The record-union., 1897-09-26
THEY DO NOT DIE.

Some days ago a San Francisco
paper published a number of auto
graphic certificates of people familiar
with death scenes, declaring that a
young man in a Southern California
city had died; that all the evidences
of actual death were present, not a
single indication was lacking.
The wife of the man came in and
insisted upon attempting resuscitation,
whereupon vigorous applications were
made, and after an hour or two the
breath OF life returned, and the man
is now up and about. Then follows the
statement that as he began to breathe
he exclaimed: 90, why did you bring
me back" His subsequent relation was
that he was dead; that his spirit took
its departure from the body, and he
was inexpressibly happy. He saw his
father at his bedside, who accompanied
him part way upon a journey through
fair fields Of surprising beauty, and
in the far distance he heard music of
such enhancing character that he is
unable to describe it.
Presently he felt a powerful influence
drawing him back to his body, and with
q pang Of awful pain he revived and
found himself once more alive.
The father of the young man de-
claras that as he saw his son die,
great longing to so with him was felt.
The youth himself says he is now con-
vinced that there is life beyond death,
and he is satisfied and anxious to die
in all fullness.
There have been scores of just such
Instances related. They are all SINH
lar; a pang of great pain, then inef-
fable content and peace, and on re-
turn great pain and woful regret. A
lady, whom we know to be a woman
of unimpeachable veracity, was near
to death Apparently she did die. and
her friends were convinced that life
had left the body. After some hours
she revived. Her story is that her
spirit left the body, and seemed to
pervade all space. She was perfectly
happy, with not a thought for any
thing left behind. She felt that she
was expanding and filing space, and
what she saw and heard filed her with
Eupremest joy.
Striving to go out further she looked
back and saw a. slender golden thread
connecting her with earth. At that
instant it began to contract and draw
her to her body, which she plainly
saw, surrounded by weeping friends.
She resisted, but the more she strug-
gled, the more she was drawn back,
and, finally, with awful pain, she re-
entered the body. To this day she
sighs with regret that she was re-
stored.
Such instances are of record by the
hundreds. But they do not prove
death or glimpses of the other world.
They only testify to a condition in
which the bodily senses in part are
suspended from action, while the fancy
of being is quickened into abnormal
activity. In that state he or she rev.
eled in paradisical delights. Those
resuscitated after apparent drown
ing, all agree that after the
first pang when the lungs fill with
water, there is only the most exquisite
pleasure, perfect content. and a long
ing desire TO thus continue.
Search Of the testimonies of all hu
man experience gives us not single
point upon which to hinge the belief
that one human being who has once
passed into the great unknown has
ever returned to give account of his
experience. Against this universal tes-
timony there stand only the records Of
the miracles, which we do not propose
TO discuss, since they involve questions
of faith 1t is proof Of the glorious
wisdom of the Great Cause, that it is
not given US to know by experience
what the hereafter Is. All the stories
of those who have apparently died and
gone out of the body are simply recit-
dishonest enough-of fancy free in
clairvoyant or cataleptic state. in
which joys revealable to heshly senses