Chapter VI: Part 6

She was so heavily in debt at the time of her death that her body was seized by her creditors.

MAXIMILIAN I. (Emperor of Germany), 1459-1519. His last words are not recorded, but just before his death he left directions that as soon as he was dead all his hair should be plucked out of his body, all his teeth should be drawn, and that both his teeth and his hair should be burned. His body was to be scourged, and then wrapped in quicklime, after which, clad in silk and damask, it was to be buried under the high altar in such position that the priest who said mass should always rest his feet above the emperor's breast. His body is entombed in Wienerisch Neustadt under the altar as he directed.

MAXIMILIAN (Ferdinand Joseph, Emperor of Mexico and Archduke of Austria), 1832-1867. "_Lotte._" His last word would seem to indicate that he was thinking of his wife, the unfortunate Carlotta, daughter of Leopold, King of Belgium.

In 1865 Maximilian was tempted by Napoleon III. to act the part of Emperor of Mexico, then partly governed by the republican President Juarez and partly conquered by the French. He arrived at the Mexican capital in June 1864. He issued a decree that all who adhered to the republic or resisted his authority should be shot. Many prisoners, including General Orteaga, accordingly suffered death by his order. According to the "New York Evening Post" of July 1st, 1867, he ordered the enslavement of the whole laboring population of Mexico. The United States refused to recognize him as Emperor, and required Napoleon to withdraw his army. Maximilian was embarrassed by want of money, and offended the clerical party (which had favored him) by refusing to restore the property of the Church, which had been confiscated by the Liberals. The French troops departed about the end of 1866, after which the republicans gained several victories and the empire quickly collapsed. Maximilian was captured at Queretaro, and shot on the 19th of June 1867.--_Lippincott._

MELANCHTHON (Philip. His original German name was Schwarzerdt, which he Grecized into Melanchthon, or, as he sometimes spelled it Melanthon. Both names denote "black earth"), 1497-1568. "_Nothing else but heaven_," in answer to a friend who enquired if he wanted anything further.

MERICOURT (Anne Joseph Theroigne de, the famous "Goddess of Reason"[32]), 1760-1817. This woman's last words were partly reminiscent and partly the incoherent ravings of a disordered brain. The old scenes rose before her with startling vividness.

"Died, within these few days, in the hospital of pauper lunatics of Saltpetriere, where she had lived unpitied and unknown for many years, the famous Theroigne de Mericourt (the Goddess of Reason), the most remarkable of the heroines of the revolution."--_A Paris paper of August 1, 1817._

[32] Mlle. Maillard, the actress, is mentioned by Lamartine as one
of the Goddesses, who was compelled to play the part much against
her will. "Chaumette, assisted by Lais, an actor of the Opera, had
arranged the fete of December 20, 1793. Mademoiselle Maillard, an
actress, brilliant with youth and talents, played the part of the
goddess. She was borne in a palanquin, the canopy of which was
formed of oak branches. Women in white, with tri-colored sashes,
preceded her. Attired with theatrical buskins, a Phrygian cap and a
blue chlamys over a transparent tunic, she was taken to the foot of
the altar and seated there. Behind her burnt an immense torch,
symbolizing 'the flame of philosophy,' the true light of the world.
Chaumette, taking a censer in his hands, fell on his knees to the
goddess, and offered incense, and the whole concluded with dancing
and song."--_Lamartine._

There was also a Goddess of Liberty. The wife of Momoro went
attended by the municipal officers, national guards and troops of
ballet girls to the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. Gobet (the
archbishop of Paris), and nearly all the bishops, vicars, canons,
priests, and cures of Paris stripped themselves of their canonicals,
donned the red nightcap, and joined in this blasphemous mockery.

METASTASIO (Pietro Bonaventura, originally named Trapassi, but changed to Metastasio, "a changing," in allusion to his adoption by the celebrated jurist Gravina, from whom he received a large property), 1698-1782. After he had received the sacrament, and a few minutes before his death, the poet uttered with unusual enthusiasm the following beautiful stanzas:

"_T'offro il tuo proprio Figlio,
Che gia d'amore in pegno,
Racchiuso in picciol segno
Si volle a noi donar.

