Miscellany: Commencement Of The Modern Humane Treatment Of T...

In the latier montbs of the year 17G2, Pinel. who had been lor soine time chief Physi c an to the Bicetre. betrged repeatedly of the public authorites, to perniit him to remove the chains from the furious. Ilis applicaiion8 having been unsuccessful, he presemed himself before the commune of Pnris. and, repeating his objections with incrensed warmth, urged a reform of such notorious Ireatment. "Citizen," said oneof the members tohim, "] will go to-morrow to visit the Bicetre: but wo betide thee, if thou deceive6t ue, and if thou concealest any of theenemies of the peoplc amongst thy insano. This member of the commune was Couthon. - The next day he went to 'he Bicetre. Conthon Wíi8 himself, perhaps, as strange a spectacle as any whom heviöited. Deprivedof the useofliis low er exticmitiee. and compelled to be borne on the arrns of others. he appeared, says Pinel, a fraction oi humanity implnnted on another's body; and from out of his deiormity. pronounced in a feeble anrtleminine voice, metciless suntencesproceedd-sentenceo of denth; lor aeath was the only logic that then prevailed. Co.ahon visited the insnne in Buccession nnd quemioned them hhnself. but he received onlv imprecatione. a nicist the clankmg of chains on floors disgustintriy fihhy from the evacuations of the miserable oecupnms Fatigued with the monotony antf revoldne chnracier of this spectacle. Couthon returned to Pinel. ''Citizen," said he to Pinel. art thou thy6elf mad to desire to unchain such animáis'" "Citizen," replied Pinel, "I am convinced that these lunatics are only intractable from being deprived of air and liberty, and I expect much from a different course." "Well." said Couthon, "do as thou likest. 1 leave them to thee. But I am afraid thou wilt fall n victim to thy presumption." Master of his own nctions, Pinel commenced his undertaking on the ery day. fully aware of all its real difíiculties; lor it regnrded the setting at liberty ofabout fifty furious maniaca, without mjurioua or dangerous consequences resulting to the other peaceable inmates of the establiehment. He üetermined to unchain o more tkon twelvo at theirst mal, and .he only precaution he took wasto have an equnl bcr or etrait ketg made of strong lincn vith long eleeves which Zlh?rd bChind the bck of eniic should i becoine necessary to restnct him fronl committmg acts ofviolence. BpinheifiuStperS0nt, whom PineI Hresscdhimse f had been a resident for the longcst period in h 8 abode of miscry. He was an Engibh cnploin, whose history was unknown. and who had been chained tbere for forty yea.-s. He was looked upon as the most terrible of dl the inanne; his attendonrs always approached him w.th circumspeciion, for in a paroxysm of fury, he ind struc-K one of the se.vants on the head witl, lus manacles, and killed hirn on the epot He wns confined with more rigor than many of the others, which circumstance, combined with almost to-al neglect on the part of (he keepers, had exasperaied a dis position naturally furious. Fine entered his cell alone, and approached him calmly. "Captain." 8aid he. "if I wcre to remove your chains, and to give you Jihertv to walk in the court, would you proniise me tobe rational and r0 do harm to no one?" "I promiee thee. But thou mockest me.- Iney, as well as thyself, are too much afraid oí me. "Assuredly not. I have no fear: for I have nx men at hand to mako me respecied. should it e necesaary. But belicve my word: be confiding nnd docile. I will gire you libnrty, if you will allow me to substituto thie strait waistcoat for your ponderous chnins."The captain yielded wilh a good grace to evcry thing required of him; shrugging hisshouldeis. however, but without uttering a word. In a few minutes his irons were completely removed, and Pincl withdrew, leaving the door of the cell open. Several times the nianiac raieed hinia If irom hu seat, but feil again; hc had kept the eitting posture so long that he hid lost the use of his lege; at length, in about a quarter of an hour, and alter repeated attempis, he succeeded in retair.ing his equilibnum. androin the depth of his unrk cell advanced etaggering towards the door. His first action was to look at the sky, and to exclaim in ecstney, "IIow bautiful!" Through the whole dny he ran about, ascending and descening the etairs, and eonstantly repeatin" the exclamation, ';How beautifull how good!" In the evening he returned to his cell, slept tranquilly on a beller bed, whiuh had been provided for hiin, and during the two additional years which he pasocd in the Bicetre he had no paroxysm of fury He had ren.lered himsolf, indeed, useful in the establishment, by e.xerting a certain degree of authority over the patten, whom he governed after his own lashion, and over whom he elected himself a kind of superintendent. But the case of Chevinge- a soldier of the French guards- is looked upon as one of the most memorable feats of that interesting and eventful day. Whilst in the service hc had but one fault- drunkenness:- and when'in this state he became tHrbulen., violent, and the more dangerous from his strengih being prodigious. Owing to his repeated excesses he was dismissed from his regiment, and soon dissipated his lirnited resources. Shame and misery subsequemly plunged him into such a state of depression, that his intellect became disoidered. In h:s delirium he thóught hc had been made general, beat thosc who did not admit his rank and quality, and in con8equence of a violent disturbance thus originating, he was taken to the Bicetre, laborinq under the most iurious excitement. He hnd btln cqa,.unca, cüaineü, roí ten years, and with more severity than n.ost of his fellow sufferers, as he liad frequently broken asunder his irons by the sole strength of his hands. On one occasion, when he obtained momentary liberty in thia manner. he set at defiance the unued efforts of all his keepers to make him re-enter his cell. His strength had become proverbial at the Bicetre. Pinel on several visits, had discovered in Che vinge an excellent disposition, masked by the excitement incessantly occaeioned by cruel treatment. He prom6ed the lunauc to speedily ameliorate his condition. and this promise itself rendered him more tranquil. Pinel at length told him he shouM be no longer chained; "and to prove the confidence I have in thee," said he, 'and that I regard thee as a man adapted for doing good. thou shalt aid me in freeing those unfortunates, who have not their reason like theeand ïf thou conductest thyself as I have reason to hope, I will take thee into my serrice, and thou shalt never quit me." "Never," says M. Scip;-n Pinel, "in the whole history of human intellect, was there a more sudden and complete revolution: the keepers themselves wcre impressed with respect and astomshment at the spectacle which CfiWinge aflorded. Scarcely was he liberaied, when he was seen anticipatiner, altentiveto, and following with his cye, evnry motion of Pinel; executing his oruers with skill and promptuude, addressing words of reason ana kindness to the insane, on the Ievel oi whom he had been but a short time previously.i nis man. whom chaina had kept degraded du ring the best years of his lite, and who would, doubtless, have spent the remainder of his existence in the same wretched condition. became afterwarde a model of good conduct and gratitudc. Often, in thedifficult times of the revofution, he eaved the life of Pinel, and on one occasion rescueJ him from a band of misereante who were conductnig him tothe "Lfintern," owing to his havin been an elector of J 789. Duing the time oi Inmine, he left the Eicetrc every inorning. and returned wnh supplics of provisions which gold could not at that time procure. His whole life was one of perpetual devotion to his liberator In the course of a few d-iys the shar-kles were removed irom fifty-three lunatics. An unespected improvement followed from a course previously regarded impracticable and even fatal. The furious madmen, who monthly destroyed hundreds of wooden utensils, renounced their habusof vioience; others, who tore their dollies, and noted in iilth and nudiiy, became clean and decent; tranquility andharmony tacceeded to tumult and disorder; and over the whole establishment order and good feeling reigned.