The Washington herald., 1908-07-19

I Of his warrant. to BrOsdmoor. to be de
/ tained there during the pleasure Of the
/ King. Behind the walls OF Broadmoor.
which in certain respects may be regarded
as the modern English counterpart OF the
French Bastille. since the warrants Of the
I home secretary passes identicaiiy the
same powers as the lettres de cachet of
J the French kings and OF their minister's
are hidden away some OF the grandest
names Of the United Kingodm. and terri
| be secrets affecting old houses Of the
nobility. which are known to few save the
I officials OF the home department in Lon
don, and perhaps 10 some OF the superior
officers OF the London police force
I IN fact. It may be mentioned that It
was at Broadmoor that the blue-blooded
! perpetratOr OF the Whitechapel murders
is now admitted by the authorities 70
/ have breathed his last; and Il IS ike
I wise 70 Broadmoor that was sent. with
out trial, the weIl-bOrn and successful
member OF the bar whose homicidal
mania led him to perpetrate two years
ago a mysterious murder on suburban
London railroad. and TO XIII. In an equal
I " unaccountabie fashion. a young woman
/ last summer at Windsor. Black sheep OF
great families who have thus been con-
signed 10 BroadmoOr for the purpose OF
/ preserving the escutcheOn OF their house
I from the brand Of felony seldom. II ever.
secure their liberation Their entire ex-
fstence is passed behind the walls Of the
{ asylum. and they are classed among
those graphically described by Lord Rose
berry in 6 public address some time ago
as Intellectually dead
Cranks Among Patients.
/ Finally. there are among the patients
at Broadmoor the cranks OF the male and
/ female persuasion who dog the stops Of
royalty. sometimes with harmless intent.
but often. too. with the object OF assas-
sination- Few have any idea Of the ex-
tent Of the persecution Of this kind 70
which the anointed Of the Lord are sub
jecred in Europe. In London and al
Windsor. as at Berlin and at Potsdam-
il is rare that a week passes without the
quiet arrest by the police Of several more
or less mentally unbalanced individuals
who clamor for access TO royalty on all
sorts OF extraordinary pretexts. the
women alleging that they are the daugh-
tiers. the wives. the sisters or the mis-
tresses Of the sovereign. while the men
usually profess 10 be in love with OF re-
lated 70 the royal or imperial lady who
shares his throne They are quietly
taken into custody by the army Of de-
tectives that invariably hover about royal
personages 10 protect them from just such
people as these. are equally without noise
committed by the magistrates 70 the coun-
" asylum FOR the insane for observa-
ton, and In cases where they are likely
70 prove dangerous are transferred
thence On the strength Of n warrant from
the home secretary in England land OF
the secretary Of the interior in Berliu)
10 the asylum for the criminal insane.
Although strict secrecy is observed with
regard 90 the names and identity OF the
inmates I can remember during my sew
eral stays at B-oadTnOor as a guest Of the
late Dr.. Meyers. who was its first di-
rector. and very old friend. 20 have
seen and talked 70 Edward oxford, who,
I IN 1870. had attempted 70 murder Queen
! Victoria by firing at her with a double
I barrelec pistol. as she was driving with
/ the prince consort from Buckingham Pal
ace up Constitution Hill oxford. when
I saw him. was an old man. but ap-
parently in good health. and showed no
more signs OF insanity than the director
Z Of Br0admoor, DIT. Meyers. There. too.
were confined John Francis. Lieut. Bean.
William Hamilton. and r. Mclean. who
each. at various times. had made un-
successful attempts 10 take the Queen
life Bean had managed 20 infict two
terrific blows with his riding whip On her
majesJy's face before the police were able
20 subdue him. and she carried the scars
1 Of enc Of these blows 10 her grave.
boy IN queens bedroom.
There. too. was detained that extraordi-
nary boy. Jones. when I saw him an
elderly AID respectable-looking man, who
one night, Just as the Queen was get
ting into bed. was found concealed under
a lounge IN her bedroom at Buckingham
Palace. one OF his feet peeplng out and
attracting the attention OF the Queens
dressers. To this day nobody knows how
the boy got there. OF whec his object was
IN thus conceaIing himself IN her majes-
tvs bedroom Such elaborate precautions
were and are always adopted 10 prevent
the intrusion OF any stranger. and so
strictly are the palaces guarded by the
police and military, that Il seems IN
conceivable that the boy, who was IN
armed. and who refused 10 give any ac-
count Of himself. should have been able
10 make his way Unncticed to the Queens
bedchamber Nor would ne ever afford
any explanation Of the object Of his in
trusion and OF the methods which he
had employed 10 reach the private apart
ments OF the Queen
I may add that Dr. Meyers, an eminent
civilian surgeon. who had been assc-
ciated with Florence Nightingale in the
reorganization CT the hospital service Of
the Crimea- and at Scutari in the war
between England and Russia Of 1855. was
killed BY one Of the inmates Of the asy-
luTn, WlO one Sunday during divine ssrv-
ice rose from the place where he was
kneeling and. using his handkerchief as
a sling. hurled a large and sharp flint
al the head Of the also kneeling doctor.
fr5cturing his skull. ] well recall seeing
and chatting with this man three OF four
years before the murder was committed.
He was regarded as sufficiently sane 20
be permitted 10 work in the extensive
gardens OF the doctor. and was liked and
even trusted by Mrs. Meyers and her
children He was an oxford graduate
and q most intellectual and cultivated
man. his conversation being quite bril-
liant and most entertaining. Yet, he was
confined at BrOadrnOor for having delfb-
erately hacked OF the head Of his aged
mother with carving knife. and to cap
matters had put the head on a dish, and
covered il with a silver cover. engraved
with the family crest and coat-of-srrns
Then he placed IL On the table before his
wife and his sister who had been until
that moment unaware that there was
anything the matter with his mind On
two CT three occasions he had suggested
TO D.. Meyers that since he was per-
fectly sane it was ridiculous 10 detain
him as an inmate Of a luuatic asylum.
Dr. Meyers IN reply gently pointed out
TO him that he could not be set at lib
erty without a warrant Of the secretary
Of state for the home department. and
that the latter would probably be re-
lEctant to take any such step IN view
Of the unfortunate Incident that had led
10 his being confined at Brosdmoor.
Whereupon the man exclaimed oh. You