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Show I DEATH OF POPE LEO XIII HOURLY EXPECTED, f A- this writing (3 p. m., Thursday), the life of Pope Leo is ebbing fast, I ar.d the end is hourly expected. Rea-( Rea-( sen and medical science concur in the I decision that at best he can live but a day or two longer, so that in all like- liliood before this issue of the Inter- I mountain Catholic reaches its sub-yrriirrs. sub-yrriirrs. the Catholic world will nif,i -n the loss of one of the grandest f pontiffs who occupied the chair of I Peter since the dawn of the Christian I era. Not until Sunday last did the gravity grav-ity of 1he malady which brings the pontiff to his deathbed, make itself so manifest as to cause the deepest apprehension ap-prehension at the Vatican that the lime between life and eternity could lie counted by hours, nay, by minutes. On that day the last sacraments nf tho t chnrrh were administered. The priest apostolic approached bearing the via- I ticum. to give the last communion and I the extreme unction, assisted by the I grand penitentiary. Pope Leo feebly I . rented the confession of faith, as for- I initiated by the Council of Trent, and i. finally the words of absolution and the formula of indulgence in articulo mor- t's were solemnly pronounced by the f. id penitentiary. The heads of the I pre at religious orders who were pres- L ev cranted the pope the special in- J diligences which they have the privi- lege of conferring. Then came the I touching prayers for a passing soul f and part of the gospel of the Lord's passion. As the last words died away, I all fell on their' knees. The pontiff, raising his almost trans- f parent fingers with a feeble effort, pro- noimeed in scarcely audible words his benediction on the sacred college and I on all present, and then sank back j on the pillows. There was scarcely a tearless eye in the whole assembly. I and the sobs of the pone's relatives I v.e-e plainly heard. Deep silence, ; broken now and again by murmured pray or a pious ejaculation. - "Gods will be done. Who would I have i.elinved it .when only, ten days f aero I was presiding over a public con- j sistory?" feebly murmured Pope Leo as he frit himself sinking into a sleep. I ; which lasted about three hours of Sun- ; day risrht. until excruciating pain brought him back to consciousness, j I Though hovering on the brink of I death, the life of the pontiff is still ; ; prolonged ,y means of strong stimu- j laiits and concentrated nourishment. The pontiff is lying on a small bed I drawn up to a window overlooking the I plaza of St. Peter's. The only picture in the room- is an antique Madonna, I and the sole ornament a great ivory I crucifix. j The cable dispatches from Rome on j Tuesday contained this intelligence: i Another morning has broken on the f pathetic scene within the simple j chamber of the Vatican where Pope i Io lies dying. As the soft light of dawn penetrated into the room, the pontiff whispered to his devoted phy- I Firian that he desired the shutters of I I the windows to be opened, saying: I "I wish to see once more, perhaps I for the last time, the rays of the sun." i J T1 was just a short while after the j pope came back to consciousnes from I a sep which Dr. Lapponi had induced ! I by a strong dose of chloral. His sleep as so deathlike that artificial respir- j at ion was continued, and Dr. Lapponi j : every few minutes leaned anxiously r I over the conch to nhsprep thf illns- ; trious patient and listen to his hardly i perceptible breathing. Pope Leo I , awuV.e wet with perspiration, feeble to I the extreme and his voice hardly aud- The fits of coughing had brought f pains in his chest and shoulders, and, th'nVing his end was now near, he said to Dr. Lapponi: "Tell me when i '!;. time really comes." The doctor ! j a -Died his holiness that he believed I j tl' - danger of his immediate passing I w;.- averted for the night, and for to- t d.--. I j I'uring his bright intervals on Tues- da the pope resumed his habits of ! " ir.mand and insisted on ;iving or- d : , for the preparation of the brief j ! eointing Monsignor Velponi, actually actual-ly 1 (rotary of letters to princes, as f-'1 rotary of the consitorial congrega-; congrega-; 'i"'i. a place vacant, owing to the pro-ii pro-ii ; ion of Mgr. Nocalli to the cardi-i cardi-i ar, r. The importance of such an ap-j ap-j I" i mient, especially at the present 1 n.' i:,ent, is manifest when it is con-Ridered con-Ridered that on the pope's death the "rotary of state ceases to exercise 1 'unctions, which are assumed im-n.. im-n.. ;;ately by the secretary of the con-"rial con-"rial congregation. T, e pope has given striking proof f his well known taste for the clas--:. He has partly composed and parity corrected a new Latin poem, r.ieh he has entrusted to Mgr. An-I An-I f-li. one of his private secretaries, I di of-ting him to have it printed for I Piidication, and added: j ' T Ilr.J "I shall die happier in thinking that somethng will remain of me that I have done at the very last moment." The pope, even when in good health, sleeps only four or five hours each night, and often in the morning his bed is undisturbed and the pope is found asleep in the very chair, before his writing table, in which he now reclines. re-clines. On Tuesday the pope spent his time partly in bed and partly in an arm chair. Those who saw him that day were struck with his energy., - "No doubt," the pontiff is reported to have' said, '1 am near my end, but I want to die in harness." The pope objected to having the oxygen inhaling apparatus continuously continu-ously under his nostrils and Dr, Lapponi Lap-poni decided to impregnate the whole atmosphere of the room with oxygen. "That is much better,' said the pontiff. pon-tiff. "Before I felt as though I had lost my liberty." On Wednesday the pope's physicians physi-cians decided on an operation. When the operation took place nobody was allowed in the room beside the doctors doc-tors except Pope Leo's valet, Pio Centra; Cen-tra; even his nephew, Count Camillo Pecci, left the room to await with extreme ex-treme anxiety in an adjoining hall the result. The doctors, desiring a strong light, had the window widely opened, but as it faces the bed the light offended the weak eyes of the pontiff, so that it was thought desirable desir-able that he should reverse his position. posi-tion. As soon as this was announced the pope moved, showing that spirit of action and determination which seems constantly to inspire him. Dr. Mazzoni, however, did not give him time to leave the bed, but, taking him in his arms, literally turned the pontiff about. Pope Leo smiled and exclaimed: ex-claimed: "Bravo, professor, I congratulate congrat-ulate you. Although I have become so light, I must still be rather heavy." Both the doctors laughed and were at the same time astonished at the brightness of the pontiff when oppressed op-pressed by such a dangerous illness and on the point of undergoing a surgical sur-gical operation. Telegrams from Rome published in Thursday's papers announce that Pope Leo still lives, but the end seems very near. Leading doctors-were in consultation, but no hope is held out that the aged ncntili will get well. Cardinal Gibbons left Baltimore on Wednesday for New York, where he will take the first steamer for Europe ainl go on to the Eternal City. 7 ' :v,. ' -Trr'-y2i S -V, f: r-. , . f- -. , . ,-4 - , T v - .. h':7 8 rti " s V4 " - ' " lis s " f J, x ' i ' H, J |