Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1874-01-17


midst of these frantic efforts" Thierry, another
French writer, condemns in the strongest man
ner the too speedy burials practiced in his day
in Paris, and thinks that it ought to be obliga-
tory on all families to expose their dead for at
least thirty hours. He emphasizes especially
the indecent haste with which, in furnished
apartments, strangers are got rid Of and men
tons a case in which a man who was walking in
the street between 10 and IL one morning being
ostensibly dead at noon, though without appar-
ing! He had even known of the case of a man
in humble life who, seized with an epileptic
fit, and being supposed TO nave dled nl u, was
carried to the cemetery, and forthwith in
TERED.
Too precipitate burial often occurs in the
case of persons whose death IL supposed TO have
been occasioned by sudden shock. On more
than one occasion electricity or galvanlsm has
served to rekindle the spark of life. Thus,
boy who fell from the second story of building
into the court below was picked up dead. On
examination no traces OF external violence could
be found. A surgeon was promptly summoned,
Being taken home, it was somebody's happy
thought that an electric battery should be ap-
Piled to him. This was done, and at the fourth
shock signs of life appeared, and ultimately the
child recovered. In the Annual Register for
1909 the case is mentioned of woman named
Prosser. She had long been seriously ill, and
was lately supposed by the persons in attend
ance to have died. The body was laid out by
woman usually employed in such operations,
who, on returning to the house about six hours
hsd and eoneUdsS bs
visitors had been in the room. But on going to
close the mouth she was SO awestruck by the
supposed corpse excaming, 500 not close my
mouth, for am not quite dead" that she fell
into fit. The sick person subsequently re,ov-
cred so as to be able to sit up in her room, and
to tell how she heard all the conversation which
passed relative to her funeral but from extreme
weakness had not the power Of speech or mo.
ton.
On the 18th February, some twenty-five
yeara ago, a letter was read at the Academy of
Sciences, in Paris, from NJ Manni, Professor in
the University of Rome, in which he proposed
TO give funds for Especial prize Of 500 francs,
as a reward for a paper on apparent death and
he means of remedying it. The Academy &C.
cepted the offer, and proposed for the subject
of q prize the following questions: First, What
are the distinctive characteristics of apparent
death? Second, What are the means of pre-
venting premature burial? They failed, how
ever, to get essays which they deemed worthy
OF the prize until 1s46. At length q successful
essay was produced by M. Bouchut, and the
fact of all others to which he directed attention
was that the criterion in all cases between real
AND ~ parent death was that in the latter case
the heart never ceased to beat. Even In the
most profound swooD, with loss of sensibility
and OF movement, n. BOuchut AYERS that pull
sation does not cease. In support Of this opin-
ion he cited the case Of o man who, By reason
Of wound Of the radical artery, experienced
in short time many frightfui fainting nts.