1818.] Remarks on Mr. Owen's Plan of Providing for the Poor. 117 The basis of the society is religion, and all their temporal concerns are managed in subserviency to it. The greater part of the people were bred in the Lutheran persuasion, and their views of religion are nearly in conformity to it; but the principles which bind them together as a society may be shortly thus expressed-love to God, good-will towards man, purity of life, and a community of goods. "The society purchased their land for about 20,000 dollars, which they so much improved, that we are informed in 1814, they disposed of the whole con1 cern for 200,000; and retired farther into the interior to form a new settlement, with all the improvements which their experience may suggest." I cannot forbear adding the following extract, although it has no reference to our present enquiry : "In the evening the society assembled for divine service; and we attended, accompanied by our inn-keeper, who conducted us to a seat appropriated to strangers. The church was quite full, the number of persons being not less than 500. The women sat all at one end, the men at the other. They were singing a hymn, in which they all joined with one accord; and so simply, yet so sweetly did they sing, that it brought to my recollection the passage in Burns' Cotter's Saturday Night :— They chaunt their artless notes in simple guise, They tune their hearts, by far the noblest aim. "After singing they all knelt down to prayer. We followed their example, and never did I pray more devoutly. I did not understand one word of the prayer; but I saw this interesting society were under the influence of the spirit of God, and that they worshipped him with reverence and with godly fear. Tears of joy came into my eyes, as I exclaimed mentally: This indeed is true christianity! this is worshipping God in spirit and in truth!" Mr. Owen has himself published an account of a society in America called the Shakers. "They are established upon the principle of a community of property, on the system of united labour and expenditure; the advantages are equally participated by all, without any distinction whatever. Such is the favourable opinion entertained of them that the legislature of New York have by law ex NEW MONTHLY MAG.-No. 50. empted them from all military duty, and from any fine or tax in lieu thereof." But by far the most remarkable example of a society of mutual co-operation is that which the Jesuits formed in South America. "About the beginning of the 17th century they obtained admission into the fertile province of Paraguay, which stretches across the southern continent of America, from the bottom of the mountains of Potosi, to the confines of the Spanish and the Portuguese settlements on the banks of the river De la Plata. They found the inhabitants in a state little different from that which takes place among men when they first begin to unite together; strangers to the arts, subsisting precariously by hunting or fishing, and hardly acquainted with the first principles of subordination and government. The Jesuits set themselves to instruct and to civilize these savages. -They taught them to cultivate the ground, to rear tame animals, and to build houses. They brought them to live together in villages. They trained them to arts and manufactures. They made them taste the sweets of society, and accustomed them to the blessings of security and order. These people became the subjects of their benefactors, who governed them with a tender attention, resembling that with which a father directs his children. Respected and beloved almost to adoration, a few Jesuits presided over some hundred thousand Indians. They maintained a perfect equality among all the members of the community. Each of them was obliged to labour not for himself alone, but for the public. The produce of their fields, together with the fruits of their industry of every species, were deposited in common storehouses, from which each individual received every thing necessary for the supply of his wants. By this institution, almost all the passions which disturb the peace of society, and render the members of it unhappy, were extinguished. A few magistrates, chosen by the Indians themselves, watched over the public tranquillity, and secured obedience to the law. The sanguinary punishments frequent under other governments were unknown. An admonition from a Jesuit, a slight mark of infamy, or on some singular occasion a few lashes with a whip, were sufficient to maintain good order among these inno cent and happy people.' Here then, Sir, we have four instances, R 118 Strictures on a Passage in Lord Byron's Poems. the Moravians, the Harmonists, the Shakers, and the Jesuits, all of different persuasions with regard to some points of faith, but each practising the moral duties enjoined by religion. To what can we attribute the admirable beauty and order of these several institutions? not surely to the peculiar fanaticism or superstition of each, but to those fundamental truths of christianity which were