DEATH

In cases of sudden death interment should be deferred till signs of putrefaction begin to appear, especially when no gradation of disease has preceded, as in cases of apoplexy, hysterics, external injuries, drowning, suffocation, . No sooner has breathing apparently ceased, and the visage a umed a ghastly or a death-like hue, than the patient, after his eyes are closed, is too often hurried into a coffin, and the body, scarcely yet cold, is precipitated into the grave. So extremely fallacious are the signs of death that the semblance has been frequently mistaken for the reality. By prompt means and judicious treatment, many persons, when in such a condition, have been happily restored to their families and friends. The effects of sound upon animal life is astonishing. The beat of a drum, for instance, has had a very beneficial effect upon persons in a state of suspended animation. At one time a scream, extorted by grief, proved the means of resuscitating a person who was supposed to be dead, and who had exhibited the usual recent marks of the extinction of life. In cases of catalepsy or trance, having the semblance of death, the action of the lungs and heart continues, though in a nearly imperceptible degree. By placing a cold mirror or piece of highly polished metal immediately over the mouth of the patient, symptoms of moisture will appear upon the surface if the most feeble respiration takes place.