A MEDICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE CURES BY THE LOURDES WATER.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XII, Issue 45, 27 February 1885, Page 21

A MEDICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE CURES BY THE LOURDES WATER.

57 B -^ BA^ BWE^.M. D,M.RO.S.BngIa»D ,M.RO.S.Bngla»d l Fellow of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society of London- formerly President of the Medical Board of IWnS ;' anth™ "s t0 ■*• Seowfuy of! State for the Colonies," « The Pathology and Treatment of Small-pox," etc., etc. [OOPYBIGHT BBSBRVBD.]

CHAPTER Vri. The history of the Lourdes shrine since the date of this enauirv is contained in the sixteen volumes of tbe"Annales de Lourdes." from which the following .cases are, with few exceptions, drawn. Pilgrims from the whole world have flocked to the shrine, and the conversions and cures efEected there, or by means of the Lourdes water, are literally innumerable. In one pilgrimage alone in one year it is stated that there had been made prods verbaux of one hundred and seven cures or notable ameliorations. It is not alleged by anyone that these cures are all miraculous or supernatural— least of all is any such assertion made by the offi' cial guardians of the shrine, the Missionary Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. But a well-known Parii physician, Dr Constantine James, says of them, " I have visited Lourdes in the same spirit of observation, and with the same reserve that I took to all mv excursions to tho mineral waters. Now, to speak only of facts which are {ersonal to myself, I mean which b. long to my own practice, I affirm to have seen patients return cured, when my colleagues and myself had judged them to be completely beyond the resources of nature and art. It is sufficient to throw one's eye over the list of cures which are published to see that amongst the number there are many which deserve the name of miracles. I say, "amongst the number." That is, that all do not d, serve it. With respect to?hSnoin? people in general are bad judges because they have noc the f cientific knowledge required for a sound judgment. For them the gravity of tbe symptoms is the only criterion of the eravitv of the disease. Now, tar from its being always so, it may be that an affection which will be certainly fatal, presents itself under a mild aspect, while another which Is not of a kind to endanffer life shows the most terrifying symptom?." [This, the present writer may remark is particularly the case with some forms of hysteria 1 From which I conclude that unless theie are certain visible changes which render the phenomenon manifest to all, a miracle does not offer the desired guarantees of authenticity, except when it has received the stamp of science. v utJ

Dr. Constantino James then goes on to argue that even if the cures were only effected by the imagination that would not affect the result as regards the pertons themselves. "To this what do people reply? They reply by the grossest abuse For our Materialists and our Atheists, every pilgrim is 'a clerical' that is to say an impostor and a cheat. His diseases are feigned their cure is a farce. There is at Lourdes a mite en scene worthy of Robert Houdin and the place where pretended cures are worked is only a parody of the old Court of miracles." " Out of all this diatribe I will only criticise one word • it is this • 1 the dissases are simulated.' ' '

"Be kind enough to inform me how one can simulate a cancer of the breast ; how one simulates an ulceration of the tongue • how one simulates a caries (ulceration of bone,) a necrosis (deatti of boie") a white swelling (abcess of joint,) all diseases), which according to the latest accounts, have found a cure at Lourdes. Now if these wera real diseases, and it must be that they were so, their cure has to be looked upon as a miracle, as we liave never seen, affections of that kind mred spontaneously" (Puis a ue jamais onn'aiu affeetlms&e cette espece gvenr spontanement.') M •"-«/«* ue , *-i fc w ay J.' c wo ?. lh notin S tliat not oal y **™ many medical men testibed to the reality and miraculous nature of the cures but E one who was resid ng on the spot, and who had an opportunity such as uo one else possessed, of asceitaining theix reality "as cc*verted from infukhty by their means. Dr. Dozous, of Wde* was the witness of one of the earliest miracles wrouSt by the water tsee case of Louis Bourriette, No. 99). He was at the lime and had been for years, a freethinker, and was converted DyThe ureastible evidence of the miracles wrought under his eyes as it

