486 VOLUNTARY AND 



On the other hand, there is no voluntary muscle that may not 

 act involuntarily. If the motive to contract a muscle is very 



seems he had sometimes tried before he had sent for us. We heard this with 

 surprise ; but as it was not to be accounted for from now common principles, 

 we could hardly believe the fact as he related it, much less give any account of 

 it, unless he should please to make the experiment before us, which we were 

 unwilling he should do, lest in his weak condition he might carry it too far. 

 He continued to talk very distinctly and sensibly above a quarter of an hour 

 about this (to him) surprising sensation, and insisted so much on our seeing the 

 trial made, that we were at last forced to comply. We all three felt his pulse 

 first : it was distinct, though small and thready, and his heart had its usual 

 beating. He composed himself on his back, and lay in a still posture some 

 time ; while I held his right hand, Dr. Baynard laid his hand on his heart, and 

 Mr. Skrine held a clean looking-glass to his mouth. I found his pulse sink 

 gradually, till at last I could not feel any. by the most exact and nice touch. 

 Dr. Baynard could not feel the least motion of his heart, nor Mr. Skrine the 

 least soil of breath on the bright mirror he held to his mouth ; then each of us 

 by turns examined his arm, heart, and breath, but could not by the nicest 

 scrutiny discover the least symptom of life in him. We reasoned a long time 

 about this odd appearance as well as we could, and all of us judging it inexpli- 

 cable and unaccountable ; and finding he still continued in that condition, we 

 began to conclude that he had indeed carried the experiment too far, and at last 

 were satisfied he was actually dead, and were just ready to leave him. This 

 continued about half an hour, by nine o'clock in the morning, in autumn. As 

 we were going away, we observed some motion about the body, and upon 

 examination, found his pulse and the motion of his heart gradually returning : 

 he began to breathe gently, and speak softly : we were all astonished to the last 

 degree at this unexpected change, and after some further conversation with him, 

 and among ourselves, went away fully satisfied as to all the particulars of this 

 fact, but confounded and puzzled, and not able to form any rational scheme that 

 might account for it. He afterwards called for his attorney, added a codicil to 

 his will, settled legacies on his servants, received the sacrament, and calmly and 

 composedly expired about five or six o'clock that evening. Next day he was 

 opened (as he had ordered) : his body was the soundest and best made J had 

 ever seen ; his lungs were fair, large, and sound ; his heart big and strong, and 

 his intestines sweet and clean ; his stomach was of a due proportion, the coats 

 sound and thick, and the villous membrane quite entire. But when we came to 

 examine the kidneys, though the left was perfectly sound and of a just size, the 

 right was about four times as big, distended like a blown bladder, and yielding 

 as if full of pap ; he having often passed a wheyish liquor after his urine, during 

 his illness. Upon opening this kidney, we found it quite full of a white chalky 

 matter, like plaster of Paris, and all the fleshy substance dissolved and worn 

 away, by what I called a nephritic cancer. This had been the source of all his 

 misery ; and the symptomatic vomitings from the irritation on the consentient 

 nerves, had quite starved and worn him down. I have narrated the facts, as I 