A lui rivolgi il ciglio.
Guardo chi t'offro, e poi
Lasci, Signor, se vuoi,
Lascia di perdonar._"

I offer to Thee, O Lord, Thy own Son, who already has given the
pledge of love, inclosed in this thin emblem; turn on Him thine
eyes; oh! behold whom I offer to Thee and then desist, O Lord! if
Thou canst desist from mercy.

MIRABEAU (Honore Gabriel Riquetti, Comte de), 1749-1791. "_When nature has abandoned an unhappy victim, when a miracle only can save his life, how can you have the barbarity to let him expire on the wheel?_" spoken in support of a request for laudanum.

At daybreak he said to Cabanis:--"My friend I shall die to-day. When one is in this situation, there remains but one thing more to do, and that is to perfume me, to crown me with flowers, to environ me with music, so that I may enter sweetly into that slumber wherefrom there is no awaking."[33]

Later in the day he uttered these memorable words:--"I carry in my heart the dirge of the monarchy, the ruins whereof will now be the prey of the factions."

His death, although that of a sceptic, had something in it sublime. He was no stranger to his approaching dissolution; but, far from being intimidated by the prospect, he gloried in the name he was to leave. Hearing the cannon discharge upon some public event, he exclaimed, "I already hear the funeral obsequies of Achilles--after my death, the factions will tear to shreds the remnants of the monarchy." His sufferings were severe at the close of his illness: at one period, when the power of speech was gone, he wrote on a slip of paper the words of Hamlet, "To die is to sleep." "When a sick man is given over, and he suffers frightful pains, can a friendly physician refuse to give him opium?" "My pains are insupportable; I have an age of strength, but not an instant of courage." A few hours before his death, the commencement of mortification relieved his sufferings. "Remove from the bed," said he, "all that sad apparatus. Instead of these useless precautions, surround me with perfumes and the flowers of spring; dress my hair with care; let me fall asleep amidst the sound of harmonious music." He then spoke for ten minutes with such vivid and touching eloquence, that every one in the room was melted into tears. "When I am no more," said he, "my worth will become known. The misfortunes which I have held back will then pour on all sides upon France; the criminal faction which now trembles before me will be unbridled. I have before my eyes unbounded presentiments of disaster. We now see how much we erred in not preventing the commons from assuming the name of the National Assembly; since they gained that victory, they have never ceased to show themselves unworthy of it. They have chosen to govern the King, instead of governing by him; but soon neither he nor they will rule the country, but a vile faction, which will overspread it with horrors." A spasm, attended with violent convulsions, having returned, he again asked for laudanum. "When nature," said he, "has abandoned an unhappy victim, when a miracle only can save his life, how can you have the barbarity to let him expire on the wheel?" His feet were already cold, but his countenance still retained its animation, his eye its wonted fire, as if death spared to the last the abode of so much genius. Feigning to comply, they gave him a cup, containing what they assured him was laudanum. He calmly drank it off, fell back on his pillow, and expired. _Alison's "History of Europe."_

[33] Jeremy Bentham, when he firmly believed that he was near his
last hour, said to one of his disciples, who was watching over
him:--"I now feel that I am dying. Our care must be to minimize the
pain. Do not let any of the servants come into the room, and keep
away the youths. It will be distressing to them, and they can be of
no service. Yet I must not be alone, and you will remain with me,
and you only, and then we shall have reduced the pain to the least
possible amount."

