Grey Highlands Newspapers

Markdale Standard (Markdale, Ont.1880), 5 Oct 1882, p. 2

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 jit parish churches, yrit} lerve tbeni. cl«4iaotcoii [til lfap^aftert«V^ :he*|feem to-IUve b| in ikneighljoiriqg al ihe parish of Bhmlul the first presentajfcfon L 19, bu*; long hefm-e tl)«| land towers of the |a 1 over the Isni, " that the pariah priest' „, kl in his offiaj with a n^ 1 specially enjoined that t^ Id reside on their lenefic«j' lea, however, renutined cl ' Icf tlie monasteries tip ad then passed to the c» s or those who bought the the Duke of Bedford is I tithe holder. r -cesses of tlie British „ le fired the martial eoth^i n street gain ns. Ot the ni of Tel-el-Kebir tlie boys col |trcct to fight a number of both parties being arm* ke.i;, and other such W( o: the attacking party uri»il ?re ly shouting, "Come on. io tiii'.c to loae " and having [ct, he gave onlcrs tor the en\ " .o\v for the bank," a formidiibic than it sounds. the bar.k of England, but s^' jiear the boys' homes. Btj [•enrage of the troops was thoii and they were in no mood tai Tlioy attacked everybody [as, and one small bov Mho liuto tlie spirit of the thii lownand severely Moumlcd. pt the ringleaders appeared im t'olice Court ::ext day, but thti |ontented hihijclf M-itJi Ijiiiuiaot to keep the peace for a mouth.! Saturday Nigtt. \c vvc.iry jcars of strirc, nT.\v iTowned. by care opprciseil 111 the .:'aturdiiy of life. ^e ol Q}ir lon^' diiy of rest, :re no curfew bcII.} to toll t e day, i:i tiiis unromantic i, but w. en the town clock at )f on a Saturday evenin'^, J )und liko a 'jiirfcw to the soul of] \v(trM, to the men who throw l, ind pick and ail the wearisome i of toil and turn their faces {« |f, free, for a long sweet morrow! the i'lcrtia of repose, but the |;i.dnc53 of the woo:ld and fielJa^i tivots. Look at the jpjceil [lis who arc surging thr^fugh i b to midnight of a Saturday m Jiy, AvoiM-iicc faces looking for aiiiuseinciitâ€" families vail I been separated al! the w-jokbyl of daily labor for dai,y brcJ linging to tiie toil v/om^-. v.ho are btrnngers to t^i/^^.^ liK:», too v.-oary o;i other^Jiights) |o tlitir jilny.- or t.ihe thev out| py w;ilk v.iiich always ^ead i "hero is a legviid told of BosI hat tiiey v.ore ho absirbed,. '(,. 1 thry t'id not f-oo enough jf 1 ilijs to r.-cognuf them ,i iighd [•';t wives dtvi-ed tiio poc of l.day nigiifs sippor, to wlych( rouiaini'.l up, ami the father I |( ir acquaintanoo. l..y night taay briiig its cares, arc hardly diiL-eruable fiomjo| IS whi^re the cl an clothes fori a:o Jail out, tlio mother has ail l-pa tn take, bu^ there is a coi â- r labor of love that repays rerj x^r.re, pressed down and 'iiis is the psalm of prase I will give a bcnison on her work,i iiiinistercd totli? nea?s of thele |o shadow of gi Iiii. 1 arches andi lie can sing ',\ sleep 'io-.',;;y 'i-nuiiiliig cares illi ana lolly born." -^Id i'uritrn days t'e Sabbath be J I ';^y night v.itli the going dowD[ 'iiie mot'-Li- pit hcrw. rkba' |i" go;{ isi:::i uiiharues^ed thecal plp. ;h, t':;- peace of the comingd ;no:v tlie!n wifa the evening sh j: i «'.(;t'.;t i'.ot ti.ey discussed politi -, and the t. ant, rare news fromt 1, »:id rta i tho or.e weekly pap â-  '.oids tl.rt!: \.('rc rot admissible! ;- i.aWvl5Wtt.-»*»i«i av;? o: th:!i: no â- Â»vhcn a rkitJ "^uld r. t lr.'.\ e excited the word i.'c v.i:» V u;l.l ii:»vi. oajsed. "Mil 'â- 'â- ^ ;:•::! ay.-' \.-i-*;o lav.-, and it \- rye-.~.t.»»ic| tit?icr; it wasnotl M-^tj'.c;- \.:;o*'^:d lur little boy iff o play niarldes' oa..Stinday heo^ i:v' b i-W y.r.vl •• liat isn't it Sond ^:k yiii i .1. .•r.;ai!ua " asked t lou. :is ii Sati!" i.'.y h it the preladcj of wh:ch (J cor;; 3 Herb rt wrote: c Sundays of man s life ri'UfU'd lotcether on Time's strinft e braielets to adorn the wile he eternal :Icrious Kinjj." hingof the day's peace and fc^ in tlie dropping oi heavy but ening of bauds of toil, the ittle in t!ie mareii cf life SOmBjl nne !«iuce la.-t Saturtliy uighij arl for them th-j turning (rf'**" "That i;o\v door, 'â€"'i pcnin -, leiun..; in. lets out no moffc atur.lay niglit of liic has dawo«ii unnsc oftae land where Sa c-Uil, where tho inhabitants shall i ' "1 am tirtdl" Arc thej w liave laul by the small anff ?s of this ]ife, which occui»e^ f their ti:ac, to sit down forever a, Is.iac and .Jacob in the Kiuj at her?' ,. .,11 Is" I should die to-nii,'ht Kre the ri-e of another sun, N'ith so many thini^s unfinishea And soinahy.jnst b^nuu M wonder if I could say "O ' "' Fatlier thy will be done." " sigh the tired men of bu*W«rtlj^ fday night turn the keys on invc" gers " "â-  Oh " cry the weary^^cla )rrow is Suntlay I 1 can r st " dren in," says th.c mother 1 be washed to night." Ah 1 Ojjj the Shepherd is carry.ing. tbj bosom he is safe in the f ola 1 wise in the Puritans begi»1 V at the preceding sunset â€" it o ^r_J ked to enter into any sordid or " w'ork while we are crossing that' " peace which like the rainbo wo horizons, the worldof toil, ••* of rest. She Daisy. ii-iih little white leaves in the Kt^sea: Nnrpad wide Irom the smile ot thf 8U«i^ L\viits till the daylight passes, I Aiid closes them one by one- " J ' I hivr luked why it clospd at even. J J ml 1 know what it wished to say iThe-e are stars aU night in the heaven, Mu'llanifhestarofday." » j __ • â-  â€" m â€" • ' "â-  â-  -^ he Lepers of Trac^d[^.^ Djy in the Lazaretto In Nortn-Eost licw Brnnswlck. From the Xew York%tm.. Kliramichi is a little known t)wn in north- stern New Brunswick, about half wy Itween New York and Greenland. Over If a century ago one Gardaer, Siotch- fcn, and a resident! if the town, »aw a fawn- iorcd spot on his wife's forehead. Anon ere were ominous swellings a^ tlio-comers I her eyes. Then the tendons of her fiagers Uan to stiffen and contract until her ids resembled a bi d's clawa, Thefawn- lored spots were doubled and quad- )led. The husband sought the advice of ,. Mackey, a young medijal graduate. 113 physician made a careful study of the seaie. It bafUed his skill. He could 'e it no name. He tound nothinj? lijceiton Ic medical calender. It seemed beyond reach of remedies. So engrossed was in its study that he grew thin and le. Sleepless nights were passed. To his distraction, his attention was rected to a second case. The victim was Mis. Landry, living seventy-five miles )ni Miramichi. Of French extractiop, lewa^inno way related to Mrs. Gardner. iwn-colored spots appeared upon her »dy. Her skin became as transparent and scaly as isinglass. The contraction of |e fivers and the ominous swelling of the |cs wese there. There were the same ilies and p ins as in the case of Mrs. irdner. The physician was nonplussed. It the end of his medical rope, determined I ascertain the true charade." of the disesse, sold his property and went to Europe, ie travelled through England, France and krniany, and gleaned no information. Ltingupona hint received in Paris, he isscd through Denmark into Norway, tear the coast, where the main staple of lod was dried fish and talt meats he visit- zarctto. Its inmates were immured There was no mistaking the ,mptom3. They were syftering from the mic di.:case as Mrs. Gardner and Mrs. Lndry. It was leprosy, and incurable. On l'"s return to Miramichi Dr. Mackey \\\vA tl.is scourge eating into the little com- • like a cancer. Prompt action was â- y. Mrs. Gardner's fingers havl I off at the points, and her skin was ay a. flaky. Mrs. Landry was in a worse )m.'*^'on. Her eyesight was gone, and she libi ed unnuot.-.kable symptoms if Cl 'itiasis. T!ie young physician sound- |il th 1 irni. The interest of the oldest Jracti riers v.as aroused. One or two collcu at. the idea of b prosy, and asserted lat the diocase would yield to remedies npl uvei I li ^^H= m i o^* ill scrctulous and similar com- kluiiits. Their experiments, however, jerihcd tlic young doctor's discovery, and jlie coMununity was thoroughly startled. It w;:s a company mainly of descendants of |hc oKl. French settlers The English inguai^e was not much spoken. Families kaii married and intermarried for nearly Iwo centuries, until whole jwirishes were jovctailed. The result was similar to that Ittendiug the overheated and impure. Its pnpuiicits were tpiickened by a diet of salt iicats and dried fish, and a genuine leprosy kropped to the surface. There were 78 fcases in one section within tv.elve months. The provincial parliament was spurred to |iction under the personal appeals of tlie embers from Muainichi. A bill establish- ing a lazaretto was passed. Shelldrake Ulaiui, dotting a b.ay on the northeast coast )f the province, was the spot selected. It Ko.'i au isolated island, ofi all lines of savcl. Here buildings were erected, with barred windows. A strict seach for all fainted with leprosy was made, and they rere confined on this island. Scores of the kinfortuuate wretches were captured. The pzaretto was under the charge of two men, 'ho seemed to be destitute of all feeling. \o care was given the lepers. They were nostly ignorant French Canadians, who had Itked cut a living by cultivating the thin Isoil and by fishing. Cleanliness Mas not a Ivirtue. They were neither bathed nor diet- ed. Clean underclothing was distributed [thvlce a year. The most abject and. squalid lever removed their clothing but drew their Iclcan shirts over their old onts at each dis- jtribution. The sexes were not separated. [The hizaietto was a virtual prison for life. Its inmates rotted like murraiued shtep. It I was the horror of the adjacent parishes. Occasionally a poor wretch escaped, and ap- I pealed to those outside for protection. Every face was turned from him. He des- I ecrated ev^-ry thing that he touched. Even the fence that he leaned against while tell- [ing his pitiful story was contaminated. If he diank ironi a spring the spring was poison- evl. If a cup of milk was given him the cup M'as broken as soon as diained. A walking upas tree, freighting the atmosphere with poison, would not have been regarded w ith more horror. He was either recaptur- ed or diiven back to the lazaretto by hun- ger. Worse than all this, lepers, in whom the seeds of the disease were f uctifying, were concealed by friends and relatives. The lazaretto was more of a prison than a liospital. A commitment disgraced a family rar more than a commitment to the peni- tentiary. Fathers and mothers endangered themselves and their families in the r tfort to shield a favorit- son ordanghte*. It M'as adisgrace to ue hidden, andnot to l)e made pub- lic. A discovery of leprosy ..tainted every relation. The children coulcUnot make eligible marriages, and the fanxi^ jfcW shun- ned. \} The lazaietto was removed to TcKca^ie, on the bay of that name, abiut 1849. Here fie treatment ot the unfortunates was a little tetter, but there was an Utter lack of cleanliness unt.l fotrrteen years ago, when â- Sisters of Mercy took sole' charge. They found the inmates dying in filth and misery They inaugurated new treatment. They tore the iron bars from the windows. The lepers were bathed each day, and their ulcers were carefully dressed. The bandages were washed, and the clothes of the unfor- 'tuMilea w«re ktt sompnVMBlj^ aM«t 'and clean. They werfi ^wed th« ^«el9m of tionsof.tobftcro were given to tlve oien. A sailboat wfb'lJoiight, ^Kptti^tm tA the lepers were allowed to go sailing and fish- ing' K«r'Waa*^he body afone enftertained. The aifft^rs ftdnainistered to the mind. The lepers no Kniger brooded day and night over their unfortunate condition. Some of their number played^ ^e violin, and they danced to the music. A m^ dbaitk was thus robbed of some of its terrors. When the provinces were confederated in the Do- minion of Canada, the latiuretto passed under the control of the federal sovem- ment. The sisters, however, remained in charge, receiving a muerable pittance from th6 g^vernnrent f» their" ikbonr. '"The rigmr of the law was softened by F^kther Joseph A. Babineau, pastor cf tbe liUle Catholic chnrc^ at Traeadie. tVhen oases of lepro^ were reportiM he viaiied the af- flicted find prepared their minds for their ,iae)|sS|anfe f a^-T^ usi^ttly e^rednie la i^- etto witn resignation, »ncl submit'ted to their fate without a murmur. When the good father's efforts failed, the strong arm of the law was invoked, and they were seiz ;d like criminals and imprisoned for life. Their discontent was Eof tened by the kindness of the sisters, and they dropped into the grave hopeful of a tetter fate in tne world to come. I visited Tracadie on Sunday, July 16. The Hon. Arthur D. Williams, of New York, accompanied me. The visit requiied a fifty-five mile drive from Newcastle, a thriving village on the curved railroad from Halifax to Quebec. The road was a bee line and as level as a prairie. It was shaded by stunted spruce trees. We passed strag- ghng settiemeBta of French Gaoadians ami Indians. At times the atmosphere was laden with a putrid odor, which came from the refuse of the lobster canneries on the beach. This is used as a compost, for the soil is thin and poor. Where the spruces are cut away there were magnificent views of the ocean and of bays leading to prolific msaon and trout streams. It was midnight before we reached Tracadie. On the way our driver repeatedly awoke residents on his route, and asked for a pail to water his horses. It was always given with the great- est pleastif e. ' The conversation was in French There is no hotel at Tracadie. Through the kindness of Mr. John Young, its