But the plainestproof of the reality of the miracles ia the continual influx of pilgrims to the shrine, and of sick to be cured It must be re membered that only a small minority of the sink who visit the shriueara cured, and that, therefore, to use ordinary phraseology, the chance of a cure is but small, perhaps not one in ten. Bat it must be evident that if there were a reasonable doubt of the reality of this oae cure very

few persons would be found to incur the expense, trouble, and often serious risk involved in a journey to Lourdel It is because thoneh the chance of a cure is but small, yet there is no doubt about its ttoSSdJ^! reaUty WheQ ifc dOeS take place> thafc 8O maQ " fl h,,- n Bu -5 n?n ?p fc < S lyha ! th £ vi l tae o£ the water been Proved at the shrine itself, the water has been sent to every pwt of the globe rJ^fni^ are Cafch °to missions, and from every place there come accounts of the marvellous cures wrought by its instrumentality. la ' Constantinope P-idP -id other parts of Turkey, where the majority of Christians belong to the schismatic oriental churches, the shrines of our Lady of Lourdes are visited by numbers oE pilgrim?, and are effecting numerous cures and conversions. A few o£ These cases are given in the second part of this work . ■*»♦ Itt « a Si a<^ ount ? ivea in volume 16 o£ the " Annales "of62p. it KSIm Blmd , neß9 ' deafness, partial or total paralysis, reported incurable, epilepsy, inflammations of all kinds, diseases of the s^"tscy&sijsri23Es**" 80M pr * 7ere ' Mmo ■„ >i? C S ina> T ? dil k and . remote P arta of Asia » America (north and of Lour a des eren W eamca> Qares havQ bd6U w «>»Sfct by t Qe water

and fervent prayers, an improvement occurred, the cancer closed, the glands ceased to be swollen (se disenflent,') all pain ceases. On her return the scabs which still covered the sore fell off, and the cure appeared complete. Her eyes also had been entirely cured , and the cure persists. Remarks.— lt is worthy of note that in many cases when rapid healing of sores took place, the process was accompained by severe pain just the reverse of what takes place in natural cure, which is always unaccompained by pain. • Another cure of cancer healed at the same pilgrimage is briefly noted in the following terms :—: —

11 Mme. Parent, of La Riviere (Donbs), declares herself to have been cured of a cancer in the left breast, which has been declared incurable."— XlV-153 .

Josephine Binvillon, born and living at Tramecourt, is 50 years old. She has been employed amongst the sick ever since the age of twenty, nursing first one and then another. At the age of twenty Josephine had gastritis which left behind aphtha in the mouth, in the throat, and even in the chest. These aphthse often obliged her to feed only on broth or other liquid foods, and caused her very painful feelings of suffocation. Twelve teeth had to be extracted to prevent caries of the jaw. Five years before coming to Lourdes she had been operated on for cancer of the right breast. A week after the operation v? rices veins) formed in the right leg. For nearly four years it appeared as if the operation for the cancer had been thoroughly successful, bat a new cancerous tumour formed about a year ago in the same spot, and Dr. Plangues. of Fruges (who had performed the first operation), thought another one was needful.

This announcement greatly alarmed the patient, and her alarms redoubled when she remarked that a second tumour was forming on the left side, with an increase of sharp pain. She did not dare say anything about this second tumour for fear of having to undergo two operations instead of one. Then she thought of going to Lourdes, and, with some difficulty as to expenßos, the journey was determined upon. As the hour of departure approached the pains increased, and during the journey they became most intense, The right arm, which had been much stiffened since the first operation, was almost paralysed. Plunged into the piscina* by Madame de Galametz, of Abbeville, on Sunday, August 21, 1881, about 10 a.m., she felt a slight relief to her sufferinga, but nothing indicated the least change in the disease. The following night she had a very painful attack, and was obliged to call in the assistance of the religious. On Monday, the 22nd, at 10 a.m., she was again plunged into the bath. On coming out, the principal tumour had diminished one half, the aphtha had completely disappeared, the right arm was free, and she felt nothing but slight pains, she said that she thought she was cured. On returning to the hospice, she ascertained that the leg which had been covered with varices was as clear as that of a child. A third time she was plunged into the bath, in the afternoon of Monday (about 4 p.m.), and as she came out she was persuaded that she was cured. All pain had ceased. She felt as it were a new life circulating within her, and ran to the grotto to thank Mary. The present state of the patient is as follows : On the right side there is a glaud the size of a pigeon's egg. This gland is insensible, and of the same colour as the rest of the flesh. The gland on the left side has almost entirely disappeared. The aphthae and the varices have completely disappeared. The motions of the arm are executed without hindrance, and she can carry heavy burdens. Sleep, which had disappeared for long years seems to wish to make up for lost time.

