Memoirs of John Howard (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1836. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER XIX. Settlement of Howard's affairs previous to his last journey--Parting interview with his friends--Presentiment of his death--Last visit to Cardington--Quits England for the last time--Observation on the original cause of the plague--Revisits the Dutch hospitals and prisons--Unimproved state of the Hanoverian prisons--State of the prisons, hospitals, and schools in Berlin, Koningsburg, Metnel, Riga--Continued preference to a vegetable diet--Revisits Petersburg and Moscow, particulars of the prisons in these cities--Visits the Russian military hospitals--Is robbed of his portmanteau--Arrival at Cherson--Mortality among the Russian recruits. Being about to leave England, on a periluus journey, from which it was but too probable he would never return, Howard felt unusually anxious respecting his son. He wished to make a suitable provision for him, according to his rank in life, that should he ever recover his reason, he might spend the evening of his days in tranquillity and comfort. But there was at present, unhappily, no symptom of improvement; on the contrary, young Howard's dreadful malady progressively assumed the character of incurable insanity. Hence, after making several charitable bequests to his faithful domestics, and to some afflicted or infirm individuals, who had been almost solely dependent on his bounty, Howard left the residue of his property in trust for his son, with the exception of a few legacies to some of his choicest friends as tokens of respect. He appointed Mr. Whitbread as his son's guardian, who discharged that most difficult task with the greatest kindness, till young Howard's decease, which did not occur till ten years afterwards, when he died in the asylum, in April 1799, in his 35th year, having never recovered his ...