The insane in foreign countries . t. Thus was there ferocity on the one hand,murder on the other. At the Salpetriere were received only such as had under-gone treatment at Hotel Dieu,—the common and imperfecttreatment which rendered the state of the patients more diffi-cult and dangerous. To restrain their fury, they were crushedunder the same rigors, or rather they were irritated by thesame sorts of violence. Sometimes enchained naked in thealmost subterranean cells, worse than dungeons, they hadtheir feet gnawed by rats, or frozen by the winters injured on all sides, their embitter
The insane in foreign countries . t. Thus was there ferocity on the one hand,murder on the other. At the Salpetriere were received only such as had under-gone treatment at Hotel Dieu,—the common and imperfecttreatment which rendered the state of the patients more diffi-cult and dangerous. To restrain their fury, they were crushedunder the same rigors, or rather they were irritated by thesame sorts of violence. Sometimes enchained naked in thealmost subterranean cells, worse than dungeons, they hadtheir feet gnawed by rats, or frozen by the winters injured on all sides, their embittered hearts breathedonly vengeance, and intoxicated with frenzy like the bac-chantes, they burned to tear in pieces their attendants, or todestroy themselves before them. The reforms effected byPinel at these two dismal places have already been de-scribed. It is gratifying to every lover of humanity to reflect thatover the entire Continent great progress has been made inlegislation for the protection of the insane. Humane -ME ±J. BELGIAN CAGE. REFORMS. 197 methods have displaced cruel treatment, and with few ex-ceptions well-equipped asylums have taken the place of cellsand dungeons ; the private religious establishments, usefulin their day, have been almost entirely superseded by publicinstitutions ; while advances made in medical science areshown in the greater effectiveness of the present curativetreatment of the mentally diseased. The first asylum incentral Europe established exclusively for the insane wasopened at Vienna so recently as 1784. Curative treatmentas the primary aim of institutions for the insane was soonafter recognized in Germany, and improved methods ofcare for this class were generally adopted. Among thenotable reforms of recent years were those accomplished inBelgium. Following an official inquiry, the Government, in1850, made radical changes in its laws affecting the virtually reorganized its lunacy system and abolishedmany grave abuses that ha
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