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"Say nothing; I will see that you are protected!"

And as he made this remark, he stooped and bestowed a kiss upon my forehead.

Although I regarded this as a mere impulsive act, dictated by no corrupt motives, yet as I afterwards told him, I considered it an indiscreet act for a man in his position:

"For, Dr. McFarland, men do not send their wives, nor fathers their daughters here, expecting that you will manifest your regard for them in this manner, and by doing so, you render yourself liable to just censure from the patrons of this Institution."

The Doctor listened with silent attention to this reproof, and only remarked:

"It was only a kiss of charity."

Here I will venture the remark, that had I been discharged at any time during these four months, I should doubtless have identified myself with that class of discharged prisoners who represent Dr. McFarland as no other than an honorable gentleman. And I am prepared to believe there are many whose experience would lead them to thus represent him, for, from their standpoint, he had been only the gentlemanly Superintendent.

The greatest fault I could see in the Doctor's conduct during this period was, his receiving so many who were not insane, and in retaining those who had recovered their sanity so long after they were able to be at home. I saw several such sink back into a state of hopeless imbecility from this cause alone. Hope too long deferred made them so sick of life that they yielded themselves up to desperation as a natural, inevitable result.

It was a matter of great surprise to me to find so many in the Seventh ward, who, like myself, had never shown any insanity while there, and these were almost uniformly married women, who were put there either by strategy or by force. None of these unfortunate sane prisoners had had any trial or any chance for self-defence.

And I could not force myself to believe that so sensible a man as the Doctor, could really believe they were insane, without a shadow of evidence in their own conduct. But sadly foolish and weak as it was, he professed to believe they were, on simple hearsay testimony, in defiance of positive, tangible proof to the contrary.

I once asked the Doctor how long he had to keep a person imprisoned, to determine whether they were insane or not.

His reply was, "Sometimes six months, and sometimes a year!"

Another fact I noticed, that he invariably kept these sane wives until they begged to be sent home. This led me to suspect that there was a secret understanding between the husband and the Doctor; that the subjection of the wife was the cure the husband was seeking to effect under the specious plea of insanity; and when they began to express a wish to go home, the Doctor would encourage these tyrannical husbands that they were "improving."

Time after time have I seen these defenceless women sent home only to be sent back again and again, for the sole purpose of making them the unresisting willing slaves of their cruel husbands.

I do not blame Dr. McFarland for the sins of these unnatural husbands, but I do blame him for letting the institution be used by them as a place of punishment to married women-as a prison, where they could appeal to none for help or deliverance-but to themselves.

These husbands, like Mr. Packard, knew that no law could protect the wife from their despotic power, and they knew too, that the simple word of Dr. McFarland, that they were insane, would legally entitle them to the use of this State's Prison as a calaboose, where their wives could be subjected to their husbands' will! I think that Dr. McFarland, even while he treated these subjected women with decent, gentlemanly respect, was at the same time, inflicting upon them a most cruel wrong, in keeping them imprisoned, when he knew they were not insane.

This is the only wrong I complain of from him, during those four months. He ought to have had the moral courage to say to Mr. Packard:

"Your wife is not insane, and I see no reason why her personal liberty should be taken from her. Therefore, I shall discharge her upon my own responsibility, to take care of herself unless you choose to do so. I am sure she is capable of assuming a self-reliant position, and therefore ought not to be imprisoned."

But he dared not do right and justice by me, or my associates, in this particular, but chose the cowardly course of compromising with this mean man; and thus he trampled the highest, noblest instincts of his manly nature in the dust. By thus oppressing the weak, instead of protecting them, he ruined himself -- his manliness suffered strangulation under this process, -- as the sequel will demonstrate.

But with this exception, no Superintendent could have treated a prisoner with more consideration than he did me. I was allowed to go into the parlor and visit with his wife or her guests, when I pleased. I was occasionally invited to eat at the Doctor's table. He instructed my attendants to let me go out whenever I pleased. He allowed my room to be furnished with the toilet comforts of any good boarding house. He allowed me to have a trunk in my room, and all the articles of my wardrobe that I needed.