WHY WE DIE. 



85 



the bullet ; he might not have died then had it not been that 

 the bullet struck a vital organ. His death was accidental, but 

 it was an intentional accident. 



Death by Gross Carelessness. 



This is perhaps the commonest cause of death by " accident " 

 in civilian life. It is the cause which so frequently leads to 

 prosecution or litigation, as it is so often a crime, or an event 

 presumably calling for compensation. 



Quite recently damages were awarded to a widow on account 

 of the death of her husband through an accident " arising from 

 and in the course of his work ; but common sense would seem to 

 show that this so-called accident was in reality gross carelessness, 

 not only on the part of the deceased himself but of a second 

 party. The man was a porter in a large warehouse. Another 

 workman had left open the trap-door into a cellar ; the deceased, 

 although on several occasions warned not to do so, entered the 

 floor in the dusk, and fell through the trap-door, with fatal con- 

 sequences. If he had taken heed to his warnings, and his fellow- 

 workman had not been careless about his duty of closing the trap- 

 door, no accident " would have occurred : thus his death cannot 

 be put down to anything except gross carelessness. One of the 

 most distressing types of this culpable negligence leading to so- 

 called accident is the all-too-frequent instance of a small child 

 burntso severely as to die, the causebeingthat the child was left un- 

 attended in a room in which was an unprotected fire. Many other 

 such fatal accidents might be instanced, but the above suffice to 

 indicate the need there is for greater care in many departments 

 of life. The " Safety First " campaign shows the necessity for 

 the instruction of the public. Some of the trite sayings '* seen 

 on the 'buses in London are so " topical " as to be remembered 

 easily, and they are having a definite effect in minimising the 

 number of accidents. 



Death prom Simple Wearing Out. 



This is a rare cause of death. Probably in many cases the 

 " wearing out " is actually produced by disease, frequently by 

 the toxin formed by a bacterium, and only occasionally by such 

 a process as occurs in a machine when due to friction. The human 

 machine is a very intricate one, and parts of it are constantly 

 at work ; and it is marvellous that it lasts so long. Take the heart, 

 for example. This beautiful pump works regularly and without 



