Plymouth banner., 1853-08-11
Ningnlar Discovery.
FANNY FERN.

lneTe IS nOtnlHg new undcr lhc sun
The American coffin, which attracted so
much attention at the Great Exhibition
OF 1851. and which b. producing vacu-
um by means Of the airpump. was thought
to be an entirely new method of preserv
ing corpse from decay, has been just
proved to have been known in the mid
die ages. While denolishing. a short
time ago, the old church Of the ancien,
Welch College, at Helmstedt. ner Bruins
wick. a coffin made of lead, the lid OF
which was OF glass. OF immense thickness.
contained the body of young girl. ap-
parently about twelve yeats ofage, which
still preserved every appearance OF youth
and freshness, although the coffin bore
date ll6l,
A private letter from a bystandsr tells
us that 'the face and figure of the child
were perfect as in life. not sign of de-
cay being visible Throughout the whole
person. The cheek preserved its delicate
rose -tint-the foreherd lis snowy white
ness. The hair. which was of beau;i
ful gold color, was parted on the brow,
and fell in long ringle,s over the bosom.
crisp ard fresh IS though the child had
laid down TO sleep the moment before
The dress of white satin, embroidered in
gold flowers. the shoes Of white velvet
thc lace apron, all seemed bright as II
ew'y purchased; and more astonishing
still, the bunch OF lilies held in the hand
OF the corpse still looked as fresh and
moist as though the dew still hung upon
it. The workmen engaged in the demo
iiiion OF the building were struck with
awe, and immedia tely went in quest of
the chief magistrate of the place, who
soon arrived OH the spot accompanied by
Sevefai Of the inhabitants. Unfortunate
ly. the worthy function.ry having re-
Gently been made the victim Of a
practical joke in the town, and being
half suspicious that the same thing was
intended. would not believe the reality.
and seizing spade from the hand of one
of the workmen. who stood near. dealt a
heavy blow upon the lid of the coffin,
and smashed one or two of the diamond
shaped ranes of glass of which it was
composed. In moment, and while ye,
we gazed a thin cloud of dust or vapor.
like wrea tn of smoke. rose up from the
coffin, end dimmed the sight. yelling the
corpse from our view. When il had dis
appeared. we gazed downwards in awe.
nothing remained of what had struck us I
with SO much interest and wonder-ali |
had vanished, and left nought behind but
q heap Of discolored dust, few rags of
tinse, and one or two dried bonesi"
The rage and despair of Herr W,
the great antiquarv and saUant Of the
place, knew no bounds. He did his best |
to collect the fragments that remained.
and that same evening the coffin was con-
veyed to Brunswick. where it will, no |
doubt. form one of the great test ornaments |
of the museum. There appears no doub,
that lhe high preservation Of the corpse
had been produced by the abstraction Of
ali air from the coffin. and i. Is supposed |
that the child belonged TO some great
Professor of the University, who had per-
formed the experiment. in secret. as it is
curious that amid all this pains and care
the body OF the child. no means
should have been taken TO preserve her
name from oblivion. No name is en-
,raved upon the coffin-not even the in
itidis-nothing but the date of the year
in which she died or was buried, Q461.)
London alias.