Today’s Eminent Yet Truly Morbid Fact!
Let’s have another jolly story of Christian Martyrdom from the classic of the genre, Fox’s Book of Martyrs (1848). This incident allegedly occurred during the Seventh Persecution, under Decius in A. D. 249:
Tryphon and Respicius, two eminent men, were seized as Christians, and imprisoned at Nice. Their feet were pierced with nails; they were dragged through the streets, scourged, torn with iron hooks, scorched with lighted torches, and at length beheaded, February 1, A. D. 251.
Tryphon: Before
Culled from: Fox’s Book of Martyrs
Generously suggested by: Louise
Asylum Deaths Du Jour!
Angels in the Architecture: A Photographic Elegy to an American Asylum contains a collection of the first twenty patient deaths at the Traverse City (Michigan) Asylum, from November 30, 1885 – September 30, 1886. I thought I’d share them with you. Here’s the first few:
Male, age 45, married, native of Germany
Occupation: saloon keeper
“When admitted he was far advanced in general paralysis. He was greatly demented, but entertained extravagant delusions of his own wealth and personal importance. He had several paralytic seizures, the last on January 2, 1886. He became profoundly comatose, and never regained but partial consciousness after its occurrence. The only unusual symptoms he presented were a profuse perspiration which was reddish in color, the rapid development of an abscess in the right knee and a purulent inflammation of the bladder. He was unable to assimilate food, and died fourteen days after the seizure.”
Died: January 12, 1886
Cause of death: general paralysis
Female, aged 64, married, native of Ireland
Occupation: farmer’s wife
“She came to the institution in impaired mental and physical health. From the first she complained of a series of indefinite and obscure symptoms, the most prominent of which were obstinate constipation and abdominal tenderness. There was some distension of the abdomen, but this did not become a marked symptom until late in January, 1886, at which time it suddenly increased to such an extent as to interfere with easy respiration. A little later she exhibited symptoms of severe shock. She grew rapidly worse and died three days later. The autopsy showed that the upper portion of the rectum was the seat of cancerous degeneration, which had ulcerated and led to intestinal perforation.”
Died: February 2, 1886
Cause of Death:cancer
Male, age 37, married, native of Michigan
Occupation: farmer
“He died very suddenly from a paralytic seizure.”
Died: February 22, 1886
Cause of Death: general; paralysis
Male, age 40, single, native of Germany
Occupation: farmer
“After a severe convulsion he became comatose, a condition from which he never rallied.”
Died: March 10, 1886
Cause of Death: general paralysis
Traverse City Asylum
Male, age 40, single, native of Germany
Occupation: miner
“After a severe convulsion he became comatose, a condition from which he never rallied.”
Died: March 10, 1886
Cause of Death: general paralysis
Male, age 44, married, native of England
Occupation: miner
“[He] had suffered from general paralysis two years previous to his admission to the asylum. His death was due to a paralytic seizure.”
Died: March 12, 1886
Cause of Death: general paresis
Female, age 27, married, native of Michigan
Occupation: fisherman’s wife
“[She] was so much paralyzed when admitted as to be unable to walk. She presented many of the symptoms of general paralysis, and finally died from exhaustion incident to a paretic seizure. This case was interesting, from the fact that general paralysis is rarely seen in a female, and that the disease had its origin in the cord, the brain becoming involved secondarily. The autopsy revealed very marked changes in the cord and brain.”
Died: March 20, 1886
Cause of Death:general paralysis