 Section 7 of Lourdes. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please contact LibriVox.org. Lourdes by Emile Zola. Translated by Ernest Visitelli. The second day. 2. Hospital and Grotto. Built so far as it extends by a charitable canon and left unfinished through lack of money, the Hospital of Our Lady of Delour is a vast pile, four stories high, and consequently far too lofty, since it is difficult to carry the sufferers to the topmost wards. As a rule the building is occupied by a hundred infirm and aged paupers. But at the season of the national pilgrimage these old folks are for three days sheltered elsewhere, and the hospital is led to the fathers of the Assumption, who at times lodge in it as many as five and six hundred patients. Still, however closely packed they may be, the accommodation never suffices, so that the three or four hundred remaining sufferers have to be distributed between the Hospital of Salvation and the Town Hospital, the men being sent to the former and the women to the latter institution. That morning at sunrise great confusion prevailed in the sand-covered courtyard of Our Lady of Delour, at the door of which a couple of priests were mounting guard. The temporary staff, with its formidable supply of registers, cards, and printed formulas, had installed itself in one of the ground floor rooms on the previous day. The managers were desirous of greatly improving upon the organisation of the preceding year. The low awards were this time to be reserved to the most helpless sufferers, and in order to prevent a repetition of the cases of mistaken identity which had occurred in the past, very great care was to be taken in filling in and distributing the admission cards, each of which bore the name of a ward and the number of a bed. It became difficult, however, to act in accordance with these good intentions in presence of the torrent of ailing beings which the white train had brought to Lourdes, and the new formalities so complicated matters that the patients had to be deposited in the courtyard as they arrived, to wait there until it became possible to admit them in something like an orderly manner. It was the unpacking of the station over again, the same woeful camping in the open, whilst the bearers and the young seminarists who acted as the secretary's assistants ran hither and thither in bewilderment. We have been overambitious, we wanted to do things too well, exclaimed Baron Swir in despair. There was much truth in his remark, for never had a greater number of useless precautions been taken, and they now discovered that, by some inexplicable error, they had allotted not the lower but the higher placed wards to the patients whom it was most difficult to move. It was impossible to begin the classification afresh, however, and so, as in former years, things must be allowed to take their course in a haphazard way. The distribution of the cards began, a young priest at the same time entering each patient's name and address in a register. Moreover, all the hospitalization cards bearing the patient's names and numbers had to be produced so that the names of the wards and the numbers of the beds might be added to them, and all these formalities greatly protracted the défile. Then there was the endless coming and going from the top to the bottom of the building, and from one to the other end of each of its four floors. Monsieur Sabatier was one of the first to secure admittance being placed in a ground floor room which was known as the Family Ward. Sick men were there, allowed to have their wives with them, but to the other wards of the hospital only women were admitted. Brother Isidor, it is true, was accompanied by his sister, however, by a special favour it was agreed that they should be considered as conjoints, and the missionary was accordingly placed in the bed next to that allotted to Monsieur Sabatier. The chapel, still littered with plaster and with its unfinished windows boarded up, was close at hand. There were also various wards in an unfinished state. Still these were filled with mattresses on which sufferers were rapidly placed. All those who could walk, however, were already besieging the refectory, a long gallery whose broad windows looked into an inner courtyard. And the self-racisters who managed the hospital at other times, and had remained to attend to the cooking, began to distribute bowls of coffee and chocolate among the poor women whom the terrible journey had exhausted. Rest yourselves and try to gain a little strength, repeated Baron Suir, who was ever on the move, showing himself here, there and everywhere in rapid succession. You have three good hours before you, it is not yet five, and their reverences have given orders that you are not to be taken to the grotto until eight o'clock, so as to avoid any excessive fatigue. Meanwhile, up above on the second floor, Mme de Jean-Cierre had been one of the first to take possession of the Saint-Honorien ward, of which she was the superintendent. She had been obliged to leave her daughter Raymond downstairs, for the regulations did not allow young girls to enter the wards, where they might have witnessed sights that were scarcely proper or else far too horrible for such eyes as theirs. Raymond had therefore remained in the refectory as a helper, but little Mme de Saint-Honorien, in her capacity as a lady-hospitaler, had not left the superintendent, and was already asking her for orders in her delight that she should at last be able to render some assistance. Are all these beds properly made, Mme, she inquired? Perhaps I had better make them afresh with Sister Ier Saint. The ward, whose walls were painted a light yellow and whose few windows admitted but little light from an inner yard, contained fifteen beds standing in two rows against the walls. We will see by and by, replied Mme de Jean-Cierre with an absorbed air. She was busy counting the beds and examining the long narrow apartment, and this accomplished she added in an undertone, I shall never have room enough. They say that I must accommodate twenty-three patients. We shall have to put some mattresses down. Sister Ier Saint, who had followed the ladies after leaving Sister Saint-François and Sister Clair-des-Anges in a small adjoining apartment which was being transformed into a linen room, then began to lift up the covelets and examine the bedding. And she promptly reassured Mme de Saint-François with regard to her surmises. Oh, the beds are properly made, she said. Everything is very clean, too. One can see that the Saint-François sisters have attended to things themselves. The reserved mattresses are in the next room, however, and if Mme will lend me a hand we can place some of them between the beds at once. Oh, certainly exclaimed young Mme de Saint-François, quite excited by the idea of carrying mattresses with her weak slender arms. It became necessary for Mme de Jean-Claire to calm her. By and by, said the Lady Superintendent, there is no hurry. Let us wait till our patients arrive. I don't much like this ward, it is so difficult to air. Last year I had the Saint-Rosalie ward on the first floor. However, we will organise matters all the same. Some other lady-hospitalers were now arriving, quite a hive full of busy bees, all eager to start on their work. The confusion which so often arose was, in fact, increased by the excessive number of nurses, women of the aristocracy and upper middle class, with whose fervent zeal some little vanity was blended. There were more than two hundred of them, and as each had to make a donation on joining the hospitality of Our Lady of Salvation, the managers did not dare to refuse any applicants for fear lest they might check the flow of almsgiving. Thus the number of the lady-hospitalers increased year by year. Fortunately, there were some among them who cared for nothing beyond the privilege of wearing the red cloth cross, and who started off on excursions as soon as they reached Lord. Still, it must be acknowledged that those who devoted themselves were really deserving, for they underwent five days of awful fatigue, sleeping scarcely a couple of hours each night and living in the midst of the most terrible spectacles. They witnessed the death agonies, dressed the pestilential sores, cleaned up, changed linen, turned to the sufferers over in their beds, went through a sickening and overwhelming labour to which they were in no wise accustomed. And thus they emerged from it aching all over, tired to death, with feverish eyes flaming with the joy of the charity which so excited them. And Madame Volmar, suddenly asked Madame Designeaux, I thought we should find her here. This was apparently a subject which Madame Designeaux did not care to have discussed, for as though she were aware of the truth and wished to bear it in silence, with the indulgence of a woman who compassionates human wretchedness, she promptly retorted, Madame Volmar isn't strong, she must have gone to the hotel to rest. We must let her sleep. Then she apportioned the beds among the ladies present, allotting two to each of them, and this done they all finished taking possession of the place, hastening up and down and backwards and forwards in order to ascertain where the officers, the linen room and the kitchens were situated. And the dispensary then asked one of the ladies, but there was no dispensary, there was no medical staff even. What would have been the use of any since the patients were those whom science had given up, despairing creatures who had come to beg of God the cure which powerless men were unable to promise them. Logically enough, all treatment was suspended during the pilgrimage. If a patient seemed likely to die, extreme unction was administered. The only medical man about the place was the young doctor who had come by the white train with his little medicine chest. And his intervention was limited to an endeavour to assuage the sufferings of those patients who chanced to ask for him during an attack. As it happened, sister Yia Saint was just bringing Ferrand, whom sister Saint-François had kept with her in a closet near the linen room which he proposed to make his quarters. Madame, said he to Madame de Jean-Chière, I am entirely at your disposal. In case of need, you will only have to ring for me. She barely listened to him, however, engaged as she was in a quarrel with a young priest belonging to the management with reference to a deficiency of certain utensils. Certainly, monsieur, if we should need a soothing draft, she answered, and then, reverting to her discussion, she went on, well, monsieur, labis, you must certainly get me four or five more. How can we possibly manage with so few? Things are bad enough as it is. Ferrand looked and listened, quite bewildered by the extraordinary behaviour of the people amongst whom he had been thrown by chance since the previous day. He who did not believe, who was only present out of friendship and charity, was amazed at this