The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-07-21
PHYSICIANS FEAR THAT HE MAY
NEVER COMPLETELY EMERGE
FROM IT.
BY ARTIFICIAL s1IMuLANTs
vllckERlNG SPARK OF LIFE KEPT
BURNING IN THE WASTED,
FEEBLE BODY.

SSoeos
"During the night the Holy Father
rested only at short intervals. His
general condition remains grave. Pulse,
o.; respiration, 80; Temperature, 36.2
c~entigrade."
The pope this morning had brief in
tervals Of consciousness, during which
he spoke to his physicians. +
Rome, July 20.-3:35 a. m.-Now
that the supreme last moment In the
memorable life and reign of Pope Leo
is expected almost hourly. the con-
trast between the quiet within and the
excitement without the vatican is
striking. In the vast palace there is
q hushed calm of expectation, the only
apparent wakeful souls being the Swiss
guards. The doctors and attendants
of the dying pontiff speak in whispers
and move noiselessly about, SO that
from the sick room no sound comes ex-
cept the heavy breathing of +.
The Unconscious Pope,
or his OCCASIONAL cries for Pho Cen
ira and DR.. Lapponi. His tone is one
of fear, as though he felt himself
abandoned. In reality sleep is very
far from all eyes. No matter at what
hour death may come, the whole palace
will spring into sudden life as though
touched by a magician's wand.
In the piazza of st. Peters, on the
contrary, all is movement, there be-
ing a regular encampment of journal
lists before the famous bronze doors,
which are now closed in their faces
and behind which the regular tramp
of the Swiss guards can be heard.
Many eyes are glued to the window In
the pope's chamber, overlooking the
piazza. while the nearby cafes, espe-
cially those with telephones, are
crowded.
Presents a Strange Scene.
Bicycles ready for use are piled up
outside them and cabs are lingering
about in the hope of catching a fare.
This strange is illuminated by
the magnificent starlight, while the
two grand and celebrated fountains
give a kind of spectral grace to the
whole.
The Os~servatore Romano, the chief
vatican organ, has received orders to
hold itself in readiness to issue almost
at a moments notice a special edition.
The only thing wanting to complete
the paper is the hour of Pope Leo's
death. The stats of all the other pa.
pers are at their posts, ready to issue
special editions at any hour of the
night.
Dissolution Imminent.
At present the pope is lying in a
state of coma and there are grave
doubts in the minds of his doctors
whether he will ever completely
emerge. HIS imminent dissolution
seems to be only. averted by the re-
liability of the action of his heart.
His pulse, though weak. continues
steady. Shortly before midnight Dr..
Lapponi said to the correspondent Of
the Associated Press: "The pope at
the present moment is in a state of
coma which may be called a condition
preceding the last agony. the duration
of which it is impossible to forecast,
although everything leads to the be-
lief that this condition cannot last.
To be more exact, he is still in a state
of stupor from which. however, he
rOuses occasionally when he hears
sharp sounds as, for instance, the in
sistent voice Of one of his familiars
calling loudly to him. Left alone, he
relapses Immediately into a
Condition Of Torpor. M
AT intervals he murmurs in his sleep,
continuing to have forebodings that
he is abandoned by his valet, Contra,
and myself. These are the symptoms
of incipient cerebral anemia and ZEN.
eral exhaustion"
He can no longer turn in his bed
Without assistance and is being kept
alive by artificial stimulants. During
the past twenty-four hours he has had
two injections of camphoruted oil,
three of caffeine and two hypodermics
of salt water, besides drinking stimu-
1ants. Monsignor Bislotti. master of
the pOpe's chamber. said earlier in the
evening that the pulse of his holiness
has not yet shown any signs of becom-
Ing intermittent, SO despite his extreme
weakness and coma, he believed the
pope would survive the night and pos.
sibly today.
Both the Italian government and the
authorities OF the vatican have made
final preparations for the pope's death
Tho government is rigidly
censoring All kilograms
and telephone communication be.
tween Italy and the rest of the cont
nent. At this hour but few people re
main at the vatican. DR.. Mazzoni and
DIR. RossOni and the cardinals have
gone to their homes to await the last
urgent summons.
A suspicion has arisen that the
change in the pope's condition is due
to blood poisoning as q result Of de
rangement Of the kidneys.
The medical aspect of the pope's
ease Is exciting much discussion. One