Chapter II: Part 2

His last words to Lord Chesterfield were: "_God, who placed me here, will do what he pleases with me hereafter, and he knows best what to do. May he bless you._"[6]

The dreadful malady under which Bolingbroke lingered, and at length sank--a cancer in the face--he bore with exemplary fortitude, a fortitude drawn from the natural resources of his mind, and unhappily not aided by the consolation of any religion; for, having early cast off the belief in revelation, he had substituted, in its stead, a dark and gloomy naturalism, which even rejected those glimmerings of hope as to futurity not untasted by the wiser of the heathens.--_Lord Brougham._

[6] It is too early for the last words of John Burroughs (may it be
yet many years before they are spoken), but we are struck with the
wonderful accord between the last words of Bolingbroke and the
closing paragraph to the preface with which Burroughs introduces
his, "The Light of Day:" "I am content to let the unseen powers go
their own way with me and mine without question or distrust. They
brought me here, and I have found it well to be here; in due time
they will take me hence, and I have no doubt that will be well for
me too."

BOOTH (John Wilkes, American actor, the assassin of President Lincoln),--1865. _"Useless! useless!"_ Said to the officer who demanded that he should surrender.

There has been some strange discussion of a mysterious paper said to have been delivered to Mr. John F. Coyle, editor of "The National Intelligencer" and purporting to be a statement to the public from John Wilkes Booth. An eye-witness relates that on the night of the assassination of President Lincoln, a private dinner-party was in progress in a back room at Wormley's restaurant, in Washington, at which were present General Baird, Robert Johnson, the Hon. Samuel J. Randall, John Morrissey, John F. Coyle, editor of "The National Intelligencer," and one other gentleman. During the progress of the dinner a waiter, who had been out on the street, returned and stated that the President had been shot at Ford's Theatre. The news created great consternation in the party, who at first thought the waiter was drunk or crazy. Later, when they were assured that it was a fact, and that John Wilkes Booth was accused of the crime, John F. Coyle, with blanched features and trembling lips, said: "My God, gentlemen! This very day I met John Wilkes Booth on the market-space. He was on a bay mare, and rode up to me and handed me a sealed envelope, saying, as he did so, 'If you hear of me within twenty-four hours, publish this; if you do not hear of me within that time, destroy this,' and he rode away. Here is the package," continued Mr. Coyle, producing a letter envelope from his pocket; "what shall I do with it?" "Destroy it at once," said Mr. Randall. "They will hang anybody who knows anything about the assassination, no matter how innocently he may have come by the knowledge; don't open it--burn it up just as it is!" "Yes," said Mr. Morrissey, "burn it up, for God's sake, at once." The doors were carefully locked. A fire was made in the grate, and the mysterious envelope and its contents were carefully burned. Even the ashes were collected and placed in a dish; water was poured upon them, and the two were mixed into a paste, which was afterward put into the fire and burned again.

BORGIA (Cesare), killed at the siege of the Castle of Biano in 1507. "_I die unprepared._"

"Cesare Borgia was one of the most crafty, cruel, and corrupt men of that corrupt age. No crime was too foul for him to perpetrate or be suspected of. He was charged with the murder of his elder brother, Giovanni, duke of Gandia, and of Alfonso, the husband of Lucrezia; with plotting with his father the murder of Cardinal Corneto; and with incest with his sister. In his wars he had garrisons massacred, and carried off bands of women to gratify his lust."--_Cate._

BOSSUET (Jacques Benigne, French divine and pulpit orator), 1627-1704. "_I suffer the violence of pain and death, but I know whom I have believed._"

BOURG DU (Anne, French magistrate. He was falsely accused of the assassination of Minard, and was executed in 1559), 1521-1559. "_Six feet of earth for my body, and the infinite heavens for my soul, is what I shall soon have._"

BOYLE (Robert, chemist and experimental philosopher), 1626-1691. "_We shall there desire nothing that we have not, except more tongues to sing more praise to Him._"

Boyle learned the Hebrew and Greek languages to qualify himself to write in defence of revealed religion; and printed at his own expense a translation of the gospels into the Malay language. He refused a peerage, which was offered to him repeatedly. It has been remarked that he was born in the year of Bacon's death, as the person destined by nature to succeed him; and he may be accounted the most zealous and successful disciple of Bacon in inductive philosophy. His merits were commemorated by Boerhaave in terms like these: "Mr. Boyle, the ornament of his age and country, succeeded to the genius and talents of Lord Verulam. We owe to him the secrets of fire, air, water, animals, plants and fossils." He was distinguished for his liberality and active benevolence.--_Lippincott._

BOZZARIS (Marcos, a Greek patriot, celebrated by Fitz-Greene Halleck in a thrilling poem), 1790-1823. "_O, to die for Liberty is a pleasure and not a pain._"

BRADFORD (Alden, Secretary of the State of Massachusetts from 1812 to 1824, and author of a history of Massachusetts and other works), 1765-1843. "_Peace!_"

BRADFORD (Andrew, publisher of the "American Weekly Mercury," the first newspaper that appeared in Philadelphia. He was the only printer in Pennsylvania from 1712 to 1723), 1686-1742. "_O Lord, forgive the errata!_"

Bradford's last words rest upon the doubtful authority of an old letter signed by George E. Clarkson.

BRADFORD (John, a martyr of the Reformation),--1555. "_Be of good comfort, brother, for we shall have a merry supper with the Lord this night: if there be any way to heaven on horseback or in fiery chariots, this is it._" These words were addressed to a fellow martyr.

BRAINERD (David, Missionary to the Indians), 1718-1747. "_Lord, now let thy servant depart in peace._"

Some say his last words were: "I am almost in eternity. I long to be there. My work is done. The watcher is with me; why tarry the wheels of his chariot?"

