American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1874-09-05
APPARENT DEATH.

tigation. But the cases. so it was calcu
lated, in which such an error was com
mitted are so exceedingly rare that tho
danger arising from it is not greater thar
that of being struck by meteoric stone
or of being swallowed up by a chasn
suddenly made under our feet by al
earthquake.
So the matter stood when the cele
brated French physician, Thouret, in
1886, was commissioned to watch oveI
the new grounds of the "Cimetiere DIES
1nnocents.' mainly for the purpose OF
promoting the sanitary condition of the
city. At that time the pick-aX and
shovel were busy in the older portion
of the cemetery, which had been used
for many generations, and many of the
graves were opened in order to remove
the skeletons to the Catacombs. Thou
ret availed himself of this opportunity
to investigate, and found, in seven or
eight cases. convincing evidences that the
subjects had been buried alive. The
skeletons in these cases bore unmis-
taxable proofs of there having been a
death-struggle. Some of them lay on
the belly, and had bitten their fingers to
the bone; in other cases the limbs were
drawn up against the coffin-lids, which,
in one or two instances, had been broken,
unquestionably by pressure from
within.
lHOuTcl ulScONtG1tS an I'M
mense sensation, and he himself became
so fearful that it might be his lot to
wake up in coffin that he gave every
possible direction in his will to guard
against such an event. At the same
time the authorities made certain changes
in the laws regarding burials, and took
the necessary steps to have them more
generally obeyed. BurialS were for
hidden before the third morning, or with
was Il law to this effect previously, but
it had never been generally enforced,
and the lower orders almost universally
ignored it.
That, in the nineteenth century, de-
spite all the precautionary measures that
have been adopted, such cases as those
verified by DIR. Thouret have occurred,
in all IL cir frightfulness, there is album
dant proof Among the best authenti-
Gated are the following:
In the year 1926, a young, robust priest,
named Donnet, stood in his pulpit
preaching Lent sermon, when suddenly
his voice began to grow feeble, he
changed color, and in few seconds fell
1ifeless to the floor. In indescribabIe
CONSERVATION the congregation rushed
for the doors of the church. Two or
three of the more intelligent and less
superstitious fastened to assist the priest,
while others ran Immediately for a
physician who, however, did not arrive
for nearly an hour.
The physician examined the young
man very carefully, and finally an
nounced that, in his Judgement it WIS a
case of apopiexy; that death had ensued
almost instantly; and that, of course, the
case was one for the undertaken, and not
for the doctor.
Two days later the priest was put into
a coffin and carried to the church where
the terrible event had occurred. Right
and left burned the usual number of
tapers. Solemnly resounded the De pro
.tttndis through the dimly-lighted halls
The supposed dead man, who was after
ward cardinal, tells us in his report to
the French Senate what he experienced
during these ceremonies He saw and
heard everything that was going on
around him; but no eXertion of his will
was sufficient to affect the lethargy that
controlled his organism His despair
surpassed everything that human imag-
ination can picture. He felt that he
must at any minute succumb to the ag-
Ony he suffered, and herein was his only
hope.
Suddenly he heard the voice of friend
of his youth whom he had not seen for
years. The well-remembered tones
awakened series of recollections which
contrasted so strongly with his present
situation, and produced so powerful an
effect upon him, that all at once his mus
Giles again obeyed the mandates of his
will He rose up and tried to make the
assistants understand that he was still, or
rather again, in the possession of his vi
tai energies; but a cry of amaZement and
horror ran through the church. On the
following day young Bonnet was able to
resume his duties.
A Paris Journalist named Alexander
Ducros in the year 1860 died, as was sup
posed, and was laid in state, after the
manner usually adopted with people of
note Hundreds of his friends and ac-
quaintances paid their last tribute of re-
spect TO the deceased, and entered their
names in IA book that lay beside him to
receive them -Four or five days after
ward, two young journalists who had
been among those who had paid their last
respects to their colleague met Alexan-
der Ducros on the boulcvards, apparently
in perfect health. They trembled and
stammered, as they would doubtless have
done IN the presence of a genuine appa-
rition; still, it was Ducros in person, and
not his spirit, who thus surprised them
When they were about to lay him in his
coffin they noticed an almost impercep-
tible movement of the lips. A physician
was called in who Immediately employed
all the restoratives his ingenuity could
suggest, but at first without any apparent
effect. 1t was not until the second day
that the lethargy began to yield to their
efforts; and yet, on the evening of the
third day, the patient was apparently as
well as usual
in the same year the Countess BENZ
cell was entombed, having died, it was
supposed, of cholera. The coffin was at
first deposited in vault of the Campo
Santo, to be transferred thence to Il
neighboring church. This was in OctO-
Der. The final resting-place in the ca
thedral was ready during the following
February, when the coffin was removed
and opened. The body presented hor-
rible aspect 1t was tolerably well pre-
served, but it bore abundant evidence of
there having been "A terrible death strug-
gle. The face had clearly been torn by
the hands, the hair was in wild disorder,
and the right arm was broken. The IN
fortunate lady had been the victim of a
nervous attack, and, on account of tho
prevailing epidemic, had been entombed
within twelve hours
A countryman in Charles-Leres, near
Chateau-Thierry, who was to have been
buried Dec %, 1866, was more for
tuuate. Just as the priest arrived and
the funeral ceremonies was about to be
gin. the countryman raped energetically
ON the cofiin-cover. lie was, OF course,
Immediately released, when his first de-
maud was for food. He ate whole
roast chicken that had been prepared
for the funeral guests, and washed it