The result was, the petition triumphed, by so changing the mode of
commitment, that, instead of the husband being allowed to enter his wife
at his simple request, added to the certificate of two physicians, he must
now get ten of her nearest relatives to join with him in this request; and
the person committed, instead of not being allowed to communicate by
writing to any one outside of the Institution, except under the censorship
of the Superintendent, can now send a letter to each of these ten
relatives, and to any other two persons whom the person committed shall
designate. This the Superintendent is required to do within two days from
the time of commitment.
This Law is found in Chapter 268, Section 2, of the General Laws of
Massachusetts. I regard my personal liberty in Massachusetts now as not
absolutely in the power of my husband; as my family friends must now
co-operate in order to make my commitment legal. And since my family
relatives are now fully satisfied of my sanity, after having seen me for
themselves, I feel now comparatively safe, while in Massachusetts. I
therefore returned to my father's house in Sunderland, and finding both of
my dear parents feeble, and in need of some one to care for them, and
finding myself in need of a season of rest and quiet, I accepted their
kind invitation to make their house my home for the present. At this point
my father indicated his true position in relation to my interests, by his
self-moved efforts in my behalf, in writing and sending the following
letter to Mr. Packard.[1]
[1] See Appendix, p. 138.