parish, Oxford, was convicted of killing her bastard child, and was
according hanged at Green-ditch, where she hung so long, that one of
the by-standers said, if she was not dead, he would be hanged for her.
When cut down, the gallows being very high, she fell with such violence
to the ground, that seemed sufficient of itself to have killed her.
After this, she was put in a coffin, and carried to the George Inn, in
Magdalen parish; where signs of life being observed in her, she was
blooded, and put to bed to a young woman; by which means she came to
herself, and, to all appearance, might have lived many years: but the
next night, she was, by the order of one Mallony, a bailiff of the
city, barbarously dragged to Gloucester Green, and there was hanged
upon a tree, till she was dead.
XXVI.
In the year 1797, a fine boy, about nine years old, son of Mr. Baldock,
Surgeon and Apothecary, at Burwash, in Sussex, had the misfortune to
fall into a pond of water, about twenty roods from his father’s house,
wherein he soon sunk to the bottom, and there remained at least a
quarter of an hour, before any one went to his assistance. By the time
he was taken out, the father had arrived at the spot, where he found
his son to all appearance dead, his face having turned quite black,
and his pulsation totally left him; he, however, took up the body, and
carried it home, losing no time in stripping off the wet cloaths, and
getting it into a warm bed. He next proceeded to wipe the skin quite
dry with napkins, and afterwards to rub the body well with hot cloths.
Mr. and Mrs. B. continued the stimulating process for a full hour,
without the smallest prospect of success; they nevertheless persevered,
and soon afterwards had the happiness to discover some small symptoms
of returning life, from the emission of a very feeble groan. This
encouraged them to redouble their exertions; and though they proved
wholly ineffectual for more than another hour; during which time the
body appeared as a corpse before them, they did not relax in their
efforts; and, at the expiration of two hours and an half, they brought
the vital functions into more visible action, which first appeared by
a sort of convulsive motion in one hand. The next favourable symptoms
discovered, were a little motion in one foot, an inward crying, and
a very languid pulse. The return of animation was now more rapid,
and apparently very painful; for the poor boy first cried low, and
presently after very loud; his eyes, which were naturally prominent, on
a sudden burst wide open, and appeared very red and full of terror.
After this, he was taken out of bed, and put breast high, into water
blood warm, in which situation he appeared calm for about ten minutes,
when he again cried, but not so strong as before. Being taken out of
the bath, (where the friction was still kept up with the hand) wiped
dry, and put again into a warm bed, he was soon after perceived to
breathe, though very quick and feeble. Having in some degree recovered
his senses, he spoke a few words imperfectly; but his speech soon
became more perfect; and having swallowed a trifling potion his father
administered to him, he complained of great pain in his stomach and
bowels, which was soon relieved by an embrocation, volatile, oily, and
anodyne. The next night he got rest by the help of a cordial anodyne;
but it was a fortnight before he wholly recovered.
We have been particular in stating the above facts, from an idea that
the knowledge of them may prove useful in similar accidents, and indeed
in all cases of suspended animation.
XXVII.
Doctor Tissot mentions an instance of a girl who was restored to life,
after she had been taken out of the water, swelled, bloated, and to
all appearance dead, by laying her naked body upon hot ashes, covering
her with others equally hot, putting a bonnet round her head, and a
stocking round her neck, stuffed with the same, and heaping coverings
over all. After she had remained half an hour in this situation, her
pulse returned, she recovered her speech, and cried out, _I freeze,
I freeze_; a little cherry brandy was given her, and she remained
buried, as it were, under the ashes for eight hours. Afterwards she was
taken out, without any other complaint, except that of lassitude or
weariness, which went off in a few days. The Doctor mentions likewise
an instance of a man who was restored to life, after he had remained
six hours under water, by the heat of a dung-hill.
XXVIII.