Bentham dreaded the silence and darkness of the grave, and wished to
remain even after his death in a world of living men. He left his
body to Dr. Southwood Smith who was to perform certain experiments
to ascertain that no life remained. After these experiments the
following disposition was to be made of his remains: "The skeleton
Dr. Smith shall cause to be put together in such manner that the
whole figure may be seated in a chair usually occupied by me when
living, in the attitude in which I am sitting when engaged in
thought in the course of the time employed in writing. I direct that
the body, thus prepared, shall be transferred to my executor, and
that he shall cause the skeleton to be clothed in one of the suits
of black usually worn by me. The body so clothed, together with the
chair and the staff in my later years borne by me, he shall take
charge of, and for containing the whole apparatus he shall cause to
be prepared an appropriate box or case, and shall cause to be
engraved in conspicuous characters on a plate to be affixed thereon,
and also in the glass case in which the preparations of the soft
parts of my body shall be contained, as, for example, in the manner
used in the case of wine decanters; my name at length with the
letters _ob_: followed by the day of my decease. If it should so
happen that my personal friends and other disciples should be
disposed to meet together on some day, or days of the year for the
purpose of commemorating the founder of the Greatest Happiness
System of Morals and Legislation, my executor shall cause to be
conveyed into the room in which they meet the case with its
contents."

Humphry Repton, author of a delightful book on "Landscape Gardening
and Landscape Architecture," requested that his remains might be
deposited in a "garden of roses." He selected a small enclosure by
the church of Aylsham, in Norfolk, one of the most lovely spots in
all England, where were a number of roses and vines, as his last
resting place. On the monument over his grave, after his name and
age, are these lines written by himself:--

"Not like the Egyptian tyrants--consecrate,
Unmixt with others shall my dust remain;
But mouldering, blended, melting into earth,
Mine shall give form and colour to the rose;
And while its vivid blossoms cheer mankind,
Its perfum'd odour shall ascend to heaven."

MOHAMMED (The name signified "the praised," and was assumed by the founder of Islam. He was originally called Halabi), about 570-632. "_O Allah, be it so! Henceforth among the glorious host of paradise._" Some give his last words thus, "O Allah, pardon my sins. Yes, I come, among my fellow labourers on high."

In his last wanderings he only spoke of angels and heaven. He died in the lap of Ayeshah, about noon of Monday, the twelfth (eleventh) of the third month, in the year 11 of the Hedyrah (June 8, 632). His death caused an immense excitement and distress among the faithful, and Omar, who himself would not believe in it, tried to persuade the people of his still being alive. But Abu Bekr said to the assembled multitude:--"Whoever among you has served Mohammed, let him know that Mohammed is dead; but he who has served the god of Mohammed, let him continue in his service, for he is still alive and never dies." _Chambers' Encyclopaedia._

MONTCALM (Saint-Veran de Marquis), 1712-1759. "_So much the better! I shall not then live to see the surrender of Quebec_," on being told that he was dying.

MONTEFIORE (Sir Moses, wealthy and distinguished Jewish philanthropist), 1785-1885. "_Thank God! Thank Heaven!_"

MONTEZUMA II (Montecumatin, "the sad or severe man"--the last of the Aztec emperors), about 1470-1520. "_I confide to your care my beloved children, the most precious jewels I can leave you. The great monarch beyond the ocean will interest himself to see that they come into their inheritance, if you present before him their just claims. I know your master will do this, if for no other reason, then for the kindness I have shown the Spaniards, though it has occasioned my ruin. For all my misfortunes, Malinche,[34] I bear you no ill will._" Some give his last words thus: "And do you think I, then, am taking pleasure in my bath?"

[34] _Malinche_, Montezuma's name for Cortes, was borrowed from the
original name of the conqueror's mistress and interpreter, known in
the Spanish records as Marina. See "_Death of Montezuma_," in
Prescott's "_Conquest of Mexico_."

MONTFORT DE (Simon, Earl of Leicester), 1208-1265. "_Commend your souls to God, for our bodies are the foes'!_" To his followers, when he saw the advance of the enemy at the battle of Evesham.

MOODY (Dwight Lyman, distinguished American evangelist), 1837-1899. "_I see earth receding; Heaven is opening; God is calling me._"[35]

As the noonday hour drew near, the watchers at the bedside noticed the approach of death. Several times Mr. Moody's lips moved as if in prayer, but the articulation was so faint that the words could not be heard.

