318 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1809. 



closelj', when he found him appa- 

 rently dead. On turning him on 

 his back, to ascertain who he might 

 be, a sight the most awful and hor- 

 rid presented itself to his view. The 

 person was not dead, but on moving 

 his coat, the whole surface of his 

 body seemed a moving mass of 

 worms : his face was much dis- 

 figured, apparently from some 

 bruises inflicted either by blows or 

 from a fall ; and from every aper- 

 ture of his head, his eyes, ears, 

 mouth, and nose, poured innumera- 

 ble worms, as if the interior of the 

 skull were entirely filled with them. 

 His eyes were dissolved, and the 

 cavities, as well as those of his ears, 

 mouth, and nose, were filled with 

 a white moving mass, more horrid 

 and disgusting than it is possiblefor 

 imagination to conceive, without 

 ocular inspection. After some 

 time, the miserable being reco- 

 vered sufficient strength to walk, 

 and so far recovered his recollec- 

 tion and voice, that he distinctly 

 answered several questions put to 

 him ; he told who he was, where 

 he lived, &c. ; that he was return- 

 ing home on a car the evening 

 before, and having drank too much 

 he fell oft", and lay stunned with the 

 fall till he was discovered. He 

 could not account for ti)e wounds 

 in his head, nor for his being so far 

 off the road ; but it is probable he 

 had received the contusion on his 

 face from the fall, or perhaps the 

 car had gone over him, and he had 

 insensibly crawled to the place 

 where he lay. The humidity of 

 the air, and the heat of the wea- 

 ther, had rapidly brought on a so- 

 lution of the solids in those bruised 

 parts already predisposed to pu- 

 trescency, and now lying in contact 

 with the moist earth. In this was 



speedily deposited the eggs of in- 

 numerable insects, whose genera- 

 tion was as rapid as the predispos- 

 ing causes were favourable ; and 

 thus, while the vital powers rallied 

 at the center, and the blood, yet 

 circulating round the heart, pre- 

 served the vital principle, the ex- 

 tremities, ill which all pulsation 

 had ceased, were dissolving into 

 their primitive elements, and the 

 whole surface of the body exhibited 

 a mass of animated corruption. He 

 was brought into an out-house, and 

 laid on some hay ; the loathsome 

 objects were removed, as far as 

 that could be done; he was washed 

 with spiritsand vinegar, had cordials 

 poured down his throat, which he 

 swallowed, though with some diffi- 

 culty. In fact, every precaution 

 was taken by the worthy people by 

 whom he was discovered, but with- 

 out effect ; the putrescency rapidly 

 increased ; in a very short time the 

 spasms in his throat prevented his 

 swallowing ; he gradually became 

 insensible, and at twelve o'clock 

 the next day lie died, in a state of 

 total putrisolution, having lived in 

 that dreadful situation tweivehours, 

 from the time he was first disco- 

 vered, and the greater part of that 

 period in full possession of his 

 senses, so much so, that he at 

 several times inquired eagerly for 

 his pocket, in which he recollected 

 he had put some money, and which 

 to a small amount was found. That 

 Herod, Sylla, &c. were devoured 

 by worms, whilst yet alive, are 

 facts recorded by the ancient his- 

 torians, and that the worms engen- 

 der in the flesh and in the nuclae, &c. 

 is also true; but those are not 

 parallel cases, as they were the 

 effects of morbid pendentes, and 

 specific disorders. The only case 



in 



