Monongalia mirror. [volume] (Morgantown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1855, 1855-03-03
NJ ISC ELL A N + GUS.
The Pain Of Dying not the Climax of
Pain.

IN6 dill Vi Dylll5 HUI lle ollLldA VI
Pain.
There is no foundation for tho ide
that the pain of dying is the climax t.
the pain Of disease; for, unless the stag
Of the agony is crossed at q stride, dis
ease stupefies whcnit is about to kill
If the anguish of the sickness has becl
extreme, SO striking from the contras
is the ease that superyenes, that, with
out even the temporary revival which
distinguishes the Tightening before
death, "kind natures signal for the re
treat of the disease"
Pushkin, the Russian poet, suffered
agony from woundreceivcd in a duel
Els wife, deceived by the deep tran
guilty which succeeded, left the room
with q countenance beaming with joy
and exclaimed to the physician, "Yo,
see he is to live; he will not die
"But at this moment" says this nara
tive, .the last process Of vitality had
already begun" 5..s..
Where the symptoms are those ofre
covery, there is in truth more pain tt
be endured than when the issue is death
for sickness does not relinguish 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 Montaigne was stunned, he pass
ed, as We have seen, from stupor to a
dreamy Elysium. But when returning
life had thwarted the numbness engen-
dered by the blow, then it was that the
pains got hold of him which imagina-
ton pictures as incident to DEATH
Cowper, on reviving after his attempt
to hang himself, thought he was in hell;
and those who are taken senseless from
the water, and afterwards recovered,
re-echo the sentiment, though many
vary the phrase. This is what wesho'd
y 4Rpa Rfea EelsetttesR sssd
and from the moment corporeal sensi-
tiveness returns, the throcs of the still
disordered functions are so many efforts
of pain. In SO far as it is a question
of bodily suffering, death is the lesser
evil Of the two.
Of the trial to be undergone before
the dying sets in, every body, from per-
sonal experience Or observation of dis
ease, has formed a general idea. Du-
ration is an clement as asimportantas in
tensity, and as slow declines, which arc
not accompanied by any considerable
amount of suffering, put patience and
fortitude to a severe test. My friends,
said Fontenelle, q short time before he
died, 81 have no pain, only a little dif-
iculty in keeping up life."
When Cayendish, the great chemist,
perceived that his end drew near, he or
dercd his attendant to retire, and not
to return till a certain hour. The SER
want came back to find his master dead.
He had chosen to breathe out his soul
in solitude and solacc, and would not be
distracted by the presence Of man, since
vain was help. Every body desires to
smooth the bed of death; but unrcaect-
ing feeling, worse than the want of it
in the result, turns it often into u bed
of thorns.
1t is not always that sickness mcrgcs
into the agony. The strained thread
may break at last with sudden snap.
This is by no means rare in consump-
tion. Burke's son, upon whom his fa-
thcr 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 cheerful conversation. Burke con.
tinued silent, choked with grief. His
son again made an effort to console him
81 am under no terror" he said: {" ]
feel myself better and in spirits, ant
yet my heart autters, I know not why
Pray talk to me, sir! talk of religion
talk of morality; talk if you will, o
indifferent subjects" Here nois'
attracted his notice, and he exclaimed
"Does it rain mo: it is the rustlint
of the wind through the trees" Ih'
whistling of the wind, and the wayin!
Of the trees brought Miltons majestic
lines to his mind, and he repeated then
with uncommon grace and effect:
His praise, 20 winds, that from four quarters blow
Breathe soft or loud; aud wave your tops, ye pne'
With every plant, in sign of worship, wave!
A second time he took up the sub
lime and mclodious strain, and, accom-