1870. J On Insanity. 169 



The demented and maniacal are not considered to be the victims of 

 witchcraft, and to be persecuted by the Evil Spirit, nor are they 

 supposed to be under the influence of the moon. The immediate 

 influence of the Higher Power is invariably recognized, and no 

 thought is given to anything like the production of insanity by 

 physical disease, degeneracy of constitution, and hereditary taint. 



The practical North Americans as a body — of course the highly 

 educated are not included — either hold the. indefinite opinions which 

 characterize the thoughts of the corresponding public in England 

 upon insanity, or would seem to believe, as English people did 

 formerly, that the maniac is responsible for his violence and un- 

 reason, and that it does not much matter how he is treated, so 

 that he is secluded. Even a curious kind of insanity is admitted to 

 exist, which can be traced to have its diagnosis decided by offences 

 against the former national proclivities. Thus an alienist physi- 

 cian living in the Southern States before the great war, described 

 a species of insanity which affected the negroes. He compounded 

 a name out of two Greek roots, which signified the bolting mania. 

 The comforts and moralities of slavery were so well adapted for the 

 African people, that the constant attempts at escape could only be 

 looked upon as an evidence of insanity in the race which is so free 

 ordinarily frora psychological affections ! 



The treatment of some insane people in not very remote dis- 

 tricts may suffice to prove that the Yankees have very materialistic 

 notions about the disease, and that they do not hold the Asiatic 

 opinions. 



In 1868, Dr. Alexander Eobertson visited the New York City 

 Lunatic Asylum, and found that on the 31st December, 1867, of 

 the 895 patients in the asylum, 304 slept on the floor, there being 

 only 591 bedsteads in the wards. He writes: — "I was convinced 

 that there is not sufficient room even for these (beds), as they are 

 too near each other. Many of the bed-rooms are small and dark, 

 having no windows, and are dependent for light and air on small 

 openings into the corridors. In a large proportion two patients 

 sleep together, and as the rooms only contain about 700 cubic feet, 

 it is clear that the atmosphere must become very oppressive during 

 the night, more especially in hot weather, such as at my visit, when 

 the thermometer was standing at 100° Fahrenheit in the shade." 

 There is about one homicide committed every year in these rooms. 

 Strait-waistcoats, leather wristlets, and bed-straps to tie patients 

 down in their beds, are part of the usual comforts of this disgrace- 

 ful hole. Dr. Eobertson sums up with — " Much disorder also 

 prevailed in a number of the wards of this part of the establish- 

 ment, many of the patients being stretched on the floor of the halls, 

 some excited, others in a listless, moody, or apathetic state. Their 

 position, however, seemed very much a matter of necessity, as there 



