The coffin was taken from the grave to the sexton’s tool-house, and there opened, and was found to contain a living inmate, who justified the presentiment of his son by ‘slowly recovering.’ As no mention is made in either case of the period that elapsed between the occurrence of apparent death and the body being placed in the coffin, or of the time during which the encasement lasted, special and minute criticism is uncalled for. Enough has been said on the subject to emphasize the exhortation, ‘Get knowledge, and with all thy getting get understanding.’” The _British Medical Journal_, of September 28, 1895, in a leading article on the “Signs of Death,” says:-- “The question of the possibility of the interment of living beings has recently been exercising the minds of a portion of the public, whose fears have found expression in a series of letters to some of the daily papers. It is a matter of regret that so much irresponsible nonsense and such hysterical outpourings should find a place in the columns of our great daily press. No attempt at the production of evidence in support of their beliefs or fears has been made by the majority of writers, whilst the cases mentioned by the few are either the inventions of the credulous or ignorant, or are destitute of foundation. It cannot be said that the few medical men who have joined in this public correspondence have either contributed any useful information or have seriously attempted to allay the fears of the public. One medical gentleman managed to earn for himself a cheap notoriety by employing, with very scanty acknowledgment of the source, copious extracts from Dr. Gowers’ article on ‘Trance’ in Quain’s ‘Dictionary of Medicine.’ “The possibility of apparent death being mistaken for real death can only be admitted when the decision of the reality of death is left to ignorant persons. We are quite unprepared to admit the possibility of such a mistake occurring in this country to a medical practitioner armed with the methods for the recognition of death that modern science has placed at his disposal. Moreover, even by the ignorant the reality of death can only be questioned during the period preceding putrefaction. During this period various signs of death appear which, taken collectively, allow of an absolute opinion as to the reality of death being given. To each of these, as a sign of death, exception may perhaps be individually taken, but a medical opinion is formed from a conjunction of these signs, and not from the presence of an individual one.” [THE “BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL.”]