Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1886-11-11
Saint Nafg's Beacon.
HOMETOWN, MARYLAND.
The Poirt of Death.

The curious case Of Iesuscitation re-
ported from Ohio the other day is not
the only one of its kind Mrs. Fra
ser, after several days illness, during
which a child was born, apparently
died. Dr. Lackerstein tried hypo-
dermic injection of solution of nitro
glycerine, and the lady, after few
minutes, revived. She is now getting
on very well. The doctor is OF opin-
ion this experiment should be made
in all cases of shock or collapse be-
fore they are given up for lost. He
believes that persons are not infre-
quently allowed to die so completely
as to be beyond revival, or are, per-
haps, buried alive.
The expression shows that in the
doctors view death is a matter of de-
erees. Common as this melancholy ex-
perience is, it is still among phenom-
ena least understood. Although usu-
ally it is easy to tell when dissolution
has occurred, yet there are cases which
occur from time to time rendering the
matter one Of very grave uncertainty.
The point at which the soul relin-
qushes the body is among the most
difficult things to establish.
Perhaps this uncertainty is one of
the reasons why there is such curiosi-
ty as to death beds and last words.
We are anxious to know how affairs
appear TO those who are passing away.
They are undergoing the great change
through which every one must pass.
How does it look to them ?
Very little more information is to
be gathered from the dying than the
dead. Certain differences may be
drawn from the surroundings-the de-
parting color, the cold, deepening
stare, the groan, the rattle in the
throat, the stiffening limbs; but they
are as likely to mislead as not. And
the same may be said of the deatl
sayings They are as enigmatic al
the declarations of oracles. We may
take sometimes half dozen meaning
from them, as, for instance, Goethe
famous "More light T. Was it tn
sense of earthly darkness growing
around him, or was it the breaking 0
Of the eternal light upon his vision, o
was there some yet deeper signifcanc
in the exclamation M
Medical works show that peopl
have been resuscitated fifteen, twent
and even thirty minutes after apparen
death. Heldon, the highwayman, j
said to have been dead three quarter
of an hour His body was cut dow
after hanging that length of time and
was handed over to HE friends after
thorough examination. That nigh
he was seen as we'll as ever, excep
for stiffness of the neck.
Pryee, the Norwich miser, was dea,
as Caesar, according to those abou
him, and until some thoughtful per
son, distrusting the warmth of hi
hands, administered stimulant. II
arose and lived years afterwards
Cases Of mere trance are almost innu
merable.
Supposed deaths from drownin,
show that resuscitation may take plac
thirty or forty minutes after all lif
has apparently left the body. TIL
question as to what becomes of tn
soul in this long interval is tho on
which puzzles many. But the chic
point of the matter is that the physi
clans and friends should not too read
lily accept appearances in the critica
hour. There may, as in the Erase
instance, be yet some spark of lif
remaining. AS DR.. Lackerstein claims
there is absolutely no reason why
with the resources he employed q
hand, any one should die of an owe
dose of chloroform or from shoe
while undergoing surgical opera
tion.