Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1903-07-16
A WEEK OF ANXIETY.
The End of 1t Found the Pope But
the Shadow of n Man.


Rome, July 12.-Saturday brought
to a close a full week since Pope Leo
was stricken with illness, , and it
found him still battling against death.
DR.. Lapponi remained near the pope
throughout the night, but there was
little occasion for his services. When
DR.. Mazzoni joined him in the sick
chamber at $50 o'clock Saturday
morning they found that their pa
tent had not suffered any serious de-
preston during the night, although
the same terrible weakness was still
manifest.
An affecting interview has occurred
between the pontiff. Cardinal 'Satolli
and three other cardinals represent.
ing various degrees of the sacred col
lege. Cardinal Satolli and his compan-
ions We're admitted to the presence of
the pope as a speciai favor, following
his earnest entreaties. in the gentlest
manner Cardinal Macchi, speaking for
all, told the pontiff of the universal
interest taken in his condition. add
ing: prayers are going up every
where thai the Lord may preserve for
the benefit of the church, the precious
life of your holiness
Il thank your %eminence," replied
he pope. 1T will be as God wishes,
We must submit to His holy will" s.
saying the sufferer pressed the hand
of each of the cardinals as they with.
drew.
One of the cardinals present at the
interview, spoke afterwards of the re-
markable changes that had been
wrought since he had last seen the
pontitf only last Sunday night. when
extreme junction was administered to
his holiness. The cardinal said: The
appearance of the Holy father is in
tensely painful. He maintains mental
acumen, but his brave spirit is terri
bly, broken. This was especially ap-
parent to me, while | am used to see
him often. | have observed Il great
change in his physical condition dur
ing the last five days. His words are
now uttered with difficulty and he
raises his hand only after an effort.
His face is excessively emaciated and
his eyes + deeply sunken. His ex-
tFeme weakness is evident at the first
glance; there remains only a shadow
Of the man.
Cardinal Satolli. in a conversation.
said that life was only kept in the
tired body of the pontiff by the con.
slant use of powerful stimulants, and
other persons equally reliable who
saw the pope Sunday and who had
seen him on previous days of his i'll
ness, agree with Cardinal Satolli in
saying that death has made all his
ravages save separation of the soul
and body. And yet doctors announce
to the public that the pope's general
condition is satisfactory. An ex-
planation of the apparent contradic-
ton lies in the fact that the doctors
expected his holiness to die long be.
fore this and now are exercising in
their bulletins an excess of caution
anu d comparative hie'hou VI eApfes-
siop which is incomprehensible to
the lay mind. Moreover, the extraor-
binary vitality of their patient has,
so to speak. annihiliated every medi-
cal theory held by doctors. in Italy
so that it is scarcely surprising that
Doctors Rossoni, Mazzoni and Lap,
POM content themselves with daily
recording the symptoms of progress
SIGN and retrogression which succeed
each other with such battling irregu.
larity as to forbid the risk of max
ing a definite prognostication for the
public.