Fear of Death. 47 



' Having represented a large medical constituency (the 

 University of Edinburgh) for seventeen years as a member of 

 Parliament, I naturally came in contact with the most eminent 

 medical men in England. I have put the question to most 

 of them, " Did you in your extensive practice ever know a 

 patient who was afraid to die ? " With two exceptions they 

 answered " No." One of these exceptions was Sir Benjamin 

 Brodie, who said he had seen one case. The other was Sir 

 Robert Christison who had also seen one case — that of a 

 young girl of bad character who had had a sudden accident. 

 I have known three friends who were partially devoured by 

 wild beasts under apparently hopeless circumstances of 

 escape. The first was Livingstone, the great African travel- 

 ler, who was knocked on his back by a lion, which began to 

 munch his arm. He assured me that he felt no fear or pain, 

 and that his only feeling was one of intense curiosity as to 

 which part of his body the lion would take next. The next 

 was Rustem Pasha, now Turkish Ambassador in London. A 

 bear attacked him and tore off part of his hand and part of 

 his arm and shoulder. He also assured me that he had 

 neither a sense of pain nor fear, but that he felt excessively 

 angry because the bear grunted with so much satisfaction in 

 munching him. The third case is that of Sir Edward Brad- 

 ford, an Indian officer now occupying a high position in the 

 India Office. He was seized in a solitary place by a tiger 

 which held him firmly behind his shoulders with one paw and 

 then deliberately devoured the whole of his arm, beginning at 

 the end and ending at the shoulder. He was positive that he 

 had no sensation of fear, and thinks that he felt a little pain 

 when the fangs went through his hand, but he is certain that 

 he felt none during the munching of his arm. Christians, 

 however good they may be, seem more afraid of death than 

 Mahamadans, Hindus, and other so - called heathen. Dr 

 Johnson, who had much less reason than most of us to dread 

 a future life, was constantly haunted by such fears ; but 

 Vespasian died with a coarse jest on his lips. Even on the 



