August 19, 2025 • 19 mins
In 1887, Nellie Bly, a pioneering female journalist and soon-to-be famous investigative reporter, made a daring decision she had herself committed to the Blackwell’s Island Insane Asylum in New York. Her mission? To unveil the shocking realities faced by those labeled insane. What she discovered was a harrowing tale of mistreatment and neglect that would change public perception and lead to significant reforms in the asylum. Join us as we explore her incredible journey and the impact of her groundbreaking reporting. (Summary by Alice)
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This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
the public domain. For more information or to find out
how you can volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Ten
Days in a Madhouse by Nellie Bly, Chapter four, Judge
Duffy and the police. But to return to my story,
(00:21):
I kept up my roll until the assistant matron, missus Stannard,
came in. She tried to persuade me to be calm.
I began to see clearly that she had wanted to
get me out of the house at all hazards, quietly,
if possible. This I did not want. I refused to move,
but kept up ever the refrain of my lost trunks. Finally,
(00:41):
some one suggested that an officer be sent for After
a while, Missus Stannard put on her bonnet and went out.
Then I knew that I was making an advance towards
the home of the insane. Soon she returned, bringing with
her two policemen, big strong men who entered the room
rather unceremoniously, evidently expecting to meet with a person violently crazy.
(01:03):
The name of one of them was Tom Bockert. When
they entered, I pretended not to see them. I want
you to take her, quietly, said missus Stannard. If she
don't come along, quietly responded one of the men, I
will drag her through the streets. I still took no
notice of them, but certainly wished to avoid raising a
scandal outside. Fortunately, Missus Kane came to my rescue. She
(01:27):
told the officers about my outcries for my lost trunks,
and together they made up a plan to get me
to go along with them quietly by telling me that
they would go with me to look for my lost effects.
They asked me if I would go. I said I
was afraid to go alone. Missus Stannard then said she
would accompany me, and she arranged that the two policemen
(01:47):
should follow us at a respectful distance. She tied on
my veil for me, and we left the house by
the basement and started across town, the two officers following
at some distance behind. We walked along very quietly, and
finally came to the station house, which the good woman
assured me was the express office, and that there we
should certainly find my missing effects. I went inside with
(02:10):
fear and trembling. For good reason. A few days previous
to this. I had met Captain mc cullough at a
meeting held in Cooper, Union. At that time. I had
asked him for some information which he had given me.
If he were in, would he not recognize me? And
then all would be lost? So far as getting to
the island was concerned, I pulled my sailor hat as
(02:32):
low down over my face as I possibly could and
prepared for the ordeal. Sure enough, there was sturdy Captain
mc cullough standing near the desk. He watched me closely
as the officer at the desk conversed in a low
tone with Missus Stannard and the policeman who brought me in.
Are you Nellie Brown? Asked the officer, I said, I
(02:53):
supposed I was. Where do you come from, he asked,
I told him I did not know, And then Missus
Stannard gave him a lot of information about me, told
him how strangely I had acted at her home, how
I had not slept a wink all night, and that
in her opinion, I was a poor, unfortunate who had
been driven crazy by inhuman treatment. There was some discussion
(03:15):
between Missus Stannard and the two officers, and Tom Bockart
was told to take us down to court in a car.
Come along, Bockert said, I will find your trunk for you.
We all went together, Missus Stannard, Tom Barker, and myself.
I said. It was very kind of them to go
with me, and I should not soon forget them. As
(03:35):
we walked along, I kept up my refrain about my trunks,
injecting occasionally some remark about the dirty condition of the
streets and the curious character of the people we met
on the way. I don't think I have ever seen
such people before. I said, Who are they? I asked,
and my companions looked upon me with the expressions of pity,
(03:56):
evidently believing I was a foreigner, an emigrant, or something
of the sort. They told me that the people around
me were working people. I remarked once more that I
thought there were too many working people in the world
for the amount of work to be done, at which
remark Policeman P. T. Bockert eyed me closely, evidently thinking
that my mind was gone for good. We passed several
(04:18):
other policemen who generally asked my sturdy guardians what was
the matter with me. By this time, quite a number
of ragged children were following us too, and they passed
remarks about me that were to me original, as well
as amusing what's she up for? Say cop, where'd ye
get her? Where'd you pull her? She's a daisy? Poor
(04:40):
missus Stannard was more frightened than I was. The whole
situation grew interesting, but I still had fears for my
fate before the judge. At last, we came to a
low building and Tom Barker kindly volunteered the information. Here's
the express office. We shall soon find these trunks of yours.
