Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1901-04-12
lHEDREADOF DEATH
IT IS NEVER STRONG DURING THE
LAST HOURS OF LIFE.

That Bind Him 10 Earthly Exist
snce-ViaiOna of the Dying.
II there is such thing as being an
authority on death. Thomas H. Andrews,
surgeon to the bureaus of police and fire,
should rank high as an expert. In the
course of 81 years of active practice he
has conducted over 1000 post mortem
examinations and has seen at least half
that number of human beings die.
He talked freely on the subject of death
recently aud in most entertaining man
Rer, il such a paradox is possible. lie
went back TO the days when he was the
first medical cadet from Pennsylvania
with the sanitary commission; when he
helped to sew up the gaping wounds of
war at Fair Oaks, Cold HarbOr and IN
the Seven Days fight; when he was as
signed to the steamer Wilson Small, on
the Pamunky river, floating charnel
house, with 800 cases of typhoid fever on
board.
Later on he was stationed in Phil |
adelphia nj military hospital under
charge of the famous surgeon, Paul Beck |
| Goddard. For Is years he was demon |
stratOr Of anatomy at jefferson hospital, |
was coroner's physician for years and is !
now entering on his fourteenth year as
surgeon to the bureaus of police and fire. |
He has looked into the eyes of dying men
and women and children of every kind
and condition, and this is the summing
up Of it all:
Death is as much of mystery to me
now as it was when l first saw a human
being die.
"Naturc is never so kind to man as
when she is scvering the ties that bind
him to this earthly life. She removes all
fear, amelioratps every harsh surround.
ing, softcns every sound and smOOths the
narrow pathway to the grave with kind
" hands The easiest thing in life is to
die"
In your experience, DIR. Andrews" !
asked, ''have you ever found case in
which fear of death rose to the point
where men fought and screamed at its
approach
''Never. In severe sickness death comes
4 in the guise of Il welcome visitor. On the
:; battlefield or rs a result of accident OF
! sudden shock, when it comes to a man
+ swiftly, who but moment before was IL
= perfect health and who half an hour later
Z will be lifeless. a fortitude which can
! not describe and have never been able
to analyzc sustains the victim.
4 do men and women of the highe
y grades of intelligence exhibit any differ
Y ent emotions as death approaches from
,e those gifted with less mental power
z Does the professional man or the scien
4 list bctray any different feelings or emo
a tions from those exhibited by the day la
at bOrer. the peasant or the most ignOran
% of menu
4 "No and yes" was the reply. 9Th
er scientists, the men and women of keen il
telligpncc and trained faculties, unles
,G their lives have been conspicuous for a
ne exhibition OF faith in religion and il
>; teachings. are slower to accept ministri
pa tons of cicrgymen and others. The ma
ed of low intelligence yields at the first al
80; prOach and calls for religious consolation
go "The reason for this is, | think. IN;
the vast majority of professional me
outside of the clergy, and particular
en- doctors and scientists. generally are NJ
ms inclined to believe or accept what thu
~ cannot demonstrate as a scientific fa'
roy IAnd yet. as Il rule. these men and woi
all en- willingly accept religious ministati'
~ when death is only matter of hours.
81 recall an instance during the W;
= One of the most distinguished men in t
COnfederacy was brought to me for tre'
ment. | saw at once that his death W
u
the most brilliant and charming men
ever met. | told him that he could /
IL live and asked him if he desired to t;
with a clergyman. He replied that
did not feel disposed to change his view
that death, as he believed, ended all Il
All there was no use of dragging religion
us, at the last hour.
"That was in the morning. He IL
felt strong and clear headed. When
saw him in the afternoon, he was weal
and, referring to our earlier cOnversati
told me that he had been raised in
- Methodist faith and that its teachi
/ . had left an impress on his mind. He a
ed me to send for Methodist elergym
which ! did. When ! saw him just
fore he died he told me what comfort
talk with the minister had given him
that nc now would face death will
a drawer heart than he could have done
fore.
Il merely cite this instance" said
ock Andrews. ito show that there is notl
Cow Wncn lnnnen''S d ,hn " Io 81 bo"r rs
environment and teaching of his boyh
days Jimmy I.ogur the notorious
glar and criminal. told me- here in my
fee that Il night never went over his |
that he did not kneel down and say
prayers"
"Has there ever been any demons
ton. physical or otherwise. on the
rS' of an the hundreds whom you have
on the threshold Of death which
could interpret as a positive indicatio
- future lifeY
"NOt one"
"Hnvp you ever encountered insta
in which dying persons have told 70
visions which they have seen, of "
Dc they have heardT'
"Yes. ! recall particularly one insti
, II was that of a man who had appa
ly died. but revived for little time
fore he finally passed away. he toll
about the lights and sounds and c
of magnificent things he had seen,
yond the river as he put It. VI C
he really believed that he saw them
il was the halucinatiOn Of his disort
brain. Persons of fPrvid Imagination
strong religious convictions may be
mated by some illusion Of this kind
orior to death. It cannot be accept
convincing evidence of future life.
DIR. Andrews. il may be remarked
churchman with strong religious v
He explained in connection with
above statement that he was spe
nurclv from scientific standpoint.
and women in extremis. awakening
n senlicOmatose condition. cannot
gardcd as furnishing reliable testimo
the evidence of their senses.
81 have found" continued DR..
drews. THAT persons Of clean life, OF
orahlc. upright religious character
only do not display an Indifference
anpr1ach Of death. as those Of =
life do. hut welcome it as u relief
care and toll There is something
The approach OF death nat recc
II as , a9% We faculties are blunted and tn
comes quietly, painlessly, like a
sleep.
10, In this condition. mean on ii
III. proach Of death-those who retain
faculties TO any degree become mo
less philosophers. They know that
is inevitablc-that it is only quest
hours-and they accept the verdict
out any demonstration and IN
sophical way. In all NV experie
have never found a case in which a
OWL man or woman complained again
inevitable, attempted to fight
have proach or even feared it," So
drews.
at is only in good healt'
death. When we becom
have sustained some injur
GUS nature, the fear Of dea,
Come appear.
"The one great unsolve
fore which science thus IA
armed, is the secret an