extraordinary scramble of wretchedness and suffering rushing towards the hope of happiness. And as a medical man of the new school, he was altogether upset by the careless neglect of precautions, the contempt which was shown for the most simple teachings of science, in the certainty which was apparently felt that if heaven should so will it, cure would supervene, sudden and resounding like a lie given to the very laws of nature. But if this were the case, what was the use of that last concession to human prejudices, why engage a doctor for the journey if none were wanted? At this thought, the young man returned to his little room, experiencing a vague feeling of shame as he realised what he had done to us. Get some opium pills ready, all the same said Sister Ea Sainth as she went back with him as far as the linen room. You will be asked for some, for I feel anxious about some of the patients. While speaking, she looked at him with her large blue eyes, so gentle and so kind, and ever lighted by a divine smile. The constant exercise which she gave herself brought the rosy flush of her quick blood to her skin all dazzling with youthfulness. And like a good friend who was willing to share the work to which she gave her heart, she added, besides, if I should need somebody to get a patient in or out of bed, you will help me, won't you? Thereupon, at the idea that he might be of use to her, he was pleased that he had come and was there. In his mind's eye, he again beheld her at his bedside, at the time when he had so narrowly escaped death, nursing him with fraternal hands, with the smiling, compassionate grace of a sexless angel, in whom there was something more than a comrade, nothing of a woman left. However, the thought never occurred to him that there was religion, belief behind her. Oh, I will help you as much as you like, sister, he replied. I belong to you, I shall be so happy to serve you. You know very well what a debt of gratitude I have to pay you. In a pretty way she raised her finger to her lips so as to silence him. Nobody owed her anything. She was merely the servant of the ailing and the poor. At this moment, a first patient was making her entry into the St. Honoreen Ward. It was Marie lying in her wooden box, which Pierre with Gérald's assistance had just brought upstairs. The last to start from the railway station she had secured admission before the others thanks to the endless complications which after keeping them all in suspense now freed them according to the chance distribution of the admission cards. Monsieur de Gelsin had quitted his daughter at the hospital door by her own desire. For fearing that the hotels would be very full, she had wished him to secure two rooms for himself and Pierre at once. Then, on reaching the ward, she felt so weary that after venting her chagrin at not being immediately taken to the grotto, she consented to be laid on a bed for a short time. Come, my child, repeated Madame de Jean-Chière, you have three hours before you. We will put you to bed. It will ease you to take you out of that case. Thereupon, the Lady Superintendent raised her by the shoulders, whilst Pierre Saint held her feet. The bed was in the central part of the ward, near a window. For a moment the poor girl remained on it with her eyes closed as though exhausted by being moved about so much. Then it became necessary that Pierre should be re-admitted for she grew very fidgety saying that there were things which she must explain to him. Pray don't go away, my friend, she exclaimed when he approached her. Take the case out onto the landing, but stay there because I want to be taken down as soon as I can get permission. Do you feel more comfortable now, asked the young priest? Yes, no doubt, but I really don't know. I so much want to be taken yonder to the Blessed Virgin's feet. However when Pierre had removed the case the successive arrivals of the other patients supplied her with some little diversion. Madame Vitu, whom two bearers had brought upstairs holding her under the arms, was laid fully dressed on the next bed where she remained motionless, scarcely breathing with her heavy, yellow, cancerous mask. None of the patients it should be mentioned were divested of their clothes they were simply stretched out on the beds and advised to go to sleep if they could manage to do so. Those whose complaints were less grievous contented themselves with sitting down on their mattresses chatting together and putting the things they had brought with them in order. For instance, Elise Rouquet, who was also near Marie on the other side of the latter's bed, opened her basket to take a clean fissue out of it and seemed sorely annoyed at having no hand-glass with her. In less than ten minutes all the beds were occupied so that when La Grivote appeared half-carried by Sister Yiya Sanz and Sister Claire Desange it became necessary to place some mattresses on the floor. Here, here is one, exclaimed Madame Desagneau she will be very well here out of the draft from the door. Seven other mattresses were soon added in a line occupying the space between the rows of beds so that it became difficult to move about. One had to be very careful and follow narrow pathways which had been left between the beds and the mattresses. Each of the patients had retained possession of her parcel or box or bag and round about the improvised shakedowns were piles of poor old things sorry remnants of garments straying among the sheets and the covelets. You might have thought yourself in some woeful ambulance hastily organised after some great catastrophe some conflagration or earthquake which had thrown hundreds of wounded and penniless beings into the streets. Madame de Genquière made her way from one to the other end of the ward ever and ever repeating come my children, don't excite yourselves try to sleep a little. However she did not succeed in calming them and indeed she herself like the other lady hospitalers under her orders increased the general fever by her own bewilderment. The linen of several patients had to be changed and there were other needs to be attended to. One woman suffering from an ulcer in the leg began moaning so dreadfully that Madame designeaux undertook to dress her sore afresh but she was not skillful and despite all her passionate courage she almost fainted so greatly was she distressed by the unbearable odor. Those patients who were in better health asked for broth bowls full of which began to circulate amidst the calls, the answers and the contradictory orders which nobody executed. And meanwhile let loose amidst this frightful scramble little Sophie Couto who remained with the sisters and was very gay imagined that it was playtime and ran and jumped and hopped in turn crawled and petted first by one and then by another, dear as she was to all alike for the miraculous hope which she brought them. However amidst this agitation the hours went by seven o'clock had just struck when Abbey Juden came in he was the chaplain of the Saint Honorine Ward and only the difficulty of finding an unoccupied altar at which he might say his mass had delayed his arrival. As soon as he appeared a cry of impatience arose from every bed Oh Monsieur Le Curé let us start let us start at once. An ardent desire which each passing minute heightened and irritated was up-boying them like a more and more devouring thirst which only the waters of the miraculous fountain could appease. And more fervently than any of the others La Grivotte sitting up on her mattress with her hands begged and begged that she might be taken to the Grotto. Was there not a beginning of the miracle in this? In this awakening of her willpower this feverish desire for cure which enabled her to set herself erect. In note and feinting on her arrival she was now seated turning her dark glances in all directions waiting and watching for the happy moment when she would be removed and color was also returning to her livid face she was already resuscitating Oh Monsieur Le Curé pray do tell them to take me I feel that I shall be cured she exclaimed With a loving fatherly smile on his good-natured face Abbe Juden listened to them all and allayed their impatience with kind words They would soon set out but they must be reasonable and allow sufficient time for things to be organized and besides the Blessed Virgin did not like to have violence done her she bided her time and distributed her divine favors among those who behaved themselves the best As he paused before Marie's bed and beheld her stammering in treaties with joined hands he again paused and you too my daughter you are in a hurry he said be easy there is grace enough in heaven for you all I am dying of love father she murmured in reply my heart is so swollen with prayers it stifles me he was greatly touched by the passion of this poor emaciated child she was largely stricken in her youth and beauty and wishing to appease her he called her attention to Madame Vetu who did not move though with her eyes wide open she stared at all who passed look at Madame how quiet she is he said she is meditating and she does right to place herself in God's hands like a little child however in a scarcely audible voice a mere breath Madame Vetu stammered oh I am suffering I am suffering she asked at a quarter to eight o'clock Madame de Jean-Claire warned her charges that they would do well to prepare themselves she herself assisted by Sister Ier Saint and Madame des Agneaux buttoned several dresses and put shoes on impotent feet it was a real toilette for they all desired to appear to the greatest advantage before the Blessed Virgin a large number had sufficient sense of delicacy to wash their hands others unpacked their parcels and put on clean linen on her side this ruquet had ended by discovering a little pocket-glass in the hands of a woman near her a huge dropsicle creature who was very coquettish and having borrowed it she lent it against the bolster and then with infinite care began to fasten her fichu as elegantly as possible about her head in order to hide her distorted features meanwhile erect in front of her little Sophie watched her with an air of profound interest it was Abe Juden who gave the signal for starting on the journey to the grotto he wished, he said, to accompany his dear suffering daughters dither whilst the Lady Hospitallis and the sisters remained in the ward so as to put things in some little order again then the ward was at once emptied the patients being carried downstairs amidst renewed tumult and Pierre having replaced Marie's box upon its wheels took the first place in the coltage which was formed of a score of little hand carts bath chairs and litters the other wards however were also emptying the courtyard became crowded and the défilé was organised in haphazard fashion there was soon an interminable train descending the rather steep slope of the avenue de la grotte so that Pierre was already reaching the plateau de la merlass when the last