The entrance to the bill was surrounded by a curious crowd,
(05:02):
and I did not think my case was bad enough
to permit me passing them without some remark, So I
asked if all those people had lost their trunks. Yes,
he said nearly. All these people are looking for trunks.
I said, they all seem to be foreigners too, Yes,
said Tom, they are all foreigners just landed. They have
(05:22):
all lost their trunks and it takes most of our
time to help find them for them. We entered the courtroom.
It was the Essex Market Police courtroom. At last, the
question of my sanity or insanity was to be decided.
Judge Duffy sat behind the high desk, wearing a look
which seemed to indicate that he was dealing out the
(05:43):
milk of human kindness by wholesale. I rather feared I
would not get the fate I saw it because of
the kindness I saw on every line of his face.
And it was rather with a sinking heart that I
followed missus Stannard as she answered the summons to go
up to the desk where Tom Barker had just given
an account of the affair. Come here, said knofser. What
is your name, Nellie Brown? I replied, with a little accent.
(06:07):
I have lost my trunks and would like if you
could find them. When did you come to New York,
he asked. I did not come to New York, I replied,
while I added mentally, because I have been here for
some time. But you are in New York now, said
the man. No, I said, looking as incredulous as I
(06:29):
thought a crazy person could. I did not come to
New York. That girl is from the West, he said,
in a tone that made me tremble. She has a
Western accent. Some One else, who had been listening to
the brief dialog here asserted that he had lived south
and that my accent was Southern, while another officer was
(06:51):
positive it was Eastern. I felt much relieved when the
first spokesman turned to the judge and said, Judge, here
is a peculiar case of a young woman who doesn't
know where she is or where she came from. You
had better attend to it. At once. I commenced to
shake with more than the cold, and I looked around
at the strange crowd about me, composed of poorly dressed
(07:13):
men and women with stories printed on their faces of
hard lives, abuse, and poverty. Some were consulting eagerly with friends,
while others sat still with a look of utter hopelessness.
Everywhere was a sprinkling of well dressed, well fed officers,
watching the scene passively and almost indifferently. It was an
old story with them, one more unfortunate added to a
(07:36):
long list which had long since ceased to be of
any interest or concern to them. Come here, girl, and
lift your veil. Kaldul judged Duffy in tones which surprised
me by a harshness which I did not think from
the kindly face he possessed. Who are you speaking to
I inquired, in my stateliest manner, Come here, my dear,
(07:57):
and lift your veil. You know, the Queen of England,
if she were here, would have to lift her veil.
He said, very kindly. That is much better. I replied,
I am not the Queen of England, but I'll lift
my veil. As I did so, the little judge looked
at me, and then, in a very kind and gentle tone,
he said, my dear child, what is wrong? Nothing is
(08:21):
wrong except that I have lost my trunks, and this man,
indicating policeman Brockert, promised to bring me where they could
be found. What do you know about this child, asked
the judge sternly of missus Stannard, who stood pale and
trembling by my side. I know nothing of her except
that she came to the home yesterday and asked to
(08:44):
remain overnight the home. What do you mean by the home,
asked Judge Duffy quickly. It is a temporary home kept
for working women at number eighty four Second Avenue. What
is your position there? I am assistant matron. Well, tell
us all you know of the case. When I was
(09:04):
going into the home yesterday I noticed her coming down
the avenue. She was all alone. I had just got
into the house when the bell rang and she came in.
When I talked with her, she wanted to know if
she could stay all night, and I said she could.