BREMER (Fredrika, the most celebrated of Swedish novelists, called the "Miss Austen of Sweden"), 1802-1865. "_Ah! my child, let us speak of Christ's love--the best, the highest love!_"

BROCKLESBY (Richard, distinguished English physician), 1722-1797. "_What an idle piece of ceremony this buttoning and unbuttoning is to me, now_," to his servants who had undressed him and prepared him for bed.

BRONTE (Rev. Patrick, father of Charlotte and Emily), 1774-1861. "_While there is life there is will._" He died standing.[7]

[7] Some have thought it an evidence of strength of will to die
standing; and some have even wished to be buried in that posture. In
Oliver Heywood's Register is the following entry:--"Oct. 28, 1684.
Captain Taylor's wife, of Brighouse, buried in her garden, with head
upwards, standing upright, by her husband, daughter, and other
Quakers."

Mrs. George S. Norton, of Pawling, N. Y., was buried at her own
request sitting upright in a rocking chair enclosed in a box made of
seasoned chestnut. The funeral services were held July 27,
1899.--_Albany Argus._

M. Halloin of the neighborhood of Caen, in Normandy, who died in the
early part of this century, when he felt his end approach inserted
in his last will a clause expressing his desire to be buried at
night, in his bed, comfortably tucked in, with pillows and coverlets
as he had died. As no opposition was raised against the execution of
this clause, a huge pit was sunk, and the corpse was lowered into
its last resting place, without any alteration having been made in
the position in which death had overtaken him. Boards were laid over
the bed, that the falling earth might not disturb this imperturbable
quietist.--_S. Baring-Gould: "Curiosities of Olden Times."_

BRONTE (Emily), 1818-1848. "_No, no!_" to her sister who begged her to allow them to put her to bed. She died sitting upon the sofa.

BROOKS (Phillips, Bishop of Massachusetts), 1835-1893. His last written words were, "_There is no other life but the eternal._"

BROWN (John, Scottish linguist and preacher), 1720-1787. "_My Christ._"

BROWN (John, hanged December 2, 1859, for his part in the famous Harper's Ferry insurrection), 1800-1859. "_I am ready at any time--do not keep me waiting_," said to the sheriff who asked him if he should give him a private signal before the fatal moment.

His last request was not complied with. The troops that had formed his escort had to be put in their proper position, and while this was going on he stood for some ten or fifteen minutes blindfolded; the rope round his neck and his feet on the treacherous platform, expecting instantly the fatal act; but he stood for this comparatively long time upright as a soldier in position and motionless.--_J. T. L. Preston (an eye-witness of John Brown's death) in the Bivouac for August, 1886._

BROWNING (Elizabeth Barrett, English poet), 1805-1861. "_It is beautiful._"

BRUCE (Robert, distinguished divine of the Scottish Church), about 1554-1631. "_Now God be with you, my dear children; I have breakfasted with you, and shall sup with my Lord Jesus Christ._"

Robert Bruce, the morning before he died, being at breakfast, and having, as he used, eaten an egg, said to his daughter: "I think I am yet hungry; you may bring me another egg." But, having mused awhile, he said: "Hold, daughter, hold; my Master calls me." With these words his sight failed him, on which he called for the Bible, and said: "Turn to the eighth chapter of Romans and set my finger on the words, 'I am persuaded that neither death, nor life,' etc., 'shall be able to separate me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.'" When this was done, he said: "Now, is my finger upon them?" Being told it was, he added: "Now, God be with you, my dear children; I have breakfasted with you, and shall sup with my Lord Jesus Christ this night." And then he expired.

BRUNO (Giordano, philosopher of an independent and speculative mind. He was burned at Rome in 1600 by the Inquisition on the charges of heresy and apostasy), 1550-1600. "_I die a martyr and willingly--my soul shall mount up to heaven in this chariot of smoke._"[8]

[8] There is a story which comes to us from Scioppius, that Bruno
rejected "with a terrible menacing countenance" a crucifix which was
held up to him, and which may have been heated red hot, as was
customary, in order to convince the spectators of the sufferer's
impiety, and prevent them from feeling pity for him in his distress.
The story has no very good foundation, but we know that heated
crucifixes were not uncommon among the ghostly persecutors of
earlier and darker days; and we can easily see how a man asked to
kiss such a crucifix might exhibit "a terrible menacing
countenance."

BRUTUS (Decimus Junius, one of the murderers of Caesar),--B. C. 33. Dion Cassius (Lib. xlvii) represents Brutus as quoting, just before his death, the following passage from Euripides, "_O wretched virtue! thou art a bare name! I mistook thee for a substance; but thou thyself art the slave of fortune._"

BRYANT (William Cullen, American poet and journalist), 1794-1878. "_Whose house is this? What street are we in? Why did you bring me here?_"

His death was caused by a blow on the head received in falling upon the stone steps in front of Mr. James Grant Wilson's house in New York City. He was carried into Mr. Wilson's house, where he soon recovered sufficiently to be removed to his own home. But his thoughts were clouded, and he did not know where he was.

BUCHANAN (George, Scottish historian, scholar, and Latin poet), 1506-1582. "_It matters little to me; for if I am but once dead they may bury me or not bury me as they please. They may leave my corpse to rot where I die if they wish._" To his servant, whom he had directed to distribute his property among the poor, and who thereupon asked him, "Who will defray the expenses of your burial?"

