The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1876-01-06

ae&s; cS anu are luA " 1uAtS.y " uoS4
Of their prescrver and friend, = said the
Doctor. 80 -. -sA'l'5 .t<zSz'$' '*sS.s.
II, Yhc:nurse laid her: hand on tho dead
mans forehead. II wish he could have
lived TO- hear it," said She q. ~ s..,g,s..
And as she said that the dead man
smiled that smile which she knew 50
well-and, strong. hearted woman though
she was, she tainted and fell on the floor.
When she came to herself the doctor
was holding some hartshorn to her nos
trils. 81. -s.,. x..,,.s. 80. ,.......,.......>.s
at was not Imagination T.. said she.
NO said he, shaking his head, ut was
Z MIRACLE" >'''' - .. s. = 49, :.>:5-'f -
n The annals Of choler. years, Of TIL,
plague, oftother epidemic diseases, are full
Of curious stories of the supposed dead,
and we seem as yet to have fearfully
little of that line Of demarcation which
marks the dead from the living. Those
surgeons who 60 on the battle fields have
many curious stories to tell Of the phe.
nomena of dead faces, and to those who
have only the ordinary sad experience Of
sorrow there is much that is wonderful
about it,, The sudden growth of resem.
Llances, Is that Of child to one parent
or another, sometimes an entire change
of face, as if the personality had been
changed; all these things have struck
the observer often.
That mask Of death called catalersy pro.
duces that change also. One young girl,
subject to this mysterious disease, would
become SO like an intimate friend that al
her family were struck by it. They were
totally unlike when we'll, but as she came
out Of her fit she would Immediately
begin talking of this friend. It seemed
as If her own. spirit had vacated her body
and that of her friend had taken its place.
A young German Countess who had
beautiful hair, died of = lingering disease,
and was buried at her own request with
the long golden hair lying loosely about
her like : veil. A fe~ years afterward
her remains were exhumed, and the long
hair was found to have been carefully
braided as German girls braid their hair,
and, what was still more inexplicable, tho
ends were tied with some blue satin rib.
bon, which sister remembered had been
attached to some garlands which lay on
the coffin. The German painter Leutz
had either seen this braided hair or had
heard Of it in the town where it occurred,
and had been deeply impressed by it.
The only conjecture had been, Of course,
that the poor girl was buried alive. but
that was hardly possible for the features
were in singular state of preservation
and very composed, the hands folded on
the breast, and the shroud in perfect
order. Nor weuld woman braid her
hair ian act calling for great composure
if she found herself buried alive. Being
German hair it probably braided itself.
Another phenomenon, more easily OK.
planned by physical reasons, is the fact
that dead faces blush. 1t is not ,mmon,
but probably has happenened within the
experience Of most physicians, that color
comes back to lip and cheek for few
hours, even after the pallor of death has
asserted itself. 1t is said to have occurred
in the case of Philip Lie Bel, whom poor
crazy Joanna carried about so long, and
adored so hopelessly perhaps it was one
reason why she could not believe him
dead. Ofcourse, this has found its way
into poetry, and there is an old story Of
Provence, in tho dialect, dating back as
far as .Clemence Isaure aud the golden
violet, Of = young girls corpse blushine
when her lover entered the room.
But the saddest Of all phenomena is the
most common onc-the marble rigidity,
the mark Of death. Nothing can so stun
the senses or chill the heart as that; but
the subject demands attention as one Of
those unusually repellent, it is true. but,
like the philosophy of dreams, not suffi'
GENTLY understood. Though Intimately
connected with our imperfectly developed
possibilities, both as intellectual and
physical machines, whose springs are hid
den. whose abnormal developments AT
in the strength which fever gives, or thu
sharpened power Of ear or eye under tn,
influence of strong nervous excitement
the power of going without food when dis
ease supports the framc-all show re
markable reserve Of forces not suspected
in health; and the more curious, and moi
so well.defined cxtraneous powers of tn,
mind -variously designated as magne'
tis,n, clairvoyancy, and the like--all poin
to the fat that tho animal we call man j!
. very mysterious and as yet imperfectly
comprehended being, and that We hav,
yet to lind out great deal about oul
own human nature-both when it lives
which is the greatest of miracles, ant
when it dies, which is lesser ono.