Researches on the natural history of death / by Bennet Dowler.

  • Bennet Dowler
Date:
1850
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Researches on the natural history of death / by Bennet Dowler. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    In England, no medical author of reputation has written at any 1-ngth on this subject. (Guy's Med. Jur., 371.) The cases of resuscitation from apparent death, which M. F. reports, were not witnessed by himself, nor were they established as facts by evidence of a satisfactory character, having nearly all been newspaper stories Instead of giving an analysis of his cases which I had trans- lated, I will substitute a few extracts from a recent criticism on that work—not so much for its logic, as for its expositions on the general aspects of this subject, in the British Empire: M.Julia de Fontenelle seems to have persuaded himself that burial grounds are a species of human slaughter-house. His hopes of recruiting population from church yards are grounded on a hundred cases of apparent deaths gleaned from the entire history of the world. Nor is there in the whole of his book, one single case bearing out his position. It is no unreason- able scepticism to assume that the majority of the persons revived never lived. Yet not only i? this book still in vogue, but the French news- papers annually multiply these tales to an extent which would be frightful if they were not refuted by their very number; but we [English.] are tame and prosaic in our insular tastes. Our agreeable neighbors require a stronger stimulus, and therefore endless changes are rung upon the theme of living men buried, and of dead men brought to life again. In Spain, if M. Fontenelle's word is a warrant for the fact, whoever oversleeps himself Avill have to finish out his slumbers in the grave, which beyond doubt, is the most powerful incentive to early rising that was ever devised. But in France, the grand theatre for these harrowing tragedies, it is usual to bury on the third day ; and it at that interval it was common for seeming corpses to revive, we, in this country, [England] should be habituated to behold persons, whose deaths had been announced, to rise up and doff their grave clothes. Who ever heard, in Modern England, of a person, who had been num- bered three days among the dead, resuming his vacant place among the living ? (Lond. Quart. Rev., Oct. 1849.) I am not aware that the records of the United States furnish a well authenticated example of revival from apparent death, at the length of even a few hours after the ordinary signs of death had occurred. The most remarkable supposed case of this kind, which still agitates the public mind, is that of the late Philip Doddridge, an eminent lawyer and statesman, of Virginia, a gentleman with whom I was acquainted, having been the family physician to one of his sons. The story, founded partly in fact, has been variously related, but never confirmed, by com- petent witnesses, as to manner, duration, signs, tests, and essential con- ditions. A case of apparent death, from yellow fever, reported by Dr. John Hush of Philadelphia, though not until six years after its occur- rence, is related in Dr. Coxe's Medical Museum for 1805. The patient James C.ark, aged 19, affected with yellow fever, died with black vomit, on the fourth day. During the apparent death of four hours duration, ih; doctor gave a gill of strong brandy, every half hour etc. In it not remarkable that a living man should recover after black vomit ? Is i' possible for a df^ad man to swallow so mu^h brandy'? Is it likely