, 1880-02-19
Burial of Persons Alive.

All. merciful God piously exclarms
rmllIo, show many living men and wo-
,.,a are annually taken to their graves"
We're it possible to get at the truth, the
victims in this country might be num-
bared by scores--possibly, by hundreds,
Mr.. G. E.ic Msckay, in the current
number of Belgravia, gives very inter
esting article on the subject OF "Pre-
mature Burials, in which he points out
the difference between death and the
state of trancc-indoed, lie goes 50 far
as to claim that the difference has never
been quite clea,ly understood by the
generality Of mankind The article
calls attention to the several instances
of premature burial on the continent OF
Europe; instances which involve stories
of trance, the semJlancc of death, hold
ing its sway over the human body for
hours and days, and;not merely Tor
minutes, as in the case of ordinary faint
ing fits. In his opening remarks, the
writer said
"In DAYS when land is dear, and bur
ial rights less sacred than the rights OF
builders and contractors, collins have
been opened with the picllaXe, in the
act of converting cemeteries into streets
and gardens. Here grave has been
discovered whose inmate has turnedin its
shroud hero a corpse clutchiug its hair
in n strained and unnatural position;
dead men iani, women, lying, IN their
graves as the dead never Helm a Chris
tian land at the moment Of burial"
Mr.. MacLay gives an account Of q
young and beautiful woman who it is
supposed died of ,overexcitemcnt at the
prospect of being married. When the
first shovelful of dirt was thrown on the
coffin strange noise was heard from
the inside. The coffin was unscrewed,
but too lateg7 the girl was found IN an
attitude ofthorror and pain impossible
to describe herFeyes wide open, her
teeth cenched, her hands clutching her
hair, but life was extinct. An instance
showing the utter deprovity of the
Italian undertakers and grave diggers is
given in which they actually tried to
snatch the body of lady from her
friends, one of whom thought she was
dead. As they were aboutto, drag it |
from the bed the Adead body '&moaned,
and soon afterwards was thoroughly re.
vived hy medical practitioner of the
.neighborhood, and lived to- tell the
story of her escape from the tomb. A
learned Cardinal incurred the displeas-
ure of the King, and on being rebuked
fell to the ground, to all appearance |
dead. 1t was decided thatthe unfortu.
nate Cardinal should be enibalmed, but
when the surgeons began their opera
tions the patient awokesbut too late, for
the wounds were mortal. hn
A case is given in which q young ladyI|
arose out of her coffin and appeared be-
lore the family At supper, "pale and
frightened, but fair to see as before
death" The doctor, the priest, and the
undertaken saw the error of their way,
but the priess alone made amends, by
officiating asstle young lady's wedding
a year after he had preached her funeral
sermon. Petrarch, when a middle.aged
man, lay twenty hours in a trance, and
narrowly escaped being, buried alive.
We have often heard the story Of the
Consul's wife who was buried alive and
released from her, painful position by
robbers who broke open the coffin to
steal the lady's jewelry. Among the
other stories OF resuscitated victims OF
apparent death, is one of an old gentle
man who was revived by one of his
skeptical friends putting burning Ia
per to his nose. His life was saved, but
the sad story of his escape from the
very jaws OF death was ever afterward
told by thelsfarredI and crimson beacon
on his face. n,
A number. of stories are given of the
revival Of Ipspitab patients after they!
have been carried out to the dead house,
This seems vers common occurrence
In Europe. Two of the pQst terrible
statements are Of children being born
in the tomb, one, Of whom, according to
Mr.. Macay, bang discovered by a
lucky incident, lived to be man, and
occupied for several years the post Of
ieutenant-general on the frontiers Of
Cherez. .l gl sg.t.
Several instances are given Of persons
who have been cognizant Of what was
going on around them, yet powerless to
stop their burial. One. case is given of
g schoolmaster who, had it not been for