The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-05-12

miracle to be wrought in their behalf.
and that they would be the means of con-
verting the Turks to Christianity. This
strange crusade, the strangest in history.
had sad ending. A few of these devoted
but misguided children found their WAY
back to their homes, but nearly all Of
them perished-some on the way. some
by drowning in the Mediterranean sea
while all who escaped death, and did not
return home, were sold into slavery. 1t
was a strange enterprise with sad end
ing
ut is wonderful - said Old Bob. what
hardships and suferings people will en-
dure under Authorizations of what NAV
be called mania, and what sacrifices they
will make to carry out their insane notions.
Early in the 18th century the attention of
Europe was directed TO a very remarka-
Bile instance of fanaticism which had
been claimed by the animal magnetists
of that day as proof of the truth of their
science The 'Convulsionaries of ST.
Medard, as they were called, assembled
in great numbers round the tomb of their
favorite saint, the Jansenist priest Paris.
and taught one another how to fall into
commissions.
I'm the fine arts gallery at the worlds
fair last year, in the American collection,
there was exhibited a wonderfully real
lstic painting of these fanatics These
deluded people believed that st. Paris
would cure all their infirmities and the
number of historical women and weak
minded persons of all descriptions who
t1ocked to the tomb from far and near was
so great as daily to block up all the ave
nues leading to it. Working themselves
up to pitch of excitement, they went
one after another into fits while some of
them, still in apparent possession of all
their faculties, voluntarily exposed them
selves TO sutferings, which, on ordinary
occasions, would have been sufficient to
deprive them of life.
''THE SCENES THAT OCCURRED.
are said to have been scandal to civil
cation and TO religion strange mixture
OF obscenity, absurdity and superstition.
While some were praying on Bonded knees
at the shrine of st. Paris, others were
shrieking and making the most hideous
noises. The women, especially exerted
themselves. On one side of the chapel
there might be seen a score of them, all
in commissions; while at another as many
more, excited to a sort of frenzy, yielded
themselves up to gross iudecencies. Some
of them took an insane delight in being
beaten and trampled upon.
Zone woman in particular, accordingto
a French writer, who gave an eyewitness
account of the doings of these fanatics,
was so enraptured with this ill usuage
that nothing but the hardest blows would
satisfy her. While a fellow of great
strength was beating her with all his
might with heavy bar of iron, she kept
continually urging him to renewed exer-
ton. The harder he struck the better
she liked it, exclaiming all the while:
Well done, brother, well done! Oh. how
pleasant it is! What good you are doing
me Courage, my brother courage; strike
harder still
Another of these fanatics had, if DOS
sible, still greater love for a beating.
The man who related the circumstance,
was unable to satisfy her with sixty
blows of a large sledge-hammer He af-
forwards used the same weapon with the
same degree of strength, for the sake of
experiment, and succeeded in battering a
hole in stone wall at the twenty-fifth
stroke. Another woman, named Sonnet
laid herself down on a red hot brazler
without fiinching, and acquired for her
self the nickname of 'Salamander;' while
others, DESTROYS of more illustrious mar
tyrdom, attempted 10 cruelty themselves!
"A French author, in a critical history
OF Animal Magnetism attempted to
prove that this fanatical frenzy was pro-
duced by magnetism suppose they
would styleit hypnotism in these days
and that these mad enthusiasts magnet
lied each other without being aware of
it. If this were so, as well might he in
sist that the fanaticism which tempts the
Hindoo bigot to keep his arms stretched
in a horizontal position till the sinews
wither, or his fingers closed upon his
palms till the nails grow out Of the backs
of his hands, is also the effect of mag
netism!
''All of which, / may say, goes to show
that mankind are all the time and always
initiative, and largely inclined to the
qualification of the abnormal instincts of
their nature. -