originally ornaments, possibly the British coat-of-arms or other emblem of authority, were attached thereto in order to lend significance as well as to give finish to the chair.

A picture of this antique chair is given in "The Old Furniture Book" by Mrs. N. Hudson Moore, who ascribes it to a very early period of Chippendale's work [about 1740-1750] when he was still content to copy, for the front legs show the bear's paw, while the rear ones are the familiar Dutch foot. This would place the time of its production and probable importation from London during the governorship of James Glen (1738-1756), or possibly of his successor, William Henry Lyttleton (1756-1760).

Unfortunately, furniture bears no hall marks or other signs by which its exact date may be arrived at. This chair is unquestionably a "State chair" of the early Chippendale period, if not of his own workmanship,-in fact, it is much handsomer than a similar chair in Independence Hall, Philadelphia,-and its "mutilation" may have been due to the vicissitudes of the Revolution. If the tradition about it be true, it probably once held a place of honor in the old State House in Charlestown. Careful research, however, has failed as yet to discover any reference to the chair earlier than the presentation note of Wm. C. Preston, nor is it known how it came into his possession.

Just prior to the centennial celebration of the college in January, 1905, the right arm and side attachments to the tops of the legs of the chair were "restored" by order of the Board of Trustees, so that it would be in condition for use on that and other State occasions. But the restoration was done with absolute regard for the original design, no attempt being made to embellish or "glorify" the original conception of the master craftsman who designed and made this grand old chair. It thus appears that after being left in innocuous desuetude for one hundred and twenty-five years, the venerable "throne" has resumed an honorable career. Esto perpetua!

PUBLIC CHARITY IN SOUTH CAROLINA
By J. W. BABCOCK

Physician and Superintendent State Hospital for the Insane*

Public charity in South Carolina dates back almost to the permanent settlement at Charles Town, having for precedent or basis the Poor Laws of England. The earliest Act for the poor was passed June 20, 1694, but the title alone has come down to us. Under the Proprietary Government there were passed, in all, five Acts dealing with public charities.

In 1722, shortly after the change to the Royal Government, the Assembly passed an Act authorizing the wardens and five vestrymen to levy assessments for the maintenance of the poor who had been residents of their parish twelve months. A more effectual Act for the relief of the poor was passed in 1737. to which amendments were made in 1738 and 1751. One of the most interesting sections of the Act of 1751 is that "providing for the subsistence of slaves, who may become lunatick, while belonging to persons too poor to care for them." By this section justices of the peace and overseers of the poor are required upon notice to cause such lunatic slaves to be secured in some convenient place in the parish as well to prevent their doing mischief as for the better subsisting of such lunatic slaves, the expenses to be borne by the parish. It thus appears that the earliest legal recognition of the claims of the insane in South Carolina addressed itself toward providing for lunatic negro slaves.

Of the charitable organizations in Charlestown, one of the earliest was the Fellowship Society, which was begun April 4, 1762, and incorporated in 1769. The Act of incorporation was presented for approval at the Court of St. James, June 17, 1770, before the King's Most Excellent Majesty, and his Cabinet. The original purpose of this society was the founding of an infirmary or hospital for

*Portions of this paper appeared in the centennial edition of the Charleston News and Courier (1903) and in the hospital report for 1904. Considerable additional information has now been brought together and statistical and financial tables have been added. It is hoped that by placing in permanent and accessible form this imperfect study of an important subject renewed and intelligent interest may be taken in the welfare of the hospital.

the reception of lunatics and other distempered persons in the Province. (McCrady.) Furthermore, Mills says that the Fellowship Society "was originally intended to cover under its sheltering wing the deplorable maniac, and for that purpose it appropriated one-half of its funds, near $2,000."