Doctor Alexander mentions an instance of a man, who was to all
appearance killed by a blow on the breast, but recovered on being
immersed for some time in warm water. These, and many other instances
of a similar nature, amount to a full proof of this fact, that many of
those unhappy persons who lose their lives, by falls, blows, and other
accidents, might be saved _by the use of proper means duly persisted
in_.
XXIX.
Mr. Tossach, Surgeon at Alloa, relates the case of a man suffocated by
the steam of burning coal, who he recovered by blowing his breath into
the patient’s mouth, bleeding him in the arm, and causing him to be
well rubbed and tossed about.
And Doctor Frewen, of Sussex, mentions the case of a young man who was
stupified by the smoke of sea coal, but was recovered by being plunged
into cold water, and afterwards laid in a warm bed.
XXX.
Even in old age, when life seems to have been gradually drawing to a
close, the appearances of death are often fallacious.
A Lady in Cornwall, more than eighty years of age, who had been a
considerable time declining, took to her bed, and in a few days
seemingly expired in the morning. As she had often desired not to be
buried till she had been two days dead, her request was to have been
regularly complied with by her relations. All that saw her looked upon
her as dead, and the report was current through the whole place; nay,
a gentleman of the town actually wrote to his friend in the island of
Scilly, that she was deceased. But one of those who were paying the
last kind office of humanity to her remains, perceived some warmth
about the middle of the back; and acquainting her friends with it, they
applied a mirror to her mouth; but, after repeated trials, could not
observe it in the least stained; her under jaw was likewise fallen, as
the common phrase is; and, in short, she had the appearance of a dead
person. All this time she had not been stripped or dressed; but the
windows were opened as is usual in the chambers of the deceased. In the
evening the heat seemed to increase, and at length she was perceived to
breathe.
XXXI.
Monsieur Janin, of the Royal College of Surgery at Paris, relates, that
a Nurse having had the misfortune to overlay a child, he was called
in, and found the infant without any signs of life; no pulsation in
the arteries, no respiration, the face livid, the eyes open, dull,
and tarnished, the nose full of snivel, the mouth gaping, in short, it
was almost cold. Whilst some linen clothes and a parcel of ashes were
warming, he had the boy unswathed, and laid him in a warm bed, and on
the right side. He was there rubbed all over with fine linen, for fear
of fretting his tender and delicate skin. As soon as the ashes had
received their due degree of heat, Mr. Janin buried him in them, except
the face, placed him on the side opposite to that on which he had been
at first laid, and covered him with a blanket. He had a bottle of
_Eau de luce_ in his pocket, which he presented to his nose from time
to time; and between whiles some puffs of tobacco were blown up his
nostrils: to these succeeded the blowing into his mouth, and squeezing
tight his nose. Animal heat began thus to be excited gradually: the
pulsations of the temporal artery were soon felt, the breathing became
more frequent and free, and the eyes closed and opened alternately.
At length the child fetched some cries expressive of his want of
the breast, which being applied to his mouth, he catched at it with
avidity, and sucked, as if nothing had happened to him. Though the
pulsations of the arteries were by this time very well re-established,
and it was hot weather, yet Monsieur Janin thought it adviseable to
leave his little patient three quarters of an hour longer under the
ashes. He was afterwards taken out, cleaned and dressed as usual; to
which a gentle sleep succeeded, and he continued perfectly well.
XXXII.
Mr. Glover, Surgeon in Doctor’s Commons, London, relates the case of a
person who was restored to life after twenty nine minutes hanging, and
continued in good health for many years after.
The principal means used to restore this man to life were opening the
temporal artery and the external jugular; rubbing the back, mouth, and
neck, with a quantity of volatile spirits and oil; administering the
tobacco clyster by means of lighted pipes, and strong frictions of the
legs and arms. This course had been continued for about four hours,
when an incission was made into the wind pipe, and air blown strongly
through a canula into the lungs. About twenty minutes after this the
blood at the artery began to run down the face, and a slow pulse was
just perceptible at the wrist. The frictions were continued for some
time longer; his pulse became more frequent, and his mouth and nose
being irritated with spirit of salammoniac, he opened his eyes. Warm
cordials were then administered to him, and in two days he was so well
as to be able to walk eight miles.
