Wichita eagle., 1888-06-23
FREAKS OF INSANITY.
A DISEASE MORE PREVALENT. AMONG
MEN THAN WOMEN.

insane PEOPLE Not Deceived by the Desu-
sions of Their Fellow Patients-A Novel
SUPERINTENDENT Diseases Almost en-
known Among Savage Nations.
Insanity Is peculiar disease. more
prevalent among men than women AS a
rule insane men either die or are cured in
the course of few years. and of the for
ner probably 80 per cent. die of general
paralysis 1t is the result either of over
work or bodily excuses. and generally ct
tacks man between the ages of 80 and
20. An interesting fact in connection
with the insane Is the great age to which
SO many female lunatics i've mad
woman is really first class insurance
risk. In almost every lunatic asylum the
women greatly outnumber the men, not
only because they are SO long lived. but
also because they are 50 seldom cured
1t commonly surprises visitors to a
lunatic asylum to find that insane people
ere not for moment deceived by the de-
lusions of their fellow patients. Each
viii think himself perfectly sane and
healthy. while knowing that all the others
are hopelessly mad Although lunatic's
mental freedom may be destroyed, it does
ished A minister who was called upon
once to preach to congregation of luna
tics treated them to q sermon he had
written for children. Much to his sur.
prise, be received an indignant letter from
one of his listeners afteiward. reminding
him that while they might be insane, they
were not Idiots. and that many of them
were fully his equals in education and In.
telEgence.
1t Is novel experience to attend re-.
hSlous service at an insane asylum. I'm.
agtne congregation of lunatics and i'm
beetles, men on one side. women on the
other, in all stages of physical decay and
all degrees of madness Helpless, old,
gray haired fellows, with staring sunken
eyes and hollow cheeks. mumbling and
grooming to themselves, in utter uncon.
seriousness of their surroundings. Gaunt
looking, wild eyed women, with nothing
human about them but their vanity
Wellington and Napoleon. Elizabeth and
Mary Queen Of Scots, Catherine de Medicis
and Diana of Poitiers, In full costume.
facing each other; God and the devil, side
by side; restless girls, who make their
handkerchiefs into dolls and rabbits and
talk baby talk to them, occasionally beat
ing them and tossing them in the air.
lnterspersed throughout this motley
crowd are bright. keen, young faces, with
no apparent trace Of their terrible curse
to any but an expert observer; refined and
cultivated women, who in their lucid in
tervals are as pure and spiritual minded
as angels. and yet are like the devil In.
carnate when the mania seizes them; fine,
manly looking gentlemen. devout. digni-
fed and scholarly today, tomorrow like
the herd of eEine into whom the evil
spirit enters. On either side of the chapel
sit the keepers, alert and watchful in case
OF an emergency. Facing them is the
chaplain, a stupid, listless looking man,
relegated to this depressing field by his
own lazy ineficiency.
All writer's on disorders Of the mind
have found it difficult to define insanity
In medical Jurisprudence, illusions. delu.
sions. Authorizations, incoherence and de-
lirium are all phases Of insanity The
Christian Science" people say that all sin
and all sickness are insanity. Insane
people frequently reason correctly, but
from erroneous premises A delusion is
nothing but false premise-the conclu-
sions drawn from 1t may be entirely logi-
cal. There is no reason why a man who
thinks he has legs of glass, and in other
respects is in possession of all his facul-
ties. should not be capable of making con-
tracts, and responsible for legal acts
which have no connection with the sub.
ject of his madness Such species of
insanity seldom prevents q man from
managing his own affairs or undertaking
any legal relations for others.
Most people are prone to delusions or
Illusions of some form or other Many
people never see things exactly as they
are. If decisions and Authorizations are
test Of insanity. half the world would
be in lunatic asylums.
It is an interesting fact. recorded by
Pritchard and others, that among savage
nations mental diseases are almost IN
known. They come forward with the
dawning' of civilization, and keep pace
with the advancement of mental culture
The restraints imposed by social order.
the diversity of interests. the pressure Of
universal competition. overwork, griefs.
anxieties and disappointed hopes. the arti.
fetal life of cities. are among the causes
most influential among civilized people in
the development of insanity. Among
weak minded and half educated people
emotional religious revivals also operate
to a great extent. In France. however.
the opposite extreme Is found, for while
indifference to religion saves the people
from religious insanity. great numbers
lose their reason through the vices for
which their low moral standard Is respon.
sible
1t is a curious fact that raving maniacs
are never attacked by any contagious
disease. Even constructive disorders,
dropsies and other chronic maladies have
disappeared on the accession Of violent
insanity.-New York Post