Year: 1879

yond competition


POSSESSED By DEVILS.


Pail Mall Gazette.


ROME, Jan. 3.-In little village
away up in the Province of Udine, on
the borders of Italia Irredenta, there
| is q great alarm and commotion: for
the young girls of the place, one after
ter another, are showing outward and
visible signs of being possessed by a
devil. According to all accounts, there
arc new about thirty young women in
this unhappy condition. Why the evil
one should have selected so obscure a
village for his operations does not
seem quite clear. Indeed, the blame
is not laid on him, but on the priests.
Inquiries made by the authorities have
elected the fact that in Lent last year
a series of discOurses was delivered by
a priest, in which he described at great
length aud with much detail, the pains
of He'll, thereby terrifying weak yonng
women that they were already lost aud
that the Devil had entered into them.
The priests, who at first were rather
pleased with the impression their
brother made, have since found that
though they had raised the spirit they
had no power to lay it again. Holy
water produced no effect the most
searching exorcisms fail, and even such
practical measures as beating the per-
son affected have been found useless.
While the fit of madness is on the
possessed crow like cocks, or NEW
like cats, or bark and howl like dogs
and wolves. What is worse, they
shock their neighbors by blasphemous
and obscene language, being especial
ly violent against the priests, cursing
them for their inability to relieve their
sufferings by casting out the devil.
The:Perfect of the province has sent a
commission to Verzegnis, the name of
the village, to see what can be done to
stop the progress of this madness; for
by force of example and terror, it
threatens to spread. The people of
the district cannot be persuaded but
that the devil is really at large among
them.


A curious incident of the same kind
was related to me a few months ago
by q friend who had heard it from the
lips of one of the doctors at the lunatic
asylum at Siena. At Siena there is q
very large asylum in proportion to the
number of Inhabitants, but it is nearly
always full. Among the patients is a
man who was formerly servant to a
priest in the town, and h,.d been re-
markable for his piety and devotion.
A year or two ago he began to show
signs Of religious mania, and his mas.
ter, in hopes of curing him, sent him
to a country house for change of air
and scene. The man appeared to get
better, and after some months return.
ed to the town, but the mania soon
began to show itself again. He had
an idea that he was Bishop, and used
to preach in the streets; so it was re.
solved to place him in the asylum
Two attendants were sent with a car
aiage to remove him ; and to get him
away quietly he was told that he was
to officiate at a religious function. AS
he was driving through the streets he
blessed the people, and, on nearing
the asylum, he expressed wish to &C
in and bless the poor mad people,
and so was taken in. 1t was easy to
persuade him that the patients were
his flock, and he used to preach to
them and to assist the keepers in many
little ways; and so, being gentle anG
harmless, he became a great favorite
Among his flock was a very violent
lunstic, who constantly used language
so blasphemous and disgusting that i
shocked the keepers, and even the 9th


or patients; and to this man he speed


lily devoted his attention, trying tc


reason with him and bring him to &
calmer state, but always in vain.


One day, without any warning, hi


fell on the blasphemer and strangled


him +; telling the keepers that the mar


was possessed with the devil, that HI


had long tried to cast him out but il


vain, and so, as the possessed crcatur'


was too wicked 10 live, he had killed


him. But now it seemed as if the spiri


of the dead man had entered into hi


murderer. Religion was forgotten
and its place was taken by all tn
vicious passions of his victim. Th
most blasphemous language continual
} ly issued from lips that hitherto hat
} been pure of evil speaking his gentl'
nature gave place to the violenc
which had characterized the man h
had killed and, from being the mos
tractable of patients, he has now be
3 come one of the most dangerous, an,
5 the one of whom the keepers are mos
= in fear. They all firmly believe tina
. the evil spirit cast out of the murder
t ed man actually did enter into th
= body Of the murderer.


d SHE came down like thousand {
n brick, and poetical exchange notice
q the lnishap thusly: Not a groan W.