Death of Doctor Cailleux.

— Spiritism has just lost one of its most worthy and most fervent adherents in the person of Dr. Cailleux, who died on Friday, April 20, 1866. We can render no more brilliant homage to his memory than by reproducing one of the articles published on the subject by the Journal de Montreuil, of April 5.

“A man of good has just expired amid general grief. Dr. Cailleux, a Doctor of Medicine for nearly thirty years, member of the Municipal Council, member of the Benevolence Association, physician of the poor, physician of the epidemics, died last Friday, at seven o’clock in the evening.

“On Monday, a great multitude, composed of all the classes of society, conducted him to his last dwelling. The religious silence that reigned throughout the course of the funeral procession gave to that sad and imposing ceremony the character of a public manifestation. That simple coffin, closely followed by three thousand persons, in tears or plunged into mute grief, would have touched the hardest hearts. It was an entire city that hastened to render the last duties to one of its dearest inhabitants; it was an entire population that wished to conduct to the cemetery the one who had so often sacrificed himself for it. “The poor, whom Mr. Cailleux had so often heaped with benefits, showed that they had a grateful heart. A great number of workmen took the coffin of their benefactor from the hands of the bearers, considering it a glory to carry to the cemetery that precious burden…

“The ends of the pall were held by Mr. Lecomte, 1st Deputy; by Mr. Cosyn, 1st Municipal Councilor; by Mr. Hacot, member of the Benevolence Association, and by Mr. Delplanque, physician and Municipal Councilor. At the head of the procession marched the Municipal Council, preceded by the Mayor, Mr. Emile Delhomel. In the assembly one noticed Mr. Charbonnier, Sub-prefect; Mr. Martinet, Imperial Prosecutor; the Commandant of the Garrison, all the notabilities of the city, and the physicians of the neighboring localities. “A great number of soldiers of the garrison, whom Mr. Cailleux had treated at the Holy House of Mercy, had obtained the favor of attending the burial and had hastened to mingle with the multitude.

“Upon arriving at the cemetery, a workman broke through the multitude and, stopping before the tomb, pronounced with a moved voice, amid the general silence, these few words: “Man of good, who were the benefactor of the poor and who died a victim of your sublime dedication, receive our last farewells; your memory will remain eternally in our hearts.” After these words, dictated by a sentiment of gratitude, the multitude withdrew in religious recollection.

“The sadness that reigned upon all the countenances showed well what an immense loss the city of Montreuil had just suffered.

“Indeed, Mr. Cailleux, by his numerous qualities, had known how to win universal esteem. His entire life had been nothing but a long series of acts of devotion; he worked until the last day without ever wishing to rest and, last Tuesday, he still went to visit several patients in the countryside. When people spoke to him of his advanced age and advised him to rest from his numerous fatigues, he would willingly have answered like Arnaud: “I have all eternity to rest.” Every hour of his life was consecrated to caring for the sick, to consoling the afflicted; he did not live for himself, but for his fellow men, and his whole existence may be summed up in these three words: Charity, Devotion, Abnegation. “In recent times, when the epidemic spread in Étaples and in the surrounding villages, Dr. Cailleux dedicated himself body and soul to the sick, traversing the infested hamlets, visiting the poor, caring for some, succoring others, and bringing consolations to all. Thus he visited more than 800 patients, entering the least salubrious dwellings, sitting at the bedside of the dying and himself administering the remedies to them, without ever complaining, maintaining, on the contrary, an ever-constant humor and a providential cheerfulness. The patient who saw him was already half cured by that jovial humor, always accompanied by a word that made one laugh. “Eight days before his death, Mr. Cailleux went to visit his patients at Berck, Lefaux, Camiers, and Étaples, consecrating the evening hours to the patients of the city: behold what was for him the work of a single day!

“Such abnegation was to be fatal to him, and he was to be the last victim of the scourge. On March 20 he began to present a strong diarrhea… He was about to rest when he was called for a patient in the countryside. Despite the advice of friends, he set out, saying: “I do not wish to expose a patient through my fault; if he were to die, I would be responsible. I am but fulfilling my duty.” When he returned at night, in bad weather, new symptoms of the illness appeared. He took to his bed, the malady increased, the next day the illness was declared, and on Friday he expired… “One is horrified when one thinks of the terrible pains that a man must feel who, knowing his condition, sees himself dying. Mr. Cailleux himself indicated the treatment to follow to two of his colleagues, who hastened eagerly to assist him. He knew perfectly that he would not be cured. He said: “If the improvement does not make itself felt soon, in twelve hours I shall no longer exist.” He saw himself dying, he felt the vital force diminish and extinguish itself little by little, without being able to halt that march toward the tomb. His last moments were calm and serene, and I would not know how better to call this death than rest in the Lord. Beati qui moriuntur in Domino [Blessed are those who die in the grace of the Lord]. “A few hours before his death they asked him what remedy they should employ. “Human science has employed all the remedies that were in its power. Now only God can halt the evil; one must trust in his divine Providence.” — Then he bent over his bed and, with his eyes fixed toward heaven, as if foretasting the celestial beatitude, he expired without pain, without a cry, calmly and gently.

