1890s Hamilton

       The Toronto Globe had sent Madge Merton to Hamilton to write, from a woman's perspective, about the proceedings at the Heslop murder trial.       While here, the famous woman columnist was given the opportunity to visit the Hamilton Asylum for the Insane.    On March 24, 1891, the following column appeared in the Toronto Globe of March 21, 1891. “Every visitor to Hamilton, who lifts eyes to the mountain, asks what those red brick buildings are that cluster near the brow and overlook the western part of the city. The questioned one will answer “ ‘Oh, that is the Asylum for the Insane.; a splendid institution, and there is a drive through the grounds.’ Yes, it is the asylum – the great tomb of happiness, and hopes, and ambition: the hiding place for failure and defeat. Wandering about the corridors are those whose vacant chairs stand at many Ontario firesides, left vacant by a sadder visitation than death – the loss of reason. “People look up to the red pile and sigh a l