, 1868-07-03
A Leper Vnlar..

IL seems that IN all parts Of the East i
found that loathsome and incurable disease
leprosy-incurable by any agencies which
have jet been discovered BY human sLilI
and hence, doubtless, 30 frequently selected
BY our Lord As the disease, the curing ~
which should ineontesably declare the sinner.
natural power which be exercised. A writer
IN the CornhH Ma0dzine thus describes :
visit to Chinese leper village near Canton;
ltis Is situated about two miles and a
nau from tue suburbs u e--Asry-su % = sli $ ~
emineuce, IN the midst Of cultivated fields.
and accommodates between four and Eve
hundred lepers with their children, born in
the asylum. All persons recognized or de.
clared by the authorities to be lepers are sent
70 these asylums, of which there are three in
the neighborhood Of Canton. Neither hus-
band, wife, nor child are allowed to accom-.
pany the leper to tSe asylum bot they are
allowed to choose conjugal mates from the
Inmates of the same. The children born
from these unions remain in the village. l
saw of them a great number, varying from
the age of infancy to twenty-five years, and
in fact, judging from the great number of
sound people in the establishment, the off
spring would seem as numerous as the lepit-
innate occupants of 'he place. Only one
leper admitted that be was the son of anoth.
er leper then in the place. As a rule. thew
try to conceal their descent from diseased
parents. The village itself forms rectanple.
surrounded BY brick wall twelve feet high.
with gate which is closed every night. The
following description may give an idea of its
inner arrangement: A street out fourteen
feet wide (wider than any street in Canton)
leads from the gate straight up to the temple
or joss house. From this street branch out
at right angles on each side about fourteen
narrow lanes, three feet and halt wide, each
two separated by one single low building,
partitioned again by wall along its whole
length, and cross ways by twelve to fourteen
cross-walls, so as to form twenty.four narrow
apartments. In these small holes the whole
mass OF population is slowed away every
night. OF course l cannot speak favorably
of its cleanliness the reverse.
"During the day the gates are open and
the lepers roam about at liberty, to beg
through the streets of Canton. They receive,
besides, a small daily allowance from the
Government and the monopoly of trade Of
coir-rope making, by which they earn some.
thing in addition; The lepers leave the
their friends enter as freely TO visit them,
circumstances which go far to demonstrate
the popular opinion that the contagion is not
volatile or ditfusible, or that it requires pro-
longed actual contact to communicate itself
from one person to another. We had taken
the precautionary measure to send message
to the village on the previous day that we
were coming to distribute alms among them.
In consequence of this, the greater portion
of the lepers remained at home that day, and
l had fine opportunity of examining great
number. As result of this investigation of
cases, DR.. Hillebrand satisfies himself that
there is in Chinese leprosy three distinct
varieties-the tubercular form, the erysipe.
latOus, and the simply paretic or paralytic.
The latter form is often accompanied with
inveterate psoriasis. He had frequently seen
this type of the disease in the Hawaiian
Islands, but be had not previously recognized
it as leprous'