stretches were barely leaving the precincts of the hospital it was eight o'clock and the sun already high a triumphant August sun was flaming in the great sky which was beautifully clear it seemed as if the blue of the atmosphere cleansed by the storm of the previous night were quite new, fresh with youth and the frightful défilé a perfect cour de miracle of human wo rolled along the sloping pavement amid all the brilliancy of that radiant morning there was no end to the train of abominations it appeared to grow longer and longer no order was observed ailments of all kinds were jumbled together it seemed like the clearing of some inferno where the most monstrous maladies the rare and awful cases which provoked a shudder had been gathered together eczema, roseola, elephantiasis presented a long array of doleful victims well nigh vanished diseases reappeared one old woman was affected with leprosy another was covered with impetidgenous lichen like a tree which has rotted in the shade then came the dropsicle ones inflated like wine skins and beside some stretches dangled hands twisted by rheumatism while from others protruded feet swollen by edema beyond all recognition looking in fact like men stuffed full of rags one woman suffering from hydrocephalus sat in a little cart the dolerous motions of her head bespeaking her grievous malady a tall girl afflicted with career Saint Vitus's dance was dancing with every limb without a pause the left side of her face being continually distorted by sudden convulsive grimaces a younger one who followed gave vent to a bark a kind of plaintive animal cry each time that the tick-dool were which was torturing her twisted her mouth and her right cheek which she seemed to throw forward next came the consumptives trembling with fever exhausted by dysentery wasted to skeletons with livid skins recalling the colour of that earth in which they would soon be laid to rest and there was one among them who was quite white with flaming eyes who looked indeed like a death's head in which a torch had been lighted then every deformity of the contractions followed in succession twisted trunks, twisted arms necks askew all the distortions of poor creatures whom nature had warped and broken and among these was one whose right hand was thrust back behind her ribs whilst her head fell to the left resting fixedly upon her shoulder afterwards came some poor ricketic girls displaying waxen complexions and slender necks eaten away by sores and yellow-faced women in the painful stupor which falls on those whose bosoms are devoured by cancers whilst others lying down with their mournful eyes gazing heavenwards seemed to be listening to the throbs of the tumours which obstructed their organs and still more and more went by there was always something more frightful to come this woman following that other one increased the general shudder of horror from the neck of a girl of twenty who had a crushed flattened head like a toad's they hung so huge a goiter that it fell even to her waist like the bib of an apron a blind woman walked along her head erect her face pale like marble displaying the acute inflammation of her poor ulcerated eyes an aged woman stricken with imbecility afflicted with dreadful facial disfigurements laughed aloud with a terrifying laugh and all at once an epileptic was seized with convulsions and began foaming on her stretcher without however causing any stoppage of the procession which never slackened its march lashed onward as it were by the blizzard of feverish passion impelled it towards the grotto the bearers, the priests and the ailing ones themselves had just intonated a canticle the song of Bernadette and all rolled along amid the besetting aves so that the little carts, the litters and the pedestrians descended to the sloping road like a swollen and overflowing torrent of roaring water at the corner of the rue Saint-Joseph near the Plateau de la Merlase a family of excursionists who had come from Côteray stood at the edge of the footway overcome with profound astonishment these people were evidently well to do bourgeois the father and the mother very correct in appearance and demeanour while their two big girls attired in light coloured dresses had the smiling faces of happy creatures who were amusing themselves but their first feeling of surprise was soon followed by terror a growing terror as if they here beheld the opening of some hospital of the legendary ages evacuated after a great epidemic the two girls at last became quite pale while the father and the mother felt icy cold in presence of that endless défilé of so many horrors the pestilential emanations of which were blown full in their faces oh God to think that such hideousness such filth, such suffering should exist was it possible under that magnificently radiant sun so full of light and joy wither the freshness of the garve's waters ascended and the breeze of morning wafted the pure perfumes of the mountains when Pierre at the head of the cortège reached the plateau de la mer las he found himself immersed in that clear sunlight that fresh and barmy air he turned round and smiled affectionately at Marie and as they came out on the Place du Rosel in the morning splendour they were both enchanted with the lovely panorama which spread around them in front on the east was Orde Lourde lying in a broad fold of the ground beyond a rock the sun was rising behind the distant mountains and its oblique rays clearly outlined the dark lilac mass of that solitary rock which was crowned by the tower and crumbling walls of the ancient castle once the redoubtable key of the seven valleys through the dancing golden dust you discerned little of the ruined pile except some stately outlines some huge blocks of building which looked as though reared by cyclopean hands and beyond the rock you but vaguely distinguished the discoloured intermingled house roofs of the old town nearer in than the castle however the new town the rich and noisy city which had sprung up in a few years as though by miracle spread out on either hand displaying its hotels, its stylish shops its lodging houses all with snow white fronts smiling amidst patches of greenery then there was the garve flowing along at the base of the rock rolling clamorous clear waters now blue and now green now deep as they passed under the old bridge and now leaping as they careered under the new one which the fathers of the immaculate conception had built in order to connect the grotto with the railway station and the recently opened boulevard and as a background to this delightful picture this fresh water this greenery this gay scattered rejuvenated town the little and the big geros the big geros arose two huge ridges of bear rock and low herbage which in the projected shade that bathed them assumed delicate tints of pale mauve and green fading softly into pink then upon the north on the right bank of the garve beyond the hills followed by the railway line the heights of Le Buala ascended their wooded slopes radiant in the morning light on that side lay Bartres more to the left arose the cell dominated by the Miramon other crests far off faded away into the aether and in the foreground rising in tears among the grassy valleys beyond the garve a number of convents which seemed to have sprung up in this region of prodigies like early vegetation imparted some measure of life to the landscape first there was an orphan asylum founded by the sisters of Nevelle whose vast buildings shone brightly in the sunlight next came the Carmelite Convent on the highway to Poe just in front of the Grotto and then that of the Assumptionists higher up skirting the road to Puy-Ferré whilst the Dominicans showed but a corner of their roofs sequestered in the far away solitude and at last appeared the establishment of the sisters of the immaculate conception those who were called the blue sisters and who had founded at the far end of the valley a home where they received well-to-do lady pilgrims desirous of solitude as borders at that early hour all the bells of these convents were peeling joyfully in the crystalline atmosphere whilst the bells of other convents on the other, the southern horizon answered them with the same silvery strains of joy the bell of the nunnery of St Clarissa near the old bridge rang a scale of gay clear notes which one might have fancied to be the chirping of a bird and on this side of the town also there were valleys that dipped down between the ridges and mountains that upreared their bare sides a commingling of smiling and a vegetated nature an endless surging of heights amongst which you noticed those of Visin whose slopes the sunlight tinged ornately with soft blue and carmine of a rippling moiré-like effect however when Marie and Pierre turned their eyes to the west they were quite dazzled the sun rays were here streaming on the large and the little B.U. with their cupolas of unequal height and on this side the background was one of golden purple a dazzling mountain on whose sides one could only discern the road which snaked between the trees on its way to the calvary above and here too against the sunlit background radiant like an oriola stood out the three superposed churches which at the voice of Bernadette had sprung from the rock to the glory of the Blessed Virgin first of all down below came the church of the rosary squat, circular and half cut out of the rock at the further end of an esplanade on either side of which, like two huge arms were colossal gradient ways ascending gently to the crypt church fast labour had been expended here a quarry full of stones had been cut and set in positions there were archers as lofty as naives supporting the gigantic terrorist avenues which had been constructed so as to allow the processions to roll along in all their pomp and the little conveyances containing sick children to ascend without hindrance to the divine presence then came the crypt, the subterranean church within the rock with only its low door visible above the church of the rosary whose paved roof with its vast promenade formed a continuation of the terrorist inclines and at last from the summit sprang the basilica somewhat slender and frail recalling some finely chased jewel of the Renaissance and looking very new and very white like a prayer a spotless dove soaring aloft from the rocks of Massabielle the spire which appeared the more delicate and slight when compared with the gigantic inclines below seemed like the little vertical flame of a taper set in the midst of the vast landscape those endless waves of valleys and mountains by the side too of the dense greenery of the calvary hill it looked fragile and candid like childish faith and on sight of it you instinctively thought of the little white arm the little thin hand of the puny girl who had here pointed to heaven in the crisis of her human sufferings you could not see the grotto the entrance of which was on the left at the base of the rock beyond the basilica