XXXIII.
In the parish of St. Clements in Colchester, a child of six months old,
lying upon its mother’s lap, having had the breast, was seized with a
strong convulsion fit, which lasted so long, and ended with so total a
privation of motion in the body, lungs, and pulse, that it was deemed
absolutely dead. It was accordingly stripped, laid out, the passing
bell, ordered to be tolled, and a coffin to be made; but a neighbouring
gentlewoman who used to admire the child, hearing of its sudden death,
hastened to the house, and upon examining the child, found it not cold,
its joints limber, and fancied that a glass she held to its mouth and
nose was a little damped with the breath; upon which, she took the
child in her lap, sat down before the fire, rubbed it, and kept it in
gentle agitation. In a quarter of an hour she felt the heart begin
to beat faintly; she then put a little of the mother’s milk into its
mouth, continued to rub its palms and soles; found the child begin to
move, and the milk was swallowed; and in another quarter of an hour,
she had the satisfaction of restoring to its disconsolate mother the
babe quite recovered, eager to lay hold of the breast, and able to suck
again. The child throve, had no more fits, is grown up, and at present
alive, i. e. 1803.
These means, which are certainly in the power of every person, were
sufficient to restore to life an infant to all appearance dead, and
who in all probability, but for the use of these simple endeavours
would have remained so. There are however, many other things which
might be done in case the above should not succeed; as rubbing the body
with strong spirits, covering it with warm ashes or salt, blowing air
into the lungs, throwing up warm stimulating clysters, or the smoke of
tobacco into the intestines, and such like.
When children are dead born, or expire soon after the birth, the same
means ought to be used for their recovery, as if they had expired in
circumstances similar to those mentioned above.
These directions may likewise be extended to adults, attention being
always paid to the age and other circumstances.
* * * * *
The foregoing cases and observations afford sufficient proof of the
success which may attend the endeavours of persons totally ignorant of
medicine, in assisting those who are suddenly deprived of life by any
accident or disease. Many facts of a similar nature might be adduced,
were it necessary, but these, it is hoped, will be sufficient to call
up the attention of the public, and to excite the humane and benevolent
to exert their utmost endeavour for the preservation of their fellow
creatures.
In short, not only the ordinary signs are very uncertain, but we may
say the same of the stiffness of the limbs, which may be convulsive;
of the dilation of the pupil of the eye, which may proceed from the
same cause; of putrefaction, which may equally attack some parts
of a living body, and of several others. Haller, convinced of the
uncertainty of all these signs, proposes a new one, which he considers
as infallible.--“If the person (says he) be still in life, the mouth
will immediately shut of itself, because the contraction of the muscles
of the jaw will awaken their irritability.” The jaw however, may be
deprived of its irritability though a man may not be dead. Life is
preserved a long time in the passage of the intestines. The sign
pointed out by Dr. Fothergill appears to deserve more attention.--“If
the air blown into the mouth, (says this physician) passes freely
through all the alimentary channels, it affords a strong presumption,
that the irritability of the internal sphincters is destroyed, and
consequently that life is at an end.”--These signs, which deserve to be
confirmed by new experiments, are doubtless not known to Undertakers.
The difficulty of distinguishing a person apparently dead from one who
is really so, has, in all countries where bodies have been interred too
precipitately, rendered it necessary for the law to assist humanity.
