Year: 1871







The BLEEDING Girl Of Hainault" Is
the latest Catholic miracle, and is just
now being made the subject of nu.
merous newspaper notices, through
the country. The condition Of the
"bleeding girl" presents q curious
physiological phenomenon, and as
physicians have vainly endeavored to
account for it, the priests have made
a miracle out Of it. The case of the
fasting girl Of the South Wales who,
after going without food for many
months, died Of exhaustion some IL
or Is months ago, was one Of the
strangest on record; but the bleeding
girl of Hainault, Is almost as strange
and is equally we'll authenticated.-
The main facts connected with the
latter are as follows: Her name Is
Louise Lateau, and she is now about
twenty years of age. When seven
teen years old she went out to ser.
vice, and shortly after was taken i'll,
and it seemed as ii she were going to
her long home; but one Friday morn
ing slender rivulet Of blood began
to ooze from her left side, which con-
tinued for short time and then
ceased. On the following Friday it
but re-appeared, was on the upper
surface Of her feet. The following
week, on the same day, the crimson
stream issued simultaneously from
her side, feet and hands; q few
months later it came from her head !;
and latest accounts say that every
week, only on Fridays, she presents
an awful sort Of image of the Savior
bleeding on the cross. Cataleptic
symptoms accompany each recurrence
Of the bleeding,-the girl going into a
kind of trance, in which she says she
beholds the scene Of the Passion
Tears roll down her cheeks, and she
remains insensible to ali outward
sights and sounds, and cannot be
awakened by numerous and powerful
electric shocks during the paroxysm,
which usually continues from eight
o'clock in the morning till five in the
evening, blood flowing during the
whole time. She awakes from her
trance with leap, falls into cold
sweat, has rattle in her throat, an
imperceptible pulse, but she RECEIVERS
in about fifteen minutes, and contiues
IN her usual health until the next Fri
day.


The most eminent medical men of the
locality have examined the case and
profess to be unable to discover any
trickery or imposture connected with
it. One of the doctors has made ex-
periments, and having scrutinized
whence the blood exudes with a micro
scope, found that on those places the
epidermis is very thin, so that the true
skin can be seen through it. When
the bleeding is going to begin, lit
tie bladder appears on the spots, fill
ed with transparent, reddish fluid.
A rent presently takes place in the
cuticle, the serious fluid escapes, and
the blood begins to ooze from the
surface Of the exposed papillae with
in.


The flow often amounts to nearly a
quart; and pending that the doctor
boS tiShiSa huC paticht . uoSc Will q
feather, tested her sense of smell with
ammonia, pricked her with needle,
and passed strong electromagnetic
current along her arm, all Of which
she bore without the least manifesto
ton of feeling. On one occasion the
girls hands were encased in we'll
stitched leather gloves, which were
drawn tight at the wrist, and the
strings sealed, the object being to de-
.tect trickery if any were employed
The DIR. watched the result, which
was, that when the gloves were taken
off they were full OF blood.


The above are the leading items re-
corded in this singular case, and they
seem to be well attested; but despite
the evidences as to the absence of all
collusion or trickery, there may be
some who will doubt it. To all such
it need only be said that Hainault is
well-known town in Belgium, and
that travelling by railroad and steamer
can be done expeditiously and at
tolerably cheap rate.