My Experiences in a Lunatic Asylum: By a Sane PatientMerivale, Herman Charles
Science
My Experiences in a Lunatic Asylum: By a Sane Patient
Merivale, Herman Charles
Insanity (Law); Mentally ill -- Care
I have hoped sometimes since that
the family took a view of their own upon the case, and had no wish to make
part with mine; but I do not know.
An entertainer, collaborating with a lady-novelist, brought a little play
called 'Cups and Saucers' to be enacted in the dining-room. A merry little
play, I thought, and the warders and servants liked it well enough. But
when I had watched it for a time I retreated to my solitude, for it was
more than I could bear. The lunatic next me dilated in a loud voice upon
the price of potatoes, which was wide of the plot. He was a wealthy
lunatic, and had taken me out for a drive a few days before, had bared his
'biceps' for my admiration--it was even less bicipitous than mine--and
waxed very wroth because I asked for his 'Daily Telegraph,' when he said
he had not done with it. Rumours of war were then in the air; and though
it was before the days when Jingo had become a power, he was more
intensely and demonstratively Jingo than the flower of the music-halls. If
the Home Secretary has profited at all by the vials of scorn poured upon
his head by Mr. Forbes, in his spirited 'Fiasco of Cyprus,' he must have
enough to do just now in learning the geography of Persia and the
Euphrates Valley; but he might yet find the time to do that imprisoned
Jingo a good turn. Where is the Conservative watchfulness that leaves such
a vote as this to be lost to humanity? There came a conjuror with a Greek
name, whom I avoided; there came a child-harpist, with a concert, called
little Ada Somebody, whom I would not go and hear; and there were various
parties on the 'ladies' side,' which I could not bring myself to face.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account