Thoughts on insanity and its causes, and on the management of the insane : to which are appended a few hints on the construction of asylums / by William Williamson.

  • Williamson, William
Date:
1864
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Thoughts on insanity and its causes, and on the management of the insane : to which are appended a few hints on the construction of asylums / by William Williamson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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    best mode of counteracting the threatened assault. As a last resource the attendant should always have either a shrill whistle or other mode of quickly calling assistance. I cannot see how there could be any evasion in the following instance. It being amongst my duties to -have some of the patients in the workshop, to teach them joinery, wood turning, &c, it was arranged that I should undertake to teach a very homicidal patient. I was fully aware of the danger; but con- sidered it was my duty not to shrink from the attempt. After asking God's blessing upon my endeavours and trusting that he ■would preserve me and enable me to be calm and collected during the patient's violent paroxysms, I commenced the task ; and I am thankful to say, that during the three or more years that he came into the workshop, I escaped with nothing worse than a black eye or a bloody mouth, though at times his threatenings were fearful. He would sometimes, Avithout having received any provocation, run up to me with a chisel in his hand and say, I'll kill you ! you sha'nt master me. My first endeavour was to catch his eye, and then, with a firm but calm voice, I said, thou knows that I never try to master thee: I leave that to a higher power. Thou art responsible to God for thy actions. His hand would then drop, and he would slink back to his work. At other times he would run up to me with the chisel, and declare he would run it into me, and set himself in an attitude for that purpose; and if I had exhibited the least fear, or offered the least resistance, I have no doubt he would have done so.- As before, I strove to catch his eye as soon as possible. Then, assuming a countenance half serious, half smiling, I said, Thou knows thou art responsible for thy actions. He would answer, I am a lunatic ; if I do kill you they can't hang me for it. While still keeping possession of his eye (for upon that, under Providence, I considered my safety depended), I answered, « If thou killed me they would take thee to the jail, and a jury would have to decide whether thou wast insane or not; and it is just possible they might decide not
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