No evidence has been found that a hospital was built, which is not surprising, when we recollect that the Revolutionary struggle came on soon after the incorporation of the society. However, an old certificate of membership of the Fellowship Society shows a representation of a three-storied building, composed of a central structure, with two projecting wings, evidently planned for hospital purposes. This effort was the second attempt, so far as known, to provide for the insane in the Colonies. (Yates Snowden.) In the controversy with Christopher Gadsden upon the Stamp_Act_(1776), William Henry Drayton makes reference to a mad house existing in Charlestown at the time. (McCrady.) From Mayor Courtenay's annual review, in the "Year Book of the City of Charleston" for 1880, we learn that this institution (the Alms House) dates back to 1712, and, perhaps, an earlier date in our Colonial history *** On May 20, 1755, the Provincial Assembly voted "four hundred pounds sterling for an additional building, and a further sum of six hundred pounds sterling for the maintenance of the poor in St. Philip's parish." On April 12, 1768, an Act was passed authorizing "the Commissioners of the Exchange and Custom House to erect a Poor House (and Hospital) on the four acres of ground belonging to the city, on which the Work House and Brick Barracks then stood." By this Act the said Commissioners were authorized "to issue certificates not exceeding £10,000; and the high duty on wine was continued to risk said certificates." In the "Year Book" for 1881, page 340, it appears that a hospital was also included in the purposes of this Act. For many years the alms house received support from the Legislature for the transient poor, as is further shown in Mayor Courtenay's record, varying from £1,000 annually, 1785-1795, to $12,000, 18201825. The Legislature continued to make annual appropriations for transient poor, subject to order of the City Council of Charleston, until the close of the Civil War.

The modern development of asylums with better care for the insane takes its origin from the humane efforts of Pinel, in France, in 1791, and Tuke, in England, in 1796. In the United States, neither the last quarter of the eighteenth century, nor the period of unrest, which resulted in the War of 1812, was favorable to the development of charitable institutions.

Some years later, in 1826, Mills says in his "Statistics," in discussing the benevolent institutions of Charleston: "The poor house, and asylum (for lunatic persons), situate near the corner of Queen, on Mazyck street ****

was founded at a very early period; it is built of brick, three stories high and crowned with a large cupola **** the number of paupers and outdoor pensioners averages 983 in the year; of these, twenty are lunatic persons, who are placed in an outbuilding by themselves.'

In December, 1808, Judges of Courts of Common Pleas in South Carolina were vested with the same powers as Courts of Equity to inquire into cases of lunacy or idiocy and to appoint guardians for the same.

In passing, it is worth while to call attention to the case of Wm. Linnen, who, on the 6th of May, 1815, fatally wounded Dr. David Ramsay, of Charleston, who had served his adopted State most zealously as statesman and historian. For this crime Linnen was placed in confinement, probably in jail in Charleston, as a maniac. (Memoir of Dr. Ramsay.)

The foregoing are some of the bare facts of the history of our State, rescued from musty records and interesting, perhaps, only to the specialist of the Dryasdust type. But would it not be more interesting to us all if we could learn something of the individuals and the observations and experiences which led them to make the tentative propositions which, after securing the approval of the majority of the lawmakers, became "Acts and laws"? In this crystallized form they have come down to us, but the journals and records of the men themselves and their reasons for their proposed enactments are probably forever lost, the pioneers in this work thus sharing the fate common to many men who contributed to the early development of South Carolina. Lists of the names of the beneficiaries, with relief afforded. still exist down to 1783. (Year Book, 1881, p. 333.)

In the Colonies the needs of better provision for the insane had long been felt. Before the time of Pinel and Tuke, the Pennsylvania Hospital, founded in Philadelphia, in 1752, by Benjamin Franklin and his associates, had a building for lunatics adjoining its wards for the sick. This provision marks the earliest hospital care for the insane in the United States, our Fellowship Society following soon afterwards. But it was not until 1842 that the broad-minded managers

of the Pennsylvania Hospital separated their insane patients in adequate structures remote from their sick wards.

The first separate insane hospital in this country was established by Virginia, at Williamsburg, in 1773. The next-The Friends' Asylum-was founded by a private corporation of Quakers, near Philadelphia, in 1817; another private institution-The McLean Asylum, near Boston, in 1818, and similarly anotherBloomingdale Asylum-in New York, in 1821.

Upon reflection it is clear, as has already been pointed out, that the early efforts among the Colonies in behalf of the insane received a setback during the Revolution, from which they did not recover, till after the War of 1812 in South Carolina, as well as in other parts of the country.

In a memoir of William Crafts, it is mentioned incidentally that in the session of the South Carolina Legislature in 1813, "the late Col. Farrow, of Spartanburg, projected the establishment of a lunatic asylum, but it failed at that time from the situation of the country, which required all its moneyed resources in resisting a powerful enemy."