“Man of good, whose entire life was a long devotion, you labored on this earth; now you enjoy the reward that God reserves for those who have always observed his law. While egoism flowed in torrents on the Earth, you exceeded in abnegation and charity. To visit the poor, to succor the sick, to console the afflicted, behold what was your work. Oh! how many families blessed you! how many fathers whose children you saved during the last epidemic! how many children who were about to be orphaned and whom you snatched from the destroying scourge! how many families saved by your devotion came, on Monday, from several leagues away to accompany you to your last dwelling and to weep over your tomb! “Your life was always pure and without stain; your death was heroic; soldier of charity, you succumbed saving your brothers from death, you perished struck down by the scourge you were combating. That glorious devotion was about to receive its reward, and soon the cross of honor, which you had earned so nobly, was about to shine upon your breast… But God had other designs upon you; he was preparing for you a reward more beautiful than the recompense of men, he was preparing for you the happiness that he reserves for his faithful servants. Your soul took flight to superior worlds where, freed from this heavy material envelope, delivered from all the bonds that, on the Earth, weigh upon us, it now enjoys the perfection and the happiness that awaited it. “On that day of happiness, do not forget us; think of the numerous friends you have left on the Earth and whom your separation plunges into profound grief. May it please heaven that one day we may find you in paradise to enjoy there an eternal happiness!… It is this hope that consoles us and that will give us strength to bear your absence with patience…”

A. J.

For a faithful copy: Jules Duval.

May I be permitted, as a complement to this article, to cite some fragments of the magnificent funeral discourse, pronounced a year ago by Victor Hugo.

(There follows an excerpt of that discourse, which we published in the Review of February 1865).

Certainly it is not the apostles of nihilism who write such words.

The letter by which we are informed of this event contains the following passage:

“Mr. Cailleux, Doctor of Medicine, president of the Spiritist Group of Montreuil, has just died, a victim of his devotion during the outbreak of cholera that devastated our land. He died as a convinced Spiritist and, for this reason, the clergy of the city saw fit to refuse him ecclesiastical burial; but, as you will see from the copy of the newspaper that I am sending you, the entire population rendered solemn homage to his virtues. Nonetheless, the family tried to persuade the diocese so that a funeral service might be sung in the church, although there had been only a civil burial. They succeeded, and the service was held on Thursday, April 5. “Spiritism suffers a great loss with the death of Mr. Cailleux, and I am persuaded that all my brothers in belief will associate themselves with my legitimate regrets. Thanks to his devotion and to his enlightened zeal, the doctrine has made such rapid progress, both in our countryside and in the city, the Spiritists who live in its surroundings numbering in the hundreds.

“The Municipal Council of the city of Montreuil decided, unanimously, in response to the proposal of the Mayor, that a public monument shall be erected at the expense of the city, as a homage to be rendered to the memory of this great man of good.”

— “The following extract of a communication given by him to his colleagues of Montreuil was sent to us. From it has been suppressed only what deals with personal matters:

“…You return to my death. Well then! it was useful to our cause because it awakened the slumbering attention of numerous souls deprived of the truth and, consequently, of life. Everything that disappears always leaves a void in the place it occupied; but, as you well know, that void is only apparent; it exists only for those who have limited vision, since it is filled on another side. Thus, you lose nothing, I repeat, by my death; on the contrary, by it you will gain much, not that I performed, during my corporeal life, prodigies of charity apt to set off the doctrine that we together profess, but because, faithful to the Spiritist principles, I was the object of hostile manifestations, which necessarily had to provoke contrary demonstrations. On the Earth things never happen otherwise; do not good and evil clash each time they meet? “It results, then, from all this, that at this hour you enter a new phase, which our good guides had long ago prepared for their teachings. But, as for the decomposition of your society, there is nothing to fear, if you persist always in the sentiments by which I see you animated at this moment. Do you know what my reward is? It is to see the relative happiness that you experience through the Doctrine, of which I showed myself, in all circumstances, a zealous champion. For you it is difficult to conceive a purer joy. What are, beside it, the gross joys of your world? What are the honors beneath which you hide the miseries of your souls? What are the pleasures you seek to disturb your sad returns? What is all this in comparison with what I feel? Nothing! less than smoke. “Persevere in your sentiments, persevere unto death.

