We have in the Eastern Counties' Asylum an institution admirably adapted for the care and treatment of the idiot; standing in its own grounds of seven acres, it is furnished with all the machinery necessary to grapple with this great social calamity, and by the judicious combination of medical, physical, moral, and intellectual agencies, we are enabled to develop and regulate the bodily functions of the idiot, to arouse his observation, to quicken his power of thought, and thus develop the sensitive and perceptive faculties; and we have not only succeeded in raising these poor creatures from a state of hopeless degradation to a state of comfort and usefulness, but we have, in many instances, succeeded in kindling up in their dark and twilight minds some dim anticipations of a brighter world; the veil which obscured their intellect has been rendered transparent, and to use the language of the bard of Avon, we have been privileged to observe that-- "As the morning steals upon the night, Melting the darkness, so their rising senses Begin to chase the ignorant fumes that mantle Their clearer reason." In addition to the Asylum proper, the Board has lately purchased a farm-house with 32 acres of land, immediately adjoining the main building. By means of this welcome acquisition, increased accommodation is afforded, and facilities are given for drafting off some of the most tractable patients who require less supervision than the majority of the inmates; moreover, farm work has proved very useful in training some of the patients who come from agricultural districts. _Crossley House._--Our area of usefulness has recently been extended by the munificent gift of Sir Savile Crossley, Bart., of a Convalescent Home, at Clacton-on-Sea. The building has accommodation for twenty patients; it stands facing the sea, in its own grounds of nearly an acre, and its privacy is secured by a walled-in garden, in which the inmates are able to take ample exercise. As a large number of our patients suffer from scrofula, or from some tubercular disease, the want has been long felt of a seaside adjunct, where such patients could be treated in the initial stage. Thanks to Sir Savile Crossley's princely gift, we now possess this valuable addition to our medical resources, the advantages of which cannot be too highly estimated.