Thirteenth annual report of the Trustees of the State Lunatic Hospital at Northampton : October, 1868.

  • State Lunatic Hospital (Northampton, Mass.)
Date:
1869
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Thirteenth annual report of the Trustees of the State Lunatic Hospital at Northampton : October, 1868. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    22/44 (page 22)
    This average exceeds that of any former year by very nearly twenty-one (20.94). Sacred Music and Reading of Prose.—Upon fifty-seven evenings the reading consisted of miscellaneous selections of prose. In this, as in the poetry, an attempt was made to give diversity to the character of the subjects; and, of all the even¬ ings in the week, that upon which “ a story ” was expected became the most popular, and the chapel was consequently the most fully attended. On each of seventeen evenings the num¬ ber of persons present was more than three hundred, and some of the largest audiences reported under the foregoing sections came together in the expectation of hearing a “ story ”—but they did not get what they expected. Among the evenings generally considered the most interest¬ ing, were the three which were devoted to the reading of the domestic tale, entitled, “ Fred, Maria and Me.” The largest number of persons present on any of the fifty- seven evenings, was three hundred and twenty-two, of whom one hundred and forty-two were men, and one hundred and eighty women. The smallest number on any evening was two hundred and sixty-eight, of whom one hundred and sixteen were men, and one hundred and fifty-two women. The average number for the fifty-seven evenings was: of men, one hundred and twenty-four (124.33) ; of women, nearly one hundred and sixty-seven (166.66) ; and of the whole audience, two hundred and ninety-one (291). This average is larger by seventeen than in any preceding year. Lectures.—A course of thirty-one lectures was given in the chapel, on secular evenings, beginning on the 12th of Novem¬ ber, and ending on the 12th of May. The subjects, together with the number of persons present upon each evening, are shown by the following table :—