the only buildings which caught the eye were the heavy square pile where the fathers of the immaculate conception had their abode and the Episcopal palace standing much further away in a spreading wooded valley and the three churches were flaming in the morning glow and the rain of gold scattered by the sun rays was sweeping the whole countryside whilst the flying peels of the bells seemed to be the very vibration of the light the musical awakening of the lovely day that was now beginning whilst crossing the Place du Rosaire Pierre and Marie glanced at the esplanade the public walk with its long central lawn skirted by broad parallel paths and extending as far as the new bridge here with face turned towards the basilica was the great crowned statue of the virgin all the sufferers crossed themselves as they went by and still passionately chanting its canticle the fearful cortège rolled on through nature in festive array under the dazzling sky passed the mountains of golden purple amidst the centenarian trees symbolical of health the running waters whose freshness was eternal that cortège still and ever marched on with its sufferers whom nature if not God had condemned those who were afflicted with skin diseases those whose flesh was eaten away those who were dropsicle and inflated like wineskins and those whom rheumatism and paralysis had twisted into postures of agony and the victims of hydrocephalus followed with the dancers of Saint Vitus the consumptives, the rickety, the epileptics the cancerists, the goitres, the blind the mad and the idiotic Ave, Ave, Ave Maria they sang and the stubborn plaint acquired increased volume as nearer and nearer to the grotto it bore that abominable torrent of human wretchedness and pain and all the fright and horror of the passers-by who stopped short, unable to stir their hearts frozen as this nightmare swept before their eyes Pierre and Marie were the first to pass under the lofty arcade of one of the terraced inclines and then, as they followed the key of the garve they all at once came upon the grotto and Marie, whom Pierre wheeled as near to the railing as possible was only able to raise herself in her little conveyance and murmur almost blessed virgin, virgin most loved she had seen neither the entrances to the piscinas nor the twelve piped fountain which she had just passed nor did she distinguish any better the shop on her left hand where crucifixes chaplets, statuettes, pictures and other religious articles were sold all the stone pulpit on her right which Father Marcias already occupied her eyes were dazzled by the splendor of the grotto it seemed to her as if a hundred thousand tapers were burning there behind the railing filling the low entrance with the glow of a furnace and illuminating, as with star rays, the statue of the virgin which stood higher up at the edge of a narrow, orgy-like cavity and for her apart from that glorious apparition nothing existed there neither the crutches with which a part of the vault had been covered nor the piles of bouquets fading away amidst the ivy and the eglentine nor even the altar placed in the centre of a portable organ over which a cover had been thrown however as she raised her eyes above the rock she once more beheld the slender white basilica profiled against the sky its slight tapering spire soaring into the asia of the infinite like a prayer oh virgin most powerful queen of the virgins holy virgin of virgins Pierre had now succeeded in wheeling Marie's box to the front rank beyond the numerous oak benches which were set out here in the open areas in the navel of a church nearly all these benches were already occupied by those sufferers who could sit down while the vacant spaces were soon filled with litters and little vehicles whose wheels became entangled together and on whose close packed mattresses and pillows all sorts of diseases were gathered pal-mel immediately on arriving the young priest had recognised the vignerons seated with their sorry child Gustave in the middle of a bench and now on the flagstones he caught sight of the lace-trimmed of madame du lafay beside whom her husband and sister knelt in prayer moreover all the patients of madame de jonquière's carriage took up position here monsieur sabatier and brother Isidore side by side madame vitu reclining hopelessly in a conveyance Elie's rouquet seated la grivote excited and raising herself on her clenched hands Pierre also again perceived madame mas standing somewhat apart from the others and humbling herself in prayer whilst madame vincent who had fallen on her knees still holding her little rose in her arms presented the child to the virgin with ardent entreaty the distracted gesture of a mother soliciting compassion from the mother of divine grace and around this reserved space was the ever-growing throng of pilgrims the pressing jostling mob which gradually stretched to the parapet overlooking the garve oh virgin most merciful continued Marie in an undertone virgin most faithful virgin conceived without sin then almost fainting she spoke no more but with her lips still moving as though in silent prayer gazed distractedly at Pierre he thought that she wished to speak to him and lent forward shall I remain here at your disposal to take you to the piscina by and by he asked but as soon as she understood him she shook her head to be bathed this morning it seems to me that one must be truly worthy truly pure truly holy before seeking a miracle I want to spend the whole morning in imploring it with joined hands I want to pray to pray with all my strength and all my soul she was stifling and paused then she added don't come to take me back to the hospital till eleven o'clock I will not let them take me from here till then however Pierre did not go away he remained near her for a moment he even fell upon his knees he also would have liked to pray with the same burning faith to beg of God the cure of that poor sick child whom he loved with such fraternal affection but since he had reached the grotto he had felt a singular sensation invading him a covert revolt as it were which hampered the pious flight of his prayer he wished to believe he had spent the whole night hoping that belief would once more blossom in his soul like some lovely flower of ignorance and candor as soon as he should have knelt upon the soil of that land of miracle and yet he only experienced discomfort and anxiety in presence of the theatrical scene before him that pale stiff statue in the false light of the tapers with the chaplet shopful of jostling customers on the one hand and the large stone pulpit whence a father of the assumption was shouting aves on the other had his soul become utterly withered then could no divine dew again impregnated with innocence render it like the souls of little children who with the slightest caressing touch of the sacred legend give themselves to it entirely then while his thoughts were still wandering he recognized Father Masias in the Ecclesiastic who occupied the pulpit he had formally known him and was quite stirred by his somber ardour by the sight of his thin face and sparkling eyes by the eloquence which poured from his large mouth as he offered violence to heaven to compel it to descend upon earth and whilst he thus examined Father Masias astonished at feeling himself so unlike the preacher he caught sight of Father Falkard who at the foot of the pulpit was deep in conference with Baron Suir the latter seemed much perplexed by something which Father Falkard said to him however he ended by approving it with a complacent nod then as Abes Juden was also standing there Father Falkard likewise spoke to him for a moment and a scared expression came over the Abes broad fatherly face while he listened nevertheless like the Baron he had last bowed ascent then all at once Father Falkard appeared in the pulpit erect drawing up his lofty figure which his attack of God had slightly bent and he had not wished that Father Masias, his well-loved brother whom he preferred above all others should altogether go down the narrow stairway for he had kept him upon one of the steps and was leaning on his shoulder and in a full grave voice with an air of sovereign authority which caused perfect silence to reign around he spoke as follows my dear brethren my dear sisters I ask your forgiveness for interrupting your prayers but I have a communication to make to you and I have to ask the help of all your faithful souls we had a very sad accident to deploy this morning one of our brethren died in one of the trains by which you came to Lourdes died just as he was about to set foot in the promised land a brief pause followed and Father Falkard seemed to become yet taller his handsome face beaming with fervour amidst his long streaming royal beard well my dear brethren my dear sisters he resumed in spite of everything the idea has come to me that we ought not to despair who knows if God Almighty did not will that death in order that he might prove his omnipotence to the world it is as though a voice was speaking to me urging me to ascend this pulpit and ask your prayers for this man this man who is no more but whose life is nevertheless in the hands of the most blessed virgin who can still implore her divine son in his favour yes the man is here I have caused his body to be brought hither and it depends on you perhaps whether a brilliant miracle shall dazzle the universe if you pray with sufficient ardour to touch the compassion of heaven we will plunge the man's body into the we will entreat the lord the master of the world to resuscitate him to give unto us this extraordinary sign of his sovereign beneficence an icy thrill wafted from the invisible passed through the listeners they had all become pale and though the lips of none of them had opened it seemed as if a murmur spread through their ranks amidst a shudder but with what ardour must we not pray violently resumed father full card exalted by genuine faith it is your souls your whole souls that I ask of you my dear brothers my dear sisters it is a prayer in which you must put your hearts your blood your very life with whatever may be most noble and loving in it pray with all your strength pray till you no longer know who you are or where you are pray as one loves pray as one dies for that which we are about to ask is so precious so rare so astounding a grace that only the energy of our worship can induce God to answer us and in order that our prayers may be the more efficacious in order that they may have time to spread and ascend to the feet of the eternal father we will not lower the body into the piscina until four o'clock this afternoon and now my dear brethren now my dear sisters pray pray to the most blessed virgin the queen of the angels the comforter of the afflicted then he himself distracted by emotion resumed the recital of the rosary whilst near him father masias burst into sobs and there upon the great anxious silence was broken contagion seized