, 1872-10-27
DEATH.
The King of Ferrors Dis
crowned.
Smoothness and Serenity Of
the Downward Path.
Diving Chances Directed Backward,
Not Forward.

In the Eala1y for November, JuniuB Henri
Browne has an essay entitled "The King Of
Terrora DiscroN33ed, u in which he endeavors to
! show that the process Of dying is usually un-
attended by the degree Of pain with Which it is
almost universally credited.
"Had the strength to write," said the fa-
nous physician William Hunter in his last mo-
ments, II would write how easy and delightful
it is to de-" II had thought dying to be more
difficult exclaimed Louis XIV. with his latest
breath. Montaigne, having met with an accf-
dent which it WAS supposed had proved fatal,
said, upon restoration to consciousness, II
thought that life hung only on my lips, and I
closedmy eyes to help me in expelling it; and
had 8 sincere pleasure in the belief that I was
passing away" Rabe1ais 1aughingly declared
when he knew he had but few minutes to live,
'rhis is the best joke that has ever been played
upon me-"
Deaths from violence, generally considered far
more painful than those from illness, are
often easy, sometimes pleasant. Sub
tie poisons (strychnine and bichloride Of
mercury arc excoptions), such as opium
and hydrocyanic acid, net directly On the nerves,
produce stupor, and the victim passes peace
fully into insensibility and oblivion. Drowning,
which would seem to be attended with anguish,
il known by persons who have been rescued
from the very jaws OF death to be accompanied
with sensations not disagreeable, after the brief
strangling has passed. Several times during
boyhood had this semi-drowning experience,
and as soon as the instructive struggle for life,
aud the main canaed hv swal]ou;nT wa+ar ynra
over, felt much more comfortable than I have
ever felt on land. The sensations then en-
joyed we're really delightful like those which
follow the taking of laudanum or the
Tt5 +hronrS5 neTfect ' re,,osa , Fan ~I we1
understand how moor derj]e drawn
ont Of The water have f3een made angry he the;r
preservation, having been anatched from
known 1' ~~~N' ''~' 11''~>
T have talked with nersonH who bava hepn
poisoned. or who have poisoned themselves and
Who NAV be said to have died. inasmuch as thay
had fully decided and expected to die. They
very rarely suffered in body or in mind and
they lost their senses gradunily as when laying
their head upon the pillow at night, Whatever
pain they had was not in going from. bnt in
comiup back to life, which would make it seem
that the arrow-heads directing to death wound
record The ante-mortem diaries Of men Who
havinr swallowed 1ooison viii tha da1harato nnr
nose Of suicide. had wished to lenvo a recorg ~
the effect upon tLousclycs Of the eonsciors M
Droach of deoth NFast of t1,oaa d;,rioa aho,r +lo
snrnrse Of the writer's at tha tota absauca An o5
the ave or fear commonly believed to ho in
sanarahia from s1,cI c;rcn,nstance. non,'tieaa IT.
the determination Of self-estinction had ab..
eorbed the anticipated atrangeness and dis
counted the imnressiyeness and so}en7nitv nf
the mortal occasion- It is natural to die1 hnt
haTdIV natural Ia dcajre to die IA viii r. a;e IL
ali there is of death. @''0
To hn killed. outright by q c,,n-shot wonnd
mus ,D1 certainly d BE- ssg s1s bs hsve tnst see9
am sure Of this. T have narrowlv noticed
officers struck while leadiuC charrn,
Their faces eyinced startled surpaisc. mt
ancuish. and their nervous system receiyed snch
had ceased to breathe. 10 say that mai sud. sud-
denly put out Of life by violence does not know
what hurts him. is e1actIv true. He il dead
without Thought of death, and therefore SHARED
all mental apprehension, which is the worst part
of dyinr. Abrnnt death bv external arencies
must be yery analogous to the shock from 3 Low
den iar. t is sharp and suaden spaem inde-
scribabie vet aII-poryatlinr-not tn he ant'cinat-
ed: leaving no trace. not an atom Of Ineorine
perceptiouocome and gone in q fash. When
IS struck BY bullet and is aware Of it
shock is much mt the same. e. The CHEF difference is
thnt in the former case he remcubere his feel,
;nr ana in the latter he remembers nothing.
Gus With sensation.
During the first siege Of Yicksburg was On
the Mississippi in wooden ram, which had been
shot to pieces in front Of that city, and was
going up the river for repairs. Opposite Green
Vile, Mississippi, where Topography favored
hostile operations, the rebels opened on our
battered and helpless hulk, first with small
arms, and then with six and twclve-pound field
pieces protected by the loyees. Our vessel
could do little more than make head against
the stream, and our sole armament
consisted Of a few old rifles captured
from the enemy, andperilous only to those who
handled them. DESTROYS to make d show OF
resistance. two or three of US we're laboring hard
to discharge theee wretched guns ut the invisible
foe through loop-holes in pianks nailed against
the guards. while was struggling to get one
of the rifles of, was suddenly struck by-I
knew not what. There was a cracking sound ali
about me, and something that seemed like a
binding flash Immediately before nv eyee. NV
first impression was that was Wounded to
death though I felt no pain-nothinc but the |
concussion, In 8 few moments T collected nv
scattered senses. and. looking round. saw that =
underground shot had perforated the Dlanks |
within 4 few inches of nv head. knoc};iIe, the |
spiinters into and cutting nv face, and |
llterally seyering in twain a noor fellow !
Who had been standing little |
to nv left. Had been mortaily hurt. instead
Of being merely scratched, [ an gure ghould |
80. tE .-..I1 - I1aEa:s .F-.~1s ~ |