Excerpt from Hard Cash, Vol. 1: A Matter-of-Fact Romance So far from commissioners and visitors being put off with any formula, such as the author quotes, and believing anybody rather than the patient himself, the exact contrary is the fact, and very properly so. In my own case, Earl Nelson, Viscount Folkestone, General Buckley, m.p., the Rev. Charles Grove, and Mr. Martin Coats, and in other asylums, magistrates of equal intelligence and high standing, fill the office of visitors; and never in any case do they refuse a private interview to any patient asking it. In these interviews no interference of any doctors or attendants, or any formula, is possible, and the visitors will listen even to the most incoherent ravings if there appears to be the slightest clew to be gathered from them to any real grievance. I say nothing of the terrible slander cast upon a body of professional men to which I am proud to belong. There is no redress for that. There are certain offences with which no court of law can deal; offences against decency, good taste, and truth, which can be brought before no tribunal but that of public Opinion. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.