The Carolina Spartan. [volume] (Spartanburg, S.C.) 1852-1896, 1856-10-23
Physical Pain of Death.

y paragraph Is gong the rounds In the
papers giving the opinion of Lord Bacon
and others, that the pain of hanging is in.
considerable. II Is asserted, for example.
that alter momentary feeling Of sutfoca
ton, bright colors dance before the ewes
and stretch away into vis,as of indnscriba.
bIe Ioveliuess. There is no reason 10 doubt
the truth of this declaration. because nu.
merous instances have occurred of persons
beng cut down before life was extinct and
IL was on the authority of well authenticat.
ed examples Of this character that Lord
Bacon aud others founded their opinion.
Moreover, hanging in lis effects on the hu.
man organism produces results very sim.
lar to those produced by some natural dis.
eases, so that this also affords criterion
tor Judging. In cases Of drowning. like.
wise, the testimony is universal that the
physical pain, up 10 the moment Of con.
sc'ousneSs being lost, is quite inccnsidera.
b!e. The same phenomena Of notes. stars
and beautiful lights dancing before the
eyes, las often been mentioned by indivd.
nal> restored after apparent death by drown
ing.
1t is nearly certain indeed, rs certain
as anything chiefly speculative can be
mat IN All deaths the physical suffering is
small Even where invaIids experience the
most excrutiating agony during The pro
gress OF the disease, nature comes TO their
relief at the last hour, and life goes ont
gently, like a candle in its socket. Those
who have witnessed death beds mos, fire.
quen'Iy especially il they have been intel
agent persons, and therefore capable of
Judging, agree generally in considering the
physical pain Of death as iuconsiderable
HEY say that the convuisiye motions.
which trequcnIIy attend the parting breath.
are not evidences OF suffering, for tha; the
Invalid IS insensibIe. They say also, that,
when The senses are retained, there is usu.
ally no such Spasm. \ leading medical
authority states that scarcely one person in
MY Is sensible at the point Of death; and
some physicians asser, that they have never
seen death bed in which the patient was
sensible. As life fails. nature. it would
seem, beneicently nterposes. deadening
the senSIbIIIty OF the nerves. and otherwise
preparing the individual for the great and
inevitable change
These facts should teach all men. while
yet IN health, "to put their houses in or.
uer. Many Il father, by nogectug 10 make
a Will. or keep his business always arranr.
ed, haf lei, his family an Inheritance of H.
Igauon, or entajied on them the severesl
losses. Few are those, comparatively, who.
on sick bed, have salfcient clearness of
intellect left to adjust cntangled affairs pro.
vide Tor the contingencies of trade, or even
direct wisely the distribution of their es.
tateS. Death usually comes rapidly in the
shape OF short disease, leaving time for
nothing but wild and hopeless struggle
with the enemy. Orit comes so insidinns
y as to beguiIe the victim and his friends
up to the last hour, with the hope Of recov
cry, or nj least Of months Of prolonged life.
Men dread sudden death, and pray to be
delivered from it, forgetting that, to most of
Us, death l. always sudden, coming, rs
Scripture truly says. like thief in the
night 1t Is not for It's physical pain tha,
men should fear death, but lest it should
overiake them ere they have "set their
house IN ORDER To be leaving a family
unprovIded for, or to have put OF arrange
nenis for settling up ones affairs. is the
rea Pang Of the dying hour PhiladelDhia
Ledger.