The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1872-04-27
Our Olio.
PetrifactiOn Of the Body.


The New York Courier des Eiais Unis
OF the first OF April, contains the following
statement: The mortal remains Of MAJ.
zini, after the pretended burial at Genoa.
have been entrusted to Professor Gorini.
who has undertaken the complete pe.rifca-
ton of them within eight months. To
preserve the body for ages, and to give Il
all the appearance of life, has been IN
Italy the preoccupallOn Of a number Of
scientific men. One may say that il ia a
study peculiar 10 that country, where il
has been followed for many centuries and
has produced incredible results. "Pro.
lessor Gorini, whom, says the Liberte, 1--WE
have known personally, enjoys in this
department uucontested notoriety. He
possesses a museum OF bodies and Of
anatomical pieces Of the most curious kinds.
which we hare frequently been to see, and
the meresI superficial examination Of which
causesunutterable surprise Certain mum
iniiyIng preparations give to the body the
strange property Of resBming all the 40.
pearanoes OF sleep, after it has remained
some hours IN the water, and admit Of the
closest anatomical study of Il. Other
preparations give TO the body the hardness
OF stone and enable it 70 resist humidity.
the inclemency of the seasons and the
combined action OF heat and cold. The
remains OF alazzini in the hands Of this
skiltul operator, will escape disorganiza.
non, and retain the sublime expression of
the last hour
The petrllaction Of the human body BY
the constant action Of cold water upon il,
and also by toe operation of the tannin or
'annie aeid which is found in several spe.
cies OF bark and IN peat, has long been fam-
liarly known. Instances OF the former
have been found in this country quite
recently, and Of the latter some have been
met with IN the peat bogs of Ireland and
England. A few years ago the body Of an
ancient Briton Ia woman) was accidentally
exhumed IN excayating throu n some peat,
IN England, aud it was found TO be in a
perfect state Of preservation. The bodies
oi animals frozen 10 death long ages ago
are found in Siberia, also in a perfect state,
ana that thousands of years must have
elapsed since they persisted is evident from
the TACT that some Of them belonged to
races OF animals which there is reason TO
1 beileve became extinct before the creation
OF man. and that others belonged to races
which are now found only ia tropical
climates, such as the elephant. Whether
the bodies OF these creatures were petrihed
/ by long exposure 10 cold, or by some sud.
den deuge which drowned them and held
their bodies IN its waters a sufficient time to
CONCEAL them, is question for science to
/ determine the object in allIding TO il here
| Is simply 10 prove that the petriiaction Of
the living frame through water, tauuin or
| cold, has been n well known fact for ages.
| Ii is embodied in tho ancient Grcelt fable of
| Niube, who, after the slaughter of her rhil.
dreu, went to her father, Tantalus, on
Mount Slpylus, where Jupiter, ut her re
quest metamorphosed her into stone,
which during the summer always shed
tears but, according 10 another version Of
the story, she wept until she became petri
ned. These ancient myths generally had
their origin in observed phenomena, aud il
this particular one be not a poetcal fiction
personliylng some icy pinnacle Of rock,
which partially thawe1 duritg summer and
became frozen again as winter approached,
| II probably is mythical representation of
the fate of an unhappy lady, whose body
became peiriiied through tho action OF
water. This change in the substance Of
the human frame must not be considered
analogous TO, much less identical with, the
ancient Egyptian mode Of preserving the
BODY by embalning it. In that system the
cavity OF the body was filed with myrrh,
fragrant herbs and spices, while the body
was tightly enyeoped and swaihed in folds
OF cers-cloth, linen, and bark, so rs TO
exclude the air and il was then put into
case which was Theoretically closed Il
will thus be seen that tho preservation of