An inquiry into the state of mind of W. F. Windham, Esq., of Fellbrigg Hall, Norfolk, before Samuel Warren, Esq., Q.C., and a special jury : upon the petition of General Windham, C. B., etc., the uncle of the alleged lunatic, and other members of the family, at Her Majesty's Court of Exchequer, Westminster, commencing December 16, 1861.

Date:
1862
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An inquiry into the state of mind of W. F. Windham, Esq., of Fellbrigg Hall, Norfolk, before Samuel Warren, Esq., Q.C., and a special jury : upon the petition of General Windham, C. B., etc., the uncle of the alleged lunatic, and other members of the family, at Her Majesty's Court of Exchequer, Westminster, commencing December 16, 1861. 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.

    12/202 (page 12)
    EDWARD HALE, ETON, TUTOR TO MR. WINDHAM. % Edward Hale, examined by Mr. Williams—I am a clergyman and mathematical master at Eton, and have been so since 1850. I took part in the instruction of Mr. Windham. He was up to me in school in 1855, and he was my private pupil iD the election and Easter, 1856. Part of the time I resided in the same house with him, Mrs. Voyse’s. When he first came up to me I was obliged to have him sit close by me, and work separately from the other boys, as he could not keep up with them. The boys in the fourth form in Windham’s time would be generally from eleven to four- teen years of age. I never could teach him Euclid. We got through a certain amount of vulgar fractions. He could do any sum when I showed him the way to do it, but he could never work out anything like a problem himself. He was the densest pupil I ever had. I don’t think he made any sensible advance while he was under my care. When he first came up to me he began to make a row. I made him come up and sit by me and told him I would put him in the “ bill,” which means that he would be reported to the head master. He was amenable to discipline then, or to rase another Eton word, he rather “ funked.” He was very dirty, and had indecent habits. I advised Mr. Cheales to consult a medical man about him, in consequence. He would get the boys round him, and make faces and dance for their amuse- ment. From what I saw of him I considered him incapable of mental exertion, or of managing himself. Cross-examined by Mr. Karslake—Mr. Cheales was never present when he did his lessons in school. The coaching of Mr. Cheales was, therefore, so far effective. Other boys are coached in the same way by private tutors if they are backward. He did not make a fool of himself in school after I put him in the bill. I did put him in the bill, and he was no doubt flogged. When he cried the noise he made was peculiar. It was a sort of “ boo, boo,” and he shed tears plentifully. I do not know that he was bullied more than other boys. I observed a malformation of his mouth. I did not know that he wore an ivory palate. In the fourth form we began with compound division and went up to vulgar fractions. He could not do a rule of three sum without assistance, but he could do a sum in vulgar fractions when he was shown how. He could do compound addition. He was my private pupil till he left at Christmas, 1856. I think Mr. Windham was never in my room with other private pupils. What I told him to do he did. He was utterly unable to under- stand the terms of any proposition in Euclid. I have never seen him since he left Eton. I believe he got as far as the fifth form, and that he was allowed to be presented to the fifth form without examination, because of the accident to his hand. Cross-examined by Mr. Coleridge—I formed my opinion that he was incapable at the fourth form trials before he was my private pupil. By Mr. Chambers—He was not fit to pass the examination necessary to go into the fifth form. By the Master—I am master at Eton now, and have been so between eleven and twelve years. During that period I have never had a boy so low mentally, or so odd in his habits. By a Juror—I have a distinct notion that he knew the first four rules of arithmetic, simple and compound. I never tested him with mental arithmetic. He was looked upon by the boys as a buffoon, and he was generally called by them “ Mad Windham.” I have heard of another boy being called mad, but that was Before I was at Eton. DR. DALRYMPLE, SURGEON, NORWICH. Dr. Donald Dalrymple—lama surgeon, and have long practised at Norwich. I was for more than twenty years proprietor of a lunatic asylum ; I am also one of the governors of the Bethel Lunatic Hospital. I have known Mr. Windham from his childhood, having been intimately acquainted with his father. I lost sight of him from his birth to 1848. From that time I noticed him till 1854. My opinion of young Mr. Windham is that his intellectual powex*s are very much below par. I think he is fit to manage himself personally, but not to go into the world with reference to his own safety and the safety of the public. I think he is «ertainly unfit to manage his own property and money. He was subject to sudden fits of passion, and while under their influence I do not believe he was sensible of th© distinction between right and wi’ong. In July or August, 1850, he staid two nights at my house with his mother. A horse was hired for him, because I did not like to trust him