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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume II, Issue 102, 3 May 1867, Page 2

The following shocking treatment of a

lunatic, has transpired in the village of Reay, Caithnessshire, where a lunatic girl lias been confined for 12 years by her mother and sister — very poor people — in a wretched and dark room ; for eight years she has been stark naked, her hair is felted on the scalp, and has not been combed. When «the tattered and filthy blanket that was on the bed was removed, the mass of rottenness beneath can only be described as a dung heap. On this she crouched night and day, except when she crept to the fire for a little warmth. Crawling is the only term to describe her manner of locomotion, as from long confinement and disuse the muscles of the legs have become incapable of exercise, and the legs are bent together and permanently stiffened. About a dozen years ago she was a domestic servant in Edinburgh. Cholera was raging there at the lime ,• and, whether from predisposing causes, or the excitement occasioned by an overwhelming dread of the terrible 'Hft.sc, the poor girl became seriously • ;.i in health, and a prey to morbid ;: '7-:-cbo!j'. At last she disappeared '"•■ ■ ber place, and somehow made her

cine alone to Caithness.