Journal in France in 1845 and 1848 with Letters from Italy in 1847: Of Things and Persons Concerning the Church and EducationAllies, T. W. (Thomas William)
Religion
Journal in France in 1845 and 1848 with Letters from Italy in 1847: Of Things and Persons Concerning the Church and Education
Allies, T. W. (Thomas William)
France -- Church history -- 19th century; Italy -- Church history -- 19th century
We spoke of the bishop. She was much interested also in all that the
doctor said. He kept fanning her with a large feather fan: her only
relief. She suffers most on Thursdays. The issue of blood Fridays
unaccompanied with pain: rather a relief. A woman and boy came to see
her. Cheerful when _freer_ from pain (she always suffers). Was told
we were English. Looks very intently at one. Light blue or blue
gray eyes; hair fine,--a cold brown. Face awfully wasted. Her smile
sweet. Says, when most in pain, "Dio mio, mio Dio!" Friday morning, at
five, we were again with her. She was in an insensible state: waking
up at intervals. The hands still clasped, but the head shaking, and
her teeth chattering. The blood was bright red and fresh (flowing)
from all the upper row of holes and the rest, though clotted below
generally, for she suffers great heat of fever. The wounds of the
hands were open and ran, but outside (on the surface) the blood had
run down the back of the hand in a broad stream to a little below the
wrist, and there stopped; one small current had trickled across to the
bottom of the hand. It was clotted. I looked as close as I could by
stooping to the inside of the left hand. My impression was of an open
wound, much deeper; long, with lips standing out upon the upper side;
much blood had run over the inside of her hand: it ran to the wrist
and all over the palms. Her teeth whole, though the two centre much
apart. Her face, above and below the blood, was not livid, but of a
good complexion. Her voice when she spoke was much stronger than
yesterday. She saw me trying to draw the outline of her face, and
said, she supposed a portrait would appear of her. We commended
ourselves and England to her prayers. All English (she said) who had
seen her had done the same. She commended herself by us to the
Bishop's blessing and intercession with "Il vescovo di tutti,"
(something she said quite indistinct). This is the substance of my
notes written on the spot. I must add to it, that every Friday since
the date above, and only on Friday, the wounds have bled; that the
doctor told us he had seen her feet a hundred times, which are marked
like the hands, but the blood runs _up_ towards the toes; as it does
up the nose, which we saw. Her side wound has been seen by several
women, her sister among others, whom we talked much to. She was
perfectly simple, wanted no money, and treated her sister more as an
invalid than anything else. The Dr. Yoris's presence was, I think, a
very great advantage to us. It put all reserve out of the question, if
any would otherwise have been observable, and enabled us to see her
more as she always is, and no doubt to stay longer, to draw the
curtain aside, &c. My impression was of great awe at the sight: the
day Friday, and the supernatural facts of the flow of blood from a
person taking no nourishment or food of any kind, the course taken by
the blood,--but the sight of the dark mask of blood was what first and
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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