Madison times. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1884-1???, 1885-06-20
u,v Various Forms Of Insanity May
he Communicated.
a, Stevens, Appeal for Improvement at the
insane AsyIum.-SinguIar Ease OF a Busi-
,.ss Man Who Thought He Was Made Of
Glass.
81. Louis Sunday savings.

cIUWuN'
aHaye you any idea what the oyercrowd-
,nr of an Insane Asylum means, outside of
sbs general sense of discomfort with which
the statement impresses your asked
,rominept physician one day last week. Be
mo answered in the negative he continued.
srew people have, who have not made it
.husiness TO inform themselves on such
.nb,ects or who are not interested in some
nav in insanity and insane people. In the
srst place it means the direct impairment of
,hs usefulness of the institution. The
treatment of insane people, more than those
of any other class, demands that ample ac-
eomodation shall be made for patients be-
fore any good results will occur. No class
d patents with whom physicians are
hroueht in contact are so impressible, and
N ant TO be affected by their impressions,
Is those afflicted with
THE DISEASE OF INSANITY.
Their brains deprived of portion of their
tunctions appear to develop abnOrmally in
others and most especially in that of re-
ceiying impressions from the persons with
vbom they are brought in contact. In old
an times when 1t was customary to handle
an insane person on the same principles on
vhich wild beasts and ravenOns animals of
ali kinds are handled, very little care, in
$ fact none at all, was taken In regard to this.
The insane were herded together in some
buflding and lot of men selected for their
strength and absence Of humanity to watch
oyer them and beat them back into the
hounds set for them by their rulers.
sThis has all been changed by the growth
of civilization and the consequent acquire
meut of knowledge regarding the disease.
Careful, conscientious attendants, who are
thoroughly posted in regard to the various
pbsses of insanity. large roomy quarters
adapted to the wants of individual cases
and thorough systematic treatment based
mon knowledge of individual cases has
sayed many person from the horrors Of
life of insanity.
wThe Oyercrowding of an institution for
the care of the insane therefore means a
reat deal more than the temporal discOm-
tort of the patients or employees. 1t means
tie total destruction of the light OF many
intellects, which
COULD HAVE BEEN SANED
II taken at the proper time in the proper
way, and the condemnation OF the patients
10 life of horror of which we can only i'm
agine. . ,ou .,o ;,soro ora
eraded more thoroughly than i'm any other
institution. This is an absolute necessity
Of their treatment The various stages OF
the disease have been very sharply defined
and the various classes are kept carefully
together. You can see, even from an un-
scientific point, how deleteriOus it must be
10 place a person suffering from mild
form of melancholia in company with an
other suffering from the widest and most
mcurable form of insanity. This Is wha
oyercrowding in an insane asylum means.
81 know of a case wherein young busi
ness man, of more than the ordinary ability
who had devoted himself body and soul t.
the building up of his business through
long term of years, passiOnately devoted Il
his wife and boy, suddenly found that
HIS MIND WAS GIVING AWAY
under the strain. He realized the fact an,
came to me, i'm an agony of distress, for al
vice. had known him long and intimate
", in fact from boyhood, and his ancestr.
as well. After explaining the various reas
ops he had for determining that his reasol
was being DESTROYED he implored me to saw
him from his fate if it took every penny n
had. No trace of insanity had been inherit
ed and after thoroughly posting myself rt
ness of all kind, take his wife and little bo
and make trip to Europe. He did $!
Settled up his business as far as pOss'Dl
and left the balance in care OF his partne
and went away. He returned in two yeai
q new man both mentally and PHYSICAL!
In the meantime, however, his business ma
not progressed as well under his partner 4
hcl ,x,anannmant and for 81
months after his return he worked almo:
night and day to get things straightene
out
once or twice that he must be careful, bl
he laughed with his old confidence and
sured me that he was all right. l saw hi
nearly every day and watched him keenl
One morning he walked into my office an
"tHello, Doc, old man, how are your
was lust going past and thought l wou
come in and see you. Fact is / have bet
wanting to see you since yesterdayiand M
out il YOU could not give me somethil
which would keep my fingers from brea
ing off. You see l am as careful as G.
be but the glass of which ! am made IS " We
brittle and 1 am afraid OF breaking all
the time
II saw what was the matter at once al
hasted to reassure him.
1sHaye YOU said anything to any 9th
person about this, Charlie%
"'No, not soul. You see there we
reasons that should come to see you abo
1t first. But upon my soul can't rene
Der what they were now; you know, thou
all about them. haye not even told
wife, although nearly shattered my al
into million pieces this morning by str
ing the marble top of the dressing case.
II gave him mixture which assur
him would render the glass less brittle
remove all
DANGER OF HIS GETTING BROKEN,
and after talking little while in perfe
ly rational manner upon other matte
ne bade me good day and ana isca IeIt;
ed In keeping in perfect ignorance OF
fact, and we at once took measures 20
him away from his business and give hlT
rest. II was too late, however, and We
afterward he astonished his neighbors
the passers along the street by climbing
on his gate-post and informing them I
he was made of steel and that he COZ
easily. with his fingers, cut off any of Il
heads. was summoned and found him
liyering long dissertation upon steel
its superiority over dust for the manu-
ture of bodies.
'This was very mild form of the
ease and had no doubt of his comp
cure within year. His wife was
York woman and by the advice of frie
she placed him in
PRIVATE ASYLUM,
which bore an excellent reputation, 81
distance from that city, and removed to
home of her friends so "a to be near hin
was very busy that year but kept up
respondence with the wife and was
pfised to hear that Charlie was grow