common to all. If the genuine principles of christianity, even when united with so much error, could lead to such happy results, what may we not expect from them under the direction of the most intelligent experience derived from the practice not only of the present, but of past ages? It may still be objected that those who would constitute the first villages of mutual co-operation would be chiefly adults with habits of idleness and profligacy, long since fixed, and almost inveterate. To this it may be answered, that such individuals must necessarily have experienced much misery, and when they had once felt the comforts of their new habitations, the fear of expulsion would stimulate them to perform their quota of labour; and it has been satisfactorily proved by the benevolent exertions of Mr. Fry, that a well-directed persevering kindness cannot be long resisted even by the most hardened offenders. AMICUS. [March 1, the imagination; but what has disease,de- To the Editor of the New Monthly Magazine.` WHATEVER form poetry assume, whether didactic, descriptive, or narrative, it is indispensable, either that the materials be of a dignified nature, or at least susceptible of being invested with adventitious ornaments. While the historian must sink with his subject, the poet has the lofty privilege of omitting what is disagreeable, of softening what is harsh, and exalting what is mean. Except therefore, when introduced for the sake of contrast, criticism holds him inexcusable in dwelling on vulgar or shocking scenes. In this case the blame must lie wholly in the bias of his own taste. Dr. Johnson, in his "Lives of the English Poets," thus finely comments on the unaccountable predilection which Swift appears to have indulged for filthy and abominable objects:" It is difficult to conceive by what depravity of intellect he took delight in revolving ideas from which almost every other mind shrinks with disgust. The ideas of pleasure, even when criminal, may solicit ; As they peel the fig when the fruit is fresh And their white tusks crunched o'er the whiter scull, And slipped through their jaws, when their edge grew dull, As they lazily mumbled the bones, &c. I should not have quoted such lines were it not necessary to mark them with express reprobation, not only on account of the popularity of their author, but because they are selected by the Edinburgh Reviewers as particularly beautiful !— These writers, conscious of their great abilities, sometimes impose their opinions on the public in a manner too overbearing and authoritative. They appear particularly conceited of their skill in poetical matters, although perhaps they are more in their element on subjects less refined. On several occasions, as in the review of HoGG's Poems, they have broadly enough insinuated their influence With in directing the public taste. regard to our noble poet, they boast of "having been the first who proclaimed the rising of this luminary in the poetical horizon." This may be true; an author is often indebted for his fame to accidental causes; this glorious luminary might perhaps have wasted its splendour on the desart sky, had not happily these critics enlightened the dim eyes of their contemporaries. E. LEMPRIERE. Holborn, Dec. 21, 1817. 1818.] Description of the Lancashire Lunatic Asylum. 119 4th Jan. 1818. Description of the LANCASHIRE LUNATIC ASYLUM-(with a View of the Building). The Lancashire Lunatic Asylum is the first that has been established under the sole provisions of the act of the 48th of the present king, for the "Better Care and Maintenance of Lunatics, being Paupers or Criminals" that of Nottingham being of a mixed nature, as it is in part supported by voluntary subscriptions; and is under the controul of a committee, chosen as well by subscribers as by the county magistrates. Before entering upon a description of the edifice, or giving any account of the economy of the institution, it may not be improper to premise a few words upon the circumstances which have led to fixing the establishment in its present situation. For reasons which it would be now unprofitable to recapitulate, it was originally intended that the Lunatic Asylum for the county of Lancaster should have been erected in the vicinity of Liverpool: but upon further consideration a situation near the town of Lancaster was, at a general session of the magistrates, deemed to be more eligible. For although Lancaster may not be exactly central with reference either to geographical position or to the population of the county, yet, from its being the county town, where the assizes are held twice annually, and where there is necessarily a considerable resort of persons of all ranks from every quarter; the intercourse of such as might be interested with the patients in the establishment would be more frequent, and the beneficial effects of general inspection more practicable than in any other part of it. These and other considerations, joined with the donation of five acres of ground by the Corporation of Lancaster, for the site of the