BUCHANAN (James, fifteenth President of the United States), 1791-1868. "_O Lord Almighty, as thou wilt!_"

BUCKLE (Henry Thomas, author of "The History of Civilization"), 1822-1862. "_Poor little boys!_"

BULL (George, Bishop of Saint David's, author of "The Defence of the Nicene Faith"), 1634-1710. "_Amen._"

BUNYAN (John, author of "Pilgrim's Progress"), 1628-1688. "_Weep not for me, but for yourselves. I go to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who no doubt will receive me, though a sinner, through the mediation of our Lord Jesus Christ; where I hope we shall ere long meet to sing the new song and remain happy forever--forever, world without end. Amen!_"

BUONAROTTI (Michael Angelo), 1474-1564. "_My soul I resign to God, my body to the earth, and my worldly possessions to my relations; admonishing them that through their lives and in the hour of death they think upon the sufferings of Jesus Christ. And I do desire that my body be taken to the city of Florence for its last rest._"--_Vasari xii: 269._

It was now necessary to convey the mortal remains to Florence. Opposition was feared from the Romans. It was asserted that it was not Michael Angelo's last wish to be buried in his native city. His friends went secretly to work. The coffin was conveyed as merchandise out of the gates.

On the eleventh of March it arrived at Florence. After thirty years of voluntary exile, Michael Angelo returned, when dead, to his native city. Only a few knew that it was he who entered the gate in that covered coffin.

* * * * *

In the sacristy the coffin was opened for the first time. The people had forced their way into the church. There he lay; and, in spite of three weeks having elapsed since his death, he seemed unchanged, and bore no symptom of decay; the features undisfigured, as if he had just died. _Grimm: "Life of Michael Angelo."_

About the year 1720 the vault in Santa Croce was opened, and the remains of Michael Angelo were found not to have lost their original form. He was habited in the costume of the ancient citizens of Florence, in a gown of green velvet, and slippers of the same.--_Bottari._

BURKE or BOURKE (Edmund, orator, and statesman), 1730-1797. "_God bless you._"

BURN (Andrew, major-general in the Royal Marines), 1742-1814. "_Nobody, nobody but Jesus Christ. Christ crucified is the stay of my poor soul_," to one who asked him if he wished to see any one.

BURNS (Robert, the great peasant poet of Scotland), 1759-1796. "_Oh, don't let the awkward squad fire over me!_" He alluded to a body of Dumfries militia, of which he was a member, and of which he entertained a very poor opinion.[9]

[9] In the Appendix of Allan Cunningham's "Life of Burns" we read of
an examination of the poet's Tomb, made immediately after that life
was published:

"When Burns's Mausoleum was opened in March, 1834, to receive the
remains of his widow, some residents in Dumfries obtained the
consent of her nearest relative to take a cast from the cranium of
the poet. This was done during the night between the 31st of March
and 1st of April. Mr. Archibald Blacklock, surgeon, drew up the
following description:

"The cranial bones were perfect in every respect, if we except a
little erosion of their external table, and firmly held together by
their sutures, &c., &c. Having completed our intention [_i. e._, of
taking a plaster cast of the skull, washed from every particle of
sand, &c.], the skull securely closed in a leaden case, was again
committed to the earth, precisely where we found it."

BURR (Aaron, third Vice-President of the United States. In 1804 he fought his famous duel with Hamilton), 1756-1836. "_Madame._"

BURTON (Sir Richard F.), 1821-1890. "_Oh Puss, chloroform--ether--or I am a dead man_," said to his wife who feared to administer an anaesthetic without the direction of a physician. Dr. Barker in a letter to Lady Stisled says that a moment later "suddenly the breathing became labored, there were a few moments of awful struggle for air, then, conscious to the last, he exclaimed, 'I am a dead man,' fell back on his pillow and expired."

BUTLER (Benjamin Franklin, attorney-general of the United States, from 1831 to 1834), 1795-1858. "_I have peace, perfect peace. 'Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee.'_"

BUTLER (Joseph, English Bishop, and author of the celebrated "Analogy of Religion"), 1692-1752. "_I have often read and thought of that scripture, but never till this moment did I feel its full power, and now I die happy._" These words were spoken to his chaplain who read him John vi., and called attention to the 37th verse: "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."

BYRON (George Gordon Noel, Lord, one of the greatest of English poets), 1788-1824. "_I must sleep now._"

It has been asserted, upon what authority the compiler does not know, that the last words of Byron were, "Shall I sue for mercy?" After a long pause he added, it is said, "Come, come, no weakness: let me be a man to the last."

CAESAR (Caius Julius), B. C. 100-44. "_Et tu Brute!_" to Marcus Brutus, on discovering him among the assassins.

Authorities differ: some have it, "What! art thou, too, one of them! Thou, my son!" and others omit the words "my son." If, however, the last two words are to be retained, they express only the difference of age between Caesar and Brutus. There is no good reason for regarding them as an avowal that Brutus was the fruit of the connection between Julius and Servilia.

He died in the fifty-sixth year of his age, and was ranked amongst the gods, not only by a formal decree, but in the belief of the vulgar. For during the first games which Augustus, his heir, consecrated to his memory, a comet blazed for seven days together, rising always about eleven o'clock; and it was supposed to be the soul of Caesar, now received into heaven; for which reason, likewise, he is represented in his statue with a star on his brow. The senate-house in which he was slain was ordered to be shut up, and a decree was made that the ides of March should be called parricidal, and that the senate should never more assemble on that day. _J. Eugene Reed: "The Twelve Caesars."_

CALDERON (Don Rodrigo, adventurer, who under the title of Marques de Siete Iglesias, rose to the first place in Spanish influence and power, in the time of Philip III.),--1621. "_All my life I have carried myself gracefully_," to his confessor who reproved him for his ill-timed regard for appearances when about to die upon the scaffold.

CADOGAN (William Bromley, English clergyman), 1751-1797. "_I thank you for all your faithful services; God bless you_," to a servant who had been with him many years.

