Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1876-09-09
SUSPENDED ANIMATION.
A Few Incidents on the Subject Given NJ
by Charles Reade, the Novelist.

A journal called the Los Angeles Star
recorded the following incident at the
time it occurred
A gentleman in the city had a very
large and beautiful tom cat, which he
had reared from a kitten. 1t was now
five years old, aud the two animals were
mutually attached. Every morning,
when the servant brought IN the water
for his masters tub, puss used to come
in and sit at the side of the bed, and
gaze with admiration at his employer,
and sometimes NEW him out but re-
tired into corner during the Tubing,
which he thought irrational, and came
out again when the biped was clothed
and in his right mind.
One day the cat was seen in the gar
den tumbling over and over in strong
commissions, which ended in its crawling
feebly into the house. The master
heard, and was very sorry, and searched
for the invalid, but could not find him.
However, when he went up to bed at
night, there was the poor creature
stretched upon the floor at the side of
the bed, the very place where he used
to sit and gaze at his master, and new
him out of bed.
The gentleman was affected to tears
by the affectionate creatures death, and
his coming there to die. He threw a
handkerchief over poor tom, and passed
downright unhappy night. He de-
termined, however, to bury his humble
friend and no time was to be lost, the
weather being hot. So, when the servant
came in to fill his tub, he ordered a lit
tie grave dug directly, and box to be
| found of suitable size to receive the
remains.
Then he got up; and, instead of tub
bling, as usual, he thought he would
wash poor toms body for interment,
for it was all stained and dirty with the
mold of the garden.
He took the body up, and dropped it
into the water with souse.
That souse was soon followed by flu
rious splashing, that sent the water fly
ing in his face and all about the room
and away flew the cat through the oper
window, as though possessed by devil
Nor did the poor body forgive this by
dropathic treatment, although success
full. He took q perverse view, and haC
never returned to the house sup to thu
time of our going to press" says thu
Los Angeles Star.
The cat is not the only animal subiec
to suspension of vital power. Man.
men and women have been buried aliv'
III this condition, especially on the con
tinent, where the law enforces speed,
iuterment. Even in Britain-where the,
do not shovel one into the earth quit
as fast-live persons have been buried
and others have had O narrow escape.
could give a volume of instances at HON
and abroad. One of them an arch
bishop, who was actually being carrie
in funeral procession on an open bier
when he came to, and objected in wha
terms krow not; but the Scotch hav
an excellent formula in similar cases: /
runs thus: "Bide ye yet, mon; L haze
deal mair mischief to do frrrst |"
Two recent English cases could Gel
tify to be true-one, little girl @
Nuneaton, who lay several days withou
signs of life; another, a young lady, nc
known to the public, but to me. Sh
was dead, in medicine; but her mothe
} refused to let her be buried, bocaus
there was no sign of decomposition, an
she did not get so deadly cold as Other
had whom that mother had lost b
) death.
This girl remained unburied som
, days, till another of Gods creatures pit
in his word; a fly thought her worth bi
ing, and blood trickled from the bitC
That turned the scale of opinion an
' the girl was recovered, and is alive t
this day. However, the curious reader
who desires to work this vein, need G
5 no further than the index of the Agmott
3 Register and the Gentlenaan's Mage
3 zine. AS for me, I must not be temple
. outside my immediate subject. III
< parallel I shall confne very lare
3 theme to is exact.
c At the opening of the century IL
: public facilities for anatomy were LEI
: than now. So then robbing the churcl
t yards was quite q trade; and an egoti
: or two did worse; they killed people fl
the small sum a dead body brought.
o Well, a male body was brought to
y certain surgeon by man he had ofte
: employed, and the pair Jumped it dow
}. on the dissecting table, and then IL
n vender received his money and went.
Il The anatomist set to work to open IL
J. body; but, in handling it, he fancied Il
o limbs we're not so rigid as usual, and
IS took another look. Yes, the man W
s dead; no pulsation, either. And y
,, somehow he was not quite cold abo
% the region of the heart.
% The surgeon doubted. He was h
r name man; and so, instead of making
n fine transverse cut, like that at whit
l. the unfortunate author of " Manon Le
g. caut" started out of his trance with
10 shrek, to die in right earnest, he ga
o the poor body a chance; applied hart
le horn, vinegar and friction, all witho
le success. Still he had his doub
/ though, to be frank, am not clear W
le he still doubted.
y BE that as it may, he called in his
10 sistant, and they took the body into t
1T yard, turned a high tap on, and d
g. charged small but hard hitting colur
IN of water on the patient.
r, No effect was produced but this
IS which an unscientifc eye might ha
W passed over--the skin turned Sigh
he pink in one or two places, under the t
IS of water.
The surgeon thought this a stro
proof life was not extinct; but, not
e. overdue it, he wrapped the man
n blankets for time, and then drench