Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1883-08-24
PHEN ON Elm q OF DEA TH.
Dissolution "a Painless and Uncon.
II us :sciOns as Birth. u

\ Dissolution as Painless and Uncon-
us :sciOns as Firth.
The ideal death e said q physician in
charge Of the New 81 ork city hospitals TO
.areporter Of the Sun. e = was that 81 my
uncle. He Was d hale, hearty man OF
80, a bachelor, wealthy and surrounded
with every comfort in beautiful home
not far from New York. He had trav-N
.eled in Europe and was full of anecdote
and memory of his long life. He arose
one morning apparently in perfect
health. His buoyancy Of spirits was no
,ticed. He expected a visit from met
and as he desired to confer with me on
d matter OF Il business, he arose
from the table after a hasty and partial
meal, saying he would drive down to
the depot. not far away, and bring me to
the house. He had the. servant bring
the ponies to the door and refused
to let the man go with him, Saying
he preferred to drive himself. He
mounted the box and drove OFF at q
smart pace. The old gentleman had not
driven more than a few rods from his
own, house when he was met by q neigh
Dor who noticed something strange in
his appearance. His horses stopped.
The neighbor dismounted and went to
the side of his carriage and spoke to
him. The old gentleman did not ans
wer. He sat upright in his seat, holding
the feins il, his hand. He was dead.
He had passed away without shock of
any kind. There was no apparent cause
for his death, which was probably occa-
stoned by heart diseaser
DR.. Il. L Seaman, physician in chief of
Charity Hospital, Blackwelps Island,
took great interest in observing the much
Wanted death scenes Of Sara Bernhard,
and when once started on the subject he
is apt to give Judgment of the great &C.
tress' performances some what different
from the general conclusions, of the dra-
matte critics. Speaking ON the subject
the other day, Dr.. Seaman said that
Md1le. Bernhardt had seven different
ways Of dying, and all Of them were to-
tally unlike anything he had ever seen
ina medical practice covering MANY thou
sands Of cases in all kinds Of death.
"Of course I do not hold myself re-
sponsible for the deaths in my hospital
any more than for the Births" said DR..
Seu1nen. Many persons come in when
they are almost in the last moments of
life. Many are known to be absolutely
beyond hope Of recovery. But my OBJ
servations convincas me that the dram
artists and actors have far over-estinated
the pains Of death. and especially the
possibilities OF greas mental effort Just
previous to the moment Of dissolution.
1t is III fact, about MS difficult to tell
when man dies RS to determine when
he goes to sleep. Death is q natural,
not a sudden process. am speaking
now Of death by disease, not Of violent
death. Possibly in the Representation
Of violent death, the actors may come
somewhere near the truth, but general
~ their pictures of death by disease are
to one who knows the truth, simply RI
diculous. Dissolution is as painless and
unconscious as birth. The approach to
it may be protracted and painful, There
may be long and agonizing scenes result
ing from disordered imagination. Death
destroys one organ after another, not all
all at once. The last organs to yield are
the lungs which show their oppression
in the breathing, and produce what is
termed the death rattle. AS soon as the
lungs cease to act, the black venous
blood is no longer changed to red arte-
rial blood, but is propelled unpurjfed
from the heart and thus poisons the
body like 8 narcotic. The energies of
the brain are gradually lulled as in the
approach OF sleep, and unconscious GER
ebral action produces the n1urmur or
pames OF friends, or recollections of past
lie, or reference to whatever has
passed through the mind. But that
there is pdin in natural death I have
long ceased to believe"
A veteran physician, speaking on this
subject, recently said: Judging of the
thoughts of men by. their words lust
previous to death, l should say it often
happens that lying person gives no IN
dication Of thought upon q subject that
has been the favorite topic of a life time.
have known active business men with
important affairs unattended to who
died with words upon their lips that in
dlcate0 absor ptlon in some incident of
the moment, generally relating to per-
sonal comfort. 1t was that sort Of a
death that Washington Irving died, say
ing; We'll, must arrange NV pillows
for another weary night; if this could
only end Long suffering under the af-
fllctions ola painful disease will serve to
divert the mind Of the strongest. Even
the philosopher, Ben Franklin, was
forced to say with his last breath: A
dying man can do nothing easy 1t is a
very common thing for dying pe rsons to
express sympathy with atten dants who
had been fatigued in attending them.
Among the last words of Sir Walter
Scott were: Poor souls, I know you
were up all night
And yet, where there has not been
protracted suffering, and where the ad-
ministration Of narcotics has not pro-
duced a wandering mind, dying per-
son will manifest an interest in what
ever has been the uppermost thought Of
his life. Lord Chesterfield is reported
to have illustrated his proyerbial polite
ness by requesting that friend at his
bedside should be offered chair. Very
often the Last words Indicate thoughtful
ness for loved ones, such as the utter
ance of Charles IT,, t'Let not poor Nelly
,starve," or Of Thomas Jefferson, who
said, Il resign my soul to God, and my
daughter to my country" It is but nat
ural that whatever CONSCIOUSNESS is felt
at the moment Of death should be that
ofafection.s / have seen it expressed
in q loving look, or a. pressure of the
hand, often long after the power Of
CHOW about thesfascial expression of
dying personsp'
That is often spasmcdic. The laugh
ing Or crying muselesare often excited
inthe commissions Of death when there
are no corresponding feelings. In the
same way there are often muscular con-
tortiOns of the mouths of infants, who
are believed to be smiling, when, in fact,
thew are troubled with stomach ache.''
Have you ever observed the visions
and iecstaric delights that are, often
spoken tofloy religious Writers?" i -
Certainty. They are, quite common,
And not at s1l contin6d to- religious per-
sors, Experienced physicians testify
that most persons die in astate Of trance.
ftpnY axY