upon the throng it was transported and gave vent to shouts tears and confused stammered in treaties it was as though a breath of delirium was sweeping by reducing men's wills to naught and turning all these beings into one being exasperated with love and seized with a mad desire for the impossible prodigy and for a moment Pierre had thought that the ground was giving way beneath him that he was about to fall and faint but with difficulty he managed to rise from his knees and slowly walked away end of section 7 section 8 of Lourdes this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Lourdes by Emile Zola translated by Ernest Visitelli the second day three Fountain and Piscina as Pierre went off ill at ease mastered by invincible repugnance unwilling to remain there any longer he caught sight of Monsieur de Garcin kneeling near the grotto with the absorbed air of one who was praying with his whole soul the young priest had not seen him since the morning and did not know whether he had managed to secure a couple of rooms in one or other of the hotels so that his first impulse was to go and join him then however he hesitated unwilling to disturb his meditations for he was doubtless praying for his daughter whom he fondly loved in spite of the constant absent mindedness of his volatile brain accordingly the young priest passed on and took his way under the trees nine o'clock was now striking he had a couple of hours before him by dint of money the wild bank where Swine had formerly pastured had been transformed into a superb avenue skirting the garve it had been necessary to put back the river's bed in order to gain ground and lay out a monumental key bordered by a broad footway and protected by a parapet some two or three hundred yards further on a hill brought the avenue to an end and it thus resembled an enclosed promenade provided with benches and shaded by magnificent trees nobody passed along however merely the overflow of the crowd had settled there and solitary spots still abounded between the grassy wall limiting the promenade on the south and the extensive fields spreading out northward beyond the garve as far as the wooded slopes which the white walled convents brightened under the foliage on the margin of the running water one could enjoy delightful freshness even during the burning days of August thus Pierre like a man at last awakening from a painful dream soon found rest of mind again he had questioned himself in the acute anxiety which he felt with regard to his sensations had he not reached lured that morning possessed by a genuine desire to believe an idea that he was indeed again beginning to believe even as he had done in the docile days of childhood when his mother had made him join his hands and taught him to fear God yet as soon as he had found himself at the grotto the idolatry of the worship the violence of the display of faith the onslaught upon human reason had so disturbed him that he had almost fainted what would become of him then could he not even try to contend against his doubts by examining things and convincing himself of their truth thus turning his journey to profit at all events he had made a bad beginning which left him sorely agitated and he indeed needed the environment of those fine trees that limpid rushing water that calm cool avenue to recover from the shock still pondering he was approaching the end of the pathway when he most unexpectedly had a forgotten friend he had for a few seconds been looking at a tall old gentleman who was coming towards him dressed in a tightly buttoned frock coat and broad brimmed hat and he had tried to remember where it was that he had previously beheld that pale face with eagle nose and black and penetrating eyes these he had seen before he felt sure of it but the promenade as long white beard and long curly white hair perplexed him however the other halted and he was looking extremely astonished though he promptly exclaimed what Pierre, is it you at Lourdes? then all at once the young priest recognized Dr. Chasseigne his father's old friend, his own friend the man who had cured and consoled him in the terrible physical and mental crisis which had come upon him after his mother's death oh my dear doctor how pleased I am to see you he replied they embraced with deep emotion but now in presence of that snowy hair and snowy beard that slow walk that sorrowful demeanour Pierre remembered with what unrelenting ferocity Miss Fortune had fallen on that unhappy man and aged him but a few years had gone by and now when they met again he was bowed down by destiny you did not know I suppose that I had remained at Lourdes said the doctor it's true that I no longer write to anybody in fact I am no longer among the living in the land of the dead tears were gathering in his eyes and emotion made his voice falter as he resumed there come and sit down on that bench yonder it will please me to live the old days afresh with you just for a moment in his turn the young priest felt his sobs choking him he could only murmur oh my dear doctor my old friend I can truly tell you that I pitied you with my whole heart my whole soul Madame Chasseigne's story was one of disaster the shipwreck of a life he and his daughter Marguerite a tall and lovable girl of 20 had gone to Couture with Madame Chasseigne the model wife and mother whose state of health had made them somewhat anxious a fortnight had gone by and she seemed much better and was already planning several pleasure trips when one morning she was found dead in her bed her husband and daughter were overwhelmed stupefied by this sudden blow of death the doctor who belonged to Barthres had a family vault in the Lourdes cemetery a vault constructed at his own expense and in which his father and mother already rested he desired therefore that his wife should be interred there in a compartment joining that in which he expected soon to lie himself and after the burial he had lingered for a week at Lourdes when Marguerite who was with him was seized with a great shivering and taking to her bed one evening and died two days afterwards without her distracted father being able to form any exact notion of the illness which had carried her off and thus it was not himself but his daughter, lately radiant with beauty and health in the very flower of her youth who was laid in the vacant compartment by the mother's side the man who had been so happy so worshipped by his two helpmates whose heart had been kept so warm by the love of two dear creatures all his own was now nothing more than the most miserable, stammering lost being who shivered in his icy solitude all the joy of his life had departed he envied the men who broke stones upon the highways when he saw their barefooted wives and daughters bring them their dinners at noontide and he had refused to leave Lourdes he had relinquished everything his studies, his practice in Paris in order that he might live near the tomb in which his wife and his daughter slept the eternal sleep ah, my old friend repeated Pierre, how I pitied you how frightful must have been your grief but why did you not rely a little on those who love you why did you shut yourself up here with your sorrow the doctor made a gesture which embraced the horizon I could not go away they are here and keep me with them it is all over I am merely waiting till my time comes to join them again then silence fell birds were fluttering among the shrubs on the bank behind them and in front they heard the loud murmur of the gav the sun rays were falling more heavily in the slow golden dust upon the hillsides but on that retired bench under the beautiful trees the coolness was still delightful and although the crowd was but a couple of hundred yards distant they were so to say in a desert for nobody tore himself away from the grotto to stray as far as the spot which they had chosen they talked together for a long time and Pierre related under what circumstances he had reached lured that morning with Monsieur de Gelsin and his daughter all three forming part of the national pilgrimage then all at once he gave a start of astonishment and exclaimed what doctor so you now believe that miracles are possible you good heavens whom I knew as an unbeliever or at least as one altogether indifferent to these matters he was gazing at Monsieur Cersen quite stupefied by something which he had just heard him say of the grotto and Bernadette it was amazing coming from a man with so strong a mind a savant of such intelligence whose powerful analytical faculties he had formally so much admired how was it that a lofty clear mind nourished by experience and method had become so changed as to acknowledge the miraculous cures effected by that divine fountain which the blessed virgin had caused to spurt forth under the pressure of a child's fingers but just think a little my dear doctor he resumed it was you yourself who supplied my father with memoranda about Bernadette your little fellow villager as you used to call her and it was you too who spoke to me at such length about her when later on I took a momentary interest in her story in your eyes she was simply an ailing child prone to hallucinations infantile but half conscious of her acts deficient of willpower recollect our chats together my doubts and the healthy reason which you again enabled me to acquire Pierre was feeling very moved for was not this the strangest of adventures he a priest who had formally resigned himself to endeavor to believe had ended by completely losing all faith through intercourse with this same doctor who was then an unbeliever but whom he now found converted conquered by the supernatural whilst he himself was wracked by the torture of no longer believing you who would only rely on accurate facts he said you who based everything on observation do you renounce science then Chasseigne he the two quiet with a sorrowful smile playing on his lips now made a violent gesture expressive of sovereign contempt science indeed he exclaimed do I know anything can I accomplish anything you asked me just now what malady it was that killed my poor Marguerite but I do not know I whom people think so learned so well armed against death I understood nothing of it and I could do nothing not even prolong my daughter's life for a single hour and my wife whom I found in bed already cold when on the previous evening she had lain down in much better health and quite gay was I even capable of foreseeing what ought to have been done in her case no no for me at all events science has become bankrupt I wish to know nothing I am but a fool and a poor old man he spoke like this in a furious revolt against all his past life of pride and happiness then having become calm again he added and now I only feel a frightful remorse yes a remorse which haunts me whichever brings me here prowling around the people who are praying it is remorse for not having in the first instance come and humbled myself at that grotto bringing my two dear ones