In his introduction to the work above cited, “Information Relative to Persons who have been Buried Alive,” by Henrich Friedrich Köppen, Halle, 1799, the author says:--“General Staff Medical Officer, D. O. in D., states that, in his opinion, one third of mankind are buried alive.” This estimate is very obviously exaggerated, although many trustworthy experiences prove that a certain number of those who die have returned to consciousness in their graves. A great many are buried alive from ignorance of their relatives, who mistake coldness of the body, stoppage of the pulse and breathing, the colour of death, spots of discolouration, a certain odour, and stiffness of the limbs--which are only deceptive signs, not the signs of real death. [DR. HUFELAND’S ADVICE.] The very respectable Dr. Hufeland says:--“One cannot be too careful in deciding as to life or death, therefore I always advise a delay of the funeral as long as possible, so as to make all certain as to death. No wonder when those who are buried alive, and who undergo indescribable torture, condemn those who have been dearest to them in life. They will have to undergo slow suffocation, in furious despair, while scratching their flesh to pieces, biting their tongues, and smashing their heads against their narrow houses that confine them, and calling to their best friends, and cursing them as murderers. The dead should not be buried before the fourth day; we even have examples that prove that eight days or a fortnight is too soon--as there have been revivals as late as that. I say every one should respect those who only seem to be dead. They should be treated gently, and kept in a warm bed for thirty-six hours.” Mr. John Snart, in his “Thesaurus,” pp. 27, 28, London, 1817, says:--“The number of dreadful catastrophes, arising from premature interment, ... that have been _discovered_ only, or have transpired to man, _above ground_, both in ancient and modern times, conveys to every reflecting mind the fearful thought that they are but a _sample_ (per synecdochen) out of such an incalculable host, perhaps one in a thousand.” Professor Froriép, quoted in Kempner’s volume, says that--“In 1829, arrangements were made at the cemetery, New York, so as to bury the corpses in such manner as not to prevent them communicating with the outside world, in case any should have awakened to life; and among twelve hundred persons buried six came to life again.” In Holland, the same author states, of a thousand cases investigated, five came to life before burial or at the grave. The Rev. J. G. Ouseley, in his pamphlet on “Earth to Earth Burial,” London, 1895, estimates “that two thousand seven hundred persons at least, in England and Wales, are yearly consigned to a living death, the most horrible conceivable.”