44 THE CAEE AND TREATMENT OP THE INSANE. 



soon even that small comfort was denied him, for a new 

 means of torture was invented. A stout ring of iron was 

 riveted around his neck, from which a short chain passed 

 to a ring made to slide upwai'ds and downwards on a 

 massive upright bar, more than six feet high, inserted 

 into the wall. Round this body a strong iron bar about 

 two inches wide was riveted : on each side of this bar 

 was a circular projection which being fastened to and 

 enclosing each of his arms, pinioned them close to his 

 sides." The effect of this cruel invention was that he 

 could raise himself up against the wall but could not 

 move one foot from it. Neither could he lie down ex- 

 cept upon his back. In this thraldom he lived for twelve 

 years, and although it is said that he was rational in his 

 conversation much of the time, he was never allowed 

 even a single chance to breathe the air outside or to look 

 upon the country which God had made or to see the 

 beautiful blue of the heavens. Each unhappy day was 

 like the one that had preceded it, and each miserable 

 night was like the one that was to follow. At last re'lief 

 came and the doors were opened, but the broken consti- 

 tution refused to rally and poor Norris lived but' a few 

 months in freedom. Pinel and Esquirol, however, were 

 not alone in their undertakings, for in other parts of the 

 world similar efforts were being made. The brutalities 

 of the York asylum and the good work done by the 

 Tukes in founding the York Retreat, and by Conolly 

 in the Hanwell asylum, need only be mentioned. They 

 are now matters of history, and my tale of horrors will 

 become too long if I attempt to cover the subject fully. 



We must now turn from the question of the care of the 

 insane in Europe and look at the subject from a closer 

 view and see what was being done, or rather what had 

 not been done for them in our young Republic. In the 

 picturesque language of Dr. Godding "the early part of 

 the century found the lunatic in America but little 



