depression and apathy. The leading parts are
sustained by inmates, assisted by the attendants;
the scenery is painted by a youth who,
though an excellent artist, is incapable of
describing his work intelligibly, or of referring to
it except in a jumble of incoherent words. All
the woodwork is done by boys in the carpenter's
shop. In all these amusements the pupils have
the hearty assistance of Dr. Down and Mrs.
Down, who are regarded by all in the establishment
with the strongest affection. I saw many
unmistakable evidences of the regard in which
the doctor is held, during my visit. Wherever
he appeared on the grounds, the boys and girls
ran to him, to talk to him, to ask him questions,
and to fondle him. The men and women
attendants, too, seemed to be all favourites with
the poor imbeciles. I observed no indication
that any of them inspired fear. I saw one man
humour a tiresome boy with the utmost patience
for fully half an hour, and in the end he
succeeded in diverting him from the absurd desire
he wished to gratify. I do not know upon
what principle the attendants are chosen, but
I noticed that they were all "good looking,"
which suggests the theory that good looks and
a kind disposition generally go together. The
inmates all like the place. Some of them who
have gone home for a few weeks have expressed
a desire to return to Earlswood and their friend
Dr. Down, before the expiration of their leave.
One boy actually packed up and walked to the
Asylum, saying he could not stay away from
"home" any longer. Seeing how they were
surrounded by every comfort, and indulged in
every way, I could not feel surprised at this;
but considering the labour and patience required
of those who are employed to watch and tend
them, I certainly was not prepared for the
statement of one of the female attendants—
that she was very happy at Earlswood, that she
had been there three years, and that she should
not like to go to another place.

It was on the fête-day that I visited Earlswood
—a day long and anxiously looked forward
to by all the inmates. The amusements on the
lawn continued from one o'clock until dusk,
consisting of cricket, croquet, Aunt Sally, racing
and jumping matches, a performance of Punch
and Judy, glees by the singing class, negro
melodies by the Earlswood Troupe, and the
ascent of a fire balloon. Under the influence
of the emulation excited by the racing and
jumping for prizes, ranging from a shilling to a
penny, the idiotic expression vanished from the
faces of the patients in a magical way. In
several instances I found it difficult to say
whether they were idiots or not. One lad
achieved some astonishing feats in bar-jumping,
trying again and again until he had accomplished
his purpose. I was informed that this boy, when
he first entered the Asylum, was incapable of any
physical effort whatever. His energies, both
mental and physical, had been roused chiefly by
gymnastic exercises. In all the sports, I noticed
that Dr. Down and the attendants joined on
equal terms with the patients, and thus set them
all perfectly at their ease. The only refractory
subject was a fat boy, whose accomplishments
consisted in standing on his head, and in the
execution of a dance in frog fashion, which he
was ready to perform any number of times on
the slightest encouragement. The fat boy's
idiosyncrasy was to be always out of humour
and always grumbling. He was last in all the
races, but would insist upon a prize; in the
pole-climbing he had to be hoisted up on the
shoulders of an attendant. When the attendant
dropped him, he came forward to the doctor
in a triumphant manner, and held out his hand
for a prize. In all cases he had one. They
were all extremely fond of money, but the
amount was of no consequence. They were
just as well pleased with a penny as with a
shilling.

The results of the system pursued at Earlswood
are very great, very astonishing. Are
they desirable? Is it incumbent upon those
who have the charge of idiots, to do their utmost
to rouse their dormant faculties and restore the
broken and defaced image to the likeness of Him
who made it? If these questions are to be
answered in the affirmative, to do anything less
than is done at Earlswood would be to fail in a
great and sacred duty. Dr. Down's system is
purely one of kindness, and it was not long
before I perceived that his uniform and scrupulous
kindness, his minute attention to every
case, his liberal employment of every means
calculated to divert the mind and promote the
health of the body, were the true causes of the
great expense of which some persons have
complained. There is no doubt that the inmates of
Earlswood might be kept and maintained for
considerably less money; but this could only
be done by reducing the number of attendants,
and the success attained, by dispensing
with many sanitary precautions, by adopting
mechanical restraints, and by otherwise limiting
the comforts and enjoyments of the
inmates. For example, I found in the grounds
some twenty or thirty attendants going about
among the patients, watching them without
appearing to watch them, laughing and chatting,
joining in the sports, and taking infinite pains
to divert their minds from the particular notions
which possess them. In the good old times,
this was done by a third of the number of
attendants; but then they saved labour and the
money of the patrons by chaining the patients
to their bedsteads, by strapping them to boards,
and by beating them until they were insensible.
A blow is a cheap and effective quieter, there is
no doubt. Dirt, filth, and unwholesome food, are
also cheap, but they are nasty too, and, I trust,
wholly distasteful to the humane and Christian
feeling of the times in which we live.

Relatively, the expenses at Earlswood may be
larger than absolutely necessary, but I was
quite convinced from what I saw, that the
system pursued by Dr. Down could not be
carried out without great liberality. The number
of attendants; the various workshops, with all
their fittings and appliances; the schools, the