notions OF cleanliness.
At leng1h we reached what | can only de-
scribe as the chamber OF horrors; the apart
mpnt ia which refractory patients were mas
tered aud treated. II was Lofty, spacious
: room with plenty OF light. Here q most
I horrible sight created us. All round the
walls, at regular distances Of about six feet,
were arched cavities, commencing az the
: ground and extending to a height OF about
two feet six inches. The extremities OF
curved iron bar were firmly fixed In the
o masonry on either side Of each cavity. The
?. purpose of this arrangement was as follows:
with his legs bound aud with his back
Is against the iron bar, In sitting posture, his
arms being firmly dashed to II. The cavity
10 the wall was supposed to prevent him 10.
le turing his head by swinging It backwards and
10 forwards or by dashing 1t from side TO Eide
against the masonry.
te As we entered the veritable torture cham
q. Der the frst thing that met our gaze was 4
recumbent figure surrounded by three Of
tc four attendants. Upon closer examination
nd we discovered machine bearing q close re
semblance to a weighing machine on th
's' bascule principle. On this machine wa
Dr. seated a patient with the back of his hea
an against the padding aud bis legs extends
ia toward u.s. The three or four attendant
q by whom he was surrounded we're engaged
~ In binding his arms to rings fixed behind tn
''' back part of the machine. The left side @
m this wretched beings head, at the height @
we the eyes, was covered with bl' oil and his lei
eye was almost closed, all the part sui
hu rounding 1t being much swollen and infamed
ew While the attendants were engaged In tyin
him up lie was sobbing, the tears streamin
down his cheeks, and he rocked his hea
Of gently from side TO side as II In pain, Occ'
H.. sinnaly glanctng toward US. While "
ny stood gazing at the horrible sight he did NJ
lty. attempt to offer the least resistance.
ia. course the Injury he may have sustained ma
have been seli-inficted, but 1t is equal
likely, Jnluki Indb nc uau becii khOChe
lc, down by of the Keepers
The appearance of this prison was filth
70 In the extreme. The stencil WAS insufierabl
Tho titehen, which was close at hand, was
gloomy, dirty sort OF place, Tho women
ioV quarters were even worse than those Of Il
ted men. They were very crowded, and the
nd | generally filthy condition Is beyond desert
'HU tion. Many Of the women were Mysteries
the and two of them were naked. In the Ia
-. | room but one, dark, dismal-looklI
INV chamber, with only the doorway TO adm
light and ventilation, In dungeon, for
all was nothing else, without single arctiC
Of furniture Of any kind. two wretched "
met men were lying on planks on the bare ston'
die. \ The hands of one OF them Mere quito col
aad she had the appearance OF being
lou tackled with cholera in most virulent for
was The other woman was lying at the eXtreI
IT, end OF the apartment, but my militia
'ue friend being unable 10 stand the stencil a
a Is longer VIC did not examine her. The p
sons who accompanied us In our visit &
all that they could to prevent US enteTi
con- this particular room. The AmbAseeey
rnb mad house contains, | was assured by I
gentleman who WAS kind enough TO show
uIar over the infamous establishment, nearly I
npe lunatlcs, about so of whom are women a
n one or two children, aud there is no class
hc' cation Ia it whatever except in the case
males aud females. Those who arr violen
.,ro mad and those only partially so are hero
''"H' indiscrimately together. 1t seems that
their only remedy that is found eftlcacious
rr,ed cases of violent madness Is the shower ba
a -