“I saw that you have the intention of organizing yourselves regularly; it is a wise measure. Weakness must always guard itself against the snares and surprises of the spirit of evil. Ah! the spirit of evil! it is not Satan. It is found at every step in the world where you jostle one another. Regulate, then, the order in your sessions, in your evocations, in your studies. Bind yourselves to one another by the voluntary bonds of charity, of benevolence, and of submission. Behold the best way to gather abundant and sweet fruits.”

— Behold the first communication that he gave at the Society of Paris:

(April 13, 1866. – Medium: Mr. Morin.)

EVOCATION.

Dear and venerated Dr. Cailleux, In your life we appreciated you as a fervent and devoted Spiritist. Called no doubt by Providence in order to implant the doctrine in your region, you took up the banner proudly and firmly, confronting without faltering the sarcasms and the persecution; thus, success crowned your efforts. It is not only the brother in belief that we today come to salute in his departure from the Earth, but the man of good, the one who not only preached Spiritism by his words, but who knew how to make it loved and respected by his example and by the practice of the Christian virtues. Receive, then, here the expression of our most lively sympathies and the hope that you may be disposed to come sometimes into our midst, to associate yourself with our works. Answer – Here I am, thank you. – A moment ago you were speaking of the tendencies inherent in the human organism. One observes more especially those due to the evil instincts, because men are always led to guard themselves against what may be harmful to them or cause them some embarrassment; but the tendencies toward the good often pass unnoticed in the eyes of society, because it is much more difficult to find and to show the violet than the thorn.

Do not be surprised if I begin thus. As you said a moment ago, the Spirit is alone responsible for his acts; he cannot excuse himself, attributing his fault to God; no. The good and the bad sentiments are the result of prior conquests. In my life, led by instinct toward the good, toward the relief of my brothers in God, I decline the honor of all your praises, because I had no difficulty in following the path that my heart traced for me; I had no struggle to sustain against the contrary instincts; I merely let myself go gently by the vocation of my taste, which said to me quite loudly: “March! you are on the right path.” And the moral satisfaction of my whole intelligent being was so great that certainly I was as happy as the miser, who satisfies his passion for gold by contemplating it and caressing it. I repeat it to you, I have no merit in this particular; nevertheless, I thank you for your kind words, which are not heard in vain by those to whom they are addressed. However elevated they may be, the Spirits always feel the happiness of a sympathetic thought. I was not slow to recover from the very natural emotion, resulting from the passage from material life to the life of the Spirits, but the profound conviction of entering a more living world helped me to come back to myself. I cannot better compare my passage from life to death than to a fainting without suffering and without fatigue. I awoke on the other side at the gentle fluidic touch of my dear parents and spiritual friends. Then I saw my poor mortal remains and blessed them for their fine and loyal services, since, docile to my will, in my life I had no serious struggles to sustain between my Spirit and my matter. It was, then, with satisfaction that I accompanied to the field of repose my poor body, which had helped me to prevent many of my fellow incarnates from making that voyage, which they would absolutely not have viewed as I did. I forgive all those who, in one way or another, thought they were doing me harm. As for those who refused to pray for me in the consecrated temple, I shall be more charitable than the charity they preach: I pray for them. It is thus that one must act, my good brothers in belief. Believe me, and forgive those who struggle against you, for they know not what they do.

Doctor Cailleux.

Observation. – The first words of this communication prove that the Spirit was present and had attended the discussions of the session. Indeed, a remarkable fact of precocious incendiary instinct in a child of four and a half years was discussed, reported by the Salut public of Lyon. The fact, which furnished the subject for an important study, will be published in the next number.

We also note that Dr. Cailleux does not make use of the ordinary preambles of the Spirits who have just left the Earth. One sees at once that he is not a maker of phrases, nor of compliments. He says thank you and thinks that this word suffices to make his thought comprehensible and that one should content oneself with it; then he enters abruptly into the subject, like a man who finds himself on his own ground and does not wish to waste time with useless words; he speaks as if there had been no interruption in his existence. One would say that Mr. Cailleux of Montreuil had come to visit the Society of Paris. If he declines the merit of his acts, it is certainly out of modesty; those who do good without effort have arrived at a degree of advancement that renders it natural to them; if they no longer have to struggle today, they struggled in other circumstances; the victory was attained. Those who have to combat evil tendencies are still in struggle; later the good will cost them no effort, for they will do it without thinking. For having conquered earlier, the merit exists no less.

Doctor Cailleux is one of those men who, like Doctor Demeure and so many others, honor the doctrine they profess and give the most resounding refutation to the detractors of Spiritism.