ear of our friend at Calcutta or New Zealand. "But by what mighty agency will this instantaneous communication be effected?" "By a snail." great distance from each other? This is the next point to be ascertained. Well, it would appear from the statements of our two philosophers, that when these tender creatures are torn asunder by the relentless hand of fate, there flows forth from one to the other a sort of fluid, of which the earth is the conductor, and which unfolds itself, so to speak, like the almost invisible thread of a spider or a silk-worm, only with this dif ference that the escargotic fluid is quite “By a snail! Incredible! Impossible!" Incredible, if you will, but not impossible; for it is to the snail that this mission of thought-bearing is assigned; and the vast community of snailhood will doubtless fulfill their office with a becoming sense of its importance." Let us now attempt to unravel this mys- invisible, and that it passes through space tery. About eight or nine years ago it was discovered, almost simultaneously, by an American and a Frenchman, (Messrs. Biat and Benoît,) that certain snails, after having once entered into affinity with each other, were endued with the remarkable faculty of remaining permanently under a mutual sympathetic influence, which was not destroyed, nor even weakened, by the most prolonged intervention of time or space. This electric sympathy was not always dual in its nature, for it was found to exist with equal intensity among whole families of snails whose early lives had been passed within the same paternal hole. It was dis covered, moreover, by our philosophers, that this sympathy is strengthened and directed by placing the sympathizing snails en rapport with (we use the terms without professing to understand their meaning) the maguetic, mineral, and adamic fluid, which may be effected by bringing them under certain conditions necessary to the maintenance of this threefold sympathy. In order to obtain these results, there has been invented by these gentlemen a portable apparatus, called a Pasilalinic Sympathetic Compass, by whose aid they obtain instantaneously, and at whatever distance the sympathetic snails may be placed, a sensible movement-designated by them an escargotic commotion," and which is manifested every time that the parted sympathetic snails are excited by the approach of other sympathetic snails which are in affinity oth with them and with each other; even like manner as the electric commotion nifests itself to the experimentalist each e that he approaches with his finger a y which has previously been electrified. at how can this sympathy be mutually fested when the snails are placed at a with the rapidity of lightning. It is by means of this fluid that is excited and communicated the escargotic commotion, which is instantaneously transmitted from one beloved snail to the other, even though their habitations be fixed on opposite sides of the globe. In order to establish this communication, however, it suffices not to awaken escargotic sympathy: there must also exist an harmonic sympathy between the individuals who desire to correspond; and this harmonic sympathy is obtained by animal magnetism, and by intermingling the sympathetic escargotic fluid with the mineral and adamic magnetic fluid under the influence of the galvanic mineral fluid. This is not the place to inquire what analogy there may naturally exist among these different fluids. Suffice it to say, that the necessity for their interfusion is the chief fact of the discovery, and without which the whole system must fall to the ground. In a a word, the entire system of this novel communication may be said to rest as a basis upon the medium of galvano-magnetic-mineral-animal-adamic-sympathy. There remains now to be ascertained by what sort of apparatus this escargotic commotion is obtained, and what means are adopted to render this commotion subservient to the transmission of thought. The pasilalinic-sympathetic compass consists of a square wooden box, within which is placed a galvanic battery whose metallic plates, instead of being placed above one another, as in the voltaic piles, are arranged in series, and fixed in grooves, made for that purpose in a circular wooden plate, which revolves round its axis of iron. In place of metallic disks, Messrs. Biat and Benoît have substituted circular troughs or cups of zinc, each one lined with linen which has been previously steeped in a solution of sulphate of copper which is riveted to the cup. At the bottom of each trough is fixed, by a certain composition, known only to the inventors, a living snail, which imbibes in this metallic solitude a due portion of galvanic influence, to be subsequently combined with the electric influence, which is developed when the wheel is set in motion, bearing along with it the captive snails which have been fixed around it in their cells. lous sympathetic compass, who desirous to satisfy him fully with regard to the truth of the discovery, invited him to be present during one of his correspondences with Mr. Biat in America. Accordingly, M. Jules Allix bent his steps with an anxious and beating heart to the Parisian dwelling where his doubts were to be resolved and his curiosity satisfied. The philosopher in America having been warned of their intention, they stood before the magic compass. M. Jules Allix not being in a state of harmonic sympathy with the correspondents, it was arranged that M. Benoît should convey any word or sentence he desired to express. The magnitude of the