Of several regulations made on this subject, we shall quote only a
few of the most recent; such as those of Arras, in 1772; of Mantua,
in 1774; of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, in 1775; of the Senuhausée of
Sivrai, in Poitore, in 1777; and of the Parliament of Metz in the same
year. To give an idea of the rest, it will be sufficient to relate only
that of Tuscany. By this edict, the Grand Duke forbids the precipitate
interment of persons who dies suddenly. He orders the magistrates
of health to be informed, that physicians and surgeons may examine
the body; that they may use every endeavour to recal it to life, if
possible, or to discover the cause of its death; and that they shall
make a report of their procedure to a certain tribunal. On this
occasion, the magistrate of health orders the dead not to be covered
until the moment they are about to be buried, except so far as decency
requires; observing always, that the body be not closely confined, and
that nothing may compress the jugular veins and the carotid arteries.
He forbids people to be interred according to the ancient method; and
requires that the arms, and the hands, should be left extended, and
that they should not be folded or placed cross-wise upon the breast. He
forbids, above all, to press the jaws one against the other; or to fill
the mouth and nostrils with cotton, or other stuffing. And lastly, he
recommends not to cover the visage with any kind of cloth, until the
body is deposited in its coffin.
We shall conclude this article by subjoining, from Dr. Hawes’s _Address
to the Public_ on this subject, a few of the cases in which this
fallacious appearance of death is most likely to happen, together with
the respective modes of treatment which he recommends.
In apoplectic and fainting fits, and in those arising from any violent
agitation of mind, and also when opium or spirituous liquors have
been taken in too great a quantity, there is reason to believe that
the appearance of death has been frequently mistaken for the reality.
In these cases, the means recommended by the _Humane Society for the
recovery of drowned persons_, should be persevered in for several
hours; and bleeding, which in similar circumstances has sometimes
proved pernicious, should be used with great caution. In the two latter
instances, it will be highly expedient, with a view of counteracting
the soporific effects of opium and spirits, to convey into the stomach,
by a proper tube, a solution of tartar emetic, and by various other
means, to excite vomiting.
From the number of children carried off by convulsions, and the
certainty arising from undoubted facts, that some who have in
appearance died from that cause have been recovered; there is the
greatest reason for concluding, that many, in consequence of this
disease, have been prematurely numbered among the dead; and that the
fond parent, by neglecting the means of recalling life, has often
been the guiltless executioner of her own offspring. To prevent the
commission of such dreadful mistakes, no child, whose life has been
apparently extinguished by convulsions, should be consigned to the
grave, till the means of recovery above recommended in apoplexies, &c.
have been tried; and, if possible, under the direction of some skilful
practitioner of medicine, who may vary them as circumstances shall
require.
When fevers arise in weak habits, or when the cure of them has been
principally attempted by means of depletion, the consequent debility
is often very great, and the patient sometimes, sinks into a state
which bears so close an affinity to that of death, that there is reason
to suspect it has too often deceived the by-standers, and induced
them to send for the undertaker, when they should have had recourse
to medicine. In such cases, volatiles, _eau de luce_ for example,
should be applied to the nose, rubbed on the temples, and sprinkled
often about the bed; hot flannels, moistened with a strong solution
of camphorated spirit may likewise be applied over the breast, and
renewed every quarter of an hour; and as soon as the patient is able to
swallow, a tea spoonful of the strongest cordial should be given every
five minutes.
The same methods may also be used with propriety, in the small pox,
when the pustules sink, and death apparently ensues; and likewise in
any other acute disease, when the vital functions are suspended from a
similar cause.
ACCOUNT
Of the various
MODES OF BURYING THE DEAD,
_ADOPTED BY DIFFERENT NATIONS_.
The primitive Christians buried their dead after the manner of
the Jews. They first washed, then embalmed them, spending, (says
Tertullian,) more perfumes, and aromatic gums, upon such occasions,
than the heathens did in their sacrifices. They wrapt the corpse in
fine linen, or silk, and sometimes put them on rich habits. They
then laid them forth for the space of three days, during which they
constantly attended the dead body, and passed the time in watching
and praying by it. Then they carried it to the grave, with torches
and flambeaus, singing psalms and hymns to the praise of God, and in
testimony of their hopes of the resurrection. They recommended the
dead likewise in their prayers, received the communion, and made their
_Agapæ_, or love feasts, with the distribution of other charities for
the poor.
