State Trials, Political and Social. Volume 2 (of 2)
History
State Trials, Political and Social. Volume 2 (of 2)
Trials -- Great Britain
I shall by the bye, tell you how fallacious the first
experiment was, when I proposed to satisfy myself whether a
dead body would float in water. It happened that a spaniel,
that had a great deal of long hair was hanged for this purpose,
which I found to float on the surface of the water; but when I
considered that his hair might buoy him up, I caused another
dog, which had shorter and less hair, to be hanged and put into
the water, which (according to what I had always conceived of
the human body) sunk directly to the bottom. In order to
satisfy myself what quantity of water was necessary to enter
the body of an animal, and cause suffocation in water, I caused
three dogs, when alive, to be suddenly plunged under water till
they were stifled; the result was that about three ounces of
water were found in their lungs, and none in their stomachs.
Dead bodies generally sank; weights were attached to dead
bodies, not so much to make them sink at the time, as to
prevent them floating afterwards.
COWPER--With your lordship's favour, I now think it a proper
time to make this observation. The witnesses that have given
evidence for the king do say they believe she was not drowned;
but they have not pretended to say how she died otherwise.
HATSELL, BARON--That is very true.
_Dr. Crell_ was generally of the same opinion as that expressed by the
last witness, and, in spite of the suggestion of the judge that he
should confine his evidence to matters within his own experience, quoted
the opinion of Ambrose Parey ('who was chief surgeon to Francis the 1st,
employed by him in most of his sieges and battles against emperor
Charles the 5th, and consequently must observe, and could not be
ignorant of such like casualties in such great bodies of men'), as
expressed in his chapter of Renunciations, to the effect that the
certain sign of a man being drowned was an appearance of froth about his
nostrils and mouth. Altogether his firm opinion was that the woman was
drowned.
_Mr. Harriot_, who had been a surgeon in the Fleet; and _Bartlet_, who
had been in several naval engagements, both swore that dead bodies when
thrown overboard sank at first, though they floated again afterwards.
_Mr. Camlin_ was called at the coroner's inquest, and examined the body.
He found certain marks on the head and breast which Mr. Dimsdale said
were only the result of drowning; he had seen more decided marks on the
body of the child that was drowned. He saw no indications that Mrs.
Stout had been strangled.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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