OCR Text |
Show RIGIDITY OF DEATH. Aged Pontiff's Features Are Now Tightly Drawn. Rome, July 15. One of the doctors in attendance on the pontiff gave the Associated Press correspondent a graphic word picture of Pope Leo as he appears today. That smile that lighted up the pontiff's face, even in extreme age, has disappeared, probably prob-ably forever. The skin is drawn tightly over the bone framework of his face, leaving only the bright eyes staring dimly from the deeply sunken sockets. A grayish pallor overspreads his countenance, but me noticeable ravage wrought by his present disease is the dropping of the lower jaw, which has made the pope's features take on the fixed rigidity of death. Kept in Seclusion. Throughout the day the precincts of the Vatican were comparatively quiet and the immediate vicinity of the sick room showed none of the evidences of agitation and alarm so apparent yesterday. In marked contrast to previous days, the patient was kept in almost absolute seclusion, only one person besides the physicians gaining admission. This one was Monsignor Pifferi, the pope's confessor. Others, including Cardinals Satolli and Sere-fino Sere-fino Vannuttelii, came to the antechamber, ante-chamber, but they did not press for admission to the sick room, being aware of the doctor's earnest wish to afford the august patient every opportunity op-portunity of avoiding mental effort. Patient Was Restles. During, the day the Pope took a slight amount of nourishment. Through the morning he was quite restless, shifting uneasily on his bed and complaining of being unable to secure se-cure an easy position. Later he be- came drowsy and during the afternoon after-noon had some sleep. The assemblage assem-blage of the doctors at 5:30 o'clock, two hours before the usual time, was not due to any alarming turn in the Pope's condition, but through the wish thoroughly to go over every detail of the situation. Drank Water From Lourdes. This evening his holiness - complained com-plained of a slight uneasiness in the chest, but that he has not yet completely com-pletely given up hope was indicated by his remark that he expected the oppression of his chest to pass off in a few days. During the day the Pope drank a few drops of the healing waters wat-ers from the shrine at Lourdes, several sev-eral bottles of which were sent to the Vatican by the French bishop in whose see Lourdes is situated. A local naner pravolv annnnnc. I O - ' ' ' WllllUUlltO that from the moment Pope Leo swallowed swal-lowed the water an improvement in his condition became apparent. Doctors Exhausted. The doctors are well-nigh exhausted with their unceasing cares. Dr. Lap-poni Lap-poni in particular spends his entire nignts as well as days in the sick room. Just before midnight his wife, wishing to see him, went to the Vatican. Vat-ican. She was taken to a corridor near the sick room, where she saw her husband for a few minutes. An important case before the British consular con-sular court in Rome requires the presence pres-ence of Dr. Lapponi, but this is impossible im-possible because of the Pope's condition condi-tion and also because the Vatican affords af-fords extra territorial, privileges to all wiiliin 11s precincts. The total number of dispatches inquiring in-quiring about the Pope's health received re-ceived at the vatian today reached 20,000, including some lengthy cables from half round the world. The total cost of these telegrams is estimated at i3G,000. This enormous deluge taxes to the utmost the resources of the Vatican Vat-ican administration. A large force of priests and seminarians is temporarily aiding the officials in making responses, re-sponses, which bears the signature of Cardinal Rampolla. n |