After a while, she said all the people in the
house looked crazy and she was afraid of them. Then
(09:25):
she would not go to bed, but sat up all
the night. Had she any money, yes, I replied, answering
for her. I paid her for everything, and the eating
was the worst I ever tried. There was a general
smile at this, and some murmurs of she's not so
crazy on the food question. Poor child, said Judge Duffy.
(09:47):
She is well dressed and a lady. Her English is perfect,
and I would stake everything on her being a good girl.
I am positive she is somebody's darling. At this announcement,
everybody laughed, and I put my handkerchief over my face
and endeavored to choke the laughter that threatened to spoil
my plans in despite of my resolutions. I mean, she
(10:09):
is some woman's darling, hastily amended the judge. I am
sure some one is searching for her, poor girl. I
will be good to her, for she looks like my
sister who is dead. There was a hush for a
moment after this announcement, at the officers glanced at me
more kindly, while I silently blessed the kind hearted judge
and hoped that any poor creature who might be afflicted
(10:31):
as I pretended to be, should have as kindly a
man to deal with as Judge Duffy. I wish the
reporters were here, he said, at last they would be
able to find out something about her. I got very
much frightened at this, for if there is any one
who can ferret out a mystery, it is a reporter.
I felt that I would rather face a massive expert doctors,
(10:52):
policemen and detectives than two bright specimens of my craft.
So I said, I don't see why all this is
needed to help me find my true unks. These men
are impudent, and I do not want to be stared at.
I will go away. I don't want to stay here,
so saying, I pulled down my veil and secretly hoped
the reporters would be detained elsewhere until I was sent
(11:13):
to the asylum. I don't know what to do with
the poor child, said the worried judge. She must be
taken care of. Send her to the island, suggested one
of the officers. Oh don't, said missus Stannard, in evident alarm. Don't.
She is a lady and it would kill her to
be put on the island. For once. I felt like
(11:35):
shaking the good woman to think the island was just
the place I wanted to reach, and here she was
trying to keep me from going there. It was very
kind of her, but rather provoking. Under the circumstances. There
has been some foul work here, said the judge. I
believe this child has been drugged and brought to this city.
(11:55):
Make out the papers and we will send her to
Bellevue for examination. In a few days. The effect of
the drug will pass off and she will be able
to tell us a story that will be startling. If
the reporters would only come, I dreaded them, so I
said something about not wishing to stay there any longer,
to be gazed at. Judge Duffy then told Policeman Bocker
(12:16):
to take me to the back office. After we were
seated there, Judge Duffy came in and asked me if
my home was in Cuba. Yes, I replied with a smile.
How did you know? Oh? I knew it, my dear.
Now tell me where was it? In? What part of Cuba?
On the hacienda, i replied, Ah, said the judge on
(12:38):
a farm. Do you remember Havana? See signor? I answered?
It is near home. How did you know? Oh? I
knew all about it. Now won't you tell me the
name of your home? He asked, persuasively, That's what I forget?
I answered, sadly. I have a headache all the time,
(12:58):
and it makes me forget things. I don't want them
to trouble me. Everybody is asking me questions and it
makes my head worse, and in truth it did. Well,
no one shall trouble you any more. Sit down here
and rest awhile and the genial judge left me alone
with missus Stannard. Just then an officer came in with
(13:18):
a reporter. I was so frightened and thought I would
be recognized as a journalist. So I turned my head
away and said I don't want to see any reporters.
I will not see any. The judge said, I was
not to be troubled. Well, there's no insanity in that,
said the man who had brought the reporter, and together
they left the room. Once again, I had a fit
(13:40):
of fear. Had I gone too far in not wanting
to see a reporter? And was my sanity detected? If
I had given the impression that I was sane. I
was determined to undo it. So I jumped up and
ran back and forward through the office Missus Stannard, clinging
terrified to my arm. I won't stay here. I want
my trunks. Why do they bother me with so many people?
(14:03):
And thus I kept on until the ambulance surgeon came
in accompanied by the judge. End of chapter four, Chapter
five pronounced insane. Here is a poor girl who has
been drugged, explained the judge. She looks like my sister,
and any one can see she is a good girl.
I am interested in the child, and I would do
(14:25):
as much for her as if she were my own.
