Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1855-03-21
THE PAIN OF DYING NOT THE
CLIMAX OF PAIN.


OF disease; for, unless the stage Of tho ag-
ony IS crossed at a stride, disease stupe.
6es when it is about to kill. If the an
guish Of the sickness has been extreme, so
striking from the contrast is the ease that
suPervenes that, without even the tempo
rary revival which distinguishes the light
enlng before death, "klnd natures signal
for the retreat of the disease"
Pushkin, the Russian poet, suffered ag-
ony from wound received in a DUEL
tlis wife. deceived by the deep tranquil
~ which succeeded, left the loom with a
countennnce beaming with Joy, and ex-
claimed to the physician, "you see he is
to live; hO will not die" "But at this
moment" says the narrative, "the last
process Of vitality had already begun"
Where the symptoms are those of re-
covery. there is in truth more pain to be
endured than when the issue is death, for
sickness does not reIinquish it's hold in re-
laxng its grasp. In the violence which
produces speedy iusensiEiIity, 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 a dreamy EIysium.
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.
| COwper, on reviving his attempt to hang
himself, thought he was in hell; and those
who are taken Senseless from the water,
and afterwards recovered, echo the SEN
timent, though many vary the phrase
| This is what We should, upon reflection,
expect. The body is quickly deadened,
and slowly restored; and from the mo-
ment corporeal sensiIiveRess returns, the
throes of the still disordercd functions are
so many efforts Of pain. In so far as it is
question OF bodily suffering, death is the
lesser evil of the two.
or the trial to be undergone before the
dying sets in, every body, from personal
experience or observation of his disease,
has formed a general idea. Duration is
an element as important as intensity, and
as slow declines. which are not accompa-
MED by any considerable amount Of suffer
ing, but patience and fortltuLe to u severe
test. "My freuds," said Fontene!Ie. IL
short time before he died, II have no pain,
only little difficulty III keeping up life"
When Cavendish, the great chemist,
perceived that his end drew near, he or
dered his attendant TO retire, and not 10
return till certain hour. The servant
{, anne back 10 find his master dead. He
bad chosen to breathe out his soul in sol
i:ude and solace, and would not be dis
tracted by the presence Of man, since vain
was help. Every body desires to smooth
the bed Of death; but unrehecting feeling,
worse than the want OF it in the result,
tuIns it often into a bed Of lhorns.
1t is not always chat sickness merges
into the agony. The strained thread may
break at last with a sudden snap. This
is by no means rare in consum mption.-
Burke's son. upon whom his father has
conferred something of his own celebrity,
h, ard his parents Sobbing in another room
at the prospect of an event they knew to
be inevitable. He rose from his bed, Join
ed his illustrlOuS father. and cndeavOred
10 engage him in cheerful conversation.
Burke continued silent, chOked with grief.
His son again made an effort TO console
him. IL am under 10 terrrr," he said.
IL feel myself better and in spirits, and
yet my heart hutters, | know not why
Pray talk TO me, sir Talk Of religion;
talk Of morality; talk, if you will, Of indiI
ferent subjects" Here noise attracted
his notice, and he exclaimed-"Dces it
rain mo, it is the rustling Of the wind
through the tress." The whistling Of the
wind and the waving Of the trees brought
Millon's majestic lines to his mind. and he
repeated them with uncommon grace and
effect:
His praise, ye winds, that from four quarters
blow,
Breathe soft or loud; and wave your tops, 20
pines,
With every plant, in sign Of worship, wave!
A second time he took up the sublime
a Il melOdious strain, and accompanying
the action to the word, waved his own
hand in token Of worship, and sunk into
the arms OF his fNther-R corpse. Not a
sensation told him that in an instant he
would stand in the presence Of his CreR,
tor 10 whom his body WAS bent in homage,
and whose praises still resounded from his
lips. But commonly the hand Of death is
felt for one brief moment before the work
is done. Yet a parting word, or an ex-
preston Of prayer, to which the face and
voice refrain their compoSure, show that
there is nothing painful in she Warming
1t WAS in this way that Bolleau expired
from the effects of dropsy. A friend en-
tered 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;' "it will be very long
adieu," and instantly expired.
In sudden death which is not preceded
by sickness, the course Of events is much
the same. Some expire in the perform
ance of the ordinary actions Of life; some
with half completed sentence on their
lips; some in the midst of quiet Sleep
Many die without a sound, many with a
sing sigh, many with merely struggle
ana a groan. In other Instances there are
two or three minutes Of contest and dis.
: IL. ~.