Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1880-02-24
Burial of Persons Alive.
Tho Difficulty OF Telling the
Difference Between Death
and q State Trance.
Chicago Intor-0cean.


"Ah merclful God" piously exclaims
Camille, chow many living men and
women are annually taken to their
grayesn Were it possible to get at the
truth the victims in this country alone
might be numbered by many scores
possibly by hundreds, Mr.. g. Eric
Mackay, in the current number of Bel
0rdOid, gives a very interesting article on
the subject Of "Prcmaturo Burials," in
which he points out how difficult II is to
discern the difference between death aud
n case of trance--indeed, he goes 80 far
ns to claim that the difference has never
been quite clearly understood by the
generality of mankind, The article
calls attention to several instances of
premature burials on the Continent of
Europe; instances which involve stories
of trance, the scmblancc Of death hold
ing its sway over the human body for
hours and days and not merely for min
utes, as In the case of ordinary fainting
fts. In his opening remarks the writer
says:
ain days when land il dear, and bur
ial rights less sacred than the rights of
builders and contractors, collins have
been opened with the plckaX, In the net
Of converting cemeteries into streets and
gardens. Hero grave has been dlscoy-
cred whose inmate has turned IN Its
ahroud here n corpse clutching Its hair
In strained aud unnatural condition;
dead men and dead women lying In their
graves as the dead never lie In Chris
tlan land at the moment of burial"
Mr.. Mackay gives an account of n
young and beautiful woman who, is
supposed, died of over excitement at the
prospect of being married, When the
first shovclful of dirt was thrown on the
coffin strange noise was heard on the
inside. The coffin was unecrcwcd, but
too late. The girl was found In M atti-
tudc Of horror and pain impossible to
dcscribo--hcr cyes wide open, her teeth
clcnchrd, her hands clutchlng her hnir
but life was extinct. An instance show
ing the utter dcpraylty of the Italian
undcrakcrs and grayc-dlggcrs Is given
In which they actually tried to snatch
tho body Of n lady from her friends, one
OF whom thought she was not dead. As
they were about TO drag her from the
bed the "dead body" moancd, aud soon
nfterward was thoroughly revived by y
medical practitioner Of the nciglbor-
hood, aud lived to tell The story Of her
escape from the tomb, A learned Cardl-
nal incurred the displcasnrc Of the King,
aud on being rcbukcd, fell TO the ground,
to all appearance dead II was decided
that the unfortunate Cardinal should be
embalmed, but when the surgeons be-
gan their operations the patient owokc,
but too late, for the wounds were NOR
tai.
A case IA given where young lady
arose ont Of her coffin md appeared be-
fore the family ut supper "pnle and
frightened, but fair TO see as before
death" The doctor, the priest, and the
undertaken saw the error Of their way,
but the priest alone made amends by of
nclatlng ut The young lady's wedding q
year after he had preached her funeral
sermon. Pclrntch, when middlc-ngcd
man, lay twenty hours In trance, and
narrowly escaped being buried alive
We have often heard the story Of the
Consul's Wifi, who was buried alive and
released from her painful position 10y
robbers, who broke open the coffin to
steal the lSdys icwelty Among the
other stories Of reeuscltatcd victims Of
apparent death, is one Of an old gentle
man who was revived by one of his