undertaking overwhelmed him with awe, and his mind filled with reverence for the venerable philosopher who, at the other side of the Atlantic, awaited his message. The only word he could utter was Biat!" M. Benoît, with a sympathi The box wherein is inclosed this movable battery may be made of any form or substance whatever; but a close covering is absolutely essential, as the snails must not be exposed to atmospheric influence. Moreover, each of the galvanic troughs must be furnished with a spring, whose pressure will reveal the escargotic movement of the being which dwells within. It will be readily apprehended that in order to the formation of a corresponding apparatus, two of these snail-prisoning instruments will be neces-zing snail in his hand, touched one of the sary; the corresponding cups of each containing snails which have a reciprocal affinity, so that the escargotic commotion may be transmitted from one precise point of the battery to the same precise point of the other battery in the duplicate compass. One more particular remains to be noticed. Messrs. Biat and Benoît have affixed to the wheels of those two instruments, and close to each of the sympathetic springs, corresponding letters, which form a sort of alphabetic and sympathetic dials, by means of which the communication of thought is effected easily and instantaneously to any place, however distant; the escargotic commotion indicating on the corresponding dial those letters which one person desires to transmit to the other. In order to effect the communication, nothing more is required than for the two correspondents to place themselves before these two instruments at the same hour, and to be in the necessary condition of harmonic sympathy, so that they may, without the intervention of steam-packets or electric telegraphs, and without any eye resting upon them save the sympathizing glance of their friendly snails, unfold the inmost secret of their hearts. In the article from whence the above details have been drawn, the writer, M. Jules Allix, goes on to describe his interview with M. Benoît, one of the inventors of this marvel captives in a trough: it moved! The letter B was noted down. Another was then touched, and another, and another. The name.of B I A T was composed and transmitted to the American sage. In a few moments an escargotic motion became once more visible on the dial, and letter after letter was noted down, until these words were deciphered, “ C'est bien” (“ It is well.") One or two other brief sentences passed between them, which fully satisfied M. Allix as to the reality of the discovery; but we are obliged in common honesty to confess that some slight inaccuracies occurred in the spelling, not sufficient, however, to render the words unintelligible; and considering that the snails have but recently begun their education, we think it is but fair to make some allowance for them. Meantime, who will deny that the invention of Messrs. Biat and Benoît exceeds both in wonder and in importance all the discoveries of Galvani, of Volta, and of Mesmer? Its agency so humble and so simple !-its results so magnificent and so complex! Henceforth, where will be the boudoir, or where the council chamber, which shall not possess its pasilalinic sympathetic compass? There will doubtless be some of massive construction and classic form intended for our public offices, from whence they may in a momen of time transmit to the most distant parts the globe the eloquent outpourings of o the curious inquirer might vainly wander on in this mysterious field of investigation. Even in the very outset of the inquiry, innumerable difficulties occur; for as all men are not able to produce the phenomena of magnetic somnambulism, even so all snails do not possess in themselves this permanent them be available for the compass without being subjected to peculiar influence, which has purposely been kept secret by the dis coverers. orators, or the sage decisions of our statesmen! Nor shall they require to be translated into other languages, for a part of the invention, which has not yet been named, consists in a pasilalinic (or universal) alphabet, whereby a language shall be formed, familiar alike to all people, and tongues, and nations. Again, there will be pasilalinic-sympathetic fluid; nor can the very best of sympathetic compasses made in the form and about the size of watches, whereon may be lavished the exquisite taste of our fashion able jewellers, and containing snails no larger than a pin's head, whose transparent delicacy and sensitive tenderness will make them admirably adapted for a lady's amanuensis. It is not improbable that these elegant and useful compasses may shortly be seen appended by a chain to the waists of our modish ladies, in lieu of the chatelaines which have so recently been in fashion; and the absolute necessity of adhering rigorously to the moment fixed for their correspondence is a point which will be duly appreciated by our moralists, as tending to generate habits of punctuality and order in the "beau sexe." It was, we are informed, by the merest accident that Messrs. Biat and Benoît discovered the abidingly sympathetic property inherent in snails; and they have ascertained, by a long series of experiments, that others of the crustaceous species possess the same faculty of manifesting this sympathetic commotion, although none of them offer such advantages as a medium of communication as does the snail, partly because of the intensity of its sympathy, and partly because it can exist nearly twelve months