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Among my Asylum papers I find a copy of a letter I handed to Dr. Sturtevant, one day after chapel service, wherein my feelings upon this point are portrayed as follows:

DR. STURTEVANT: Dear Brother in Christ. -- Entombed alive, as I am at present, I, as an intelligent being, suffer greatly from being deprived of all communication with the world outside this Asylum, so far as Dr. McFarland can prevent it; and fully believing that you, kind Brother, "suffer as bound with me," I venture to ask of you an expression of this sympathy, by furnishing me with the reading of the Independent, weekly, by bringing it to me, on each Sabbath, when I will exchange the previous one.

Did you but know how I long to keep informed of what is transpiring now in my country, at this eventful crisis, I know you would pity me; and not scruple to grant so reasonable a request, of an afflicted sister in bonds. Still, I will not murmur if you turn me off with an excuse, rather than grant my request; for I know that God rules in the hearts of men, and "He turneth them whithersoever He will;" and I have long schooled myself to submission to all God's appointments, as providence develops His wishes.

Since I am suffering for conscience sake alone, I see no prospect, on the natural plane, but that it will necessarily be life long, since I never can relinquish my right to "obey God rather than man," when I know these mandates conflict. So long as I will not take man's judgment instead of my con-science for my guide, I must remain imprisoned in this Asylum! And yet, this is free America!

Yes, Dr. Sturtevant, I fully believe that my country will not prosper, so long as woman is suffered to be thus treated. But so far as I am concerned, "all is well." Nothing can harm me. God is my only trust and shield. Fear not for your sister in bonds, although her persecutions almost daily increase in intensity.

By the help of your prayers and those of God's faithful ones in my behalf, I shall be ultimately delivered out of the hands of my sagacious enemies. By faith I stand. Through God I shall do valiantly. I shall trust God by doing right, and thus wait his deliverance.

Your sister in bonds,
E. P. W. PACKARD.

To the discredit of Dr. Sturtevant, the honored President of Illinois College, and that of the sacred profession of the ministry whom he represents, I am sorry to add that he took no notice of my requests, not even so much as to give me any excuse for not lending me his Independent to read!

The letter shows what confidence I then had in his Christian character, and in his manliness as being "woman's friend." And it was a true index of my feelings towards that class, who profess to be the ministers, of our holy religion, and the practical followers of that Master, whose cause they pledge to de-fend as their chosen profession.

Therefore, as a sister in need, I, of course, expected a Christian response to my appeal to one of this class especially. But lo! "ye did it not," must certainly be said of this man, among this revered profession.

This incident has taught me that it is not the profession which makes the man, but it is the manner in which its duties are performed and its high responsibilities are discharged, which is to determine the standard of merit among ministers, as well as men in other professions.

In short, ministers must be judged by the same standard as other men -- they must stand or fall upon their own individual actions, not upon their position or profession.

Another lesson taught me by this incident and its subsequent events, was, that if we do right, we shall feel right; if we do wrong, we shall feel wrong. So long as this our "chaplain" treated me as a man and a Christian, he felt like a man and a Christian towards me. But just as soon as he forsook this standard of action, his feelings forsook this standard.

He began to treat me unsympathizingly -- he began to feel cold towards me; and the more he manifested this coldness the more unsympathizing and unfeeling he became.

Thus he closed up the avenues to his warm, manly heart, by his own heartless actions, or rather inaction, which, if continued sufficiently long, will inevitably ossify this noble heart, which was made to reflect Christ's own image.

But Mr. J. C. Coe, finding how I was situated, very magnanimously took a St. Louis daily paper for the express purpose of supplying me with the news, and Mrs. Coe, his wife, daily brought it to me under her apron; so that it was not known at headquarters how I obtained my knowledge of passing events, any more than how I passed out my letters.

Dr. Tenny also kindly brought me the Independent weekly, which he took at his own expense, and for the purpose, as he said, of accomodating some of his friends in the asylum.

Mrs. Hosmer also, occasionally, brought me some of her papers, and by a special permission from Dr. McFarland, at times, some of her own books to read, on the subject of Swedenborgianism.

Why the Doctor wished to deprive his prisoners of this relief and amusement, is a mystery I could never fathom. I sometimes thought it was to increase their mental torment, that he thus heartlessly denied them this right the State had granted. I have heard intelligent patients beg and plead with him to bring them a paper or a book to read, while he would pass speechlessly on, seeming not to hear a word they were addressing to him. This indifferent manner would sometimes arouse the indignation of the petitioners to such a pitch that they would heap curses upon him after he left, often affirming: