The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 23, 1902, Page 6

THE SUNDAY CALL. I ancisco home a well, able to dren with all ad grown to they told that it e family be- here. They seeking— nly thing all the rest of in the They sulted Mo: There they con- most eminent icians that t} boasts of— » who hold high position of vice of the city’s College of Physi- nd sons. He examined the in- according to all his nged some sort of apparatus to the knee. It was built by the wonderful modern sclence. He t a cure. not improve. taken to th= Continent, even cian of the French He removed the ges, sure that the His method was the s predecessor's, but it failed ns of school Lond knee es complet Then 1 of Switzerland was tried. ld-famous surgeon there, a man who can charge 2,000 a single consultation. His fame far outside his own little coun- among the great scientists of hy, who, in medical and surgical 1k above any others in the world. ied to induce him to become one of join their ranks in one of their ities, but he chose to remain a subject, as he was born. brought to bear all his ex- his subtle understanding, his ¢ experience upon little Gladys s case, and failed as the others ivans were utterly discouraged. ¥ had been so sure that all the little sufferer needed was competent treatment. It had seemed impossible that all these baililant men should fail to make their gdaughter well again. It was almost im- ze that no medical re- that the mother proposed line into rail from a beauty nd crey t profaned by all sness that mu. Lourdes with signs and billb venders, except such ree of rosaries and the li s beputiful encugh to be divine, they e been there. Green, briiliant- with its luxuriant verdure, the spot lles nestled in the splendid moun- tains. It is at the mouth of the valley of Argeles and the Gave de Pau is near. The spot is known for its beauty, but it is far better known for the wonder- working waters. There thousands of pil- grims flock every year. There are poverty- stricken pilgrims, those who do not know where the next day’'s bread is coming from, those who have to sleep upon the steps or the ground while they are on their way to the grotto. There are people of wealth and rank, countesses and duch- esses, who make regular trips to the place. There are those of every rank be- tween. Ever since 188 the spot has been thronged, more and more each vear. It 2s in 1858 that little Bernadette Soubir- ous saw the miraculous vision. There, as she was seeking fagots in the deep cave, Our Lady of Lourdes appeared to her with “I am the Immaculate Concep- tion.” hen she reported this at first she was disbelieved and finally, when she told that a sparkling spring had gushed forth at the command of the vision and that Our Lady had told her to give the message that the sick should bathe In that spring, she was not only disbelieved but punished. She was sent to a mad- house. Napoleon III, hearing of this, ordered her relegse, and from that time on helief in the girl’s story grew uutil it ) OF LOURD: o7FE came to be accepted generally by those of the faith. Now, in the year of our Lord 1902, the Church of the Basilica stands firmly builded upon the rock above the grotto, according to the command which Berna~ dette reported. The church was conse- crated in 1876 and many high ecclesiastical dignitaries assisted at the ceremony, among them thirty-five Cardinals. In this church and in the Church of the Rosary, which lies below it, the majestic processions :are formed in time of pil- grimage. It is an inspiring sight then to see the bishops and the priests and the acolytes forming in solemn line, robed in spiendor, chanting their canticle. They pass from the churches high above down a winding path that seems to lead directly to the river. Of a sudden there is a sharp turn and there they come face to face with the cave. x In this cave, under an image of Our Lady, under the words which she spoke to Bernadette—“I am the Immaculate Conception”—here the pilgrims find their goal. The ice cold water of the miracu- lous spring gushes forth into a reservoir, whence it is carried in pipes to a distance of more than a score of feet. There it may be obtained as it comes from faucets. There was a time when the water was e e ~— ————— S s —— = er. Some attempt sci to his individual mind. crutches. for a moment. crutches. This does not mean that ar the child walks slowly. But the WHAT FRANK J. SULLIVAN HAS TO SAY OF HIS DAUGHTER'S WONDERFUL RECOVERY. ]IT is true that my daughtier was able to cast aside her crutches I went to Lourdes with my daughter, who for fifteen months had been suffering from the results of a severe accident. Shg had fallen end water had formed in the knee. She was helpless without She was taken to some of the greatest physicians in Europe, 1}11 without avail. Among those who were consulted were Dr. Morzis, the vice president of the College of Physicians nl-fd erageans in Lon- don, a famous Parisian, a member of the Legzazf of lHono:‘, and Dr. Kocher of Switzerland, a mau whose reputation is so exten- | sive that he was offered a high pcsition in the U lin, which means much to those who realize what the great Ge_r- man universities are. Dr. Kocher has been paid as much as 25,- | 000 francs for performing an operation. | These men and others failed to help the child. When at last she was taken to Lourdes she could not dispense with her crutches knee is not as strong as yours or mine. It is and she has not ne=ded her crutches once since bath after bathing in the water of Louides. 3 Every one is entitled to his own cpinion concerniag the wat- ntific explanations of its miraculous cures. To others these cures are a matter of faith in the deepest religious sense. Facts stand for themselves and every one judges according versity of Ber- | After three baths .in the wonderful water she left her ; | 1 absolute cure was effected. The mewnat stiff and ily improving | g at Lourdes. condition is stead left free to the multitude as it came from the spring, but the crowds were @ and the excitement so inter check had to be put upon the Sufferers attempted to hurl frito it sometimes. It is now to be had either in sparkling draughts from the faucets or in the adjoining baths. Wondertul cures have been effected in these baths. They are arranged in a sort of vauit, tiled below and windowed above. Flickers of many-colored light steal in through the stained glass of the hi windows. The place is cold, the wate fcy. Its purity is one of its miraculous qualities. Into thése baths dozens of pilgrims are plunged every day—as many often. And the water is changed o twice a day. Yet in spite of that it ke as clear as when it first gushes forth in grotto, and although many filthy and ased pilgrims are bathed in it there se of contaglon car- for all this scie tists say that there is absolutely no mi cral property in the wat What is the secret of its purity? Another stra thing 'is that 3 seems to have - for ng the cold shock in any other water. The heart action never seems to be seriously affected by it. Cures that have taken place ther: nothing less than. mirac There was Henri Lasserre, the blind man who was made to see, and who, upon belng given his sight, compiled voiumes on the ject of the water for the sake of oth sufferers. There was . the helpl the most the Dulk s dumb and blind idiot, een from birth, his poor bedy a flabby, boneless mass, was made like other men. There are such countless cases on record that it is lcft up to the bookmaker to record ¥s was taken there she real- 1zed fully what it all meant. She was only ten years old, but she is a very wise lit- tle lady of 10, and it had all been ex piained to her—how this was the water m ferers, how . too Lady that s e of the cave lie the tches that hundreds of away. Gladys saw these of her own crutches. She believed. Perhaps the Blessed Lady ed upon the simple, pure faith of the and knew that it deserved her Around the e dages and healed have c and tho ien came the trial of her faith. Into > cold room she went, the place where t believers. Attend- for patient: to be assisted to enter. iserably with the aid e time. s no change. here were those out- 7 to pity and offer con- at them in amaze- 't be sorry for me,” made well."” unswerving she she said. “I With her b went agair he bath. n threw away e is a very ha who love more happy than s that stands in nter the ch seen the figure in the grotto have be- lieved? E2 » How Many Matches Are OW many matches are struck in a single day?” asked an enthus- iastic young statistician, “and how ma cords of wood, and how many tons of sulphur, how' many units of heat are represented.in the world’s daily consumption of matches? Here is an interesting problem. ches, of course, are not used in all the countries of the world. There are many primitive people who are still ki striking sparks from flinty just as our ancestors i when they made pots and kettles out of clay and stones, and knives out of bones, and the harder formations in the er of the earth. So are so damp that matches cannot be used with con- venience. In many of the tropical co tries which may be ¢ d- as civilized, matches cannot be uck on account of edge of the b But in the g more advanced countries of the world “ BASIZICA. COURTESY OF HENRY 2z ——— = — e S S S T —— e SR e e L S = e e B s e Struck in a Single Day? which keep open millions of ity of smokers has to so sumption o R «-- SREsneaas S = STy g..fgft;" = R 7 e e e ( PN S < > OB | Lo o\