I want you to be kind to her, he said
to the ambulance surgeon. Then, turning to missus Stannard, he
asked her if she could not keep me for a
few days until my case was inquired into. Fortunately, she
said she could not because all the women at the
house were afraid of me and would leave if I
were kept there. I was very much afraid she would
(14:47):
keep me if the pay was assured her. And so
I said something about the bad cooking, and that I
did not intend to go back to the home. Then
came the examination. The doctor looked clever, and I had
not one hope of deceiving him, but I determined to
keep up with the farce. Put out your tongue, he ordered, briskly.
I gave an inward chuckle at the thought. Put out
(15:08):
your tongue when I tell you, He said, I don't
want to. I answered, truthfully enough, you must. You are sick,
and I am a doctor. I'm not sick, and never was.
I only want my trunks. But I put out my tongue,
which he looked at in the sage cis Mariner. Then
he felt my pulse and listened to the beating of
(15:30):
my heart. I had not the least idea how the
heart of an insane person beat, so I held my
breath all the while he listened, until when he quit,
I had to give a gasp to regain it. Then
he tried the effect of the light on the pupils
of my eyes, holding his hand within a half inch
of my face. He told me to look at it, then,
(15:50):
jerking it hastily away, he would examine my eyes. I
was puzzled to know what insanity was like in the eye,
so I thought the best thing, under the circumst dance
was to stare this. I did. I held my eyes
riveted unblinkingly upon his hand, and when he removed it,
I exerted all my strength to keep my eyes from blinking.
(16:11):
What drugs have you been taking? He then asked me drugs,
I repeated, wonderingly, I do not know what drugs are.
The pupils of her eyes have been quite enlarged ever
since she came to the home. They have not changed once,
explained Missus Stannard. I wondered how she knew whether they
had or not, but I kept quiet. I believe she
(16:32):
has been using Belladonna, said the doctor, and for the
first time, I was thankful that I was a little
near sighted, which of course answers for the enlargement of
the pupils. I thought I might as well be truthful
when I could without injuring my case. So I told
him I was near sighted, that I was not in
the least ill had never been sick, and that no
one had a right to detain me. When I wanted
(16:53):
to find my trunks, I wanted to go home. He
wrote a lot of things in a long, slender book,
and then said he was going to take me home.
The judge told him to take me and to be
kind to me, and to tell the people at the
hospital to be kind to me and to do all
they could for me. If we only had more such
men as Judge Duffy, the poor unfortunates would not find
(17:14):
life all darkness. I began to have more confidence in
my own ability now, since one judge, one doctor, and
a mass of people had pronounced me insane. And I
put on my veil quite gladly when I was told
that I was to be taken in a carriage and
that afterward I could go home. I'm so glad to
go with you, I said, and I meant it. I
(17:36):
was very glad indeed. Once more, guarded by Policeman Brockard,
I walked through the little crowded court room. I felt
quite proud of myself as I went out a side
door into an alleyway where the ambulance was waiting near
the closed and barred gates was a small office occupied
by several men in large books. We all went in there,
and when they began to ask me questions, the doctor
(17:58):
interposed and said he all in the papers, and that
it was useless to ask me anything further because I
was unable to answer questions. This was a great relief
to me, for my nerves were already feeling the strain.
A rough looking man wanted to put me into the ambulance,
but I refused his aid so decidedly that the doctor
and policemen told him to desist, and they performed that
(18:21):
gallant office themselves. I did not enter the ambulance without protest.
I made the remark that I had never seen a
carriage of that make before, and that he did not
want to ride in it. But after a while I
let them persuade me as I had right along intended
to do. I shall never forget that ride. After I
was put in flat on the yellow blanket, the doctor
(18:42):
got in and sat near the door. The large gates
were swung open, and the curious crowd which had collected
swayed back to make way for the ambulance as it
backed out. How they tried to get a glimpse at
the supposed crazy girl. The doctor saw that I did
not like the people gazing at me, and considerately put
down the curtains after asking my wishes in regard to it.