richest inhabitant, we were given a lunch and lodgings. At sunrise next morning the little bell in the belfry of the primitive Roman Catholic chapel fronting the broad bine • bay announced the early mass. Hisrh mass was celebrated at 10.30. By 10 o clock the dusty roads we:e tilled with French Canadians on their way to church. A few came in ricketty waggons lutthemostof them were on foot. Ihey stcpt up in squads, old and young, clad in quaint costumes. Some had arisen with the dawn and walked ten or twelve miles. One man, on crutches, lived seven miles away. It was a hot day, and the air was filled with mosquitoes and sand flies. The devotees seated themselves on a long broken pile of cord wood near the house of the priest, and awaited the tap of the bell. The little cemetery allotted to the lepers licb :u the shade of the unpainted church. It is overgrown with shrubbery and bram- bles. A large, weatherbeaten cross stands in the centre, stretching its arm* over the unmarked graves of the unfortunates. A wharf and a fish house stand 200 yards to the north, and bieyond them the squatty buildings and dormer windows of the lazaret- to are seen. We knocked at the door of the parsonage. I^'he rustics gazed at us in- quiringly. Father Babineau was in the vestry dressing for mass. He was sum- moned by an attendant and gave us a gra- cious reception. His glittering black eyes and pile, intellectual face recalled the fea- tures of Judge Cardozo. With extreme courtesy he accompanied us to the lazaretto, leaving his assistant, Father Nugent, a jolly-faced Irishman, to chant mass. As we crossed a rustic footbridge near the lazaretto we heard the plaintive cotes of a violin. The melody was a sad and sweet blending of the ♦• Canadian Boat Song," and " Annie Laurie.'" The miisician was aleper •whiling away the weary hours. We ascended the porch. Passing into the entry we stood before a door with a wicket. The words. 999 thi' tR^?S?^^ TdDT PilSSE were above the door. Father Babineau rang the bell. A second afterward the white face of a Sister of Mercy appeared at the open wicket. The father spoke to her in French and she opened the door. We were ushered into a reception room under the mott â- Â« PERSDNNE N ENTBE ICI S IL NK VIENT AIME JESCS CHRIST. Sister St. John, mitron of the la/aretto, is a pleasant-faced woman, about 36 years old. She came from the Hotel Dieu, in Montreal. Fourteen years among the 1 pers have familixirized her with their man- ners, customs and feelings. She has been the recipient of many a sad stcry. She knows the families of all the inmates and probably has a more thorough knowledge, of the nature and character of the disease than the physician who receives $300 a year from the Goverijraent for an anntial visit. She, has charge of th^ eaJwaet, ot drugs, and has a fair knowledge of medical jurisprudence. As there is no doctor with- in fifty miles of the institution, the Traca- diens andthe inhabitarts of outlymg set- tlements come to her for medical advice. Prescriptions for the poor are filled without charge. She knows t e lamilies tainted with the disease, and traces accurately the relationship between the afilicted. The same strain of blood appears to flow in the veins of all. A majority of the lepers were born in Tracadie. They all come from within a circle of seventy miles. Under Sister St. John's supervision an accurate record of the inmates has been kept. There is no prior record on file. Since 1868 the Sister's record shows that fitty-eight out of ninety haye died. There are now twenty six in the institution. This number is ]ii^ r than at any time within fourteen years. The average of life, after the ap- pearance (SF the dieeasij, ia fiom tea to if- ^Mo y«vK Si^ynnedie w^hiOithziee or fotu* years, and there iaoow a woman in the ii"' ,at|t|i|aimj«Hoi been y«M â-  SbftiriiiiM on •9beUdr^i^.JiBl*^ V^liile ,ib^e thq.diseM* itw|M^aup|XMe4.«b^ h^beepDL* =SI aSqr 1 4 se T •rgbroj* The yiMk lb htthy. «M and she was remanded to • the la^t^ito. She is sttU liyins, handles^ ai^d altfiost sichtleas. A daoghter, twenty -foof-y^ur* old, whose fingers are dnwm tip \^ the 41'gM^ fesHflVk isletf'W ittO'ilie' Mikida uw^«f,^{Uf*g|tW« wHh^ tffe leiHi wtAneb*. eiHs 'with ^id. fPrtf .jsiffi jigoe «ke fcrifc We^ brfip iiiveawr pd^- AMi fiW**"" S*^"""""**»*»*^w^«^^^*teel ...She filings. Then it e^M^ op^^^'^fKe boqe nji^i iwl.igna din a i yT i«hzi«ala^^«Ma«. Wlwn thvt' SSst- t^:Li*i^S*^^^^«:^^ '^i-u k^ •• T v-' .^ ^«^ Then it cA*8 op«4i.