Remarks. — It would be interesting to know the future history of this case. I cannot quite understand what is meant by aphtha (ophites). Aphthae in English medicine means those inflammations ot the mouth, generally occurring in infants, which are accompanied by a white fur, consisting largely of the mycelium of a fungus. Varices are enlarged and dilated veins. Although the cure of °the cancers cannot be said to be complete so long as any portion of the tumour remains, yet the removal of the varices at the second bath, and the cure of the aphthae was clearly supernatural. We may suppose that the cancerous tumours (for such they evidently were) were reduced to an inactive and harmless condition, perhaps by some process of absorption and degeneration. — XIV-183.

Epitheliomatous cancer of the lower lip. — Jeanne Goigniet, widow Fromond, aged 39 j ears ; resides at St. Sebastien-lez-Nantes (Loire Inferieure). Her father had suffered from cancer. The disease had eaten away both lips, a part of the neck, the whole of one cheek, and laid bare the tongue. Food had to be injected through the tbroat. He died of cancer and of hunger.

Thirteen yeaTs ago a small painful swelling appeared on the lower lip of Jeanne, Justin the place where her father's cancer had first shown ittelf. She said mournfully, " t shall die like my father." Tbey tried to console her, but the disease made such rapid progress that an operation was thought necessary. It succeeded — at least thijby thought so* But in June, 1881, the disease reappeared and fixed itself on the right of the lip already operated on. A large lump of black scab occupied all the lip. 'Ihe patient could only take liquids, and even these with trouble, for she experienced continually sharp pains which the least pressure rendered intolerable. M. le Dr. Malherbe fils, M le. Dr. Az, operator at the Hotel Dieu cauteiised without any success, and declared that a second operation would be necessary. Dr. O'Neill delivered the following certificate : " I, the undei signed, V. O'Neill, Doctor of Medicine, certify that Jeanne Coigniet, Widow Fromond, suffering from cancer of the lower lip, is a proper case for admission to the hospital. •' Nantes, 23rd June, 1881. Da. O'Neill." She determined to try Lourdes, and accompanied the Nantes pilgrimage, 6th and Bth September, 1881. The account of her cure is remarkably brief. I translate it literally. Having entered the piscina along with her sister and two The piscina is the bath containing the water from the miraculous spring.

other persons, " she washed the chest, the head,and, above all, the lips and the mouth; she even swallows a part of the water. She fel t shoot* ing pains in the diseased part, as if some one were tearing out her lip. All at onse the crust or scab (croute) which covered up the disease fell. •Ii am cured I ' cried Jeanae, immediately. They look ; every trace of the disease ha 3 disappeared ; thare U no more pain, and the lip moves freely without the slightest hindrance. It even appeared so light; to Jeanne that from time to time she put her hand and tongue to it to assure herself that it is really there." In a proe&t verbal made before witnesses at Lourde3 after the cure, Dr. Juon proved undeniably that there was nothing in the lower lip to show that she had ever been suffering from cancer. The doctor at the Hotel Dieu, acknowledged before her, before her sister, and b efore four operators (?), his assistants that she was perfectly cured, and testified his satisfaction at it. But he refused tc give a certificate. On the 10th. of October, they wrote from Nantes, " the health of our patient is perfect. Her lip is always rosy as that of a child. She attends to all her affairs with ease."