(19:02):
Still that did not keep the people away. The children
raced after us, yelling all sorts of slaying expressions and
trying to get a peep under the curtains. It was
quite an interesting drive, but I must say that it
was an excruciatingly rough one. I held on, only there
was not much to hold on too, and the driver
drove as if he feared some one would catch up
(19:23):
with us. End of Chapter five
This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
the public domain. For more information or to find out
how you can volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Ten
Days in a Madhouse by Nellie Bly, Chapter four, Judge
Duffy and the police. But to return to my story,
(00:21):
I kept up my roll until the assistant matron, missus Stannard,
came in. She tried to persuade me to be calm.
I began to see clearly that she had wanted to
get me out of the house at all hazards, quietly,
if possible. This I did not want. I refused to move,
but kept up ever the refrain of my lost trunks. Finally,
(00:41):
some one suggested that an officer be sent for After
a while, Missus Stannard put on her bonnet and went out.
Then I knew that I was making an advance towards
the home of the insane. Soon she returned, bringing with
her two policemen, big strong men who entered the room
rather unceremoniously, evidently expecting to meet with a person violently crazy.
(01:03):
The name of one of them was Tom Bockert. When
they entered, I pretended not to see them. I want
you to take her, quietly, said missus Stannard. If she
don't come along, quietly responded one of the men, I
will drag her through the streets. I still took no
notice of them, but certainly wished to avoid raising a
scandal outside. Fortunately, Missus Kane came to my rescue. She
(01:27):
told the officers about my outcries for my lost trunks,
and together they made up a plan to get me
to go along with them quietly by telling me that
they would go with me to look for my lost effects.
They asked me if I would go. I said I
was afraid to go alone. Missus Stannard then said she
would accompany me, and she arranged that the two policemen
(01:47):
should follow us at a respectful distance. She tied on
my veil for me, and we left the house by
the basement and started across town, the two officers following
at some distance behind. We walked along very quietly, and
finally came to the station house, which the good woman
assured me was the express office, and that there we
should certainly find my missing effects. I went inside with
(02:10):
fear and trembling. For good reason. A few days previous
to this. I had met Captain mc cullough at a
meeting held in Cooper, Union. At that time. I had
asked him for some information which he had given me.
If he were in, would he not recognize me? And
then all would be lost? So far as getting to
the island was concerned, I pulled my sailor hat as
(02:32):
low down over my face as I possibly could and
prepared for the ordeal. Sure enough, there was sturdy Captain
mc cullough standing near the desk. He watched me closely
as the officer at the desk conversed in a low
tone with Missus Stannard and the policeman who brought me in.
Are you Nellie Brown? Asked the officer, I said, I
(02:53):
supposed I was. Where do you come from, he asked,
I told him I did not know, And then Missus
Stannard gave him a lot of information about me, told
him how strangely I had acted at her home, how
I had not slept a wink all night, and that
in her opinion, I was a poor, unfortunate who had
been driven crazy by inhuman treatment. There was some discussion
(03:15):
between Missus Stannard and the two officers, and Tom Bockart
was told to take us down to court in a car.
Come along, Bockert said, I will find your trunk for you.
We all went together, Missus Stannard, Tom Barker, and myself.
I said. It was very kind of them to go
with me, and I should not soon forget them. As
(03:35):
we walked along, I kept up my refrain about my trunks,
injecting occasionally some remark about the dirty condition of the
streets and the curious character of the people we met
on the way. I don't think I have ever seen
such people before. I said, Who are they? I asked,
and my companions looked upon me with the expressions of pity,
(03:56):
evidently believing I was a foreigner, an emigrant, or something
of the sort. They told me that the people around
me were working people. I remarked once more that I
thought there were too many working people in the world
for the amount of work to be done, at which
remark Policeman P. T. Bockert eyed me closely, evidently thinking
that my mind was gone for good. We passed several
(04:18):
other policemen who generally asked my sturdy guardians what was
the matter with me. By this time, quite a number
of ragged children were following us too, and they passed
remarks about me that were to me original, as well
as amusing what's she up for? Say cop, where'd ye
get her? Where'd you pull her? She's a daisy? Poor
(04:40):
missus Stannard was more frightened than I was. The whole
situation grew interesting, but I still had fears for my
fate before the judge. At last, we came to a
low building and Tom Barker kindly volunteered the information. Here's
the express office. We shall soon find these trunks of yours.