Another account* says that Capt. Farrow was elected to Congress in 1812 and reëlected in 1814. While in Congress he conceived the idea of his State building an asylum for the insane and one for the deaf and dumb. He declined reelection to Congress in 1816 and declared himself a candidate for the House of Representatives of the General Assembly of South Carolina for the avowed purpose of establishing a lunatic asylum and a school for the deaf and dumb. He was elected and reëlected until finally, in 1821, he secured an appropriation of seventy [thirty] thousand dollars to establish the lunatic asylum, and it was only a few years until the school for the deaf and dumb was also established." This brings us at last to the individual, Samuel Farrow, who not only saw the needs of the insane existing in his own time, but who after years of persistent effort so impressed his belief upon his fellow-members of the General Assembly that an appropriation of $30,000 for the establishing a lunatic asylum was made finally in 1821.

Let us look up his history. Samuel Farrow (1760-1824) has rightly been called the "Father of the Asylum." From a sketch of him by Judge O'Neall we learn that Mr. Farrow was one of the pioneer lawyers of the up-country, who, without the advantages of a liberal education, struggled through difficulties till he won fame at the bar and in the State and National Legislatures. He was born in Virginia, and was brought in infancy to South Carolina by his parents. who settled about 1765 in Spartanburg District. Farrow was a patriot of '76, was once made prisoner by the British and bore upon his face a scar, resulting from a sword cut received in battle. After the war he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1793. In 1810 he was Lieutenant-Governor of the State, member of Congress, 1813-16, and of the State Legislature, 1816-21. Judge O'Neall says the asylum "originated with Mr. Farrow from seeing by the roadside, on his way to Columbia, a poor woman, from Greenville, who, at the sessions of the Legislature, visited Columbia for many years." There are several variations of this legend, but of Mr. Farrow's experience and sympathy with the insane there can be no doubt. In the Waters' Genealogy, already quoted from, it is stated that "After his success with the asylum Mr. Farrow declined further public honors and died in 1824. He is buried at the old home-place near Musgrove's Mill, and the inscription on his tomb reads:

"SAMUEL FARROW.

"Died in 1824 in the 63rd year of his age.

'He was feared by the Tories and loved by the Whigs.
"A lawyer by profession and an honest man.'

But with all his perseverance, Samuel Farrow did not succeed in his efforts to get the Legislature to found an asylum till he secured the coöperation of Wm. Crafts, Jr., of Charleston.

In many respects William Crafts (1787-1826) was the counterpart of Farrow. He was born in Charleston, where he received all the advantages of early educational training. Subsequently he was placed under care of the experienced Dr. Gardiner, of Boston, to prepare for college. He was graduated with distinction from Harvard, in 1807, and two years later was admitted to the bar in Charleston, afterwards leading a brilliant career as lawyer, statesman, orator, editor, poet. In connection with his main scheme of popular education, Mr.

"A Genealogical History of the Waters and Kindred Families," by P. B. Waters and H. M. Millam, Atlanta, 1903.

Crafts was especially interested in the establishment of a school for the deaf and dumb. His efforts in behalf of founding the South Carolina Medical College deserves special recognition. Mr. Crafts's eminent services in the development of the public school system form part of the educational history of the State, and have been recognized through the interest of the Hon. W. A. Courtenay, by naming one of the schools of Charleston for him.

Portraits of these two worthy Carolinians adorn the walls of the principal reception room of the State Hospital in Columbia, and are herewith reproduced. Brief biographical sketches of them may be found in O'Neall's "Bench and Bar of South Carolina," to which my indebtedness is gratefully acknowledged.

The slow evolution of the movement for an asylum is indicated by these extracts from the Reports and Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina for the year 1818:

"In the House of Representatives, Dec. 9th, 1818. "The special committee, to whom was referred the resolution relative to Lunatics, are unanimously agreed that those unfortunate beings highly deserve the attention and patronage of the Legislature. Your committee have ascertained from the best information, that great many lunatics are now at large unsheltered and unprovided for; they therefore beg leave respectfully to submit the following resolutions:

"Resolved, That an asylum be provided at the expense of the State for the reception of Lunatics from the different districts.

"Resolved, that the Civil and Military Engineer be directed to devise and draw the most economical plan of a building suitable for the accommodation of —— Lunatics, and report the same at the next session of the Legislature, with an estimate of the expence attending the erection of such a building.

"Resolved, That the neighbourhood of Columbia is-in the opinion of the committee, the most eligible site for such a building, because it will be within the reach of medical assistance, and of the superintendence of the legislature. "Ordered, That the resolution be sent to the Senate for their concurrence. "By order of the House. R. Anderson, C. H. R. "In the Senate, Dec. 9th, 1818. "Resolved, unanimously, That this House do concur in the report. Ordered, that the same be returned to the house of representatives. "By order of the Senate.