with me they would have knelt there like those women whom you see I should have knelt beside them and perhaps the blessed virgin would have cured and preserved them but fool that I was I only knew how to lose them it is my fault Teos were now streaming from his eyes I remember he continued that in my childhood at Bartres my mother a peasant woman made me join my hands and implore God's help each morning where she taught me came back to my mind word for word when I again found myself alone as weak as lost as a little child what would you have my friend I joined my hands as in my younger days I felt too Richard too forsaken I had too keen a need of a superhuman help of a divine power which should think and determine for me which should lull me and carry me on with its eternal prescience how great at first was the confusion the aberration of my poor brain under the frightful heavy blow which fell upon it I spent a score of nights without being able to sleep thinking that I should surely go mad all sorts of ideas warred within me I passed through periods of revolt when I shook my fist at heaven and then I lapsed into humility in treating God to take me in my turn and it was at last a conviction that there must be a justice a conviction that there must be love which calmed me by restoring me my faith you knew my daughter so tall and strong so beautiful so brimful of life would it not be the most monstrous injustice if for her who had not known life there were nothing beyond the tomb she will live again I am absolutely convinced of it for I still hear her at times she tells me that we shall meet that we shall see one another again oh the dear beings whom one has lost my dear daughter my dear wife to see them once more to live with them elsewhere that is the one hope the one consolation for all the sorrows of this world I have given myself to God since God alone can restore them to me he was shaking with a slight tremor like the weak old man he had become and Pierre was at last able to understand and explain the conversion of this savant this man of intellect who, growing old had reverted to belief under the influence of sentiment before and this he had not previously suspected he discovered a kind of atavism of faith in this Pyrenean this son of peasant mountaineers who had been brought up in belief of the legend and whom the legend had again mastered even when 50 years of positive study had rolled over it then too there was human weariness this man to whom science had not brought happiness revolted against science on the day when it seemed to him shallow powerless to prevent him from shedding tears and finally there was discouragement a doubt of all things ending in a need of certainty on the part of this old man whom age had softened and who felt happy at being able to fall asleep in credulity Pierre did not protest however he did not jeer for his heart was rent at sight of this stricken sexagenarian with his woeful senility is it not indeed pitiful to see the strongest the clearest minded become mere children again under such blows of fate oh he faintly sighed if I could only suffer enough to be able to silence my reason and kneel yonder and believe in all those fine stories the pale smile which at times still passed over Dr. Chasseigne's lips reappeared on them you mean the miracles said he you are a priest my child and I know what your misfortune is the miracles seem impossible to you but what do you know of them admit that you know nothing and that what to our senses seems impossible is every minute taking place and now we have been talking together for a long time and eleven o'clock will soon strike so that you must return to the grotto however I shall expect you at half past three when I will take you to the medical verification office where I hope I shall be able to show you some surprising things don't forget at half past three there upon he sent him off and remained on the bench alone the heat had yet increased and the distant hills were burning in the furnace-like glow of the sun however he lingered there forgetfully dreaming in the greeny half-light amidst the foliage and listening to the continuous murmur of the garve as if a voice, a dear voice from the realms beyond were speaking to him Pierre meantime hastened back to Marie he was able to join her without much difficulty for the crowd was thinning a good many people already having gone off to Dejeuner and on arriving he perceived the girl's father who was quietly seated beside her and who at once wished to explain to him the reason of his long absence for more than a couple of hours that morning he had scoured Lourdes in all directions applying at twenty hotels in turn without being able to find the smallest closet where they might sleep even the servants' rooms were let and you could not have even secured a mattress on which to stretch yourself in some passage however all at once just as he was despairing the rooms, small ones it is true and just under the roof but in a very good hotel, that of the apparitions one of the best patronised in the town the persons who had retained these rooms had just telegraphed that the patient whom they had meant to bring with them was dead briefly it was a piece of rare good luck and seemed to make Monsieur de Gersin quite gay eleven o'clock was now striking and the woeful procession of sufferers started off again through the sunlit streets and squares when it reached the hospital Marie begged her father and Pierre to go to the hotel lunch and rest there a while and returned to fetch her at two o'clock when the patients would again be conducted to the grotto but when, after lunching, the two men went up to the rooms which they were to occupy at the hotel of the apparitions Monsieur de Gersin, overcome by fatigue fell so soundly asleep that Pierre had not the heart to awaken him what would have been the use of it his presence was not indispensable and so the young priest returned to the hospital alone then the cortège again descended the avenue de la grotte again wended its way over the plateau de la merlass again crossed the Place du Rosaire through an ever-growing crowd which shuddered and crossed itself amid all the joyousness of that splendid august today it was now the most glorious hour of a lovely afternoon when Marie was again installed in front of the grotto she inquired if her father were coming yes answered Pierre he was only taking a little rest she waved her hand as though to say that he was acting rightly and then in a sorely troubled voice she added listen Pierre don't take me to the piscina for another hour I am not yet in a state to find favour from heaven, I wish to pray to keep on praying after evincing such an ardent desire to come to Lord terror was agitating her now that the moment for attempting the miracle was at hand in fact she began to relate that she had been unable to eat anything and a girl who overheard her at once approached saying if you feel too weak my dear young lady remember we have some broth here Marie looked at her and recognised remonde several young girls were in this wise employed at the grotto to distribute cups of broth and milk among the sufferers some of them indeed in previous years had displayed so much coquetry in the matter of silk aprons trimmed with lace that a uniform apron of modest linen with a small check pattern blue and white had been imposed on them nevertheless in spite of this enforced simplicity remonde thanks to her freshness and her active good-natured house-wifely air had succeeded in making herself look quite charming you will remember won't you she added you have only to make me a sign and I will serve you Marie thanked her saying however that she felt sure she would not be able to take anything and then turning towards the young priest she resumed one hour you must allow me one more hour my friend Pierre wished at any rate to remain near her but the entire space was reserved to the sufferers the bearers not being allowed there so he had to retire and caught in the rolling waves of the crowd he found himself carried towards the piscinas where he came upon an extraordinary spectacle which stayed his steps in front of the low buildings where the baths were two by three six for the women and three for the men he perceived under the trees a long stretch of ground enclosed by a rope fastened to the tree trunks and here various sufferers some sitting in their bath chairs and others lying on the mattresses of their litters were drawn up in line waiting to be bathed whilst outside the rope a huge excited throng was ever pressing and surging a capuchin erect in the centre of the reserved space was at that moment conducting the prayers Arvés followed one after the other repeated by the crowd in a loud confused murmur then all at once as Madame Vincent who pale with agony had long been waiting was admitted to the baths carrying her dear burden her little girl who looked like a wax an image of the child Christ the capuchin let himself fall upon his knees with his arms extended and cried aloud Lord heal our sick he raised this cry a dozen twenty times with a growing fury and each time the crowd repeated it growing more and more excited at each shout till it sobbed and kissed the ground in a state of frenzy it was like a hurricane of delirium rushing by and laying every head among the dust Pierre was utterly distracted by the sob of suffering which arose from the very bowels of these poor folks at first a prayer growing louder and louder then bursting forth like a demand in impatient, angry, deafening obstinate accents as though to compel the help of heaven Lord heal our sick Lord heal our sick Lord heal our sick the shout soared on high incessantly an incident occurred however La Grivotte was weeping hot tears because they would not bathe her they say that I'm a consumptive she plaintively exclaimed and that they can't dip consumptives in cold water yet they dipped one this morning I saw her so why won't they dip me I've been wearing myself out for the last half hour in telling them that they are only grieving the blessed virgin for I am going to be cured I feel it, I am going to be cured as she was beginning to cause a scandal one of the chaplains of the piscinas approached and endeavoured to calm her they would see what they could do for her by and by said he they would consult the reverent fathers and if she were very good perhaps they would bathe her all the same meantime the cry continued Lord heal our sick Lord heal our sick and Pierre who had just perceived Madame Vitu also waiting at the piscina entry could no longer turn his eyes away from her hope tortured face whose eyes were fixed upon the doorway by which the happy ones, the elect emerged from the divine presence cured of all their ailments however a sudden increase of the crowd's frenzy a perfect rage of entreaties gave him such a shock as to draw tears from his eyes Madame Vincent was now coming out again still carrying her little girl in