Remarks.— The fact that Dr. Malherbe fiU refund a certificate is not to be attributed to any prejudice against religion, but may have been caused by a very mtural and professional objection to seeing his name advertised in print. Medical Etiquette in France is extremely rigorous. Of course as to Che miraculous natnre of the case these can be no question. It remains to be seen whether it will be permanent.— Xll-45. Cancer. — A case is narrated in the correspondence of the Semaine religieuse de Bennes, quoted as above, of a woman from Me iliac, who had been for twelve years suffering from two cancerous glands with hctmorrhage and suppuration. She plunged into the piscina and was instantaneously and radically cured. The scars, still a little red, but dry (jseehes*) and closed ; not the least pain, perfect freedom in her position and movements, though before she could not touch her shoulders with her hands.

Remarks.— lt is to be regretted that this case is not given with mote detail, and supported by certificates. It would unquestionably be a case of miracnlous cure, if it happened as described. — IX-252. Cancer of the Breast, cured July Ist, 2nd, and 3rd, 1874.— Sister Marie Bernardine, fille de la sagesse of the Hoßpice at Niort, had suffered very severely for four years from a cancerous swelling in the left breast. Obedience only had been able to overcome the repugnance of the patient to the successive examination of four physicians of the establishment at several months of interval.

Bach of these had declared the operation (for removal ?) impossible, because the patient was too weak, and there was adhesion (of the tumour to the wall of the chest.) The swelling which attained the size of an eeg, was also connected with one of smaller volume in tbe arm pit, by an extremely sensitive cord of t'ae thickness of half one's finger. (This was the usual glandular enlargement connected by a bundle of thickened lymphatic vessels. — Ed.) The necessary examinations appear to have distressed the Sister more than the pain, and she prayed to be delivered, not from her sufferings, but from a disease which forced her to submit to such examinations.

She went at last to Lourdes, and on the day of her departure she prayed fervently to the Blessed Virgin that she might be delivered from a disease which exposed her to such humiliating examinations. " Leave me the pain," was her prayer; " I accept it, but deliver me from this tumour."

No change in the tumour took place at Lourdes, but when she left, she applied a compress dipped in the water over the breast. That night she slept perfectly in the railway carriage. Until then she had not been able to close her eyes. On the evening of her arrival at Niort, feeling herself sleepy, she asked permission of the Superior to go and rest. The Sister Infiratian was in the dormitory at the moment she entered, and asked how she was ? " I do not know, she replied, come and see." The compress applied at Lourdes was taken off, and to the astonishment of the two Sisters the disease had disappeared ; there was no trace of tumour nor of the cord.

This cure took place on the 3rd of July, 1874. and from that time to November 14, 1876, that is for nearly two years and a half, Sister Marie Bernardiae has not felt the slightest pain in the left breast, not the least trace of her old malady has shown itself. The mother Superior, the Sister of the Pharmacy, and forty other Sisters lire witnesses of this fact, and can arfirm that the cure of Sr. Marie Bernadine is complete and permanent. Remarks. — Whether this were a true cancer or merely a fibrous or cystic tumour, the cure is equally extraordinary and absolutely inexplicable, except as a miracle. No tumours of the size will disappear in a few hours by any known application or combination of remedies.— V.-128.

Epithetial Cancer of Face. — M. Bigot aged 80 had been suffering for 8 months from a little swelling in the face which formed an open sore, discharging bio >d and matter. The physician declared that it \r&B a cancer, tbat there was no other remedy except an operation, which could not be attempted at his age. The only remedy applied •vvas Lourdes water ; during its use during the month of May, the disease diminished from day to day, and at last disappeared entirely. The doctor certified to this cure.

London, Dec. 29. — The Daily elegraph has a long leader oi the Nicaragua canal. In the course of it the writer says :—": — " The question arises whether Englishmen would support their Government in clinging to the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty with a view to preventing the United States from undertaking a work which would be of untold advantage to mankind at large. It must not be forgotten that the American Government have recently waived their objections to the infringement by France of the Monroe doctrine, and have wisely interposed no obstacles to the commencement of the Panama canal by M. de Lesseps. Be the policy of our foreign office what it may, and whatever may be the government installed in Downing Street, there can hardly be two opinions as to the advisability of England seeking peace and harmony with the United States in preference to any other power."