Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1886-11-11
Saint Fafg'S Beacon.
HOMETOWN, MARYLAND.
The Pain. Of Death.

The curious case Of resuscitation re-
ported from Ohio the other day is not
the only one of its kind. Mrs. Fra
ser, after several days illness, during
which child was born, apparently
died. DR. Lackerstein tried hypo-
d.Tmic Injection OF a solution OF nitro
gIycerine, 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-
grees Common as this melancholy ex-
perience Is, it Is still among phenom-
en4 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.
quishes 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 q?
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 stiifening limbs; but they
are as likely TO mislead as not. And
the same may be said of the death
stylng~. They are as enigmatic as
the declarations Of oracles. We may
take sometimes hal: dozen meanings
from them, a., for instance, Goeas.e :
famous More light T. Was it the
sens" Of earthly darkness growing
around hun, or was it the breaking OF
OF the eternal light upon his vision, OF
was there some Yet deeper significance
IN the exclamation
Medical works show that people
have been rcsuscltated fifteen, twenty
and even thirty minutes after apparen Mt
death l!eldon, the highwayman, is
Sni TO have been dead three-quarters
4 An hour. His body was cut down
after hanging that length of time and
WAS handed over Ia hls friends after a
thorough examination. That night
he WAS seen as we'll as ever, except
tor stiffness OF the neck.
Pryee. the Norwich miser, was dead
ns Caesar, according to those about
hun, and until some thoughtful per.
son, distressing the warmth of his
hands. administered a stimulant. He
arose and lived years afterwards
Cases Of mere trance are almost inuu.
merable.
Supposed deaths from drowning
show that resuscitstion NAV take place
thirty or forty minutes after all life
has apparently left the body. The
question as to what becomes of the
soul IN this long interval is the one
which puzzles many. But the chief
point OF the matter is that the phvsi-
clans and friends should not too read
ny accept appearances in the critical
hour. There may, as in the Fraser
instance, be vet some spark of life
remaining. As Dr. Lackerstein claims,
there Is absolutely no reason whv,
with the resources he employed at
hand, any one should die of an over
dose OF chlorotorm or from a shock
while undergoing a surgical opera.
tion.