Gheel, A Colony of the Insane [pp. 824-837]

Gheel.
GHEEL.
A COLONY OF THE INSANE, LIVING IN FAMILIES AND AT LIBERTY.
THE Belgian Kempen Land is a
vast stretch of sandy plains in the
provinces of Anvers, Brabant, and
Limburg. Its chief parish, Gheel,
has a population of some 12,000,
about one fifteenth of which are lunatics in family treatment, and many of
them occupied in the usual routine
of domestic, field, and garden work.
This custom has prevailed there for
a thousand years. In the seventh
century, a chapel was built and dedicated to Saint Martin, the apostle of
the Gauls. Some cells of pious hermits surrounded it and formed the
principal nucleus of Gheel. Here
the young daughter of a pagan king
of Ireland sought a refuge from his
incestuous love, accompanied by Gerrebert, the priest who had converted
herself and her mother to Christianity. Her father, discovering her
traces, pursued her, caused Gerrebert to be put to death, and his servants refusing to execute his sanguinary orders against his daughter,
he cut off her head with his own
hands, thus avenging, by the most
horrible crime, the defeat of his
guilty passion. Certain lunatics who
witnessed this terrible martyrdom,
and others whom piety led to the
grave of the victims, as the legend
runs, were cured. Gratitude and
faith attributed the merit of these
cures to the holy young virgin, henceforth honored as the patroness of the
insane. Attracted by hopes of a
miracle, other families brought their
afflicted to the foot of the memorial
cross and double bier. The visitors,
on their departure, confided their
patients to the charity of the resi
dents. This custom became an insti tution. Little by little, a village was
formed here, animafed by work as
well as prayer, and which became, at
last, an important burgh. A large
and beautiful church, built in honor
of Saint Dymphna, replaced Saint
Martin's chapel, early in the twelfth
century, and was consecrated on its
completion in 1340, by the Bishop
of Cambrai. The popular devotion
there was approved by a brief of
Pope Eugene IV., in I400. A vicariate composed of nine priests and a
director was instituted in I538, and
in I562 changed into a chapter consisting of nine canons and a deacon.
From these times up to our own
day, a current of pilgrimage has been
sustained by the malady and by
faith.
This fountain of prayer in the desert, these pious cares solicited and
granted, have become a source of industry and liberty for the insane, and
of prosperity for the district. This
is readily explained. The barren
soil of the Kempen renders it difficult to live there, hospitality was
more onerous there than elsewhere,
and economy as well as religious
charity counselled the host to have
but one board with his guest. To
keep him apart would have been losing the time of those occupied in taking care of him. Left at liberty,
he would naturally accompany
them to the fields, and there, before
the soil which solicited arms, another
step of progress was accomplished.
So, without any constraint, by the
attractions of social laboI and of
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