Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol IV. No. XX. January, 1852.Various
History
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol IV. No. XX. January, 1852.
Various
American literature -- Periodicals; Civilization -- Periodicals; Culture -- Periodicals
The vagaries of the insane are sometimes amusing to witness; and not
unfrequently there is a "method in their madness" that would not be
amiss in those who are on the _outside_ of lunatic asylums. Many years
ago in Philadelphia, a patient in the insane asylum of that city fancied
himself to be the REDEEMER of the world; and his talk and actions were
always in keeping with the character, save that he exacted a rigid
deference to his person and his divinely-derived power. But one day
another patient arrived, whose idiosyncrasy it was, that he was the
SUPREME BEING. A little while after his entrance into the institution,
he met in one of the halls, as he was passing, the imagined
representative of the SON; who, not liking his bearing, reminded him who
he was: "Yes, you are the SON, but know from this time henceforth, that
you have seen the FATHER, and must obey him!" "And strange enough," said
the keeper of the institution to the friend who gives us the
particulars, "from that day forward, all power was given unto the
latter; and at length the fancied SON'S 'air-drawn' vision melted away,
and he left the establishment a perfectly sane man."
Some twelve or fifteen years ago there was in the lunatic asylum at
Worcester, Massachusetts, a kind of crazy DAVID CROCKETT, who fancied
that he could do any thing that _could_ be done, and a little more. One
day a good many visitors were walking slowly through the halls,
examining them, and occasionally saying a word or two to the patients.
After a very courteous reception of a gentleman, who mentioned that he
had come from South Carolina, the crazy man interrupted him abruptly
with:
"Have you felt any of my earthquakes down there lately?"
One of the visitors replied: "No, we've had nothing of the kind, where
_I_ live."
"I thought so! I knew it!" returned the patient, frowning. "I have an
enemy. Ice! ICE! Why, I ordered one of my very best earthquakes for your
part of the country! It was to have ripped up the earth, and sent the
Mississippi into the Gulf of Mexico. Look here!" he continued, pointing
to a crack in the plastering, "_that's_ one of my earthquakes! What do
you think of _that_? I've got more orders for earthquakes than I can
attend to in a year. I've got four coming off, up north this
afternoon--two in Vermont!"
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