without food, as also because of its extreme facility to become fixed within the galvanic trough, and its universal citizenship throughout the whole world. We have no doubt that our numerous readers will hail with enthusiastic delight the important discovery which we have now imparted to them; but we must not part without addressing to them a word of caution. Do not, we pray you, imagine that af ter having read the preceding slight and imperfect sketch, you are able to construct a pasilalinic-sympathetic compass. The inventors, while imparting to the public so much of their discovery as to enable intelligent people to judge of its possibility, have reserved to themselves the hidden secret of its success, without a knowledge of which We are induced to give this warning, less from a regard to the sole and inalienable right of Messrs. Biat and Benoît to the whole tribe of sympathetic snails, in whatever quarter of the globe they may be found, than from a sort of liking for the snails themselves, which makes us unwilling that that they should be persecuted with experiments by mere tyros in science. Let them be tortured, if you will, by such great men as Messrs. Biat and Benoît, who martyrize them only in the cause of intellect and humanity; but we must protest against the doctrine of free trade in science, at least so far as snails are concerned. For ourselves, we have, since becoming acquainted with the noble destinies of these sluggish creatures, began to regard them with respectful interest; and we found ourselves, a day or two ago, peeping into the leafy recesses of an ivy bush, and wondering what would be the fortunes of a loving family who were closely grouped together in that dark retreat! We therefore once more pray our readers to remember that it is far easier to convey their thoughts all over the world by means of a pasilalinic-sympathetic compass, than to solve the many mysteries involved in its construction. From "Sartain's Magazine." PREMATURE INTERMENTS AND THE UNCERTAIN SIGNS OF DEATH. BY GEORGE WATTERSTON, M. D. DEATH is an event which every living being in his senses wishes to avoid as long as possible. The miseries of life, its vapid realities, the loss of fortune, the privation of friends, disease, old age, and all the other "ills which flesh is heir to," tend to blunt | Dr. Descamps of France, are a greenish-blue its sting and soften its horrors; and to those who may have happily placed their reliance on Him who is the rock of their salvation, the anticipated glory of eternity, and the consciousness of a well-spent life present a shield which, in the hour of dissolution, disarms the monster of his terrors, and smooths the rough path to the grave. But even to such it is a condition not entirely free from dread. "For who, to dumb forgetfulness a prey, This pleasing, anxious being e'er resigned, Left the warm precincts of the cheerful day, Nor cast one longing, lingering look behind ?" Few can think of the dissolution of the body, of becoming a kneaded clod, the food of worms, a mass of putrefaction; and of quitting the delicious sunshine, the gorgeous and enchanting scenes of this beautiful world, and all that renders life delightful, with calm and stoical indifference, or with a feeling of anticipated pleasure. To die, to sleep, to be obliterated from the memory of man as a thing that never lived, to sink into the cold grave and be utterly forgotten, is a reflection that must appall the great majority of mankind. Compared with it, the mere physical agony of dissolution is nothing, if that agony is at all experienced, which has been doubted. "Death is a fearful thing, Ay, but to die, and go we know not where, The weariest and most loathed worldly life To die once, we should suppose, would be enough; but to be buried, and obliged as some have been, to go over all the agonies of a second dissolution, is most horrible. It becomes, therefore, the duty of the living to prevent even the possibility of such a calamity, and to see that every precaution be taken to avoid it. The signs of death are often uncertain, and human beings have not unfrequently been buried before the vital principle was extinct. These should be carefully observed and closely attended to before interment takes place. The most infallible indication of the total extinction of life, is the commencement of putrefaction; and the certain signs of death, according to color extending uniformly over the skin of the abdomen. The period at which this sign appears, is about the third day, under favorable circumstances of warmth and moisture. "Though dissolution," he observes, " of various kinds, and from various causes, may occur in other parts, the characteristic marks of death are to be found only in the abdomen." Apparent death can, therefore, no longer be confounded with real death, the abdomen never being colored green or blue in any case of the former; and this color, if attended to, will entirely prevent the danger of premature interment. M. Mainple, a learned Belgian, has recently discovered a very simple mode of distinguishing between real and apparent death. It consists in creating a small burn. If there be life, a blister is always formed, even in the absence of apparent sensibility; but nothing of the kind occurs if death has absolutely taken place. There is no danger to the public health from keeping a body until the appearance of the characteristic signs of death as described by Dr. Descamps. Among the Greeks and Romans, the body was kept from three to six days after death, during which loud lamentations