act with the bed.

The stigmatization ensued very soon after these seizures. On a Friday
she bled from the left side of her chest. On the following Friday this
flow was renewed, and in addition, blood escaped from the dorsal
surfaces of both feet; and on the third Friday, not only did she bleed
from the side and feet, but also from the dorsal and palmar surface of
both hands. Every succeeding Friday the blood flowed from these places,
and finally other points of exit were established on the forehead and
between the shoulders.

At first these bleedings only took place at night, but after two or
three months they occurred in the daytime, and were accompanied by
paroxysms of ecstasy, during which she was insensible to all external
impressions, and acted the passion of Jesus and the crucifixion.

M. Warlomont, being commissioned by the Royal Academy of Medicine of
Belgium to examine Louise Lateau, went to her house, accompanied by
several friends, and made a careful examination of her person. At that
time, Friday morning at six o'clock, the blood was flowing freely from
all the stigmata. In a few moments the sacrament would be brought to
her, and then the second act of the drama would begin. The scene that
followed can be best described in M. Warlomont's own words:

"It is a quarter-past six. 'Here comes the communion,' said M. Niels [a
priest], 'kneel down.' Louise fell on her knees on the floor, closed her
eyes and crossed her hands, on which the communion-cloth was extended. A
priest, followed by several acolytes, entered; the penitent put out her
tongue, received the holy wafer, and then remained immovable in the
attitude of prayer.

"We observed her with more care than seemed to have been hitherto given
to her at similar periods. Some thought that she was simply in a state
of meditation, from which she would emerge in the course of half an hour
or so. But it was a mistake. Having taken the communion, the penitent
went into a special state. Her immobility was that of a statue, her eyes
were closed; on raising the eyelids the pupils were seen to be largely
dilated, immovable, and apparently insensible to light. Strong pressure
made upon the parts in the vicinity of the stigmata caused no sensation
of pain, although a few moments before they were exquisitely tender.
Pricking the skin gave no evidence of the slightest sensibility. A limb,
on being raised, offered no resistance, and sank slowly back to its
former posit