The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-06-08


 are two reliquaries, one containing coagulated blood and the other a col ored solution of alcohol and credit the officiating clergyman with singular powers of sleight of hand by saying that he changes one reliquary for the other.
 Quite recently a Sicllian chemist an- nounced that he had discovered the se- cret of the miracle. He filled glass bottle with a composition made of CO., agulated animal blood and some fatty substance, held it near a lighted can dle, shaking it violently all the time, and when it became liquid pretended that 1t was boiling, and hence argued that he had performed a similar phe- nomenon to that of the blood of St. Januarius.
 The anti-clericals throughout Italy were considerably elated at what they regarded as a positive proof that the miracle was fraud, but they refused to repeat the experiment before two Catholic chemists who wagered large sum of money that they would detect juggling. One result of this so-called exposure of the miracle was that the officiating clergyman at the Naples cathedral abstained from making use of candle during the last perform anee of the miracle, May 5.
 None of the explanations of the pfe- nomenon given so far deserves to be confuted, especially as every one is free to believe or not that the phenom- enon is miraculous. Many persons and among them several priests of great learning, doubt its supernatural char acter
 In the year 1799, when the French had occupied Naples and established the so-called Partenopean Republic, the military authorities were very much afraid of an instruction at the time the miracle was to happen. A rumor had been set afoat that the blood of the patron saint would not boil and this was inscribed to Saint Januarius' wrath at the republican form of government. The Neapolitans gave full credit to this report and de- cided to massacre the French garrison to man and recall the deposed SOW ereign if the miracle Saint Januarius did not take place.
 The French took precautions against surprise and mustered strong in the cathedral when the day fixed for the miracle arrived. Gen. Champi- onnet, commanding the garrison; at- tended the function with his staff and waited in patience for the blood to be- gin boiling.
 The miracle was delayed beyond the usual time and everybody became inn patient. Signs of revolt were manifest and a conflict seemed imminent, when the general sent an aide-de-camp to the priest at the altar with a message that if the blood did not boil within ten minutes he would have him shot, The priest became pale, began to tremble and almost tainted, but mas teying his emotion he took up the re- liquary, turned it round twice and within five minutes the blood was boil ing. When later this episode became known belief in the miracle was con- siderably shaken, but evidently with the passing of time it was forgotten, and subsequently, it was reported to be altogether false.
 The contents of the two glass ann pullae have never been chemically an alyzed. The vessels are securely closed and sealed and have never been examined except through the two pieces of glass within which they are encased. The proposal of the Bol- landists to remove some of the sub stance contained in them for the pur- pose of a chemical analysis has been rejected with indignation. Consequent- | ly nothing approaching a scientific ex- animation of the relics and the phe- nomenon they cause has ever been at- tempted.
 It has been the custom to, register the variations in volume and weight between the blood in it's coagulated and it's liquid state, and it is asserted that these vary independently of any change in temperature. But such ob- servations do not appear to have beer carried on in any scientific basis and they are therefore of little or no value
 In 1902 the blood was subjected to a spectroscopic analysis and the result obtained, although not published seems to have been satisfactory. The substance contained In the glass vases gave the characteristic spectrum oi blood, but this proof cannot be regard ed as complete and definite.
 The ebullition of St. Januarius blood remains unexplained, an atmos. phere of legend and tradition hangs round the relics and in all likelihood nc positive documentary evidence wil ever be found to authenticate them yet they have been vererated for cen turies, and there is now no probabil ity of their ever being withdrawn iron public worship.-Naples correspondent | C,4nAov Nnua