«t'vf|»^ b wwrda ^, .telUale .sp^^ ,wy,L,,ai»pejwed,' thepckient w»*ee«raj with iUtW sym tena yf oogisiimptiaA.. All' have -.aepaxiAei beds^ ^ept oft the main flow and' Fitaau.cMi- Bjnnp- Ha dJM»:lijr auBor' The- men are the wcwen on other. Thtre is at litUe vooa on each flooY where the aisterd oficiate aa wardms. There u BoAajtaati about the eetablishment who ia not a leper. The siaten are alloweda wash- er-woman aad a sorTantboy. Aside from this they do all the work. In: the dormi- tories the beds are amuiged sid« by aide like beds in .» hospitaL QM-faahioned qadts cover the json bedsteads. The loors are scrubbed o«ce. a dj^. Everything is scrupulously neat... £aoh dormitory con- taiiis. an oratory, ^^here the afllipted say their prayers on retiripg and arising. The walls are covered with putures of saints ard religious mottoes in the, French language. Here is a specimen POUR UK MOMENT DX SACRinCE UKl ETERHILE DB J0UI8SANCB. [1 claws of a, dead bird, has i^heri^ the « thtf Soar above. Sately do they see each scotarge from. thie.mother, ant). J4,nqWrir, the 'â- 'â€" " --^ ' institutior. ..,* ' .».," Singular as it may seem, the lepers jure subject to attacks from ordinary disfâ€" ftn. There have been deaths from jaundice and' typhus fever. Ia some cases the skin is dry and clean, and in others it is ooyered wiUi ulcers. ' Thpse iifflicted, with Ulcers live the lon^tMl. Daoip weather has a damaging effect. The {iatients are very feverish, and complain of rheumatic pains. They have fits of drowsiness, and sleep for hours daily. In waiter and summer they invariably improve. None have died with- in fourteen months. They are peculiarly sensitive. We were warned against using the word leprosy with- in their hearing. They speak of it as the " disease." Each patient apparently has an impression that there may be some mis- take in his case, and that he is suffering from some other complaint. ' At times medicine is given to relieve them frorn pain. Any unusual decoction seems to afifecttnem. Strong tea has removed the fawn- colored spots, but as soon as the system becomes accustomed to the tea, the spots return. Three years ago the hearts of aU the lepers throbbed with joy. A nostrum c^ulcd Fowle's Humor Cure was administered, and the disease entirely disappeared. Fowle was in ecstasies. He forwarded box after box of his mixture, and it was used freely. Within six months, however, the scourge reappeared with more .violence than ever. Cases have occurred where those afflicted with leprosy left the country before they were sent to the asylum. Two or three years ago the spots appeared upon two girls belonging to well-known fanulies. Deter- mined to avoid the lazaretto, the girls went to Shediac and were employed as houshold servants. Hearing of their flight. Father Babineau wrote to Shediac. He had ob- served indications of leprosy on them be- fore their disappearance. The girls were alarmed, and fled to Providence, R. I. One died in that city in a private family, where she had been engaged as a chambermaid. Father Babineau learned the whereabouts of the survivor, and went to Providence. After a long talk he convinced her that it was her duty to return to Tracadie and enter the lazaretto. She did so, and died within a year. The good fathsr relates the particulars of a case of leprosy in a man two years married. There were the usual forerunners of the disease. The Father visited the man's residence and talked with his wife about it. The husband insisted that it was not leprosy. His wife coincided with him, bu" expressed a difierent opinion to the priest in private. Satisfied, however, that the husband 'vi'as tainted, the wife left him. He remained in his house alone. Not long afterward, seeing the priest approaching, he took to the woods. Father Babineau over- took him and remonstrated with him. The man was obstirate. He was threaten- ed with the rigor of the hvw. Tho conver- sation lasted two or three hours, and the husband was finally induced to enter the lazaretto. Not long ago the disease broke out on the body of a fisherman, who for twenty year^ had lived alone in a hut on the bay of Tracadie. When the priest asked him to enter the lazaretto, his only objection was a fear that he might become lonesome. He is now in the hospital pining for the companionship of nature. A more distressing case occured two months ago. The death spots appeared on the mother of four little chilik'en. The priest repeatedly talked with her, and she*^ was