CALHOUN (John Caldwell, Vice-President of the United States, called the "Father of State-rights"), 1782-1850. "_The South! The South! God knows what will become of her!_"

"He died under the firm impression that the South was betrayed and gone." _An unpublished letter from Senator Hunter of Virginia._

CALHOUN (Simeon Howard, missionary in the Holy Land for nearly forty years. He was a thorough scholar in Arabic and Turkish languages, and assisted Dr. Goodell in making the first translation of the Bible into Turkish), 1804-1876. "_Were the church of Christ what she should be, twenty years would not pass away without the story of the cross being uttered in the ear of every living person._"

CALVIN (John, one of the greatest of the Protestant Reformers, and "The Father of Presbyterianism"), 1509-1564. "_Thou, Lord, bruisest me; but I am abundantly satisfied, since it is from thy hand._"

On the day of his death, he appeared stronger, and spoke with less difficulty; but this was the last effort of nature, for about eight o'clock in the evening, certain symptoms of dissolution manifested themselves. When one of his domestics brought one of the brethren, and me, who had only just left him, this intelligence, I returned immediately with all speed, and found he had died in so very tranquil a manner, that without his feet and hands being in any respect discomposed, or his breathing increased, his senses, judgment and in some measure his voice, remaining entire to his very last gasp, he appeared more to resemble one in a state of sleep than death.... At two o'clock in the afternoon on Sunday, his body was carried to the common burying-place, called Plein Palais, without extraordinary pomp. His funeral, however, was attended by the members of the senate, the pastors, all the professors of the college, and a great portion of the citizens. The abundance of tears shed on this occasion afforded the strongest evidence of the sense which they entertained of their loss. According to his own directions, no hillock, no monument was erected to his memory.--_Theodore Beza: "Life of John Calvin."_

CAMPBELL (Thomas, English poet), 1777-1844. "_No; it was one Tom Campbell._" Campbell's friends were doubtful whether he was conscious or not of what was going on in his presence, and had recourse to an artifice to learn. One of them spoke of the poem "Hohenlinden," and pretending to forget the author's name, said he had heard it was by Mr. Robinson. Campbell saw the trick, was amused, and said playfully, but in a calm and distinct tone, "No; it was one Tom Campbell."

Some time before he uttered his last words he said:--

"When I think of the existence which shall commence when the stone is laid over my head, how can literary fame appear to me, to any one, but as nothing? I believe, when I am gone, justice will be done to me in this way--that I was a pure writer. It is an inexpressible comfort, at my time of life, to be able to look back and feel that I have not written one line against religion or virtue."

CANO (Alonzo, the "Michael Angelo of Spain"), 1601-1667. "_Vex me not with this thing, but give me a simple cross, that I may adore it, both as it is in itself and as I can figure it in my mind_," to a priest who gave him an elaborate but badly carved cross. He had previously refused the sacrament from the hand of a priest who had administered it to converted Jews.

CARLYLE (Thomas, essayist, translator, and historian), 1795-1881. His mind was wandering when Froude went to his bedside, but he recognized him and said: "_I am very ill. Is it not strange that these people should have chosen the very oldest man in all Britain to make suffer in this way?_" Froude answered, "We do not know exactly why those people act as they do. They may have reasons we cannot guess at." "_Yes_," said Carlyle, "_it would be rash to say that they have no reasons_." When Froude saw him next, his speech was gone.[10]

[10] On February 5th, 1881, in the tranquil exhaustion of a ripe old
age, this true SAGE of modern times passed away at his home in
Cheyne Row, Chelsea, where he had lived for fifty years: and,--as
the _Times_ remarked,--the world seemed duller, colder, and darker,
in that this one grey old man had left it.

No time was lost in collecting funds to provide for a public
monument of the philosopher. The work was entrusted to Mr. J. E.
Boehm, R. A., with the result of a most admirable statue in bronze,
life-size, representing Carlyle as he was in his latter days, in an
attitude of thought, seated in an arm-chair, and wearing his
well-known dressing-gown. "For this noble piece of portraiture," Mr.
Ruskin wrote of it, "I cannot trust myself to express my personal
gratitude, or to speak at all of the high and harmonious measure in
which it seems to me to express the mind and features of my dear
master." It is appropriately placed in the little public garden, at
the end of Great Cheyne Row, Chelsea, where Carlyle had spent the
last forty years of his life. There, on October 26th, 1882, in
presence of many of those who were his attached friends in life, it
was unveiled by Professor Tyndall, who delivered an eloquent address
on the occasion. Among those who assisted were Lord Houghton, Mrs.
Oliphant, Miss Swanwick, Moncure D. Conway, Robert Browning, Dr.
Martineau, Mr. W. E. H. Lecky, and others. A simple inscription on
the massive pedestal, of Aberdeen granite, records the dates of the
birth and death of the remarkable man in whose honour it is
erected.--_William Bates._

CARNOT (Marie Francois Sadi-Carnot, President of the French Republic, assassinated by Cesare Giovanni Santo in Lyons, June 24, 1894), 1837-1894. "_I am grateful for your presence._" These words were in response to those of Dr. Poncet who leaned over the bed on which the President was lying, and said, "Your friends are here, Monsieur le President."

CARY (Alice, American poetess and magazine writer), 1820-1871. "_I want to go away._"

CAVOUR (Camillo Benso, Count de, Italian statesman), 1810-1861. "_No, your Majesty, to-morrow you will not see me here_," to Victor Emmanuel, who, as he turned away in tears, said to Cavour, "I shall come to see you again to-morrow."

