Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1854-07-31
DAILY EVENING STAR.

DAILY EVENING STAR.
THE PAIN OF DYING NOT rHE cIrnaS
| 10 ea' OF PAIN 80 g t
There is no foundation for the idea ina
the pain of dying is the climax to thu
pain OF disease; for, unless the stage n
the agony is crossed at stride, disess ,
stupefies when it is about to kill. Iftht
anguish of the sickness has been extreme,
so striking from the contrast is the case
that superyenes, that, without even the
temporary revival which distinguishes
the tightening before death, kind ma.
lures signal for retreat of the disease.
Pushkln, the Russian poet, suffered agony
from wound received in a duel. his
wife, deceived by the deep tranquility
which succeeded, left the room with 4
countenahce beaming with ioy, and ex.
claimed to the physician, "You see.he is
to live; he will not dies 'sBut at this
moment, says the narrative, "the hast
process Of vitality had alread v begun. !
Where the symptoms are those of re.
covery, there is IN truth more pain to be
endured than when the Issue is death sfor
sickness does not relingmsh its hold in
relaxing its grasp. In the violence which
produces speedy insensibility, the whole
OF the downward course is easy compared
to the subsequent ascent When Mon
taigne was stunned. he passed, as we have
seen, from stupor to dreamy Eysium.
But when returning life had thwarted the
numbness engendered by the blow, then
it was that the pains got hold of him
which imagination pictures as incident
to death. fCowper, on reviving after his
attempt to hang himself, thought he was
in hell; and those Who are taken sense
less from the water, and afterwards re-
covered, re-echo the sentiment, though
many vary the phrase. This is what We
should, upon reflection. expect. The
body is quickly deadened, and slowly
restored: and from the moment corporal
senSitiveness returns the throes of the
still disordered functions are so MANY
efforts Of pain. In so far as it is oues-
ton Of bodily suffering, death is the lesser
evil of the two. 4
Of the trial to be undergone before the
dying sets in, every body, from personal
experience or observation Of disease, has
formed general idea. Duration is an
element rs important rs intensity, and
as slow declines, which are not accom-.
panied by any considerable amount OF
suffering, put patience and fortitude to
. severe test. my friends" said the
Fontenelle, short time before he died, {"
have no pain, only q little difficulty in
keeping up Gfe.,,
When Cavendish, the great chemist,
percsived that his end drew near. he or.
dered his attendant to retire, and not to
return till certain hour. The servant
came back to find his master dead. He
had chosen to breathe out his soul in
solitude and silence, and would not be
distracted by the presence Of man, since
vain was help. Every body desires to
smooth the bed Of death; but unrehect.
ing feeling, worse than the want of it in
the result, turns it often into bed of
thOrnS..E g. 1856" -.-p ey
1t is not always that sickness merges
into the agony. The strained thread
may break at last with q sudden snap
This is by no means rare in consumption.
Burke's son, upon whom his father has
conferred something of his own celebrity,
heard his parents sobbing in another
room at the prospect of an event they
knew to be inevitable. He rose from his
bed, joined his illustrious father, and
endeavored to engage him in a cheerful
conversation. Burke continued silent,
choked with grief. His son again made
an effort to console him. 81 am under
no terror" he said; 81 feel myself better
and in spirits, and yet my heart futters,
1 know not why. Pray talk to me, sir
talk of religion, talk of morality talk,
if you will, of Indifferent subjects"
Here noise attracted his notice, and he
exclaimed, 'sDoes it rain mo; it is
rustling of the wind through the trees"
The whistling of the wind, and the wa
wing of the trees, brought Milton,s ma
jestic lines to his mind, and he repeated
them with uncommon grace and effect:
His praise, We winds, that from four quarters bow
Breathe soft loud; and wave your tops, ye pines
With every plant, in sign OF worship, wave.
A second time he took UP the SUBJ
lime and melodious strain, and, accom-
panying the action to the word, waved
his own hand in token of worship, and
sunk into the arms of his father-a corpse
Not sensation told him that in an in
slant he would stand in the presence of
the Creator to whom his body WAS bent
inhomage, and whose praises still resound-
ed from his lips. But commonly the hand
of death is felt for one brief moment be-
fore the work is done. Yet a parting
word, or an expression of prayer, in which |
the face and voice retain their composure,
show that there is nothing painful m the |
warning. 1t was in this way that Boz
leau expired from the effects of dropsy.
A friend entered the room where he was
sitting and the poet, in one and the same |
breath, bid him hail and farewell. "Good |
day and adieu," said he cit will be'a
very long adieu," and instantly died.
In sudden death which is not preceded
by sickness, the course Of eventsis much
the same. Some expire in the perform
ance of the ordinary actions of life; some
with hall. lf.completed sentence on their
lips some in the midst of . quiet sleep.
Many die without q sound, many with a
single sigh, many with merely struggle
and a groan. In other instances there
are two or three minutes Of contest and
distress, and in proportion as the termin-