Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-02-07
THE zOUAvE JACOB.
SIN Practicing "Christian Science"

From the London Globe
Like most people was under the impress
sion that the zouave Jacob died long ago, but
have just found out that he 10 still alive and
devoting his miraculous powers to the cure of
| suffering humanity. The reader may remem-
Der that when he first made his appearance in
public he turned Paris upside down; his sane
tum was besieged by the lame the halt and
the blind Of all classes, and such was the scan
dial created thereby that the authorities had to
suppress him. He then vanished from the
scene, after the manner Of many other ephe-
neral celebrities, and the ungrateful capital
forgot all about him till the question of hypno-
tism was brought before the assizes. Every
oody tnen recollected the wonderful soldier,
and inquiries made after him resulted in the
discovery of his whereabouts He no longer
ived In splendid apartment in the fashions
BILE part Of the town, as formerly but in a mod
est one-storied house in the avenue MacMahon,
In the semi-respectable quarter Of the Ternes.
ne mas small garden and farm yard. in which
he whites away his leisure hours. The garden
Is embellished with three or four statues Of
mysterious divinities resembling the Wise Men
OF Greece. He receives a number Of patients
aany, put his clientele is not composed Of
dukes and duchesses as Of yore; the nobility
and aristocracy have deserted him and their
places have been taken by poorer folk, whose
lack OF distinction, however, by no means di-
mlnlsnes their faith.
DR.. Jacobs consultation is fixed at O'Clock
Punctually Let us enter. In q room 20 feet
long by IL wide and seated on forms are abou.
forty persons, men, women and children. ali
ar1lcted with some sort of malady Examining
them closely we soon perceive that the majority
beiong to the working classes, such as cooks,
clerks and cartmen, interpreted with a few
small shopkeepers. They were all engaged in
animated conversation concerning the most re-
cent cures Of the gifted zouave. At the end of
the room were an organ and a piano, on which
stood the busts OF some more divinities. On
the wall was long strip of white calico bear
ing in large black characters the name of 'Je-
sns Christina" who is supposed to have been
Hindoo philosopher and a great curer of the
SICK many. many centuries ago, but whose
identity with Jesus of Nazareth is as plain as
pikestaf As o'clock struck q door opened
and Jacob entered. A desth-like silence imme-
diately followed. Advancing to the middle of
the room he suddenly stopped, gazed fixedly on
the ceiling and renamed motionless. He was
invoking the spirits. As ne stood there all
dunn stature, with silvery locks and hard feat
ures. He looks about sixty. He was dressed
Ill a white flowing robe. with hood thrown back
ON his shoulders. Altogether he might be mis-
taken for holy friar. At length, after quar-
ter of an hours invocation, the spirits listened
to him. He then marched solemnly round the
forms, questioning the patients as he passed
before them. where is your pain?" was his
chief inquiry. Some said in the head, some in
the stomach and others in the heart. Point
out to me the place" he rejoined, but don't
mention the organ which hurts you; the spirits
know them all. He then laid his hands on the
spot indicated and rubbed il gently and
nowf" he asked. Il suffer little less" was
the answer Again he passed his hands over the
place. and now" he repeated. 1.-The main
has gone" was the reply. This was the case
with nearly all on whom he operated
Coming TO an old woman he looked at her
and exclaimed 'As for you, don't come here
any more; you bring the black spirits with you;
they act against us. You are sent hither by nv
enemies. Take care don't see you here again.
The old woman bowed her head, but said moth
ing. Having gone his round the zouaye re-
turned to the middle of the room and pro-
ceeded to explain how to get rid Of certain in
irnities which it was not always in his super-
natural power to remove. He enlarged on
dropsy, corpulency and the like. One elderly
person said, AZ proof of the efficacy of the adj
vice he had given her, that not long ago she
weighed Z4O Kilograms, whereas now she weighed
only 100 and hoped to weigh only 60 in few
weeks. The seance was now brought to an end
Jacob receives no fees, but the patients buv
the pamphlets he has written; some pay franc,
some pay III, but all pay something for them
In this way he turns the law against auacks.
who are not allowed to accept fees Nov"
he cried. in deep-toned voice. waving his
hands slowly in the air, ''go your ways All
obeyed save the old woman, who, believing her
self to be bewitched, insisted on remaining to
be cured. According to the zouave she went
once to magnetizer, and has ever since had "a
black spirit in her stomach He was obliged
to turn her out by force and thus got rid of his
possessed enemy.
Jacob then volunteered to reveal how he dr.
covered that he was blessed with the '.mvstic
fluid which healed the sick and suffering.
AFTER serving In the Lancers at Lyons" he be-
gan. II joined the zouaves. At that period
had already been initiated into the science of
splrltism. One day we were ordered to the
camp at Chalon;, where Marshal Regnault de
saint-Jean-d' Angely was in command. In one
or the villages through which we passed on tn.
way was sick man whom all the doctors in the
world were unable to cure. invoked the a. 4
OF the white spirits, l laid my hands on hin,
and he was instantly restored to health. l must
admit that all my cures are not SO rapid. The
news OF this cure soon spread throughout the
country and dozen inyalids followed our repi- |
ment to Chalons in the hope of obtaining relief
from me- The marshal at first forbade me to
speak to them, but as the poor creatures would |
not leave us he finally consented to nv pacify- |
ing them. l cured them all. then left the |
ARMY and IN a short time my fame became uni |
versal. This fame was justified by the great
number of miracles which 1 had worked and |
which are all the less open to objection or |
danger IN that employ no remedies and rely |
solely on the touch of my hand
Our extraordinary zouave is both a student |
locations and plays the trombone. Yes"
he said, seeing his visitor smile. 1.-The from
bone. have won a trombone which was pre-
sented to me by the ladies of the court of the |
Queen OF England. when passed some months |
in London" This will be news indeed on YOUR |
side OF the channel. To show his proficiency |
on the instrument he played the well-known |
cavatina of the Barber in a style which |
would do credit to the best professional. I |
have said that he has written several pamphlets
on the subject Of spiritism. He also edits a |
monthly entitled the Revue Theurgique," |
which, we are assured, is scientific. psycho- |
logical and philosophical, treating especially of
the cure of maladies by the influence of the |
mysterious fluids and of the dangers of medical, |
clerical, magnetic and hypnotic practices This |
publication, however, is known only to the |
faithful. As the visitor left Jacob invited him,
If ever he should be attacked by illness, to cali
on him and be cured for nothing Il should |
so like to convince journalist of the existence |
OF my healing powers he said, with an engag- |
ing smile.
MAKING REAL ESTATE.