He secured liberty of the press, and favored religious toleration and free trade. Among the important measures of his administration were his rebellion against papal domination, and his alliance with France and England in the war against Russia in 1855. After the close of the war he devoted his efforts to the liberation and unity of Italy, undismayed by the angry fulminations of the Vatican. _Lippincott._

CAZOTTE (Jacques, French poet and royalist, executed by the revolutionists September 25th, 1792), 1720-1792. "_My dear wife, my dear children, do not weep: do not forget me, but above all, remember never to offend God._"

CHANNING (William Ellery, distinguished Unitarian clergyman and writer of rare grace and beauty. He has been called the "Father of American Unitarianism"), 1780-1842. "_You need not be anxious concerning to-night. It will be very peaceful and quiet with me._"

He turned his face toward that sinking orb, and he and the sun went away together. Each, as the other, left the smile of his departure spread on all around,--the sun on the clouds; he on the heart. _Theodore Parker._

His remains were brought to Boston, and committed to the grave amidst the regrets of all classes and parties; and, as the procession moved from the church, the bell of the Catholic Cathedral tolled his knell,--a fact never perhaps paralleled in the history of Romanism. And so departed one of the great men of the Republic,--one who, amidst its servility to mammon and slavery, ceased not to recall it to the sense of its honor and duty,--a man whose memory his countrymen will not willingly let die. As the visitor wanders among the shaded aisles of the western part of Mount Auburn, he sees a massive monument of marble, designed by Allston, the poet-painter. Generous and brave men, from whatever clime, resort to it, and go from it more generous and brave; for there reposes the great and good man whom we have commemorated. The early beams, intercepted by neighboring heights, fall not upon the spot; but the light of high noon and the later and benigner rays of the day play through the foliage in dazzling gleams upon the marble,--a fitting emblem of his fame; for, when the later and better light which is yet to bless our desolate race shall come, it will fall with bright illustration on the character of this rare man, and on the great aims of his life. _Methodist Quarterly Review_, January, 1849.

CHARLES I. (Charles Stuart, King of England), 1600-1649. "_Remember!_" to William Juxon, Archbishop of Canterbury, who declared to the Commissioners of the Commons that the king's last words were meant as a message to his son, and were intended to enjoin forgiveness of his enemies by his son in the future. Some say his last words were, "I fear not death; death is not terrible to me." He was executed January 30, 1649.[11]

[11] I mention the discovery of the body of Charles I. when George
IV. was Prince Regent. It has been asserted, and is, I believe,
true, that the nation wished the body of him whom they always called
"the saint and martyr" to be removed from Windsor and buried in
Westminster Abbey: and that a sum of no less than L70,000 was
entrusted by Parliament to Charles II. to erect a tomb over the
remains of his father. If the story be true, the entire sum
disappeared and was not put to the intended purpose. It was,
however, supposed that the "White King's" _coffin_, at any rate, had
been transferred to the Abbey. It was in order to settle a doubt on
this point that George IV., then Prince Regent, went down into the
vaults of Windsor with the famous physician, Sir Henry Halford.
There they found the coffins of Henry VIII. and of his wife, Lady
Jane Seymour; and between them lay a coffin on which were rudely
scratched the letters "C. I." In order to be sure that this was
indeed the coffin of the executed king, they opened it--and there
lay before them the handsome face, just as Vandyke depicted it;
though (as always happens in such cases) the nose fell in
immediately that the corpse was exposed to the open air. Then--I
simply tell the tale as it was told to me; for, though there must be
some printed account of the event, I have never seen it--Sir Henry
Halford took up by the hair the decapitated head, and placed it on
the palm of his hand, which was covered by his silk handkerchief.
When he replaced the head in the coffin the vertebra of the neck,
which had been smoothly severed by the axe of the executioner, was
lying on his handkerchief; and the Prince Regent remarked to Sir
Henry that this would be an interesting relic for him. He took it;
and had it set in gold with the inscription, "Os Caroli Primi, heu
intercisum." I believe that, by the wish and right-feeling of
H. R. H. the Prince of Wales, this relic of the hapless king has been
replaced in the coffin. Everyone will recall the sanguinary epigram
of Lord Byron upon the incident which I have narrated.--_Farrar._

CHARLES II. (of England, "The Merry Monarch"), 1630-1685. "_Don't let poor Nelly starve!_" The king referred to Margaret Symcott, known as Eleanor Gwynne or Nell Gwynn. She commenced life as an orange-girl in the streets of London. Later she sang in taverns, and after a time became a popular actress in the Theatre Royal. She is remembered as the mistress of Charles II. She seems to have been a very kind and good-hearted woman. She was faithful to her royal lover, and upon his death retired from the world and lived in seclusion.[12]

[12] In his _History of the Stage_, Curll states that Nell first
captivated the king by her manner of delivering the epilogue to
Dryden's _Tyrannic Love: or, The Royal Martyr_. The tragedy was
founded upon the story of the martyrdom of St. Catherine, by way of
compliment to Catherine of Braganza. She personated _Valeria_, the
daughter of Maximin, tyrant of Rome.

CHARLES V. (of France, called "The Wise." He was the son of John II. who was made prisoner by the Black Prince at Poitiers), 1337-1380. "_Ah, Jesus!_"

CHARLES IX. (of France, second son of Henry II. and Catharine de' Medici), 1550-1574. "_Nurse, nurse, what murder! what blood! Oh! I have done wrong. God pardon me!_" The king referred, no doubt, to the massacre of St. Bartholomew, which he occasioned. Voltaire tells us his dying remorse was so great that "blood oozed from his pores."[13] There are recorded other examples of bloody sweat. It is said of a man at Lyons that when sentenced to death a bloody sweat covered his body. In the Medical Gazette, December, 1848, is an account by Dr. Schneider of some Norwegian sailors who, in a tremendous storm, sweated blood from extreme terror. See also the British Critic, 1831, p. 1. When our Saviour bore the sins of the world in the Garden of Gethsemane, "his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground." (Luke xxii., 44.)

