1910;] At Lourdes 



Then in chorus from the multitude arose: 



Sainte Vierge, aies pitie de nous. 

 Sainte Vierge, aies pitie de nos malades. 



Seigneur, il faut que tu aies pitie! 



Meanwhile the sick, having been undressed, were 

 thrown one after another and in rather cold-blooded 

 fashion into a hoUowed-out basin by the spring. To 

 the sudden chill of the icy water, reaction varied 

 with individuals. Some shivered violently and were 

 scarcely able to move; in other cases the nervous 

 shock seemed to furnish a sudden stimulus. Those 

 capable of shouting usually cried out in exultation: 

 " Je suis gueri!" or rather " guerie," more than half Cume! 

 of them being women. Ten thousand voices then 

 rang out the Magnificat, while the more susceptible 

 rolled on the ground in religious frenzy. The physi- 

 cians now proceeded with their " constatation" or 

 test, which determines whether the cure be real or 

 imaginary. One of them explained that by no means 

 every case of apparent relief was permanent; as a rule 

 they had one actual miracle a week. Collection boxes 

 "for the benefit of incurables" I noticed here and 

 there. 



It must be said that there was much evidence of 

 genuine reverence notwithstanding the businesslike 

 attitude of the treasurers and the general air of 

 picnicking on the part of most of the visitors. Zola's 

 "Lourdes" seems to me faithfully to represent the 

 fine spirit of devotion not wholly submerged in the 

 sordid details and attendant superstition. Naturally 

 each onlooker will find his impressions colored by 

 his beliefs. For myself the total eff^ect was un- 

 convincing. 



n 317 2 



