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Her mental faculties had already become somewhat impaired, in consequence of these fits, and both she and her friends, fondly hoped that under the medical treatment of the far-famed Dr. McFarland, the cause of this aberration might be mitigated, or removed.

But she had scarcely anything done for her by way of medical treatment, although I often heard her intercede with the Doctor, either to do something to cure her, or send her home to her friends.

But he could not be prevailed upon to do either, so that she lingered out a most wretched imprisonment of many years, uncared for and apparently forgotten.

Her friends thus finding it was easier to be relieved of the care of her, than to take care of her themselves, when at last they were obliged to take her away, they cast her into a county house!

She not only received no treatment for her disease, but no care even when she had her fits, except what I gave her.

One night, before I could get to her bed, she fell to the floor in one of her fits, and broke her collar bone. This accident caused her much suffering, and she daily appealed to the Doctor for relief; but he would turn silently away without seeming to hear her. I finally influenced Dr. Tenny to look at it, and see for himself that she had need of medical help. He was satisfied that the bone was fractured, and sent her some liniment which relieved her pain.

She had, at several different times, periods of unusual irregularity of conduct, so that she could not sleep for several nights in succession, nor could her room-mate sleep with her. I was her constant and only watcher and nurse during the whole year, including these periods.

Once, after several sleepless nights, I said to Dr. McFarland:

"I am willing to do my share of hospital nursing, but I am not willing to sacrifice my health in this cause, and therefore, I wish you would make some change for a few nights, at least, so that I may get a little sleep."

But he passed on without making any reply whatever, leaving me to quiet my patient as best I could, and get my own sleep where I could find it, or go without it if I could not.

There was another lady in our hall who needed medical treatment, for a weakness which caused her attendants some trouble about her bed; and although over sixty years of age, she was punished for it as if she were a child, instead of being medicated as she needed.

She was lady-like, intelligent, perfectly submissive, and uniformly quiet. She was always neatly and genteelly dressed, and had I met her outside of an insane asylum, I should never have had a suspicion of her being an insane person; I never saw anything like insanity in her. This lady had to be punished daily, morning after morning, with the horrors of the plunge bath, because she caused her attendants trouble about her bed. She was not to blame for causing them this trouble, for she could not help it.

She used to come to my room after these death-like strangulations by water and say:

"Oh! Mrs. Packard, I thought they would kill me this morning! I only wish I had died, for now I am only spared to go through it again to-morrow, for I can't help it. I lie awake all the time I possibly can for fear, but sleep will overcome me, and then I am guilty of 'an insane act,' as they call it, for which there is no escape from this terrible punishment."

I reported her case to her married daughter who visited her. But she took no notice of this defence of her mother's rights, but left her defenceless as ever, to the tender mercy of the Superintendent, in whom she expressed the most unbounded confidence!

This daughter's visit to her mother is described in the following chapter, showing the legitimate tendency of insane asy-lums to extinguish natural affection. I present it to my readers as I find it recorded in my journal.

CHAPTER XL.
Mrs. Leonard's Visit to her Mother.

Yesterday I met Mrs. Leonard, who is here on a visit to her mother. I advised her to take her mother home, and bestow upon her a daughter's kind and dutiful care and attention instead of leaving her to the care of strangers.

She replied, "Why, I think it looks pleasant here. Don't yon enjoy staying here?"

"No, I do not; this is a very unnatural life, compelled to live as we do. Defenceless, exposed to abuse, separated from all our friends, and cut off from all intercourse with them, shut out from the world and all the privileges of society and citizenship, and worse than all, confined for an indefinite period."

"Why, I think I could be happy here."

"You may perhaps have an opportunity to test it; you may become insane, and confined here; or you may, like many others, be confined here without being insane, and thus learn by your own experience, what it is to be cast off by your own children, as you have cast off your own mother; for 'with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.' Your mother is liable to abuse here, and I am her witness that she receives, it, too."

"It seems pleasant here. I do not think they would make a false impression upon strangers."