The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1883-01-18
Phenomena or Death.

A physician of this city has made the
pthci,ui,ieIu of death u special otuiy uy
careful observation and lengthy consulta-
ton with his brother doctors, he has &c.
Guired fund Of interesting facts and
suppositions regarding the fatal moment
which all humanity sooner or later have
to experience.
zone of the things of which am con-
vinced" said the Doctor in conversation
Yesterday, sis that death is painless
mean that the moment Of dissolution ap-
proachcs as unconsciously rs sleep-the
soul leaves the world as painless as it en-.
tiers it. Whatever be the causes Of death,
whether by lingering malady or sudden
violence, dissolution comes either through
syncopc or asphyxa. In the latter case,
when resulting from disease, the struggle
is long, protractcd, and accompanied by
all the visible marks Of agony which the
Imagination associates with the closing
scene of life-thc pinchcd and palid fca-
lures, the cold, clammy skin. the uptnrn.
ed eye, and the heavy, laborous, ra,tling
respiration Death does no, strike al
the body at the same time; some may he
said to survive others, and the lungs are
their functions. IS death approaches the
liltcI DCSOiIC iI!ViS tiiA ih''S
oppressed; the air cells are loaded with
an increased quantity Of the fluid which
naturally lubricatcs the surfaces the at
mosphcrc can then no longer come into
contact with the minute blood vessels
spread over the air cells without first per
mcating this vicious iluid-hence the rat.
tie. Nor is the contact sufficiently per.
lcct to change the black vcnous into the
red artcral blood; an unprcparcd fluid
consequently issues from the lungs into
the heart, and il thence transmitted to
every other organ Of the body. Tho
brain receives it and its energies appear
to be lullcd thereby into Oslecp-gcnerally
tranquil slcep-iil with dreams which
impel the dying to murmur out the names
of friends and the occupations and rec
ollcctions Of past life The rustic 'Dab-
blcs Of green fields, and the hero ex-
rircs amid visions of battle.
Chars" Chester, charge; on, Chester, on
We're tho last words Of MaImi"n.
"a very large number Of deaths nre
attributed to old age" continued the ply
sicians, "yct few, even of the oldest, die
purely from exhaustion or gradual decay;
some positive disease, in most cases,
ovcrwhelms Tie small remains Of vitality.
Yet death from actual old age is not i'm.
possible, and must be tho sweetest death
of ala sleep indeed that wakes in ctcr.
nifty. In regard to longevity, j. is assert
cd that the United States is more favor
able to long life than any other country.
If can not abide entirely by that opin-
ion, can Mt least agree that this country
has and can produce ten centurinos to
any one of any other land, and think
Washington's body servants affirm my
statement. The average Of human life
is thirty.thrce years. OneIuartcr die
previous to the age Of seven years; one.
half before reaching seventeen so those
who pass their teens enjoy felicity refus-
ed to one.half the human species. In
every 900 persons only one reaches be-
yond the nineties in every 100 ouly six
reach the age Of sixty five, and not moro
than one in 500 lives to eighty years. OF
the upward Of l,0OO,OO0,O0O inhabitants
of the globe, ono-third die every year,
81 ,S24 every day, $50 every hour, and
sixty every minute. Married persons
live longer t.an sing e; tall men longer
than short OF cs, and women have more
chances of IL in their favor, previous
10 being fifty years Of age, than men
have, but fewer aftcrward. Persons who
are born i'll the spring generally grow
robust than those who como into the
world at other seasons. Deaths are more
frequent by night than by day."-Fiom
the iHihdcLphia Irtss.