July 9 1897
The news is a little more reassuring today; For two days she has not vomited blood or even spat. Monsieur de Cornière is happier this morning; they spoke to him about giving him Extreme Unction and he replied: “Oh! but fortunately she is not there yet, it could even happen to her a few more accidents to vomit blood, without her being entirely lost. - If she eats, if she digests the milk she will be able to recover a little, it is the weakness that worries the most. Finally, after yesterday's day of testing, we are recovering a little hope. Yesterday she was able to keep at least 7 cups of milk, but without the ice cream we give her afterwards, I think she would give them all back.
I worried you a great deal yesterday, my dear little Father, but we were worried ourselves and Monsieur de Cornière too. If you saw our dear little invalid, you couldn't help laughing; she always has to say something funny. Ever since she thought she was dying, she's been gay as a chaffinch. There are times when you would pay for your place to be with her. Suddenly this morning she begins to say: “If I were going to be one of the two, huh! !...” - We were looking at each other and wondering what that meant, she corrects us: “Yes, one of the two out of the 100, would that be unfortunate...” Quite simply because our Mother had told that Mr. de Cornière said that according to his condition he would only survive 2 out of 100. And she was afraid of being one of those who could be saved.
It's something funny to see his laugh and his mischievous look telling us all this. As I announced to him that I was going to write to you to reassure you a little: - “Tell them that I love them madly and that I am a little girl of contradiction; they think I'm dying, I haven't turned my eye yet... they think I'm alive, I'm almost at death, I'm a pure contradiction; but tell them above all that I love them all very, very much..."
Our Father (Canon Maupas, superior of the Carmel) came to see her this morning and he cried out: “Oh! but, you want us to believe, you are not at death and soon you will be running in the garden, you do not have a dying face. Give you Extreme Unction? but the sacrament would not be valid, you are not sick enough.” Our Father was a bit harsh, but I think he did it on purpose, because on leaving he was well edified to see such a young child having such a desire for death and to see it arrive with such happiness.
When he left, the little patient was angry with him for not having wanted to give her the sacraments and she said: “Another time I won't go to such trouble; to be polite, I sat on our bed, I was friendly, I courted him and he refuses me what I ask of him! Another time I'll pretend, I'll have a cup of milk before he arrives, because I always look much worse afterwards, then I'll barely answer him, telling him that I'm dying" - (and she tells us was positively acting). “Yes, I can see that I don't know my job, I don't know how to do it. »
She's a very nice little patient and very amusing, she only knows how to make people laugh, but she's forbidden to talk so as not to get tired.