were uttered; the deceased was called upon by name, and the sound of various instruments was heard near the body. This was called the conclamatio. "Sic funere primo Attonitæ tacuere domus, quum corpora nondum Conclamata jacent, nec mater crine soluto Exegit ad sævos famularum brachia planctus." In France, premature interments frequently occur, from the prevailing practice there of burying bodies too soon. In the course of twelve years, it is asserted, that ninety-four cases were prevented by fortuitous circumstances. Of these, thirty-four persons came back to life the moment the funeral ceremonies were about to commence; thirteen recovered by the tender care and attention of their families; seven from the fall of the coffins: nine from wounds inflicted by the needle in sewing up their winding-sheets; five from the sensations of suffocation they felt in the coffin; nineteen from accidental delay in interriug them, and six from doubts entertained of their death. In England and the United States, inter when the supposed dead body squeezed his hand, and laid hold of him, in order to get out of the coffin. The thief, however, disengaging himself, made his escape in great haste, and the lady relieving herself in the best manner she could, hastened home, and ments are rarely made till decomposition, the most infallible sign of death, has commenced. In Germany, interment is prohibited by law, for three days after death; and in the grave-houses attached to the burial-places of some of the principal towns of that nation, a curious and humane regu-knocked at the door, and called one of the lation exists, which requires bodies brought before the end of the three days allotted them to remain, to be laid on trestles, with rings on their toes and fingers to which bell-pulls are attached, so that if the corpse should revive, it may, by ringing for it, have immediate aid and assistance. After the three days, however, the body is considered as legally dead, and must be buried whether life be wholly extinct or not. History furnishes a number of cases of premature interments in different countries, and some of the most curious and wellauthenticated of these I proceed to give. Archbishop Geron, in the town of Cologne, was buried alive, and died in consequence of not being released in time from the tomb. The same misfortune, it is stated, happened in the same place, to Johannes Duns Scotus, who was afterwards found with his hands torn, and his head lacerated. The following case is mentioned by Maximillion Messon. The wife of one M. Mervache, a goldsmith of Poictiers, having been buried with some rings on her fingers, which she had requested to be put on while on her death-bed, a poor man of the neighborhood, acquainted with the fact, proceeded on the following night to open the grave and obtain possession of the rings; but being obliged to use considerable exertion to effect his object, he roused the woman from her death-like torpor, who spoke to him, and began to complain of the injury he had done her. The robber, alarmed and terrified, made his escape, and the woman rose from her coffin, which he had left open, returned home, and in a few days was again in perfect health. She is said not only to have survived this misfortune for many years, but to have afterwards been the mother of several children. Messon gives another instance of a nearly similar character. In the year 1571, the wife of one of the magistrates of Cologne being buried with a valuable ring on one of her fingers, the grave-digger the next night opened the grave to take it off, but what was his consternation, servants by name, to whom she gave a brief account of what had occurred; but he regarded her as a phantom, and filled with horror, ran to his master to relate the terrible occurrence. The master turned it into ridicule. The lady, in the mean time, stood shivering in her shroud, till the door was finally opened to her. After being warmed, and treated in a proper manner, she was soon restored to as perfect a state of health as if no such misfortune had befallen her. A still more curious and interesting case of premature interment occurred several years ago in Paris. Two wealthy merchants lived in the same street, and were united together by the closest bonds of friendship. The one had a son, and the other a daughter, of nearly the same age. By being often together, they formed a strong attachment for each other, which was encouraged and kept up by frequent visits, authorized by both fathers, who were highly gratified at the evidence of mutual attachment in their children, and which was in harmony with their desire to unite them in the bonds of matrimony. Accordingly, a marriage was about to be concluded between them, when a wealthy collector of the king's revenue saw and loved the daughter, and asked her in marriage. The charm of a superior fortune which he possessed soon induced her parent to change his resolution with respect to his neighbor's son; and the daughter's aversion to her new lover being overcome by her filial duty, she married the collector. The melancholy induced by this painful arrangement, so fatal to her happiness, threw her into a disorder in which her senses were so locked up as to give her the appearance of death, and she was buried as dead. Her first lover soon heard, with profound grief, of the event: but, as he remembered that she had once before been seized with a violent paroxysm of lethargy, he conceived that she might have been attacked by a similar disease. This opinion not only alleviated the excess |