Just as death came Mr. Moody awoke as if from slumber, and said, with much joyousness. "I see earth receding; Heaven is opening; God is calling me," and a moment later he had entered upon what one of his sons described as "a triumphal march into heaven."--_New York Times, Dec. 23, 1899._

[35] The world recedes. It disappears.
Heaven opens to my eyes. My ears
With sounds seraphic ring.
Lend, lend your wings! I mount! I fly!
O grave, where is thy victory!
O death, where is thy sting!
--_Pope: "The Dying Christian to his Soul."_

MOORE (Sir John, British general, whose death is beautifully commemorated in an ode by Rev. Charles Wolfe. Byron pronounced this ode the best in the English language),[36] 1761-1809.

He said to Colonel Anderson, who for one and twenty years had been his friend and companion in arms: "Anderson, you know that I always wished to die in this way." He frequently asked, "Are the French beaten?" And at length, when he was told they were defeated in every point, he said: "It is a great satisfaction to me to know we have beaten the French. I hope the people of England will be satisfied. I hope my country will do me justice." Having mentioned the name of his venerable mother, and the names of some other friends, for whose welfare he seemed anxious to offer his last prayers, the power of utterance was lost, and he died in a few minutes without a struggle.--_The Book of Death._

The last words that passed his dying lips were a message to Lady Hester Stanhope, the niece of Pitt, afterwards so famous for her eccentricity, as her father had been before her. To her, to whom he is said to have been deeply attached, if not engaged, he sent his dying remembrances by her brother, one of his aides-de-camp, and then passed peacefully into the presence of his God.--_Cornhill Magazine._

[36] It has been generally supposed that the burial of Sir John
Moore, who fell at the battle of Corunna, in 1809, took place during
the night, an error which doubtless arose from the statement to that
effect in Wolfe's celebrated lines. Rev. Mr. Symons, who was the
clergyman on the occasion, states, however, in "Notes and Queries,"
that the burial took place in the morning, in broad day-light.

MORE (Sir Thomas, author of "Utopia." He succeeded Wolsey as lord chancellor, a dignity never before filled by a common lawyer. He refused to take the oath to maintain the lawfulness of the marriage of Henry VIII. with Anne Boleyn, and was therefore adjudged guilty of high treason, and condemned to death. He was beheaded July 6, 1535), 1480-1535. "_I pray you see me safe up the scaffold; as for my coming down, let me shift for myself._" Some say his last words were these, addressed to the executioner, "Stay friend till I put aside my beard, for that never committed treason."

MORE (Hannah, poet, essayist and moralist), 1744-1833. "_Joy._"

MORRIS (Gouverneur, American Statesman), 1752-1816.

Courageously he had lived, and courageously he met the great change, with entire resignation to the Divine will. "Sixty-four years ago," he said just before his death, "it pleased the Almighty to call me into existence--here, on this spot, in this very room; and now shall I complain that he is pleased to call me hence?" On the day of his death he asked about the weather, and, on being told that it was fair, he replied: "A beautiful day, yes, but--

"'Who, to dumb forgetfulness a prey,
This pleasing, anxious being e'er resign'd;
Left the warm precincts of the cheerful day,
Nor cast one longing lingering look behind?'"
--_Diary and Letters of Gouverneur Morris._

MORTON (Oliver Perry, American Statesman), 1823-1877. "_I am dying, I am worn out_," to Dr. Thompson who was standing by his bed and holding his hand.

MOTHE LE VAYER DE LA (This learned man's favorite amusement consisted in the study of distant countries), 1588-1672. "_Well, my friend, what news from the Great Mogul?_" The question was addressed to Bernier, the traveller, who had entered his room to bid him an affectionate and last farewell.

