The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1852-11-23

wood brcathed his last upon the Gle
mcnt which had been the scene of
his glory. Captain Thomas expressed
II fear that he was disturbed by the
tossing of the ship. NO, Thomas, he
replied; 4 am now III state in which
nothing in this world can disturb ME
more. | am dying. and am sure it
must be consolatory to you, and
all who love me, to SEQ how coInforta-
bly, | am coming to my end
A second and common condition of
the dying is to be lost to themselves
and all around them in utter uncon-
sciousness.-Countcnance and gestures
might i'll many cases suggest that, how
over dead to the external world, an
interior sensibiIity still remained; but
we have the evidence of those whom
disease has left at the eleventh
hour, that while their suiferings were
piticd 10y their friends, existence was
blank. Montai gne, when stunned by
4 fall from his horse, tore open his
douhlct; but hc was entirely srnsclcss.
and only knew attcrward that he had
done it from the information of his at
tendnnts. The drlirium of fever is
distressing to witness: but the vic
tim awakes from it NJ flom a heavy
sleep, totally ignorant that he has
passed days and nights tossing wearily
and talking wildly. Perceptions which
had occupied the entire man, could
hardly be oblittcratcd in The instant uf
recovery; or, if any one were inclined
to adopt TIC solutions; there is vet
proof that the callouSnessness is real.
in the unilinching manner in which
bed-sorcs are rolled upon, that are
too tender to bear touching when
sense is restored. Wherever there is
nsensibility, virtual death preccd-
cs death itself, and to die is to awake
i'll another world.
More u1ually the mind is in
state Intermediate between activity
and oblivion. Observers, unacc,,s-
toned to sit by the bed of death, rap
idly mistake increasing langnor for
tiotal inscusibiiity; but those who
Yatct ;ssS:sal s:f l. 80. fsndilv distinguish
&hie, ttssif SsEli55sg2th dull, ai, naf
yet 'ir"l-thnt The Sy%, though. dim. is
-TAiitn -Tr&Aiitns,rrkt-d Of Dr. Nv; Waiia.,tSSnl ,tSl' that
his mind was gone, the expiring phil
ospher made II signal for paper and
pencil: wrote down some figures,
and cast them up. The superior en-
ergy of his character was the principal
difference between himself and thou
sands who die and give no open sign.
Their faculties survive, though avcrse
to even the taintest effort, and they
badly testify i'll languid and broken
Phrases, that the torpor Of the
body more than keeps pace with the
inertncss Of tho mind. The same
report is given by those who have
advanced to the very border of
the country from whence no travel
er return. AIontaignc, after his nc
cident, passed for a corpse, and the
first feeble indications of returning
life rrscmblcd some Of the communest
symptoms of death; but his own feel
ingS were those OF man who is
dropping into the sweets of slun.bcr,
and his longing was towards blank
rest, and not for recovery. Me.
thought he says my life only hung
upon my lips; and | shut ny eyes to
help to thrust it out, and took a
pleasure in languishing and letting my
self go In many of these instances,
as i'll cases Of stupciaction, there are
appearances which we have learnt to
associate with suffering, because con
stantly conjointcd with it. A cold
pcespiration bedcws the skin; the
breathing is harsh and labored; and
sometimes, especially in delicate
flames, death is usllercd in by con
vulsivc movements. which look like
the wrestling with an oppressive
enemy; but they are signs of debility,
and II failing system, which have
no relation to pain. There is hardly
IN occasion when ,he patients more
ych"mcntiy for life than in an attack
Of asthma, which, in fact, is suiii-
GENTLY distressing disorder before the
scnsibility is bluutcd and the strength
subducd, But the Termination is not
to be Judged by the beginning. DR..
Campbell, the well known Scotch pro-
icssor, had seizure, which all but
carried linn oil, few months before
he succumbcd to the disease. a
cordial gave him unexpected relief;
and his first words were to express as
tonislimcnt ut the sad countcnance of
his friends; because his own mind, he
told them, was in such state at the
crisis of the attack, from the cxpccta-
ton of immediate dissolution, that
there WAS no other way TO describe his
feelings tlian to say he was in rapture.
Light, indeed, must have been the
suilrrings as he gasped for breath; since
physical agony, had it existed, would
have quite subducd the mental ccstacy
AS little is the denth.sweat forged
ont by anguish. Cold as ice, his pulse
nearly gone, n mortal perspiration rar
down tn body of La Boetic, tho
friend of Montaisnc; and it was at this
moment that, reused by the weeping
| ~ b;e ,nIut;,ac d, nxnl,;r>n1 lNNbn :,