Henri Busquet of Nay, fifteen years old in 1858, had suffered for several years from tubercular adenitis (scrofula) — the suppurating, fistulous swelling of the cervical lymph nodes that was one of the great scourges of pre-antibiotic Europe. The sores on his neck would not close; he was emaciated, pale, and bedridden.
Hearing of the spring at Massabielle, his family brought him a bottle of the water. He applied compresses to the open sores. The wounds dried within hours and closed without scarring; the underlying disease never returned. He was examined by Dr. Dozous and the canonical commission and the cure was recognised in Bishop Laurence's decree of January 18, 1862, as one of the seven first recognised cures.