The Davenport gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Scott Co., Iowa) 1841-185?, 1850-02-28

To be shot is the easiest mode Of termi.
mating life; yet rapid ns il IL, the body has
leisure 10 feel, and tbs mind 10 reflect. ID
drowning. the struggles at the outset ara
prompted by terror, not BY pain; in The ma.
j',rity Of instances a pleasing Isnguor sue.
cceds, without ANY sense Of sufocs.ion.
That 10 be frozen 10 death must be frighs4
fal torture many would consider certain
from their own experience Of the effects OF
cold. But here We fall into the usual error
Of surprising that the suffering viii increase
with the energy Of the agent, uhich could
only bc the case. if feasibility Fefnaired The
same. Infcnse cold brings on speedy sleep.
which fascnates the senses, and fairly Be.
guiles men out Of their lives. z III
The most curious exampie Of tho seduc.
tive power Of cold is 10 be found in the I'd.
ventures Of the botanical party, who, ia
Cooks FIRST voyage, we're caught in snov.
storm on Terra del Fuego. Dr.. Solandery
BY birth Swcde, and we'll acquainted
with the destructive decens Of rigorous
climate, admonished .he,companyyi in def.
ance Of lsssitude, to keep moving on
whoever" said he, 'ssits down will sleep-
and whoever sleeps will perish" Tho
doctor spoke as q sage but be felt as man.
In spite of the remonstrances ofihose whom
he had instructed and alarmed, be was the
first to lie down.
The same was repeated lhous1 nd timss
in the retreat from Moscow. Allison, tho
historian, to try the experiment, sat down
in bis garden At night when the thermom-
eter had fallen four degrees below zero, ,and
so quickly did the drowsiness come steal
ing on, that he wondered how. a. soul Of
Napoleon's unhappy band had tsen able 10
resist the treachero,Is influence.
The pain Of burning. If, instantaneous,
is believed 10 be but slight--but a; momen.:
tsry shock 10 the nervous system; but as =
protracted method Of execution il must bs
exceedingly distressing.
Verse. than the halter, axe, or wheel,
was the fire which, as typical Of the flames
Of hell, was employed in the blindness Of
theological fury TO consume the forsr,ost Of
the pilgrims TO hsaven. The, legs Of Bish-
op Hooper were charred, and his body
scorched, before he was fully enveloped in
tho fire, which wind blew aside; nor was
il till the pile had been twice :sep!enished
that he bowed bis bead aud gave up tho
ghost. A similar misfortune attended Rid
Icy. An excess Of faggots hindered the
flames ascending and his extremities were
ia ashes when bis body was unsinged.-
Ridley yielded slightly to the dictates Of
nature, and struggled to The height Of his
protracted anguish. Hooper remained im-
movable as the stake to which he was chain-i
ed. For three quarters Of an hour his pa,
tience was proof against tbs fuzzy Of the
flames, and he died at length as quietly a..
child in its bed. Bot the paia Of fsastnl'
intensity, and the meek cndlra ace Of these
heroes at the s;ake was the triumph Of
mind over the tortures Of the flesh. !.
: The Head, the Hope, the Supporter of
those who gave their bodies to be burnt,
drank himself Of bitter cup. or all devil,
ces of cruel Imagination, cruciixion is the
Other pains are sharper for
a time, but none are at once 30 agonizing
and SO long. One aggrava,ion, however,
vas wanting which owing to the want Of.
knowledge in painters, is stiIl. we believe,
commonly supposed TO have belonged to the
punishment. The weight Of the body was
borne BY ledge which projected from tho
middle Of the uprigh, beam, and not by the
hands and feet, which were probably found
unequal TO the strain. The frailty Of mn MS
frame comes at last to be it's own defence;
but enough remained to preserve tho pre-
cminence Of torture to the cross. The pro-
cess Of mailing was exquisite torment, and
yet worse in what ensued than in the actu.,
al infliction. The. spikes ranked, the:
wounds inflamed, the local injury produced
a general fever, the fever most intolera-
bio thirst; but the misery Of miseries to the
sufferer was while racked with agony, to,
he fastened in position which did not per-
nit him even TO- wri,hc. Every attempt,
to relievs tho muscles, every instructive.
movement Of anguish, only served to drag
the lsceratcd flesh, and wake up ney and,
acu!,r pailgs; nnd this torture, which must.
have been continually aggravated, until
advancing death began to lay. it 70 sleep,
lasted on an average two or three days.
London Quarterly Rerisr.
- |,
READY VITA country chap tho other,
day, for information, asked Hibernian,
xho vas htisilv eoOoned IN ,ha sfraat dri.