finally induced to part with her hus- band and enter the living tomb. Her part- ing with her children was very aflfecting, and to this day the father's ears hear ct ies of " Mamma, mamma " The family is iso- lated, the children have no playmates, and the neighbors rbun tbe place as though re were the nest, of a pestilence. The disease is said to be contagious, but we could learn of no well authenticated 41' stance of contagion. None of the sisti have shown the least symptoms of leprosy, although two have waited upon the patients for fourteen years. They taike the greatest precaution against it. There is only one case on record of a husband and wife who were confined in the institution at the same time. They were cousins. Wives 'who have had children by leprous husbands, have married on the death of their hus- bands. S me of the children by the first husband were infected, and those by the second escaped. ' In a recent case the dis- e.tse did not appear until the third genera- tion. Then ix, broke out on the body of a man of herculean strength. The native families of Ff6uoh descent seem to be satisfied it is contagious. They gaze at the lazaretto from the outside and very few pay it a visit. The victims of the disease are at first visited by their near relative?, but as the seasons roll on the visits are less frequent, and at last cease altogether. Husbands forget their wives, mothers forget their chiTdreo, and vice versa. Not long ago a poor b*y of 19 broke' out of the lazaretto at night, and walked twenty-five miles to see his mother. Ke remained home a few hours and returned with a Ies.-* aching heart. The lepers *11 express a willingness to work, but many of them ai"e unable to do so. The sisters are allowed only a pittance to feed them. They have meat on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday aud Saturday, and fish »i Friday. Seldom, if ever, do they see fresh beef. They abhor mutton and veal. Fresh pork is the meat mostly eaten. Three of the lepers play the violin, and each appears to be ambitions to excel the other. When the weather is dry, those who are able frequently dance from morning until night. Those who first enter the institution complain of a drowsy feeling, and sleep days and nights, hours at li stretch. The lungs become affiected. The hair falls from the In the dormitorx we saw «. femide dwarf totaily unlike the faeeof a humac 3rs which seems h«rdly applicable to persons suffering a lifetime of misery. There is no specified dress for either the male or fe- male lepers, and unaccirstomed eyes could not distinguish some of the:n from ordinary persons. As we entered the male ward ten of the unfortunates were arising from dinner. It was a plain board table^ destitute, of cloth and napkins, and fumirhed with tin plates, cups and epoons. On an iron cot within ten feet of the table, sat a pitiful object. His fl^h looked like flakes oi sulphur moulded into the shape of a man. He had been in bed o^er a year. Although but 15 years old he looked like a man of 70. Nothing in the wards on Blackwell's island equals this scene yet the Sisters said that the patient was much better than he had been. As we entered the apartment a heavy black bearded man clad in a blue woollen shirt turned his face from us, picked up a short black clay pipe, and moved into the sunlight through the opened door. Poor fellow, liis misfortunes were his own, and he sought no sympathy from the outer world. He was Michael Duaron, the lone fisherman, wh) had expressed the fear of being lonesome before entering the lazaret- to. The windows were open, and a cool breeze from the sea was felt. There were ten other males in the ward. All but the miserable beinr on the bed rang- ed themselves in line with bowed heads and dejected countenance. Two were mere boys, 11 and 12 years old. One was suffer- ing from leprous elephantiasis. His face was fungus outgrowth. Only one of these men spoke English. He was Peter M.Noel, of Tracadie. A man of magnificent phy- sique, beyond slight swellings above the cheek bones he showed no signs of the dis- ease. He had a clear, blue eye, a rugced complexion, and an honest face. He was a man of deep feeling and of more than or- dinary intelligence. Confident of sympathy he told his story in a straightforward way. He was 23 years old, a woodchoppcr and raftsman. " You seem surprised to see me here," he said, " because you see no marks of the dis- ease. I..ook at my hands," showing his palms. All the lines of