The Union and journal., 1869-07-16

: Of windows and fortun>.ely plenty of sea
air almost always blowing over the nloce
We walked perhaps quar-., Of . mile n
q little village Of lcpcrs, nestlAx a, The
foot of one Of those superb cliff, u.u.ral.
lcled for sublime beauty. There live he
moderate cases, having their own houses,
horses, garden plots, and sometimes friend.
as .helpcrs" for company. They certain.
ly seem contented. some Of them actually
cheerful. The "helpcrs" are those who
promise to remain at the settlement, will
ing to live there with their afflicted friends
and care for them. They build and repair
houses, attend to the gardens, and are gen.
orally useful, making their own living
and serving the lepers beside. In this
way they are u relief to the government,
since they are watchfil Of those who
would otherwise require hired watchers.
It has been also desiicd that husbands Of
leprous wives, or rice rersd, arc In nature
divorced, but II they are willing may nc
cept life in the settlement, with Its restric-
tions. Many gladly avail themselves Of
the opportunity.
The order was almost perfect during
my stay, and give the entire credit to the
persuasive Christian discipline of Mr.. and
Mrs. Walsh. lam moreover satisfied that
no community Of whites, under the same
circumstances. would behave themselves
so well rs these poor natives. The worst
features of the disease are an unhealthy
appetite and complete decentralization.
the passions becoming almost ungovcrna-
BILE. Every Sunday there is some service
held in one Of the hospital wards. Prayer.
exhortation and psalm.singing have be-
come second-nature with the old people.
A little church Is talked of. They will
doubtless have one before long. part of
the funds being already in hand. The
Sunday evening 1 spent there we were oil
edited for four hours at stretch by u
choir Of native boys singing readily by
note out of ono copy Of the Plymouth
collection. Let us turn back and look
into the hospital rs It Is.
We enter the room. Mats spread on
all sides are covered by about dozen or
fifteen recumbcnt figures, among the
worst of the bad cases. A fetid odor,
faint but perccptiblc, pcrvadcs tho apart
ment. We hear hard, hoarsc breathing,
harsh whispers and deep sighs from those
who can never again speak with their old
voices. The decay Of the vocal organs Is
almost the last stage Of the plague and
seems most terrible Of all. The patient Is
usually by this time one mass Of corup-
ton. What faces nrc turned to us rs we
grope among the half conscious sufferers!
faces that look rs though they had been
hacked twenty times across with broad
axe, and each cash healing had left hor-
rid seam. Ears swollen to twice their
natural size, raw looking and bloody,
while the enormous lobes, hanging near
ly to the shoulder, oozc with q sickening
pus. There are those with nostrils slowly
withering away. some with no nasal at
all, only IN ulccrous cavity remains, too
abominablc to bo thought Of for mo-
ment. Fingers grown sharp at the ends,
sloughing the skin, shedding the joints
one by one. This man can lay hold Of
and remove u toe without any sensation.
What Is II that so paralyscs the sensibili-
ties? Nothing but death itself, grasping
the vitals. They arc but half alive. these
lcyers, and carry their own infectious
corpses about with them. One old man,
sitting In maio, narrow strip, Of cloth
about the loins, Is covered from head to
foot with large, hard swellings. There Is
not vacancy enough between his thousand
and-one iieshy hillocks to lay the tip of
your finger. Yet ho is unconscious ofany
pain whatever. He turns ghastly grin
supposed to be smilc-upon us, rs he
exhibits u new mound just making his mp
pearancc on one side of him. which Is
likely to crowd out few of the older ones.
The poor wretch looks more like n horned
toad polished down little, than a man
man and brother,
II Is proof enough Of their Indifference
of the future ms well rs their contentment
with the present, TO find that once upon. "a
time these dccaying remnants-of humani-
ty deliberately gave grand ball Mt the
hospital. There was n general cleaning
out of disabled patients and n brushing
up of fincry, while the ball itself was the
great top'c Of conversation. Two or
three young fellows who had few fingers
len began to pick up a tune or two on M.
tive flutes made of bamboo. Though
rather melancholy In tone they werc ccr'
tainly not inappropriate TO the occasion.
The old, young. and mid,lle-ascd took u
few quick turns in dark corner, getting
their stilIened joints timber again, and so
E,miliarizing their ungaceful forms with
the hollow mockery Of the waltz. Night
came at last, the lamps famed In the
death chamber Of the lazar house. The
wheeling voices, no longer musical the
shufiling Of half.paralyzed limbs over inc
bare floor, the wild SEA moaning In the
night, all tended to make the scene most
unearthly. The flutes began their shriii,
dolorous piping; there was rushing to and
fro of wild figures. A bleeding. half
blind leper seized on another Of the nc
cursed beings, snatching her. rs IL were.
from her grave. In all her loathcsome clay.
he dragged her into the intoxicating whirl
of the dance. Naturally excitable. heated
with cxcrtiou. intoxicated with the very