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LETTER III.

Massachusetts Hospital-Lunatic Asylum-Mode of Treatment-Doctor Bell-General Miller- Old

Days at Woolwich

Visit to the Playhouse

Power and Dennis.

MY DEAR S

Tremont House, Boston,

August 24, 1840.

Again our kind friend General Miller came to us, bringing with him a Mr. Emery, a trustce of the Massachusetts General Hospital; into whose carriage we all got, and were first carried to inspect the lunatic part of the establishment. This asylum is called M'Clean's, and is clean, airy, and admirably arranged. There seems to be little or no restraint, which, in my mind, is a principal secret in governing the human race. I have ever discovered, in my small way, that kindness is better than coercion;

MASSACHUSETTS HOSPITAL.

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that mankind are all more or less mad, and require, occasionally, to be humoured and coaxed.

Two of the patients appeared to me to be very sensible fellows; one of them was playing the fiddle very gaily, whilst the other was dancing to it with all his heart and soul.

The same free and unrestrained system was adopted in the female apartments, which we also visited; and conversed with some old and young dames; the former apparently very sensible, the latter very pretty.

Doctor Bell, an extremely clever man, attended us round this part of the establishment, and gave us some most pleasing and satisfactory information. He has a great turn for the developement of skulls, and had a finc opportunity of expounding to us his doctrines in the vast variety of living subjects by which he was surrounded.

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GENERAL MILLER.

We next drove to the General Hospital, where a Captain Sumner was most attentive to us, and where the numerous patients appear to be attended to with great kindness, and to be in possession of every possible comfort.

Not being a great sight secker, I came home tired and hot; cooled myself with soda mead; and made my toilette: but got late to the table d'hôte,- a serious misfortune where the whole affair is a scramble. I placed myself alongside our kind cicerone, the gainer of the battle of Ayacuha, and a field-marshal in the Peruvian service, in which he was often and severely wounded; and on comparing notes, we soon found we had both sprung from the same military

stem.

We laughed together over the recollections of old times. "Milk without water! Royal Artillery! None of the dashings of the pump for that noble corps !" How well I

remember the old woman who used to scrcam out this compliment every morning as she strutted up the Woolwich parade!

I was induced this evening to accompany our St. John's friends to the theatre, to see "John Bull" and "the Irish Lion." On entering the box, seating myself, and looking around, I found I had placed myself next an old brother-soldier, Major D. of the Royal Horse Artillery, who had taken a run across by the Cunard connecting line, which now draws so near to each other the old world and the new.

I ought, perhaps, to be ashamed to acknowledge that I was somewhat disappointed with the great Mr. Power; and I wondered at the Americans, with their boasted delicacy and extreme moral refinement, tolerating the representation of "John Bull:" for, with all its merit and all its sentiment, it is but a vulgar play; and Tom Shuffleton's giving an old sinner's address to a

young and innocent girl, is enough to d-n it. Dennis was good; but his appearing, as it were, drunk and sober almost at the same instant, was preposterous.

The "Irish Lion" is perfectly ridiculous, and I wonder that Mr. Power condescends to perform in it. The hat off (an old white castor) and the heel up, I thought the best part of it: his knocking other people's hats off from his shop-board, and his knocking his customers down, is rather out of order in a tailor. He certainly brought to my mind the great Tommy M-c, as I rccollect him many years ago at Florence, when I looked upon him as a tremendous lion.

The Bostonians were in great good humour, and all the actors and actresses appeared to give unbounded satisfaction to a very crowded house; and a most absurd Yankee song, ridiculing themselves, was encored.