his hands seemed to have been frosted with silver. The pores of the skin glistened as though dusted with silver. " Look at the whites of my eyes," he continued. They were of a light orange color. He pointed to the slight swellings below his temples, and then said "All your doubts would be removed if you saw my body. This spring I was loggiutr up the northwest branch of the Miramichi. One night, when I going to bed near Canards Leds'es, I saw a yellow spot on my leg. I paid no attention to it, supposing that it came from wading too much in cold water. Two or three days afterward another spot appeared near the first one. I began to have strange pains in my legs, and could not get sufficient sleep. Within a week I notic- ed a spot on my breast. The pains in- creased and I thought that I had i heum- atism. I took some medicine for it, but it did mc no good. At last 1 came over here, by tho advice of a comrade, to see the Sisters and t» find out what was the matter with me. They told me that I had the dis- ease and here I am for life." Noel told his sad story with an erect head. He had not beeri in the lazaretto long enough to acquire the dejected look of his fellow sufferers, but the shadow on his face indicated that it was surely coming. He is a fair violinist, and undoubtedly vents much of his sadness through his inr.trument. With teai-s in his eyes he spoke of the kind- ness of the Sisters, but he complained of a lack of books and newspapers. He could not read English, and his counteuance grew bright when promised a file of Parisian journals. While .grateful for the little tobacco given them by the Sisters, he spoke of its poor qua'ity. •* They buy it at Ferguson's," he said, "and of course the Sisters can't tell whether it is good or bad but smoking ia about our greatest enjoy- ment, and I wish we could have good tobarco." The Sist«s then conducted us up stairs to the icniale ward. Fourteen women and girls in all stages of emaciation, stood in line with clasped hands and eyes cast down, Siste's and cousins were among them. All were in some way related to the men below. They were not disposed to he communica- tive. One woman, nearly eighty years old, overheard Sister St. John caUiiig our at- tention to the fact, that she was concealing her bauds under her apron. She flung up her apron with spiteful energy, and extend- ed two withered stumps, accompanying the action with bitter words. She I ad no hands. Her heart was touched by our expressions of sympathy. She was the woman released from Shelldrake island forty years ago un- der the supposi.ion that she had been cured. Sfce called to her side her daughter, a pleasant-faced woman, 24 years old. Har fingers were talons in appearance, and her hands were witherirg loosi- g the joints 0: e from the worst form of cJepEantlasis. Des- P;'4e orir, r^p«8tnu»cea. she arose to receive us. Sad,kt'B^e ^{jfliifecr stH^. The a)P,cted#dto^, In low.tones, bjad© us'good- D^jreaJl we wtntdowftltoirs," ' The sisters then 'ji;Wd tis*tt^ tihen, the ranii^ the deqfcric H^lls, the neat apoth- ecary ah6p, and the exquisit* chapel witH its image of the Virph and ChUd. This chapel is .latticed on eitKer side. Behind tl^e UttiQe 00 the right of the alUr, the sister^ h^tf mass. Half a dozen benches fill the m.^ boi^ 6)( the' Cttle chapel, and areevidentlyusedb^ the, male lepers. A solitary «'omaii bearing liiarks of the dis- eaoe -wais on her knees behind thleft Uttice bduntio^ her beads and saymg her pri^yerB. Everyihmg throiighout the "buildrng was clean and neat. The floor^s were scrubbed as white as murble, the great large shone with stove polish, there M'lis no grease spot on the clothes of any of the lepers. The aprons and handker-chiefs of the women were as white as snow, and the windows werea^ clean as the plate gla s of Simpeon, Crawford Simpson^s store. The oratories were simple but attractive. Delicate efforts at ornamentation bespoke the excessive care of the Sisters. Tlie ceilings are low, and the rooms are ill ventilated. The Sisters work to gr^t disadvantage. All that they re- ceive is spent upon the immured lepeis. They are now building a dormitory for themselves at their own expense. The iso- lation of the laaaretto is so complete and visitors are so few, that its wants do not reach the public ear. Surely there ought to be one man in the parliament of the Do- minion of Canada to champion the interests of the poor men and women whose life im- prisonment is a punishment for no crime, although