The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1883-08-02

said, Il resign my soul to God, and my
daughter to my country It is but nat
ural that whatever consciousness Is left
at the moment of death should be that
of aft sction. l have seen it expressed in
a loving look, or a pressure of the hand
often long after the power of speech had
gone"
"How about the facial expression Of
dying persons?"
"That is often spasmodic. The laugh
ing or crying muscles are often excited
in the 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
they are troubled with stomach ache"
"Have you ever observed the visions
and ecstatic delights that are often spo-
ken of by religious writers?"
Certainly. they are quite common,
and not at all confined to religious per
sons. Experienced physicians testify
that most persons die in state Of trance.
Although they are apparently conscious.
they pass away in n state OF dreaming.
Often they seem to be listening to mu-
steal sounds. Sometimes they seem to
be beckoned to by angels"
"And do You regard such exhibition
as purely physical?"
"Just as much so as any dream. They
are controlled by the ordinary thoughts
and feelings, the everyday life and ed
ucation and imagination of the subject
in precisely the same way as dream is
controlled. Generally dream is repro
duction of waking thought. The Gu
rious jumble of subjects in dream is
the result of absence of volition. There
is suspension of the functions of the
median tract OF the brain. The same
thing occurs in the mesmeric trance.
The suspension may be temporary, and
then the person may not only return to
consciousness, but remember some of
the curious things seen in the vision.
Something of the same nature occurs in
taking opium. In the earlier stages Of
opium eating the subject appears to
have two mental operations going on at
once One is fantastic and odd, the
other normal and regular. In such q
case one is able to keep up running
comment on the visions passing before
his eyes,"
"The death of a healthy person is
always very different thing from the
death of diseased person. In cases of
accident, where persons know that they
must die in very short time, unless the
shock has been very great, they preserve
their customary trains of thought: they
direct their affairs with comparative COM
posture"
'Have you ever known persons to die
in q comical mood?"
"There are historic cases. Douglass
Jerrold is reported to have said, Why
torture dying creature, doctors? and
everybody remembers the dying joke OF
Robert Burns-'Don't let the awkward
squad fire over me-"
TT must be remembered, however,
that what are called the last words oil
great men, may have been uttered con-
siderable time before death-either hours
or days. Some allowance must be made
for the impossibility of procuring testi.
mony. When the late DR.. Beard died,
after having become widely known as an
intelligent and educated sceptic, his sis
ter proclaimed that he had recanted on
his deathbed. and had indicated his hope
of heaven by pointing upward. and say
ing, Higher, higher But the attendant
who sat beside DR.. Beard, said the
words. Higher higher, had no reference
to future state Of existence, but were
simply an Indication that the doctor
wished to be raised on his pillow. IN.
Sun