During the same period the society
conferred, as rewards of gallantry upon those
who risked their lives to save the lives of their
fellow-creatures, fifteen honorary silver medals,
fifty-eight honorary bronze medals, nineteen
vellum, and fifty parchment testimonials,
besides pecuniary rewards to sixty-four other
claimants.  In the past twelve months, two
hundred and forty-six thousand nine hundred
and twenty-six persons bathed in the Serpentine,
and only one fatal accident occurred,
notwithstanding that there had been forty-three
casualties.  Forty-three lives were saved by the
exertions of the society's boatmen.

This is undoubtedly a record of great good
accomplished by the society, and, so far, it is fairly
entitled to call itself "humane."  But even this
pure and holy work has its victims.  Are the
subscribers aware how cruel they are to be kind?
I come now to state the hard case of the dog,
the cat, the guinea-pig, and the rabbit, and I will
produce the society's own report in evidence.

In the appendix we find a record of nearly a
hundred cruel experiments made upon the lower
animals, for the purpose of investigating the
subject of suspended animation.  This is the
plan generally and commonly adopted:

"The animal is secured on its back, and the
trachea is exposed by a single incision in the
mesial line of the neck" (which, being translated
into plain English, means that the animal is tied
up and has its throat cut).  "A ligature being
passed round it, it is opened by a vertical cut,
and a glass tube, as large as can conveniently
be inserted, is passed into it for a short distance
downwards, and firmly secured by the ligature.
Through this tube, while patent" (fine words will
not cover throat-cutting), "the animal breathes
freely, but the supply of air can be at once
completely cut off, by inserting a tightly-fitting cork
into the upper end of the tube."  The principal
facts to which the attention of the student is
directed during the progress of the apnœa—
pleasant word for "suffocation"—are, 1. The
duration of the respiratory movements; 2. the
duration of the heart's action after the stoppage
of the breathing.

"Experiment 1.  A full-grown healthy dog
was suddenly deprived of air by plugging the
tube placed in the trachea, in the manner
described.  Its first struggle occurred in 25
seconds, its first respiratory effort was not
recorded, its last took place at 4 minutes 40
seconds, and its last heart's beat at 6 minutes
40 seconds, or exactly 2 minutes after the last
respiratory effort."

There is a note to this case, which runs as
follows:

"The duration of the heart's action was
conveniently ascertained by means of a long pin
inserted through the thoracic walls into some
part of the ventricles.  So long as the heart
continued to beat, the pin moved, and its
motions were thus recorded for some time after the
cardiac sounds had ceased to be audible."

I hope it is not true that the spirits of the
departed see and know what we do on earth;
because, if Oliver Goldsmith could see such
cruelties practised by the society which he
helped to found, he would not be happy even in
heaven.

Passing over sixteen other cases of neat
throat-cutting and nicely-contrived suffocation,
accompanied by the insertion of pendulums in
the heart, we come to  "Experiment 18.  A
guinea-pig was held so that its nose was
immersed in mercury, the animal being upside
down, and the nose inserted sufficiently deep in
the mercury to prevent the possibility of getting
any air.  The respiratory efforts commenced at
35 seconds, and ceased at 1 minute 57 seconds.
On examining the lungs, they were found full of
globes of mercury, which had thus been drawn
up by this weak animal a distance of an inch or
two, and that in spite of gravitation."

But the humane investigators were not satisfied
with this form of experiment.  They tried another.
"Experiment 19.  A terrier was deprived of air
by plunging its head into plaster of Paris, the
object being to see, through the whiteness of
the plaster, whether any of the fluid obtained
access to the lungs. Respiratory efforts
commenced at 1 minute 35 seconds, and ceased at
4 minutes, the heart beating till 5 minutes.  On
examining the lungs, the white plaster was
found throughout the bronchial tubes."

We pass now from experiments in choking to
experiments in drowning.

"Experiment 20.  A medium-sized dog was
fastened to a board and submerged in a large
bath.  It was removed in 4 minutes, but though
the heart went on acting for 4½ minutes longer,
it neither gasped nor moved."

"Experiment 30.  A large dog was submerged
1 minute 15 seconds.  On being removed, it
perfectly and almost immediately recovered."

This dog had to undergo double tortures,
those of restoration being infinitely more acute
than the pains of dying.  Now let us see what
is gained for the benefit of mankind by all this
throat-cutting, choking, and drowning.  Simply
this, which the humane doctors call a "remarkable
fact," that whereas in "simple apnœa" (produced
by cutting the throat and plugging it)
"recovery may be possible after the deprivation
of air for 3 minutes 50 seconds, immersion in
water for that time suffices to destroy life."  But
the humane doctors are not satisfied even yet.
They want to know if the struggles of the
animal have any influence upon the duration of
the respiratory efforts, so they drown a number
of animals in such a manner as to prevent them
struggling.  One case will show the modus.

"Experiment 31.  A cat was placed in a cage,
and the cage plunged into water.  The animal's
limbs were at perfect liberty, and there were no
violent struggles.  After 2 minutes, the cage
with the cat in it was taken out, and the cat
was dead."  This proved that, struggle or no
struggle, the cat died under water in two
minutes.  Next, we have drownings in water at
various temperatures, to ascertain at what degree
a cat or dog dies soonest, and then comes the
grand concluding surgical double somersault.
This seems to prove that when an animal is
drowned after having its throat cut, it recovers.