The entrance to the bill was surrounded by a curious crowd,
(05:02):
and I did not think my case was bad enough
to permit me passing them without some remark, So I
asked if all those people had lost their trunks. Yes,
he said nearly. All these people are looking for trunks.
I said, they all seem to be foreigners too, Yes,
said Tom, they are all foreigners just landed. They have
(05:22):
all lost their trunks and it takes most of our
time to help find them for them. We entered the courtroom.
It was the Essex Market Police courtroom. At last, the
question of my sanity or insanity was to be decided.
Judge Duffy sat behind the high desk, wearing a look
which seemed to indicate that he was dealing out the
(05:43):
milk of human kindness by wholesale. I rather feared I
would not get the fate I saw it because of
the kindness I saw on every line of his face.
And it was rather with a sinking heart that I
followed missus Stannard as she answered the summons to go
up to the desk where Tom Barker had just given
an account of the affair. Come here, said knofser. What
is your name, Nellie Brown? I replied, with a little accent.
(06:07):
I have lost my trunks and would like if you
could find them. When did you come to New York,
he asked. I did not come to New York, I replied,
while I added mentally, because I have been here for
some time. But you are in New York now, said
the man. No, I said, looking as incredulous as I
(06:29):
thought a crazy person could. I did not come to
New York. That girl is from the West, he said,
in a tone that made me tremble. She has a
Western accent. Some One else, who had been listening to
the brief dialog here asserted that he had lived south
and that my accent was Southern, while another officer was
(06:51):
positive it was Eastern. I felt much relieved when the
first spokesman turned to the judge and said, Judge, here
is a peculiar case of a young woman who doesn't
know where she is or where she came from. You
had better attend to it. At once. I commenced to
shake with more than the cold, and I looked around
at the strange crowd about me, composed of poorly dressed
(07:13):
men and women with stories printed on their faces of
hard lives, abuse, and poverty. Some were consulting eagerly with friends,
while others sat still with a look of utter hopelessness.
Everywhere was a sprinkling of well dressed, well fed officers,
watching the scene passively and almost indifferently. It was an
old story with them, one more unfortunate added to a
(07:36):
long list which had long since ceased to be of
any interest or concern to them. Come here, girl, and
lift your veil. Kaldul judged Duffy in tones which surprised
me by a harshness which I did not think from
the kindly face he possessed. Who are you speaking to
I inquired, in my stateliest manner, Come here, my dear,
(07:57):
and lift your veil. You know, the Queen of England,
if she were here, would have to lift her veil.
He said, very kindly. That is much better. I replied,
I am not the Queen of England, but I'll lift
my veil. As I did so, the little judge looked
at me, and then, in a very kind and gentle tone,
he said, my dear child, what is wrong? Nothing is
(08:21):
wrong except that I have lost my trunks, and this man,
indicating policeman Brockert, promised to bring me where they could
be found. What do you know about this child, asked
the judge sternly of missus Stannard, who stood pale and
trembling by my side. I know nothing of her except
that she came to the home yesterday and asked to
(08:44):
remain overnight the home. What do you mean by the home,
asked Judge Duffy quickly. It is a temporary home kept
for working women at number eighty four Second Avenue. What
is your position there? I am assistant matron. Well, tell
us all you know of the case. When I was
(09:04):
going into the home yesterday I noticed her coming down
the avenue. She was all alone. I had just got
into the house when the bell rang and she came in.
When I talked with her, she wanted to know if
she could stay all night, and I said she could.
After a while, she said all the people in the
house looked crazy and she was afraid of them. Then
(09:25):
she would not go to bed, but sat up all
the night. Had she any money, yes, I replied, answering
for her. I paid her for everything, and the eating
was the worst I ever tried. There was a general
smile at this, and some murmurs of she's not so
crazy on the food question. Poor child, said Judge Duffy.