confined for the protection of the community. Out again in God's free air, we cast our eyes toward Mr. Young's mansion. Poor Noel and four of his companions stood in the yard awaiting us. "Gentlemen," said Noel, approaching us hat in hand. "I beg your pardon, but my companions here can't speak English. This poor man," pointing to the heavy-bearded man who had left the dinner table on our entrance, "is bleeding at the lungs. He thought that one of you might be a doctor, and that you could tell him what to do for it. He has been on the sea, but he can't tand the sea air any longer, because his lungs are so weak." We could give him no encouragement. Our faces forestalled Noel's trauslat on of what v as said. The bearded man walked back to the fence and turned his face to the sea. Noel accompanied us to the end of the lane leading to the highway. It was the boundary of the lepers' world. The two leprous boys walked at our side. One said, " Please, sir, give me a penny." He got a half dollar, and the other boy was not for- gotten. If a bag of gold had dropped from the skies, they could not have been more surprised. They shot off towards the lazaretto with the speed of the wind. Nor was Noel forgotten. W« had already gain- ed his confidence. He accepted a Canadian bank note with even more astonishment and far more thankfulness than a boys had shown. It was a small b^m to create s*" much happiness in such a wretched being. I involuntarily compared him with William H. Vanderbilt, at that moment probably speeding Maud S, at Saratoga, and with Jay Gould lollrng on the silken cushions of his princely home on the Hudt-on. An hour's interest on Vanderbilt's fortune would strew this agonizing life with humble luxuries,and an millionth part of Jay Gould's fortune make it immeasurably happy. If honesty and industry ai-e any gauge of for- tune, what had honest, hard-handed Noel done that his fate should be so much differ- ent from theirs Noel saw that \ie were about to part with him. All his longings, fears, and wishes gushed to his lips. "My God," said he, ' why can't I get well I have worked hard. I have never dissipated. I bathe every day. I am clean. I don't see why I can't get well. Sometimes I think that it is not the leprosy [it was tbe first and only time that he used the word] spoken of in the Bib'.e. I've heard ot a man who had the same dis- ease and who was cured by a doctcrwh) said it was the black scurvy. If I was doctored for the black scurvy I believe I'd get well. They say that thtre is a doctor in Chatham who can cure us. I've lain awake at night studying up a plan to get to him, so that I might ask him to cure me. I have no money, but I would work hard to paj^ him if he would only cure me. Do you know that at times I can't help, thinking tliat we are not cured because some one is making money by keeping us here I know it isn't as bad as it used to be when they had a fence with sharp pikes at the top surrounding the yard. Some of the men here have told me how they used to trfeat them then. The Sisters have changed all that. J have no word of compla nt against them. God bless them, they do all they can for us. It is not their fault nor is it our own fault that we are here." We were standing at the end of the lane. Church was out and a cloud of dust indicat- ed the march of the churchgoers homeward. The sun had passed the meridian. A dinner bell rang. Noel started as though awaken- ed from sleep. " I beg your pardon, gentle- men," said he, removrng his hat, " lor de- taining you from dinner. I see so few who understand our situation tbat I forget my- f elf when I meet them." Tears were in his eyes " Come again and see me if you ever revisit the country. God help me, but it will be many a long day and many a long night before I forgot your face*." Hs turn- ed and walked slowly down the lane, the hot sun casting his shadow before him, and I saw him no â- â- r more. New York has consumed 4,000,000 wa'er- tnelons this s ason, and is now figuring on what a monument the rinds would have made. A Detroit crockery store put oat a sign of "jelly bowels and tumblers," and it was a whole day before the proprieto could understand that t!:e public didn't spell bowls that way. In boring an artesian well in California the drill struck the bones of a whale sixty tjet under ground. He was perhaps laok- insT for a short cut from the Pacific t Hud- son's Bay, -r-rr~--r-«^"BBi mmtSimiiMM

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