her arms her wretched, her fondly loved little girl who had been dipped in a fainting state in the icy water and whose little face but imperfectly wiped was as pale as ever and indeed even more woeful and lifeless the mother was sobbing crucified by this long agony reduced to despair by the refusal of the blessed virgin who had remained insensible to her child's sufferings and yet when Madame Vitu in her turn entered with the eager passion of a dying woman about to drink the water of life the haunting obstinate cry burst forth again without sign of discouragement or lassitude Lord heal our sick Lord heal our sick the Capuchin had now fallen with his face to the ground and the howling crowd with arms outstretched devoured the soil with its kisses Pierre wished to join Madame Vincent to soothe her with a few kind encouraging words but a fresh string of pilgrims not only prevented him from passing but threw him towards the fountain which another throng besieged there was here quite a range of low buildings a long stone wall with carved coping and it had been necessary to form processions although there were twelve taps from which the water fell into a narrow basin many came hither to fill bottles metal cans and stoneware pitchers to prevent too great a waste of water the tap only acted when a knob was pressed with the hand and thus many weak-handed women lingered there a long time the water dripping on their feet those who had no cans to fill at least came to drink and wash their faces Pierre noticed one young man who drank seven small glassfuls of water and washed his eyes seven times without wiping them others were drinking out of shells tin goblets and leather cups and he was particularly interested by the sight of Elise Rouquet who thinking it useless to go to the piscinas to bathe the frightful sore which was eating away her face had contented herself with employing the water of the fountain as a lotion every two hours since her arrival that morning she knelt down threw back her fissue and for a long time applied a handkerchief to her face a handkerchief which she had soaked with the miraculous fluid like a sponge and the crowd around her rushed upon the fountain in such fury that folks no longer noticed her diseased face but washed themselves and drank from the same pipe at which she constantly moistened her handkerchief just then however Gérard who passed by dragging Monsieur Sabatier to the piscinas calls to Pierre whom he saw unoccupied and asked him to come and help him for it would not be an easy task to move and bathe this helpless victim of eutaxia and thus Pierre lingered with the sufferer in the men's piscina for nearly half an hour whilst Gérard returned to the grotto to fetch another patient these piscinas seemed to the young priests to be very well arranged they were divided into three compartments three baths separated by partitions leading into them in order that one might isolate the patient a linen curtain hung before each entry which was reached through a kind of waiting room having a paved floor and furnished with a bench and a couple of chairs here the patients undressed and dressed themselves with an awkward haste a nervous kind of shame one man whom Pierre found there when he entered was still naked and wrapped himself in the curtain before putting on a bandage with trembling hands another one a consumptive he emaciated such shivering and groaning his livid skin mottled with violet marks however Pierre became more interested in brother Isidore who was just being removed from one of the baths he had fainted away and for a moment indeed it was thought that he was dead but at last he began moaning again and one's heart filled with pity at the sight of his long, blank frame which suffering had withered and which, with his diseased hip looked a human remnant on exhibition the two hospitalers who had been bathing him had the greatest difficulty to put on his shirt fearful as they were that if he was suddenly shaken he might expire in their arms you will help me, Monsieur Laberre Wanchu asked another hospitaler as he began to undress Monsieur Sabatier Pierre hastened to give his services and found that the attendant discharging such humble duties was none other than the Marquis de Salmon-Rochbert whom Monsieur de Gersin had pointed out to him on the way to the hospital that morning a man of 40 with a large aquiline nightly nose set in a long face the Marquis was the last representative of one of the most ancient and illustrious families of France possessing a large fortune, a regal mansion in the Rue de Lille at Paris and vast estates in Normandy he came to Lourdes each year for the three days of the national pilgrimage influenced solely by his benevolent feelings for he had no religious zeal and simply observed the rites of the church that was customary for noblemen to do so and he obstinately declined any high functions resolved to remain a hospitaler he had that year assumed to the duty of bathing the patients exhausting the strength of his arms employing his fingers from morning till night in handling rags and reapplying dressings to sores be careful he said to Pierre take off the stockings very slowly just now some flesh came away when they were taking off the things of that poor fellow dressed again over yonder then leaving Monsieur Sabatier for the moment in order to put on the shoes of the unhappy sufferer whom he alluded to the Marquis found the left shoe wet inside some matter had flowed into the four part of it and he had to take the usual medical precautions before putting it on the patient's foot a task which he performed with extreme care and so as not to touch the man's leg into which an ulcer was eating and now he said to Pierre to return to Monsieur Sabatier pull down the drawers at the same time as I do so that we may get them off at one pull in addition to the patients and the hospitalers selected for duty at the piscinas the only person in the little dressing room was a chaplain who kept on repeating partels and alves for not even a momentary pause was allowed in the prayers merely a loose curtain hung before the doorway leading to the open space which the rope enclosed and the ardent, clamorous entreaties of the throng incessantly wafted into the room with the piercing shots of the Capuchin whoever repeated Lord heal our sick Lord heal our sick a cold light fell from the high windows of the building and constant dampness rained there with a mouldy smell like that of a cellar dripping with water at last Monsieur Sabatier was stripped divested of all garments save a little apron which had been fastened about his loins for decency's sake pray don't plunge me said he let me down into the water by degrees in point of fact that cold water quite terrified him he was still wont to relate that he had experienced such a frightful chilling sensation on the first occasion that he had sworn never to begin again according to his account there could be no worse torture than that icy cold and then too as he put it the water was scarcely inviting for through fear lest the output of the source should not suffice the fathers of the grotto only allowed the water of the baths to be changed twice a day and nearly a hundred patients being dipped in the same water it can be imagined what a terrible soup the latter at last became all manner of things were found in it so that it was like a frightful consomme of all ailments a field of cultivation for every kind of poisonous germ a quintessence of the most dreaded contagious diseases the miraculous feature of it all being that men should emerge alive from their immersion in such filth gently gently repeated Monsieur Sabatier to Pierre and the Marquis who had taken hold of him under the hips in order to carry him to the bath and he gazed with childlike terror at that thick livid water on which floated so many greasy nauseating patches of scum however his dread of the cold was so great that he preferred the polluted baths of the afternoon since all the bodies that were dipped in the water during the early part of the day ended by slightly warming it we will let you slide down the steps explained the Marquis in an undertone and then he instructed Pierre to hold the patient with all his strength under the armpits have no fear replied the priest I will not let go Monsieur Sabatier was then slowly lowered you could now only see his back his poor painful back which swayed and swelled mottled by the rippling of a Shiva and when they dipped him his head fell back in a spasm a sound like the cracking of bones was heard and breathing hard he almost stifled the chaplain standing beside the bath had begun calling with renewed fervour Lord, heal our sick Lord, heal our sick Monsieur de Salmon-Rochbert repeated the cry which the regulations required the hospitalers to raise at each fresh immersion Pierre therefore had to imitate his companion and his pitiful feelings at the sight of so much suffering was so intense that he regained some little of his faith it was long indeed since he had prayed like this devoutly wishing that there might be a God in heaven whose omnipotence could assuage the wretchedness of humanity at the end of three or four minutes however when with great difficulty they drew Monsieur Sabatier livid and shivering out of the bath the young priest fell into deeper more despairing sorrow than ever at beholding how downcast how overwhelmed the sufferer was having experienced no relief again had he made a futile attempt for the seventh time the blessed virgin had not deigned to listen to his prayers he closed his eyes from between the lids of which big tears began to roll while they were dressing him again then Pierre recognised little Gustave Vigneron coming in on his crutch to take his first bath his relatives, his father his mother and his aunt, Madame Ches all three of substantial appearance and exemplary piety were just fallen on their knees at the door whispers ran through the crowd it was said that the gentleman was a functionary of the Ministry of Finances however, while the child was beginning to undress a tumult arose and father Foucault and father Massias suddenly arriving gave orders to suspend the emotions the great miracle was about to be attempted the extraordinary favour which had been so ardently prayed for since the morning the restoration of the dead man to life the prayers were continuing outside rising in a furious appeal which died away in the sky of that warm summer afternoon two bearers came in with a covered stretcher which they deposited in the middle of the dressing room Baron Swiehl, president of the association followed accompanied by Belfort one of its principal officers for the affair was causing a great stir among the whole staff and before anything was done a few words were exchanged in low voices the gentleman and the two fathers of the assumption then the latter fell upon their knees with arms extended and began to pray their faces illumined transfigured by