At the end of the year, they made a fresh commemoration for them, and
so from year to year; beside the standing commemoration for the dead,
always joined with the eucharist, they frequently put into the grave
several things, as marks of honour to the deceased, or to preserve
his memory; such as the badges of his dignity, the instruments and
acts of his martyrdom, an epitaph, or at least his name: and sometimes
they threw in medals, laurel leaves, some crosses, and the gospel.
And whereas the heathens, built stately tombs for their dead, either
by the sides of great roads, or in the open fields; the Christians,
on the contrary, disposed of their deceased, either after the common
way of interment, or laying them in vaults under ground; such were
the catacombs near Rome.--They had anciently, a religious ambition
to be buried near the bodies of martyrs, and this is that which, at
last, brought so many graves and tombs into the churches; which were
frequently erected over the graves of martyrs: this was the occasion of
burying in churches; for a long time it was the custom to bury the dead
no where but without the walls of cities.
As to the old Greeks, after they had closed the eyes of the deceased,
they used to make a great noise with a sort of bell, done as it is
supposed either to scare away the furies and hobgoblins, or else to
wake the person, in case he was only in a lethargy or apoplectic fit.
Afterwards they put a piece of money into his mouth, to pay his passage
over the Styx, giving him likewise a piece of meat to put Cerberus in
good humour: they then put a bandage, or little scarf over his eyes,
and his face was covered to his chin with cloth. This office was to be
performed by the nearest relations, who were likewise obliged to wash
the body with warm water and anoint it. This was properly the business
of women. The corpse was likewise wrapt in fresh linen, or new cloth,
made into a sort of straight gown. The body was afterwards crowned with
chaplets, to intimate the deceased had conquered the misfortunes of
this life. They likewise put some sweetmeats into his mouth, which was
part of the entertainment of the Olympionces. The funeral being thus
far prepared, they placed the corpse at the gate of the house, which
was a sort of laying in state.
The day after, before sun-rise, the Greeks used to carry the corpse
to the funeral pile. The expence upon this occasion, though moderate
at first, grew afterwards to a great excess; therefore Solon made a
sumptuary law, to oblige the Athenians to frugality. The relations used
to attend the corpse to the funeral pile; women under three score years
of age, unless pretty near related, were not permitted to come into
the house where the corpse lay; however all of that sex were allowed
to accompany the body to the place of sepulchre: at the latter end of
the solemnity the company had a treat at the expence of the relations,
at which time, if the deceased had done any thing remarkable, it was
set forth in a speech; which privilege was afterwards granted to none
but those who died in the field, for their country, or such as were
buried at the charge of the state, which in such cases was done in the
Ceramicus.
It was a custom among the Greeks, to bury persons of the best quality
in raised grounds, till, at last, there were two public burying places
appointed by the state, called Ceramici, one within, and the other
without the wall. In the first of which, those who died in the field,
were buried. If any person happened to die on their travels, or in
another country, their way was to anoint the corpse with honey, to
preserve it from putrefaction, till they could bring it home. And
sometimes they wrapt them alive, in cerecloth for the same purpose.
The Egyptians of which we shall speak more fully hereafter, used to
embalm their dead with a composition made of wine and odoriferous
drugs, such as myrrh, cinnamon, cedar, &c. This embalming was a whole
month in finishing, it being necessary to repeat the aromatic gums
under the corpse a great many times. Herodotus observes, that the
Egyptians used to dress the corpse in the same habit that the person
wore, and put it into a transparent glass coffin.
The Romans paid the last offices to the dead, in the following manner:
after they had closed the eyes of the dead, they called out to him
several times, to see if he was not fallen into a swoon, or lethargical
distemper.--After this, they washed the corpse with warm water, and
rubbed it with perfumes. This being done, they put a sort of white gown
upon him, and brought him to the door with his feet to the street, then
they stuck branches of cypress before the house.