[13] The massacre of St. Bartholomew lasted seven days, during which
more than 5,000 persons were slain in Paris, and about 50,000 in the
country. During all this season of murder, the king betrayed neither
pity nor remorse, but fired with his long gun at the poor fugitives
across the river; and on viewing the body of Coligni on a gibbet, he
exulted with a fiendish malignity. In early life this monster had
been noted for his cruelty: nothing gave him greater pleasure than
cutting off the heads of asses or pigs with a single blow from his
couteau de chasse. After the massacre, he is said to have contracted
a singularly wild expression of feature, and to have slept little
and waked in agonies. He attributed his thirst for human blood to
the circumstance of his mother having at an early period of his life
familiarized his mind with the brutal sport of hunting bullocks, and
with all kinds of cruelty.--_Winslow's Anatomy of Suicide, p. 52,
note._

CHARLES V. (Don Carlos I. of Spain, afterwards Emperor of Germany), 1500-1558. "_Now, Lord, I go!_" a moment later, with eyes fixed upon the crucifix, he added, "_Ay, Jesus!_" and expired.

CHARLEMAGNE (Charles I., King of France and Emperor of the West), 742-814. "_Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit._"

CHARLOTTE (Augusta, commonly called the Princess, daughter of George IV. and Queen Caroline), 1796-1817. "_You make me drink. Pray leave me quiet. I find it affects my head._" She died in child-bed.

CHASTELARD, DE (Pierre de Boscosel, a young French poet and musician who became enamoured of Mary Queen of Scots, and concealing himself in her bedchamber, attempted her honor. Mary pardoned his offence, but upon his repeating it, he was executed at Edinburgh), 1540-1563. He died chanting a love-song, having on the way to the scaffold prepared his mind for the work of the executioner by reading Ronsard's hymn on death.

CHAUCER (Geoffrey, "Father of English Poetry"), 1328-1400. Chaucer died repeating the "Balade made by Geoffrey Chaucyer, when upon his dethe-bedde, lying in his grete anguysse."

CHENIER (Andre), 1762-1794. He was waiting for his turn to be dragged to the guillotine, when he commenced this poem:

"_Comme un dernier rayon, comme un dernier zephyre
Anime la fin d'un beau jour;
Au pied de l'echafaud j'essaie encore ma lyre,
Peut-etre est ce bientot mon tour;_

"_Peut-etre avant que l'heure en cercle promenee
Ait pose sur l'email brillant,
Dans les soixante pas ou sa route est bornee,
Son pied sonore et vigilant,_

"_Le sommeil du tombeau pressera me paupiere--_"

Here, at this pathetic line, was Andre Chenier summoned to the guillotine! Never was a more beautiful effusion of grief interrupted by a more affecting incident.--_Curiosities of Literature._

CHESTERFIELD (Philip Dormer Stanhope), 1694-1773. "_Give Day Rolles a chair._"

CHOPIN (Frederick, distinguished Polish pianist and composer), 1810-1849. "_Who is near me?_" he was told Gutman--his favorite pupil. He bent his head to kiss the hand of his dear friend and pupil, and in that act of love and devotion died.

CHRYSOSTOM (John, called "Saint"), 350-407. He died at the close of church-service, with the words, "_Glory to God for all things, Amen._"

Splendor of intellect, mellowness of heart, and gorgeousness of fancy were the characteristics of this greatest of preachers.

CHUDLEIGH (Elizabeth, Duchess of Kingston. She was an adventuress famous throughout England for her wonderful beauty and for her wild and wayward life), 1720-1788. "_I will lie down on the couch; I can sleep, and after that I shall be entirely recovered._"

CLEOPATRA (Queen of Egypt, daughter of Ptolemy Auletes), B. C. 69-30. "_Here thou art, then!_" These words, which are traditional, she is said to have addressed to the asp with which she committed suicide.

When she heard that it was Caesar's intention to send her into Syria, she asked permission to visit Antony's tomb, over which she poured forth most bitter lamentations. "Hide me, hide me," she exclaimed, "with thee in the grave; for life, since _thou_ hast left it, has been misery to _me_." After crowning the tomb with flowers, she kissed it, and ordered a bath to be prepared. She then sat down to a magnificent supper, after which a peasant came to the gate with a small basket of figs covered with leaves, which was admitted into the monument. Amongst the figs and under the leaves was concealed the asp which Cleopatra applied to her bosom. She was found dead, attired in one of her most gorgeous dresses, decorated with brilliants, and lying on her golden bed.--_Winslow: "Anatomy of Suicide."_

COKE (Sir Edward, Lord Chief Justice of England, and author of the celebrated work, "Coke upon Littleton"), 1552-1633. "_Thy kingdom come, thy will be done._"

COLLINGBORN (William), "_Lord Jesus! Yet more trouble?_" These words he is reported to have spoken after the executioner had opened his body to extract his heart.

William Collingborn was condemned for making this rhyme on King Richard III.,

The cat, the rat, and Lovel, our dog,
Rule all England, under the hog.

Collingborn was hanged and cut down alive, his bowels ripped out and cast into the fire; when the executioner put his hand into the bulk of his body, to pull out his heart, he said, "Lord Jesus! Yet more trouble?" and so died, to the great sorrow of many people.--_Fab. Chron._, p. 519.

COLLINS (Anthony, essayist and deist), 1676-1729. "_I have always endeavored, to the best of my ability, to serve God, my king and my country. I go to the place God has designed for those who love him._" Some say his last words were, "The Catholic faith is, to love God and to love man. This is the best faith, and to its entertainment I exhort you all."

COLUMBUS (Christopher, discovered America October 12th, 1492), 1435-1506. "_In manus tuos, Domine, commendo spiritum meum._"

Columbus died at Valladolid, a disappointed, broken-hearted old man; little comprehending what he had done for mankind, and still less the glory and homage that through all future generations awaited his name.--_Ticknor._

CONFUCIUS (His name was Kong, but his disciples called him Kong-Fu-tse, which is "Kong the Master," and this the Jesuit missionaries Latinized into Confucius), B. C., 551-479. "_I have taught men how to live._"

Early one morning, it is said, he rose, and with his hands behind his back dragging his staff, moved about by his door, crooning, "The great mountain must crumble, the strong heart must break, and the wise man wither away like a plant. In all the provinces of the empire there arises not one intelligent monarch who will make me his master. My time has come to die." He went to his couch and never left it again.... His mind was magnanimous and his heart was serene. He was a lonely old man--parents, wife, child, friends, all gone--but this made the fatal message so much the more welcome. Without any expectation of a future life, uttering no prayer, betraying no fear, he approached the dark valley with the strength and peace of a well-ordered will resigned to Heaven, beyond a doubt treasuring in his heart the assurance of having served his fellow-men in the highest spirit he knew, and with the purest light he had.