institution, induced the magistrates to give a preference to the present situation. The edifice is erected about a mile to. the eastward of the town of Lancaster,. on a piece of ground which is protected from the west wind (the most prevalent and violent in this climate) by a steep and abruptly rising hill which contains the stone quarries of Lancaster; and from the north, by ground which, sloping gently towards the house, is open to the east and south, and commands an extensive view of the country in those directions. It is in contemplation to make an addition of several acres of land which lie between the house and the public road; which will afford great advantages for air and exercise to the convalescents, in perhaps a superior degree to what will be found in any similar institution. The declivity on which the building is placed was particularly selected, not only for the purpose of shelter from stormy winds, but to obtain a supply of water from an adjacent spring, which, issuing out of the rock, by means of an ample reservoir, 36 yards in length, 24 yards in breadth, 5 feet in depth, and containing 233,280 gallons, supplies 120 Description of the Lancashire Lunatic Asylum. through iron pipes, every story of the house, with an unlimited quantity of an article, which is if possible more indispensable in an establishment of this nature than any other, where a number of persons are collected; from the necessity there exists for frequent ablution both of the house and the inmates, as well for the purposes of comfort as of health. The building is from a plan furnished by Mr. STANDEN, an architect resident in Lancaster; and is constructed of a fine and durable species of freestone, which is procured from a quarry so immediately contiguous, as to be within the walls of the garden. The form of the edifice is quadrangular, extending in front 200 feet, and in depth 196 feet. It is three stories in height, except to the south, where the front is only one story: it being kept low to allow free admission to the sun and air into the quadrangular space in the interior of the buildings. In the centre of the north, or principal front, is a handsome portico of the Doric order, and in which part are contained the manager's house, the committeeroom for the magistrates, and other offices. In the basement story are the kitchens, laundries, and other apartments incident to such an establishment; and which by the natural slope of ground in some parts, and an area in others, are rendered perfectly dry and comfortable. The washhouse and brewhouse are removed to a small distance from the body of the house, by which means it is kept free from any annoyance of the heat or steam proceeding from those offices. In the kitchen is hung up a board, containing the weekly dietary of the patients, for the direction of the cook: it is as follows: Dinners. Sunday.-Beef pie. [March 1, pint of table beer per diem, of the same quality as is used by every person in the house. By the contrivance of a tunnel, the trays which contain the respective meals of the patients are conveyed from the kitchen immediately into the different galleries, without being carried circuitously through the passages, by which arrangement there is a great saving of trouble to the attendants, and the food is taken warm from the fire to the tables of the patients. The part of the edifice which is allotted to the accommodation of patients, consists of sir galleries: three on each side of the house. Five of these galleries extend through the whole length of the wing in which they are respectively si tuated, forming a right angle at the turn of the building. Every possible attention is given to classing the patients in these galleries, so as to keep the more noisy and dirty from annoying those that are of a more quiet and orderly turn. The galleries are in breadth 10 feet, and 188 in length, in the present state of the building; but when it is completed they will be 270 feet in length. The four uppermost galleries are floored with oak plank, which, from the polish given by frequent rubbing (and which also furnishes an occasional employment for the inmates of the house) has a pleasing effect to the eye. The house, when completed, is adapted to the accommodation of about 250 patients. In each gallery, in its present state, are two dining-rooms, 15 feet, by 11 feet; one sitting-room, and a retiring-room, for the reception of persons who may wish to see any particular patient. In all these rooms there are fireplaces. The lodging-rooms of the patients are of two descriptions. Some are designed Monday.-Beef stewed with a large quantity to hold one, and others two beds. of potatoes. Tuesday.-Soup and bouilli. Wednesday.-Beef in batter (made of flour and suet). Thursday.-Soup and bouilli. Friday.-Beef pie. Saturday.