2»«» S. No 32., Aug. 9. '56.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



103 



me paratissimum esse tua exequi mandata, et metnet 

 praestare nullo non tempore cum omni cultu et grati- 

 tudine. Tuum servum fidelissimum humillimum." 



PREMATUBE INTEEMENTS, ETC. 



The twenty-three years' experience of the 

 worthy gravedigger of Bath (see "N. & Q.," 

 1'' S. viii. 6. 205.), to the effect that in the course 

 of decomposition the face of every individual turns 

 to the earth, proves too much for the supposition, 

 which, had the instances been less universal, 

 might have been held sufficiently explanatory, 

 that premature interments, the result of undue 

 haste and culpable carelessness or ignorance as to 

 the true signs of death, had been the cause of the 

 phenomenon. Newspaper paragraphs, headed 

 " Buried alive ! " appear at intervals sufficiently 

 brief to keep the frightful possibility of such an 

 occurrence vivid in the imagination ; and the his- 

 toric cases in proof are too numerous and well- 

 authenticated to need citation or inquiry. The 

 ancients, as is well known, instituted their con- 

 clamatio, and other precautions to prevent this 

 most horrible of fates, and all tourists are aware 

 of the careful provisions made at the present day 

 in the cemeteries of Germany to avoid the possi- 

 bility of premature interment. The tender Juliet 

 soliloquises : 



" How, if when I am laid into the tomb 

 I wake ..... 

 there's a fearful point ! " 



and how prevalent is such a fear we may gather 

 from the number of the instances in which men 

 have requested, that, before the last offices are 

 done for them, such wounds or mutilations should 

 be inflicted upon their bodies, as should effectually 

 prevent the possibility of an awakening in the 

 tomb. So in the case of a well-known antiquary 

 and lover of books : 



" The late Francis Douce requested in his will, that Sir 

 Anthony Carlisle, the surgeon, should sever his head from 

 his body, or take out his heart, to prevent the return of 

 vitality. His old friend, and co-residuary legatee, Mr. 

 Kerrick, had also requested the same operation to be per- 

 formed in the presence of his son." — T. F. Dibdin's Lit. 

 Item., vol. ii. p. 777. 



In France especially, premature interments 

 seem to have been formerly startlingly numerous, 

 and the subject has at times excited great in- 

 terest. Bruhier has collected and classified no 

 less than 180 cases, many of which were doubtless 

 attributable to hospital negligence. Twenty years 

 ago M. Manni, Professor in the University at 

 Rome, placed the sum of 1500 francs at the dis- 

 posal of the Academy of Sciences, for the best 

 treatise on the signs of death, and the means to 

 prevent premature interment. This premium was 

 not adjudicated till 1846, when the following me- 

 moir was considered to merit its bestowal : 



"Traits des Signes de la Mort, et des Moyens de 

 pr^venir les Enterrements prematures. Par E. Bouchut. 

 Paris : Bailli^re, 1849." 



This is the best treatise we have on the subject. 

 A well written little book has more recently ap- 

 peared : 



" The Medical Aspects of Death : and the Medical As- 

 pects of the Human Mind. By James Bower Harrison, 

 &c. London: 12mo., 1852." ^ 



For the behoof of those who may take an in- 

 terest in this horrible subject, and wish to investi- 

 gate it for themselves, I append the titles of a few 

 volumes in my collection : 



" Garmanni (L. C. F.) de Miraculis Mortuorum, lib. iii. 

 quibus praemissa Dissertatio de Cadavere et Rliraculis in 

 Genere, Opus physico-medicum. 4to. Dresden, 1709." 



"The Uncertainty of the Signs of Death, and the 

 Danger of Precipitate Interments and Dissections De- 

 monstrated, &c. 2nd ed. London, 12mo., 1751." 



" Observations on Apparent Death from Drowning, 

 Hanging, Suffocation by Noxious Vapours, Fainting Fits, 

 Intoxication, Lightning, Exposure to Cold, &c. By 

 James Curry, M.D., &c. London, 8vo., 1815." 



" The Danger of Premature Interment proved from 

 many remarkable Instances of Persons who have recovered 

 after being laid out for Dead. By Joseph Taylor. 12mo. 

 1816." 



" The Thesaurus of Horror ; or the Charnel-House Ex- 

 plored ! ! Being an Historical and Philanthropical In- 

 quisition made for the quondam Blood of its Inhabitants! 

 By a contemplative descent into the untimelj' grave! 

 Shewing, by a number of awful facts that have transpired, 

 as well as from philosophical inquiry, the reanimating 

 power of Fresh Earth in cases of Syncope, &c., and the 

 extreme criminality of hasty Funerals : with the surest 

 method of escaping the ineffable horrors of Premature In- 

 terment ! ! The frightful Mysteries of the Dark Ages 

 laid open, &c. By John Smart, ^iKdvOpurroi. London : 

 8vo. 1817." 



Reference may also be made to the following : 



" Encyclopaedia Londinensis : sub voc. ' Mausoleum,' 

 and ' Reanimation.' " 



"Diet, de Me'dicine et de Chirurgie. Art. 'Inhuma- 

 tions precipit^es.' " 



" Reports of the Royal Humane Society for 1787-8-9, 

 p. 77." 



" Collet's Relics of Literature, p. 186.' 



" Granger's Biog. Hist, of England, vol. i. p. 330." 



I cannot more appropriately conclude than by 

 the transcription, from a magazine cutting, of a 

 story, cognate in horror and mystery with that 

 alluded to at the commencement of the present 

 paper ; soliciting the elucidatory remarks of the 

 readers of " N. & Q." thereto. 



" Horrible Phenomena. — It is not generally known, 

 that in Barbadoes there is a mysterious vault, in which 

 no one now dares to deposit the dead : it is in a church- 

 yard near the sea-side. In 1807, the first coflSn that was 

 deposited in it was that of a Mrs. Goddard; in 1808, a 

 Miss A. M. Chase was placed in it ; and in 1812, Miss D. 

 Chase. In the end of 1812, the vault was opened for the 

 body of the Hon. T. Chase ; but the three first coffins 

 were found in a confused state, having been apparently 

 tossed from their places. Again was the vault opened to 

 receive the body of an infant, and the four coffins, all of 