For twenty-five centuries he has been as unreasonably venerated as he was unjustly neglected in his life. His name is on every lip throughout China, his person in every imagination. The thousands of his descendants are a titled and privileged class by themselves. The diffusion and intensity of the popular admiration and honor for him are wonderful. Countless temples are reared to him, millions of tablets inscribed to him. His authority is supreme. He is worshiped by the pupils of the schools, the magistrates, the emperor himself in full pomp. Would that a small share of this superfluity had solaced some of the lonesome hours he knew while yet alive!--_Alger's "Genius of Solitude."_

CONRADIN (Konradin of Swabia, the last descendant of the imperial House of Hohenstaufen, son of Konrad IV.), 1252-1268. "_O my mother! how deep will be thy sorrow at the news of this day!_"

A few minutes before his execution, Conradin, on the scaffold, took off his glove and threw it into the midst of the crowd as a gage of vengeance, requesting that it might be carried to his heir, Peter of Arragon. This duty was undertaken by the Chevalier de Walburg, who, after many hairbreadth escapes, succeeded in fulfilling his prince's last command. _Chambers' Encyclopaedia._

COOKMAN (Alfred, American clergyman connected with the Presbyterian church), 1828-1871. "_I am sweeping through the gates, washed in the blood of the Lamb._"

CORDAY D'ARMANS, DE (Marie Anne Charlotte, usually called Charlotte Corday, a young woman of noble family and of a courageous and lofty spirit. She stabbed Marat, one of the most bloodthirsty of all the vile monsters of the French Revolution), 1768-1793. "_This is the toilette of death, arranged by somewhat rude hands, but it leads to immortality._" She must have spoken later, perhaps many times, but the words recorded are the last of which we can be certain.

One description of Charlotte Corday says that she was of medium height, with an oval face, fine features, blue eyes, a good nose, beautiful mouth, chestnut hair, lovely hands and arms; another says that she was a virago, awkward, dirty, insolent, rubicund, and fat; and that if she had been pretty she would have been more anxious to live. _La Demagogie._

We read in the _Moniteur_, "Charlotte Corday has been executed, the 17th, about seven P. M., in the Place de la Revolution, in the (red) garb of assassins, and her goods confiscated to the Republic." The executioner ... struck the bleeding head, when he showed it, according to custom, to those present; the cheeks were still crimson, and it was said that they were so in consequence of the insult thus offered to them.[14]--_La Demagogie._

[14] It is a tradition in Corsica that when St. Pantaleon was
beheaded, the _caput mortuum_, as it might have been thought, rose
from the block and sang.

A reliable gentleman who witnessed an execution, wrote as follows:
"It appears to be the best of all modes of inflicting the punishment
of death, combining the greatest impression on the spectator with
the least possible suffering to the victim. It is so rapid that I
should doubt whether there was any suffering; but from the
expression of the countenance, when the executioner held up the
head, I am inclined to believe that sense and consciousness may
remain for a few seconds after the head is off. The eyes seemed to
retain speculation for a moment or two, and there was a look in the
ghastly stare with which they stared upon the crowd, which implied
that the head was aware of its ignominious situation."

COSIN or COZEN (Dr. John, English divine), 1594-1672. "_Lord!_"

He raised his hand and cried, "Lord!" After this he expired without pain. It is thought that he wished to repeat his frequent prayer, "Lord Jesus, come quickly!" He desired above all things to die suddenly and without distress of body or mind.

COWPER (William, distinguished English poet), 1731-1800. "_What can it signify?_" Said to Miss Perowne, one of his attendants, who offered him some refreshments. He died in the gloom of a deep melancholy from which he had suffered during a considerable portion of his life.

CRATES (of Thebes, Cynic philosopher), about B. C. 330--he was living in B. C. 307. "_Ah! poor humpback! thy many long years are at last conveying thee to the tomb: thou shalt soon visit the palace of Pluto._"

Crates was deformed and ugly in shape and features, and to render himself still more hideous he sewed sheepskins on his coat, so that it was difficult at first sight to say to what species of animal he belonged. He was, however, noted for self-control, abstinence, and simplicity of life.

CRANMER (Thomas, Archbishop of Canterbury), 1489-1556. "_This unworthy right hand._"

When the fagots were lighted he stretched out his right hand, which had signed the recantation, into the flames, and there held it firmly till it was a mere cinder. This took place before his body was reached by the fire.[15]

[15] Upon the 14th of February, in the 30th year of Queen Mary, was
Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, brought to the stake, where he
first thrust his right hand into the fire (with which he had before
subscribed a recantation) till it first, and then his whole body was
consumed; but what was most remarkable, his heart remained whole,
and was not once touched by the fire.--_Baker's Chron. p. 463._

We have the same story about the heart of Zuinglius. Three days
after it had been cast into the fire to be burned to ashes some
friends found it untouched by the flames.--_Melch. Adam. Vit. p.
37._

"MR. J. C. JEAFFRESON in his book 'The Real Shelley' writes: 'All
the world knows how Shelley's torn and disfigured corpse was reduced
to ashes and a few fragments of bone (with the exception of the
heart that would _not_ be burnt) on the pyre;' and probably, since
Trelawny, shortly after the poet's death, reported that 'his heart
remained entire,' his statement has been unhesitatingly accepted. I
have, however, reason for thinking that the story does not rest on
trustworthy evidence.

