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Wonderful Escape from a Lunatic
Asylum.
The following extraordinary story of an
escape from the Kent County Lunatic
Asylum at Banning Heath, near Maidstone,
is supplied bv the correspondent; of an Eng-
lish paper ; —
It appears that a gentleman of the name
of Elliot, for many years a resident of Ely
House, of Tunbridge Wells was committed
to the Hanwell Asylum some 22 years ago.
There can be little doubt that at the time he
was rightly committed. Having obtained a
settlement in a parish, he was in due course
transferred to the Kent County Lunatic
Asylum, where he has been incarcerated for
about 20 years.
It has long been the opinion of one of his
very few friends, Mr. Hall, of Lancing, that
he has been for a time unnecessarily detained.
Several applications have been made to the
Lunacy Commissioners and to the visiting
Justices at Maidstone. On October 12 last,
Mr. Hall met the visiting Justices by appoint
ment at Maidstone, and received from them
their unanimous decision that Mr. Elliot was
a dangerous lunatic, unfit to be a large, and
that he need not trouble himself to repeat his
application. On appealing to the Commis-
sioner in Lunacy, Mr. Hall was informed that
the commissioners had no jurisdiction in the
matter over the decision of the justices, and
that, in fact, he had no remedy whatever.
Under the Circumstances, Mr. Hall con-
sulted a lady who passed under the name of
Madame Beauharnais. She was an old
friend of the late Mr. Joseph Mazzini, and
first met Mr. Hall at Corden, Tunbridge, the
residence of the late Joseph Biggs. It is
alleged that an exceedingly complicated and
clever escape was arranged. On Sunday,
November 27, about two o'clock in the morn
ing Mr. Elliott, who was attired in the
governor's clothes, left the asylum unobserved
Previous to this, Mr. and Mrs. Edward
Ewart had visited nearly every village in
the vicinity of Maidstone. and made them
selves personally acquainted with the move
ments of the rural police. At a convenient
distance from Maidstone Mr. Ewart took
charge of Mr. Elliott, aud he travelled for
some distance as a valet attending upon, Mr.
and Mrs. Ewart.
Mr. Elliott was taken to Littlehampton,
and conveyed to Honfleur. From Honfleur
he proceeded to the Grand Hotel de Belique
in Paris, was placed under the protection, if
necessary, of M. Le Sorre, who had an order
or pass which enabled him to obtain assist
ance from any of the remaining members of
Mazzinrs Carbonari. Some very simple
people in the neighbourhood of the plains of
Waterloo gave him employment as a daily
labourer. Mr. Elliott had the advantage of
being able to read and speak French with
fluency. He was never molested in, any way
and intended going to England through
Boulogne, specially, and the Northern coast
of France, of which Mr. Hall had daily re
ports through a Mrs. Wilson, resident at
Boulogne ; and although the fourteen days
had expired beyond which Mr. Elliott could
not be incarcerated without due process, of
law, Madame Beauharuais conducted Mr.
Elliott as a French peasant through Brussels
to Havre, put him on board a boat and sent
him to Plymouth.
Mr. Elliot, once more on English soil, visi-
ted some friends at Oakhampton, went to
Exeter the following morning, and to Lan-
cing the next day, where he is now staying
under the protection of Mr. Hall. In the
remarkable escape one of the most interest-
ing incidents is the fact that Mr. Hamilton
Hall, a medical student of University Col-
lege, of about 23 years of age, immitated the
unfortunate Mr. Elliot, who is a gentleman
of 43. His orders were to keep in reasonable
distance of Mr. and Mrs. Ewart in the rear,
and to watch all movements of the police
at Maidstone, and when he found they were
on the right track for Mr. Elliot he diverted
their attention and led the police to Dover.
It is stated that notice has been given to
the tenants of Mr. Elliot's property to pay
their rents to him instead of to his wife.
$