Leprosy and segregation / by H.P. Wright.

  • Wright, Henry Press.
Date:
1885
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Leprosy and segregation / by H.P. Wright. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    163/242
    bones he showed no signs of the disease. He had a clear blue eye, a rugged complexion, and an honest face. He was a man of deep feeling, and of more than ordinaiy intelligence. Confident of sympathy, he told his story in a straightforward way. He was 23 years old, a woodchopper and raftsman. ' You seem surprised to see me here,' he said, ' because you see no marks of the disease. Look at my hands,' showing his palms. All the lines of his hands appeared to have been frosted with silver. ' Look at the whites of my eyes,' he continued. They were of a light orange colour. He pointed to the slight swellings below his temples, and then said : ' All your doubts would be removed if you were to see my body. This spring I was logging up the north-west branch of the Miramichi. One night I saw a yellow spot on my leg. I paid no attention to it, supposing that it came from wading so much in the cold water. Two or three days afterwards another spot appeared near the first one. I began to have strange pains in my legs, and could not get enough sleep. Within a week I noticed a spot on my breast. The pains increased, and I thought that I had rheumatism. I took some medicine for it, and it did me no good. At last I came over here, by the advice of a comrade, to see the Sisters, and to find out what was the matter with me. They told me that I had the disease, and here I am for life.' Noel told his sad story with an erect head. He had not been in the lazaretto long enough to acquire the dejected look of his fellow-sufferers, but the