(09:47):
She is well dressed and a lady. Her English is perfect,
and I would stake everything on her being a good girl.
I am positive she is somebody's darling. At this announcement,
everybody laughed, and I put my handkerchief over my face
and endeavored to choke the laughter that threatened to spoil
my plans in despite of my resolutions. I mean, she
(10:09):
is some woman's darling, hastily amended the judge. I am
sure some one is searching for her, poor girl. I
will be good to her, for she looks like my
sister who is dead. There was a hush for a
moment after this announcement, at the officers glanced at me
more kindly, while I silently blessed the kind hearted judge
and hoped that any poor creature who might be afflicted
(10:31):
as I pretended to be, should have as kindly a
man to deal with as Judge Duffy. I wish the
reporters were here, he said, at last they would be
able to find out something about her. I got very
much frightened at this, for if there is any one
who can ferret out a mystery, it is a reporter.
I felt that I would rather face a massive expert doctors,
(10:52):
policemen and detectives than two bright specimens of my craft.
So I said, I don't see why all this is
needed to help me find my true unks. These men
are impudent, and I do not want to be stared at.
I will go away. I don't want to stay here,
so saying, I pulled down my veil and secretly hoped
the reporters would be detained elsewhere until I was sent
(11:13):
to the asylum. I don't know what to do with
the poor child, said the worried judge. She must be
taken care of. Send her to the island, suggested one
of the officers. Oh don't, said missus Stannard, in evident alarm. Don't.
She is a lady and it would kill her to
be put on the island. For once. I felt like
(11:35):
shaking the good woman to think the island was just
the place I wanted to reach, and here she was
trying to keep me from going there. It was very
kind of her, but rather provoking. Under the circumstances. There
has been some foul work here, said the judge. I
believe this child has been drugged and brought to this city.
(11:55):
Make out the papers and we will send her to
Bellevue for examination. In a few days. The effect of
the drug will pass off and she will be able
to tell us a story that will be startling. If
the reporters would only come, I dreaded them, so I
said something about not wishing to stay there any longer,
to be gazed at. Judge Duffy then told Policeman Bocker
(12:16):
to take me to the back office. After we were
seated there, Judge Duffy came in and asked me if
my home was in Cuba. Yes, I replied with a smile.
How did you know? Oh? I knew it, my dear.
Now tell me where was it? In? What part of Cuba?
On the hacienda, i replied, Ah, said the judge on
(12:38):
a farm. Do you remember Havana? See signor? I answered?
It is near home. How did you know? Oh? I
knew all about it. Now won't you tell me the
name of your home? He asked, persuasively, That's what I forget?
I answered, sadly. I have a headache all the time,
(12:58):
and it makes me forget things. I don't want them
to trouble me. Everybody is asking me questions and it
makes my head worse, and in truth it did. Well,
no one shall trouble you any more. Sit down here
and rest awhile and the genial judge left me alone
with missus Stannard. Just then an officer came in with
(13:18):
a reporter. I was so frightened and thought I would
be recognized as a journalist. So I turned my head
away and said I don't want to see any reporters.
I will not see any. The judge said, I was
not to be troubled. Well, there's no insanity in that,
said the man who had brought the reporter, and together
they left the room. Once again, I had a fit
(13:40):
of fear. Had I gone too far in not wanting
to see a reporter? And was my sanity detected? If
I had given the impression that I was sane. I
was determined to undo it. So I jumped up and
ran back and forward through the office Missus Stannard, clinging
terrified to my arm. I won't stay here. I want
my trunks. Why do they bother me with so many people?
(14:03):
And thus I kept on until the ambulance surgeon came
in accompanied by the judge. End of chapter four, Chapter
five pronounced insane. Here is a poor girl who has
been drugged, explained the judge. She looks like my sister,
and any one can see she is a good girl.
I am interested in the child, and I would do
(14:25):
as much for her as if she were my own.