-Hashed meat, or stew. At all times potatoes unlimited, with cabbage and pot-herbs, and pepper for seasoning. Daily Breakfast. Milk pottage with bread. The same for supper for the men: but the women have bread and butter and coffee, and each patient is allowed a The rooms which are designed for single beds, are 10 feet in length, 7 ditto in breadth, Those for two beds, are Each of these apartments has a glazed sash window, with cords and pullies, to let down occasionally. There is also a considerable aperture over each door, with a shutter affixed, by which it may be opened or closed as circumstances 1818.] Description of the Lancashire Lunatic Asylum. require. There is too, an air-hole over the ceiling of every lodging-room, which communicates with a general air chimney or flue, so that it seems scarcely possible for the purposes of ventilation to be more effectually provided. The bedsteads are formed of strong wood painted, and are in the form of what are generally denominated cribs: six feet two inches in length, by two feet four inches in breadth; and the sides are so deep as to contain, A straw mattrass, A flock, or hair ditto, A pair of sheets, A pair of top blankets, and which forms the general furniture of the The bottoms of these cribs, or bedsteads, are made to slope from the head and feet towards the middle, so as to take nearly the shape of a seaman's hammock, which is not only the most easy, by being accommodated to the shape of the human body, but has also this further advantage in the case of wet patients, that the discharge is made to pass by means of a groove into a reservoir beneath the bed, with the least possible inconvenience to the person. In each day-room are fixed half a dozen seats, opposite to the fire-place; in which the more refractory patients may be occasionally confined. The galleries may be warmed when necessary by means of steam, which is conveyed in iron pipes from a boiler and a proper apparatus fixed in each wing of the building. The lower galleries on each side of the house are appropriated to the worst class of patients, that is, to such as are noisy or dirty. In that on the men's side, there is a room, which is capable of being warmed (by tubes conveyed below the floor, and communicating with the steam-boiler) to such a temperature, that the unhappy class of patients, who will not allow clothing to remain on their persons, may not experience those inconveniencies in cold weather to which they would otherwise be exposed. Each gallery contains a water-closet, and also a bath-room, in which the patients are daily washed and cleaned. The baths may be used either warm or cold, as may be required. They are heated by a pipe communicating with the steam apparatus to any degree that may be thought proper, in the course of a few minutes; and a weekly ablution of 121 most of the patients takes place on Friday, (in a temperature of about 93 degrees of Fahrenheit, in winter;) which is not only conducive to cleanliness in their persons, and consequently to the preservation of their health, but is equally agreeable to their feelings. The windows of the day-rooms and also those of some of the galleries admit of a prospect into the fields and gardens; and thus afford as much solace to the minds of the persons confined, as can be derived from this source of amusement. The galleries, from being so spacious as nearly two hundred feet, in length, allow the patients great limits for exercise under cover; whilst in the centre of the building an area of 1777 square yards, divided by a wall (separating the patients of different sexes) and flagged so as to be always dry and kept clean, affords an excellent airing ground, when the weather is suitable for them to be out of doors. Besides these, the ample gardens are permitted to be used by those patients whose situations render it proper, and when the ground in the front of the house shall also be properly walled in, a close of several acres will be added, which will be applicable to similar purposes. The general principle upon which the treatment of the patients in this asylum. is conducted, is that of mildness; no coercion being ever resorted to, unless it becomes necessary to ensure their own safety or that of others; and as it has been found that nothing contributes more to the alleviation of the sufferings of persons in their unhappy situation, than that sort of employment which insensibly diverts their attention from the subject which may have given rise to their mental affliction, and at the same time directs it to some other of a lighter, or more chearful nature, such of the patients as are permitted by the state of their malady are employed in the gardens and grounds, or in domestic occupation in the house; a practice which has been found to be at once beneficial to their bodily health, and conducive to recovery from their mental ailments. Although the bodily health of persons in a state of insanity is not necessarily or invariably affected; yet, this state of mind is often complicated with epileptic and other fits, palsy, stomach complaints, and nervous disorders; and they are also particularly subject to abscesses, bad sores and mortifications, as well as to contusions from blows and accidents, which require almost constant, and frequently instant, medical assistance. |