"When a body is burnt the part which longest resists the action of
the fire after the base of the skull and one or two of the most
solid portions of bone, is the liver. The heart, being hollow and
smaller, is easily destroyed: but the liver, a moist and solid mass,
repels intense heat, and ultimately deposits an ash of pure carbon,
which no continued burning or increase of temperature can further
change. In the cemetery of Milan where I have seen human cremations
completely carried out in seventy minutes by Signor Venini's
reverberatory furnace, the best method known, I also learned that
the liver, perhaps from its containing this element of carbon, can
endure for a considerable time even that concentrated whirlwind of
fire, and remain almost intact after the heart has totally
disappeared. Moreover, in Shelley's case the liver would have been
saturated with sea-water, and thereby rendered still more
incombustible. It is extremely improbable that Byron, Leigh Hunt, or
Trelawny knew enough anatomy to identify accurately the charred
substance they took to be the heart, and it is more likely, owing to
the thin edge of the liver being consumed, and its size consequently
being much reduced, that they mistook the shrunken remains of the
one organ for the whole of the other.

"From observing the Milanese cremations alluded to I think it barely
possible that the human heart is ever capable of withstanding fire
for more than a brief period; but since Mr. J. A. Symonds asserts,
to my surprise, that Shelley's heart was given by Leigh Hunt to Mrs.
Shelley, and is now at Boscombe, the seat of the present baronet, it
would be easy for some competent anatomist to determine the question
I have raised.

"In any case, the hero-worshipping and sentimental tourists who go
in crowds to that lovely spot beneath the pyramid of Caius Cestius
to mourn over Shelley's untimely fate have been strangely deceived
for more than sixty years in believing that beneath the marble
graven with the touching words 'Cor Cordium' lies the flame proof
heart of their favorite poet."--_Bicknell._

CROMWELL (Oliver), 1599-1658. "_My desire is to make what haste I may to be gone._" Cromwell died of grief at the loss of his favorite daughter.

Some say his last words were, "Then I am safe," in response to his chaplain who assured him that, "once in grace is always in grace."

CROME (John, English landscape painter), 1766-1821. "_O Hobbima, Hobbima, how I do love thee!_"

CROSBY (Howard, Presbyterian clergyman, Chancellor of the University of New York, and a man of great classical learning), 1826-1891. "_My heart is resting sweetly with Jesus, and my hand is in his._"

CULLEN (William, distinguished physician), 1712-1790. "_I wish I had the power of writing, for then I would describe to you how pleasant a thing it is to die._"

CUMMINGS (George David, first Bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church), 1822-1876. "_Jesus! precious Saviour!_"

His last message to his church was: "_Tell them to go forward and do a good work_."

CUSHMAN (Charlotte Saunders, distinguished American actress), 1816-1876. Her last words are not recorded, but on the night before her death she asked to have Lowell's poem "Columbus" read to her, and from time to time she prompted the reader when a word or line was missing.

CUVIER (George Chretien Leopold Frederic Dagobert, Baron, one of the greatest naturalists of modern times, and founder of the science of comparative anatomy), 1769-1832. "_It is delightful to see those whom I love still able to swallow_," to his daughter-in-law, to whom he handed a glass of lemonade he found himself unable to swallow.

CYPRIAN (Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus, "Saint," Bishop of Carthage, Latin Father and martyr. He is the author of numerous epistles and tracts), 200-258. "_Thanks be to God_," to the heathen judge, on hearing from him the sentence of death.

CYRUS (Cyrus the Elder, surnamed "the Great," founder of the Persian empire, and the greatest of Persian monarchs. He appears in Sacred History as the conqueror of Belshazzar. Herodotus represents him as killed in battle, but Xenophon records that he died a natural death),--B. C. 559.

Xenophon (Cyropaedia B. viii. 7) gives the speech which Cyrus is said to have made upon his death-bed. These are the closing sentences in that speech:

"_When I am dead, my children, do not enshrine my body in gold, or in silver, or in any other substance; but restore it to the earth as soon as possible; for what can be more desirable than to be mixed with the earth, which gives birth and nourishment to everything excellent and good? I have always hitherto borne an affection to men, and I feel that I should now gladly be incorporated with that which is beneficial to men. And now my soul seems to be leaving me, in the same manner as, it is probable, it begins to leave others. If, therefore, any one of you is desirous of touching my right hand, or is willing to see my face, while it has life, let him come near me; but when I shall have covered it, I request of you, my sons, let no man, not even yourselves, look upon my body. Summon, however, all the Persians, and the allies, to my tomb, to rejoice for me, as I shall then be safe from suffering any evil, whether I be with the divine nature, or be reduced to nothing. As many as come, do not dismiss until you have bestowed on them whatever favors are customary at the funeral of a rich man. And remember this, as my last admonition: by doing good to your friends, you will be able also to punish your enemies. Farewell, dear children, and say farewell to your mother as from me; farewell, all my friends, present and absent._"

Having said this, and taken every one by the right hand, he covered his face and expired.

DAMIENS (Robert Francois, known for his attempt to assassinate Louis XV., and called, because of his crimes, Robert le Diable), 1715-1757. "_Oh death, why art thou so long in coming?_"

The punishment inflicted upon Damiens for his attack upon the king was horrible. The hand by which he attempted the murder was burned at a slow fire; the fleshy parts of his body were then torn off by pincers; and finally, he was dragged about for an hour by four strong horses, while into his numerous wounds were poured molten lead, resin, oil and boiling wax. Towards night, the poor wretch expired, having by an effort of will almost superhuman, kept his resolution of not confessing who were his accomplices if, indeed, he had any. His remains were immediately burned, his house was destroyed, his father, wife and daughter were banished from France forever, and his brothers and sisters compelled to change their names.--_Chambers._