I want you to be kind to her, he said
to the ambulance surgeon. Then, turning to missus Stannard, he
asked her if she could not keep me for a
few days until my case was inquired into. Fortunately, she
said she could not because all the women at the
house were afraid of me and would leave if I
were kept there. I was very much afraid she would
(14:47):
keep me if the pay was assured her. And so
I said something about the bad cooking, and that I
did not intend to go back to the home. Then
came the examination. The doctor looked clever, and I had
not one hope of deceiving him, but I determined to
keep up with the farce. Put out your tongue, he ordered, briskly.
I gave an inward chuckle at the thought. Put out
(15:08):
your tongue when I tell you, He said, I don't
want to. I answered, truthfully enough, you must. You are sick,
and I am a doctor. I'm not sick, and never was.
I only want my trunks. But I put out my tongue,
which he looked at in the sage cis Mariner. Then
he felt my pulse and listened to the beating of
(15:30):
my heart. I had not the least idea how the
heart of an insane person beat, so I held my
breath all the while he listened, until when he quit,
I had to give a gasp to regain it. Then
he tried the effect of the light on the pupils
of my eyes, holding his hand within a half inch
of my face. He told me to look at it, then,
(15:50):
jerking it hastily away, he would examine my eyes. I
was puzzled to know what insanity was like in the eye,
so I thought the best thing, under the circumst dance
was to stare this. I did. I held my eyes
riveted unblinkingly upon his hand, and when he removed it,
I exerted all my strength to keep my eyes from blinking.
(16:11):
What drugs have you been taking? He then asked me drugs,
I repeated, wonderingly, I do not know what drugs are.
The pupils of her eyes have been quite enlarged ever
since she came to the home. They have not changed once,
explained Missus Stannard. I wondered how she knew whether they
had or not, but I kept quiet. I believe she
(16:32):
has been using Belladonna, said the doctor, and for the
first time, I was thankful that I was a little
near sighted, which of course answers for the enlargement of
the pupils. I thought I might as well be truthful
when I could without injuring my case. So I told
him I was near sighted, that I was not in
the least ill had never been sick, and that no
one had a right to detain me. When I wanted
(16:53):
to find my trunks, I wanted to go home. He
wrote a lot of things in a long, slender book,
and then said he was going to take me home.
The judge told him to take me and to be
kind to me, and to tell the people at the
hospital to be kind to me and to do all
they could for me. If we only had more such
men as Judge Duffy, the poor unfortunates would not find
(17:14):
life all darkness. I began to have more confidence in
my own ability now, since one judge, one doctor, and
a mass of people had pronounced me insane. And I
put on my veil quite gladly when I was told
that I was to be taken in a carriage and
that afterward I could go home. I'm so glad to
go with you, I said, and I meant it. I
(17:36):
was very glad indeed. Once more, guarded by Policeman Brockard,
I walked through the little crowded court room. I felt
quite proud of myself as I went out a side
door into an alleyway where the ambulance was waiting near
the closed and barred gates was a small office occupied
by several men in large books. We all went in there,
and when they began to ask me questions, the doctor
(17:58):
interposed and said he all in the papers, and that
it was useless to ask me anything further because I
was unable to answer questions. This was a great relief
to me, for my nerves were already feeling the strain.
A rough looking man wanted to put me into the ambulance,
but I refused his aid so decidedly that the doctor
and policemen told him to desist, and they performed that
(18:21):
gallant office themselves. I did not enter the ambulance without protest.
I made the remark that I had never seen a
carriage of that make before, and that he did not
want to ride in it. But after a while I
let them persuade me as I had right along intended
to do. I shall never forget that ride. After I
was put in flat on the yellow blanket, the doctor
(18:42):
got in and sat near the door. The large gates
were swung open, and the curious crowd which had collected
swayed back to make way for the ambulance as it
backed out. How they tried to get a glimpse at
the supposed crazy girl. The doctor saw that I did
not like the people gazing at me, and considerately put
down the curtains after asking my wishes in regard to it.
(19:02):
Still that did not keep the people away. The children
raced after us, yelling all sorts of slaying expressions and
trying to get a peep under the curtains. It was
quite an interesting drive, but I must say that it
was an excruciatingly rough one. I held on, only there
was not much to hold on too, and the driver
drove as if he feared some one would catch up
(19:23):
with us. End of Chapter five
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