their burning desire to see God's omnipotence displayed Lord hear us Lord grant our prayer Monsieur Sabatier had just been taken away and the only patient in our present was little Gustave who had remained on a chair half undressed and forgotten the curtains of the stretcher were raised and the man's corpse appeared already stiff and seemingly reduced and shrunken with large eyes which had obstinately remained wide open it was necessary however to undress the body which was still fully clad and this terrible duty made the bearers momentarily hesitate Pierre noticed that the Marquis de Salmon Roquebert who showed such devotion to the living such freedom from all repugnance whenever they were in question had now drawn aside and fallen on his knees the necessity of touching that lifeless corpse and the young priests thereupon followed his example and knelt near him in order to keep countenance Father Masias meanwhile was gradually becoming excited praying in so loud a voice that it drowned that of his superior Father Foucaud Lord restore our brother to us he cried Lord do it for thy glory one of the hospitalers had already begun to pull at the man's trousers but his legs were so stiff that the garment would not come off in fact the corpse ought to have been raised up and the other hospitaler who was unbuttoning the dead man's old frock coat remarked in an undertone that it would be best to cut everything away with a pair of scissors otherwise there would be no end of the job Beltot however rushed up to them after rapidly consulting Baron Suir as a politician he secretly disapproved of Father Foucaud's action in making such an attempt only that they could not now do otherwise and carry matters to an issue for the crowd was waiting and had been in treating God on the dead man's behalf ever since the morning the wisest course therefore was to finish with the affair at once showing as much respect as possible for the remains of the deceased in lieu therefore of pulling the corpse about in order to strip it bare Beltot was of opinion that it would be better to dip it into the piscina should the man resuscitate it would be easy to procure fresh clothes for him on the contrary event no harm would have been done this is what he hastily said to the bearers and forthwith he helped them to pass some straps under the man's hips and arms Father Foucaud had nodded his approval of this course whilst Father Macias prayed with increased fervour breathe upon him oh Lord and he shall be born anew restore his soul to him oh Lord that he may glorify thee making an effort the two hospitalers now raised the man by means of the straps carried him to the bath and slowly lowered him into the water at each moment fearing that he would slip away from their hold Pierre although overcome by horror could not do otherwise than look at them and thus he distinctly beheld the immersion of this corpse in its sorry garments which on being wetted clung to the bones outlining the skeleton like figure of the deceased who floated like a man who has been drowned but the repulsive part of it all was that in spite of the rigor mortis he fell backward into the water and was submerged by it in vain did the hospitalers try to raise it by pulling the shoulder straps as they made the attempt the man almost sank to the bottom of the bath and how could he have recovered his breath when his mouth was full of water his staring eyes seemingly dying afresh beneath that watery veil then during the three long minutes allowed for the immersion the two fathers of the assumption and the chaplain in a paroxysm of desire and faith to compel the intervention of heaven praying in such loud voices that they seemed to choke do thou but look on him oh lord and he will live again lord may he rise at thy voice to convert the earth lord thou hast but one word to say and all thy people will acclaim thee at last as though some vessel had broken in his throat father Masias fell groaning and choking on his elbows with only enough strength left him to kiss the flagstones and from without came the clamour of the crowd the ever repeated cry which the Capuchin was still leading lord heal our sick lord heal our sick this appeal seemed so singular at that moment that Pierre's sufferings were increased he could feel too that the Marquis was shuddering beside him and so the relief was general when Belto thoroughly annoyed with the whole business curtly shouted to the hospitalers take him out, take him out at once the body was removed from the bath and laid on the stretcher looking like the corpse of a drowned man with its sorry garments clinging to its limbs the water was trickling from the hair and rivulets began falling on either side spreading out in pools on the floor and naturally dead as the man had been dead he remained the others had all risen and stood looking at him amidst a distressing silence then as he was covered up and carried away father Fulkard followed the beer leaning on the shoulder father Masias and dragging his gouty leg the painful weight of which he had momentarily forgotten but he was already recovering his strong serenity and as a hush fell upon the crowd outside he could be heard saying my dear brothers, my dear sisters God has not been willing to restore him to us doubtless because in his infinite goodness he has desired to retain him among his elect and that was all there was no further question of the dead man patients were again being brought into the dressing room the two other baths were already occupied and now little Gustav who had watched that terrible scene with his keen inquisitive eyes evincing no sign of terror finished undressing himself his wretched body, the body of a scruffulous child appeared with its prominent ribs and projecting spine its limbs so thin that they looked like mere walking sticks especially was this the case as regards the left one which was withered wasted to the bone and he also had two sores, one on the hip and the other in the loins the last a terrible one the skin being eaten away so that you distinctly saw the raw flesh yet he smiled, rendered so precocious by his sufferings that although but 15 years old and looking no more than 10 he seemed to be endowed with the reason and philosophy of a grown man the Marquis de Salmon-Rochabelle who had taken him gently in his arms refused Pierre's offer of service thanks, but he weighs no more than a bird and don't be frightened, my dear little fellow I will do it gently oh, I am not afraid of cold water, monsieur replied the boy you may duck me then he was lowered into the bath in which the dead man had been dipped Madame Vigneron and Madame Chez who were not allowed to enter had remained at the door on their knees whilst the father, Monsieur Vigneron who was admitted into the dressing room went on making the sign of the cross finding that his services were no longer required, Pierre now departed the sudden idea that three o'clock must have long since struck and that Marie must be waiting for him made him hasten his steps however whilst he was endeavouring to pierce the crowd he saw the girl arrive in her little conveyance dragged along by Gérard who had not ceased transporting sufferers to the piscina she had become impatient suddenly filled with the conviction that she was at last in a frame of mind to find grace and at sight of Pierre he wished him saying what my friend did you forget me he could find no answer but watched her as she was taken into the piscina reserved for women and then in mortal sorrow fell upon his knees it was there that he would wait for her humbly kneeling in order that he might take her back to the grotto cured without doubt and singing a hymn of praise since she was certain of it would she not assuredly be cured however it was in vain that he sought for words of prayer the depths of his distracted being he was still under the blow of all the terrible things that he had beheld worn out with physical fatigue his brain depressed no longer knowing what he saw or what he believed his desperate affection for Marie alone remained making him long to humble himself and supplicate in the thought that when little ones really love and entreat the powerful they end by obtaining favours and at last he caught himself repeating the prayers of the crowd in a distressful voice that came from the depths of his being Lord heal our sick Lord heal our sick ten minutes, a quarter of an hour perhaps went by then Marie reappeared in her little conveyance her face was very pale and wore an expression of despair her beautiful hair was fastened above her head in a heavy golden coil which the water had not touched and she was not cured the stupor of infinite discouragement hollowed and lengthened her face and she averted her eyes as though to avoid meeting those of the priest who thunderstruck, chilled to the heart at last made up his mind to grasp the handle of the little vehicle so as to take the girl back to the grotto and meantime the cry of the faithful who with open arms were kneeling there and kissing the earth again rose with a growing fury excited by the capuchin's shrill voice Lord heal our sick, heal our sick oh lord as Pierre was placing Marie in position again in front of the grotto an attack of weakness came over her and she almost fainted Gérard who was there saw Raymond quickly hurry to the spot with a cup of broth and at once they began zealously rivaling each other in their attentions to the ailing girl Raymond holding out the cup in a pretty way and assuming the coaxing ears of an expert nurse especially insisted that Marie should accept the bouillon and Gérard glancing at this portionless girl could not help finding her charming already expert in the business of life and quite ready to manage a household with a firm hand without ceasing to be amiable Bertaud was no doubt right this was the wife that he Gérard needed Mademoiselle said he to Raymond shall I raise the young lady a little thank you monsieur I am quite strong enough and besides I will give it her in spoonfuls that will be the better way Marie however obstinately preserving her fierce silence as she recovered consciousness refused the broth with a gesture she wished to be left in quietness she did not want anybody to question her and it was only when the others had gone off smiling at one another that she said to Pierre in a husky voice has not my father come then after hesitating for a moment the priest was obliged to confess the truth I left him sleeping and he cannot have woke up then Marie relapsed into her state of language stupor and dismissed him in his turn with the gesture with which she declined all sucker she no longer prayed but remained quite motionless gazing fixedly with her large eyes at the marble virgin the white statue amidst the radiance of the grotto and as four o'clock was now striking Pierre with his heart sore went off to the verification office having suddenly remembered the appointment given him by Dr. Chassain end of section 8