W. D. Martin, C. S."

Through the combined efforts of these two distinguished men-Messrs. Farrow and Crafts-an Act was finally passed by the General Assembly, December 21, 1821, authorizing the erection of suitable buildings for a lunatic asylum and a school for the deaf and dumb. Under this Act a Commission was appointed, consisting of Governor Thomas Bennett, the Intendant of Charleston, Elias Horry, John L. Wilson (the next Governor), Dr. James Davis (subsequently the first physician), Dr. Edward Fisher and Thomas Taylor, Jr., who were empowered to draw from the State Treasury $30,000 with which to purchase sites and erect suitable buildings of brick or stone for the purposes of the asylum and school.

The Commission collected information about the defectives of the State, showing that there were 55 lunatics and 29 deaf mutes, and reported that they had purchased a square of four acres within the town of Columbia. They furthermore reported that it was not feasible to have the asylum and school together. Writing about 1826, Mills, to whose "Statistics" reference has already been made, says in describing Columbia: "The asylum for lunatic persons is another of those institutions established by the liberality of the State in this place. The building is now nearly finished and will probably soon go into operation. The design of it is both novel and convenient. It combines elegance with permanence, economy and security from fire. The rooms are vaulted with brick and the roof covered with copper. The building is large enough to accommodate upwards of 120 patients, besides furnishing spacious corridors, hospitals, refectories, a medical hall, several parlors, keepers' apartments, kitchens and sundry offices. The whole is surrounded by a lofty enclosure. The cost of the whole is considerably within $100,000. Similar buildings executed at the North and

in England of equal accommodations, yet not made fire-proof, have exceeded this sum. The facade of this asylum represents a center and two wings, and is crowned with a large cupola, opened all around, with sashed windows, which serve the purpose of a ventilator to the hospital story.

"The entrance of the center building is under a grand portico of six massive Greek Doric columns, four feet in diameter, elevated on an open arcade, and rising the entire height of the wing buildings; the whole surrounded with a pediment. Only two sections of the wings are now built, one on each side. These, with the center, being considered sufficient to answer the present demands of the country. The design, however, is such that, without disturbing its symmetry, any additional accommodations may be made. The plan, when completed, according to the original design, will sweep a semi-circle, or horse-shoe figure, and enclose a spacious court to the south."

Such is the description of the asylum given by Robert Mills, but not one word does he say about the architect, nor was the name of the architect known till quite recently. Curiously enough, a set of the plans and elevations of the "asylum at Columbia, S. C.," was found in an attic of an old Massachusetts asylum a few years ago and sent to the writer by Dr. George T. Tuttle, Superintendent of the McLean Hospital, Waverley, Mass. Upon one of these plans is the inscription: "Designed by Robert Mills, Engr. & Archt." But for this discovery and record, the name of the forgotten architect would probably have remained unknown for some years longer. Mills, then, was no doubt the designer of one of the earliest asylums erected in this country, and the building left by him is today probably the oldest existing asylum building in the United States erected by a State for its insane. Let us learn, so far as we may, who Mills was.

Robert Mills (1781-1855) was born in Charleston, being descended on the maternal side from Landgrave Smith, of the Proprietary period. In 1802 the Trustees of South Carolina College divided between Mills and another architect named Clark the premium of $300 offered for general plans for the College and grounds. In 1820 he was appointed State Architect and Engineer of South Carolina. It was while holding this position that he became the architect for designing the original asylum building. In 1837, President Jackson made him Architect of the General Government, and he held this position until 1851. Under this and the next administration, Mills designed custom houses and marine hospitals from New Orleans to Massachusetts. He had charge of the erection of the Treasury Building in Washington, D. C., the postoffice and the patent office buildings. Mills's designs for the National Washington Monument. were accepted over many competitors. This was perhaps his crowning work. The portrait of Mills is reproduced from Glenn Brown's "History of the United States Capitol," with the author's kind permission.

Mills says of himself in his "Statistics" (pp. 466-67) that he was "the first native American that entered on the study of architecture and engineering in the United States-these he pursued under the celebrated Latrobe." He says he designed the first monument erected to Washington, that his designs for Bunker Hill Monument were accepted, that he designed and erected a great bridge over the Schuylkill near Philadelphia, a penitentiary at New Orleans, and that "many years ago" he made a present to this State of a plan of a penitentiary to induce it to adopt this institution into the State.

It deserves mention that of the two founders, one an elderly man and the other comparatively young, neither lived to see the result of their combined