The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1878-04-12

by a medical assistant. The mother was |
once more consigned 10 the tomb, but the |
child born lived to be a nan and, carry
ing till his death the name Of Fruit of the
Earth, occupied for several years tile post
of ieutenant-general on the frontiers Of
Cherez. This story is reproduced by the
late Professor COmi in his treatise on IL
neoy0gy.
A poor woman at Casfel del Gludice, in
the province of Molise, was taken i'll with
tie premonitory symptoms OF childbirth,
and having tainted away while the doctor
was being sent for, was, on his arrival, de-
clarcd dead. Burial follows death very
rapidly in southern countries, especially in |
Italy. 1t is the night of the tomb setting
in without the twilight of the death !
chamber ; and eight and forty hours in the |
north of Italy, and four and-twenty in the !
south, is tie time allowed by law.
This was the case with the poor woman !
of Molise. Her friends had doubts as 20 |
one, at least, of the deaths-that Of the /
unborn babe-but the doctor was inexora- |
BILE. He refused to operate on the corpse |
to save the infant life, and the Syndic. ap-
proving of his conduct, ordered the body to |
be buried. The funeral took place exactly |
! at the twenty-fourth hour-t!Iat is to say, |
| that the body, being poor one, was thrown
| into the ground like dog. Dog-like, too,
| it had no rights, for few days after wards
| 1t was uneaTthed to make room for another
| cOrpse-that of a girl-which was 10 be
J thrown in over it. But the becchini (the
| grave-diggers) perceived while doing their
work that the woman buried the week be-
| fore chad moved in the grave" Her
| hands were up 30 her mouth her eyes were
| wide open and staring frightfuily-she had
been trying to bite the bands 10y which her
| wrists were fastened. Bat the bands of
! her legs were rent asunder, and there, In
the dust beside her, was a dead child
The following is authenticated by Beu-
! bier, and Is quoted, in slightly different
words by Dr. Gandolf 4 schoulmaSter
{ in MohIstait named Wenzeb was legally
pronounced dead, and got ready for bur
! ial He was to be buried On d certain fixed
day, but his sister, who lived far off, had
not arrived, and it was decided that the
funeral should be postponed. The de
ceased" in his winding sheet unable TO
move and apparently unable 20 breathe,
heard with Joy of this delay, and tried, bat
utterly i'll vain, TO open his eyes, which
were fast closed. His sister arrived, and
finding hEl dead, burst into paToXysm of
tears, and, seized his hand, reproved him
passionately for thus dying without one
word of farewell. She took his head be-
tween her hands and pressing it wildly,
looked at him with a fixed and half-de
mented scrutiny. The eye}idS Of the ode
/ ceased we're seen to quiveT; the eyes half
! opened he was saved lie had succeeded
! in putting his latent self in communication
!
had begun the doctors completed. Here
was a raan wlro, bat for his sisters delay,
would have been bznied alive Beuhjer's
! story is, in fact, the confession of Nenzei.
/ 1t is the story of patient describing his
horror on finding himself a dead man and
| withuut much confusion of terms, it might
/ be called the Confessions of Corpse
DR.. Gaudolf asserts that many such cases
! have been recorded in vaTIOuS parts of Eu-
/ rope. and t!lat in most instances the cases
have been proved and authenticated"
Gandolfi is an authority; and all persons
5 of a quIbbIiug OF skeptcal nature would do
well to consider the matter thoroughly be-
: fore coudemn;ng the evid, nc.
Bat it is needless To Proiong the list of
examples. Enough has been said to show
r the wfckedness Of hasty funerals and the
necessity % establishing proper system OF
I tests But these tests, SO long expected,
are not forthcoming. Many physicians
? are indeed. Of opinion that no such system
is obtainable in The present state of medical
+ science. There are, they AFFIRM, great
l many ways Of proving death It sufficient
] time may be allowed for experiments but
! during the experiments OF before the eXpe-
e riments have begun, the supposed corpse
Z may, they declare, pass from apparent to
real dpa.h and thus, without SlPu or waTu-
1 ing. rrustrate all inquiry. Celebrated ply
L / siCiars caHnOt be at the dcathbeGs OF ali
4 sick persons. The poor, and even the rich,
! ! must ofeutignes content themselves with
, the services OF doctors who are not tamoVS
Y either for learning or iutujtiOnS and the
y medicines aud appliances by which diS;In-
: guished physicians might succeed in testing
j. the existence Of life, in persons Suffering
d from trance, wo1ld. iH the case of poor
q people cost too much and no one Is will
e ing to guarantee their final success. Foi
f it is important to bear this point iH mind -
d it is one thing to certify that corpse Is
e not really dead it is another thing to re-
Il vive that corpse after the inner ljle-lateul
+ and slow toasSert itsef-has been properly
! recognized No; what is wanted Is SIM
o pie test and not a complicated test, or
complicated series of tests, which would b6
"A out Of the reach OF the poor and beyond the
d power Of iuexpei fenced or badly paid doc
e tors Let us have that test as soon as pos
y sible. No doctor deems it an imposSibIlty
5 It is a matter of great difficulty, and that
II all But difficulties great or greater
n than this have been mastered over and ove1
y again by modern science.