The Leper in England

The Leper in England, with some account of English Lazar-houses, is by Robert Charles Hope. The dedication says the lecture was delivered at the request of the one who occupied the Chair on the occasion. The text says the disease known as Leprosy in Holy Scripture was an entirely and altogether different disorder to that which in the Middle Ages was so terribly prevalent, not in this country only, but over the whole Continent of Europe. Sir Risdon Bennett is said to tell us that the Leprosy of Scripture was a skin disease known to the medical faculty as Psoriasis.

The text says there are six cases only, which include nine instances of Leprosy, recorded in the Old Testament, and lists Moses, Miriam, Gehazi, Uzziah, Naaman and Four Lepers. The text says the Biblical Leprosy never ended in death, whereas that of the Middle Ages always did, and that in one case there was little suffering, in the other usually a great deal. The text says the late Father Damian gave his life to ministration and alleviation of the sufferings of the 2,000 Lepers of Hawaii, in the island of Molakai.