The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-04-08
where men fought and screamed at its

where men fought and screamed at its
approach"
Never In severe sickness death comes
in the guise of a welcome visitor On the
battlefield or as a result of accident or
sudden shock, when 1t comes to a man
swiftly, who but a moment before was in
perfect health and who half an hour later
will be lifeless, a fortitude which 1 cannot
describe and have never been able to ana
lyze sustains the victim"
DO men and women of the higher
grades of intelligence exhibit any differ
ent emotions as death approaches from
those gifted with less mental powero
Does the professional man or the scientist
betray any different feelings or emotions
from those exhibited by the day laborer.
the peasant or the most ignorant Of
menu"
mo and yes" was the reply. "Thc
scientist the man or woman of keen
intelligence and trained faculties, unless
their lives have been conspicuous for an
exhibition OF faith i'm religion and its
teachings are slower to accept ministra-
tons of clergymen and others. The man
of low intelligence yields at the first ap,
proach and calls for religious consolation
- THE reason for this is, I think, that
the vast majority of professional men,
outside of the clergy. and particularly
NOSNClS anu SCl6HLASls SGHtldAy, gre lOt
inclined to believe or accept what they
cannot demonstrate as scientific fact.
And vet, as a rule, these men and women
willingly accept religious ministration
when death IS only a matter of hours.
Il recall an instance during the war,
One OF the most distinguished men in the
Confederacy was brought to me for treat
ment. | saw at once that his death was
matter of hours only. He was one OF
the most brilliant and charming men l
ever met. l told him that he could not
live. and asked him IL he desired to talk
with a clergyman. He replied In a rather
careless way that he did not feel dis-
posed to change his views. That death,
as he believed, ended all, and there was
no use of dragging religion in at the last
hour.
THAT was in the morning. He then
felt strong and clear-hesded When I
saw him in the afternoon he was weaker,
and referring to our earlier conversation
told me that he had been raised In the
Methodist faith and that it's teachings
had left an impress on his mind. He
asked me to send for Methodist clergy
man, which / did When l saw him just
before he died he told me what comfort
the talk with the minister had given him
and that he now would face death with
a Drawer heart than he could have done
before.
II merely cite this instance" said DR..
Andrews, ito show that there is nothing
which influences man so much in later
life, and even in the death hour as the
environment and teaching of his boyhood
days. Jimmy Logue, the notorious bur-
glar and criminal, told me here in my
Office that a night never went over hts
head that he did not kneel down and say
his prayers"
HAS there ever been any demonstra-
ton, physical or otherwise, on the part
of all the hundreds whom you have seen
on the threshold of death which you could
interpret as a positive indication of ii
future lfe?"
MOT one"
Have you ever encountered instances
In which dying persons have told you of
visions which they have seen, of voices
they have heardY'
Yes, recall particularly one instance.
II was that of a man who had apparent
ly died. but revived for a little time be-
fore he finally passed away. He told me
about the lights and sounds and chaos of
magnificent things he had seen, beyond
the river as he put 1t. OF course, he
really believed that he saw them, but 1t
was the Authorization of his disordered
brain Persons of fervid imagination and
strong religious convictions maybe domi-
mated by some illusion of this kind just
prior TO death 1t cannot be accepted as
convincing evidence of future life"
DR.. Andrews, it may be remarked, is a
churchman with strong religious views.
He explained in connection with the above
statement that he was speaking purely
from a scientific standpoint. Men and wo-
men in extremis, awaking from a SEMI
comatose condition, cannot be regarded
as furnishing reliable testimony OF the
evidence of their senses.
II have found" continued DIR. Andrews,
Chat persons of clean life, of honorable,
upright religious character not only do
not display an indifference to the APP
proaeh of death, as those of grosser life
do, but welcome it as a relief from care
and toll. There is something about the
approach of death that reeonciles men to
it. The senses are dulled, the perceptive
faculties are blunted and the end comes
quietly, painlessy, like a gentle sleep.
I'm this condition, l mean on the ap-
proach of death, those who retain their
faculties to any degree become more or
less philosophers. They know that death
is inevitable; that it is only a question Of
hours, and they accept the verdict with
out any demonstration and In philo-
sophical way. In all my experience have
or woman complained against the inevi-
table, attempted to fight its approach, or
even feared it," said DR.. Andrews.
ut is only in good health that we fear
death. When we become Ill. when we have
sustained some injury of a very serious
nature, the fear of death seems to disap-
pear
1.-THE one great unsolyed problem, be-
fore which science thus far has stood dis
armed, Dis the secret and the mystery of
the origin of life. Side by side with 1t, /
may say, is the mystery of death. l have
never seen, and have never heard of
any authentic evidence from the death
bed of any one. which could be accepted
as scientific proof of the existence of
life beyond.
THAT is "A matter of faith. 1t has been
a matter Of faith through all the ages,
and l believe that II will be a matter of
faith to the end of time. have, as /
said before, discovered this, that the men
and women of the purest lives and the
strongest faith exhibit that fact conspic-
uously in their last hours. and in a man
ner that undoubtedly tends to rob death
of even the semblance of terror"