The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-01-21
"THE HOUR OF DEATH.
Scicnti6c Invcsttg u n +.

In Mr.. John Timb's "Notable Things of Our
Own Time" are some accounts Of the curiosl-
ties of scientific investigation; among them the
following concerning the hour Of death;
The subject of the hour Of death (says Mr..
Haviland an eminent surgeon, in paper read
to the. British Association) has occupied the
attention of medical writers from the time OF
Aetius, who flourishcd at the court OF Constan-
iinonlc In thc fifth century, up to the present
date. but no practical fruit has been the result
for The physician in his treatment of disease:
He concluded that the time had now arrived
for n thorough investigation OF the facts IN our
possession. inasmuch as If there be any latent
truth in them Of importance TO manklnd, IL is
our simple duty to evoke that truth, ana avail
ourselves of It's teaching In tire practice Oh
medicine. He remarked that the physicians
duties do not cease when he has ascertained
the disease of his patient and prescribed med
icine TO remove il; by medicine alone the pa
tirnt is not healed; he has to act upon the ad-
vice of HippOcrates, and see that those IN at
tendance do their duly also. and in ms absence
watch every phase and actlon OF me living
present But, to so direct, the.physiclan must
know each cause of change, and 10y his knowl-
rdre anticipate what may occuri lay down
simplc rules for the guidance OF friends and
nurses. and teach them how to watch each
circumstance of disease; he must know the
chanrcfulness of our bodies in health; he must
take due account of this changefulness when
illness supcrvencs; he must Know when all our
vital functions arc at their height; he must
know when they are at their lowest cbb; for
This knowledge is most necessary clement Of
success in his combat with the enemy he is I'M
nlored to encounter Of late years the art Of
nursing has more than ever occupied the
thoughts of physicians and the laity at large.
| We have had noble efforts made In the camp
and at home to soothe tue anguish o. lhe
wounded and diseased.
The author had collected over five thousand
cases of death, with the honr of death and
other circumstances recorded, which ne mad
| tabulatcd and exhibited on large chart, the
difficult collections being distinguished by col
ored diagrams. BY this cnart ne showed lhaC
in one thousand cases OF death in children
under five wears of aye, the periods Of
the greatest mortality took place between
the hours of | and A. NJ; then an cXtraor-
| dinary depression took place In the succeeding
hours between and II ~, and that the ratio
| of mortality was at Its minimum. He then
compared these statistics with two thousand
eirht hundred and ninety-one deaths from all
caIlscs. and the chart showed how remarkably
thc wave lines Of death compared with deaths
| from consumption, which, although they show
ed general resemblance in the wave line, yet
between the hours of to 8 A. NJ. there was
depression which compared with the first four
hours period. He showed that small numbers
are not sufficient for u statistical truth, and he
therefore urged upon his provincial brethren
| to assist him in his work by forwarding to him
data for further investigation of this interest
ing subject
proved the eX, "aordlnary mortality in the early
hours of the morning, when the powers Of life
were at their lowest ebb, and, strange to say,
when the patient was most cared Tor. He
urged the necessity of feeding and stimulating
the patients at their weakest hour, so as TO o.
tide them over a crlticaI period; ana, even u
death be inevitable, to SO support the patient
that he might at least have few hours more
of life snatched from eternity to admit Of his
being able to carry out some neglected duty;
pardon some enemy, or see some beloved
/