MOTLEY (John Lothrop, distinguished historian), 1814-1877. "_I am ill--very ill, I shall not recover._"

About two o'clock in the day he complained of a feeling of faintness, said he felt ill and should not recover; and in a few minutes was insensible with symptoms of ingravescent apoplexy. There was extensive hemorrhage into the brain, as shown by postmortem examination, the cerebral vessels being atheromatous. The fatal hemorrhage had occurred into the lateral ventricles, from rupture of one of the middle cerebral arteries. _Sir William W. Gull's account of Motley's death._

MOZART (Johann Chrysostom Wolfgang Amadeus, one of the most eminent of musical composers), 1756-1792. The last words which he addressed to Sophie Haibl were, "I have the flavour of death on my tongue. I taste death; and who will support my dearest Constanze if you do not stay with her?" Later he conversed with Suessmayer over the Requiem and was heard to say, "_Did I not say that I was writing the Requiem for myself?_" This he said with tears in his eyes as he looked at the notes.

Just before death he demanded to hear again the Requiem. Dr. Clossel, his physician, nodded his consent. Suessmayer sat down at the piano, Schack sang the soprano, Hofer the tenor, Gorl the bass, and the dying Mozart the alto. Softly swelled forth the ineffable music of the sweet, sorrowful, sacred death song. After this the chamber was silent as the grave. Only the clock ticked softly on the shelf, as it marked the weary hours of the passing night.--_Condensed from Sill's translation of Rau's Biographical Romance of Mozart._

After all consciousness had gone, still Mozart's fancies were busy with the Requiem, blowing out his cheeks to imitate the trumpets and drums. Toward midnight he raised himself, opened his eyes wide, then lay down with his face to the wall and seemed to fall asleep. At one o'clock he expired.

The swelling of Mozart's body after death led to the suspicion that he had been poisoned. But there was no other ground for the suspicion than Mozart's diseased fancies, which gave rise to the most shameful and unfortunate distrust of Salieri, who, it was reported, acknowledged upon his deathbed having administered poison to Mozart. All these suspicions were fully laid to rest by Carpani in the Biblioteca Italiana, 1824.[37]

[37] A common undistinguished grave received the coffin, which was
then left without memorial--almost forgotten--for nearly twenty
years; and when, in 1808, some inquiries were made as to the precise
spot of the interment, all that the sexton could tell was that, at
the latter end of 1791, the space about the third and fourth row
from the cross was being occupied with graves; but the contents of
these graves being from time to time exhumed, nothing could be
determined concerning that which was once Mozart.--_Home's "Life of
Mozart."_

MUHLENBERG (Rev. William Augustus, founder of St. Luke's Hospital in New York, and author of the hymn, "I would not live alway"), 1796-1877. "_Good morning_," spoken to a friend who entered the room.

MURPHY (Arthur, dramatic author, and translator), 1728-1805. He died repeating the lines of Pope:

"_Taught, half by reason, half by mere decay,
To welcome death, and calmly pass away._"

NADIR SHAH (Kouli Khan, celebrated Persian conqueror), 1688-1747. "_Thou dog!_" addressed to one of the conspirators who slew him in his tent, June 19, 1747.

When Nadir invaded India in 1739, he arrived first at Lahore; where the governor immediately surrendered the city to him, and treated him with princely honours. At night Nadir, whose only couch, for months past, had been a horse-blanket, with a saddle for a pillow, was conducted to a magnificent bed, with piles of cushions; and twelve young damsels were in attendance to shampoo his limbs and fan him to sleep. Nadir started from his luxurious couch, roared for his secretary, and gave orders that the drums should be beat, and a proclamation made that Nadir had conquered all India. The astonished scribe ventured to hint that this conquest had not yet been accomplished. "No matter," said Nadir, "where the chiefs of the people choose to live in this effeminate manner, it will cost me little trouble to conquer them." And his anticipation was fully verified. After he had taken the city of Delhi, he visited the discomfited Emperor, who received him in fear and trembling. Nadir was seated in the chair of state, and the attar of roses and other perfumes were brought, according to custom and presented to him. Nadir had not changed his clothes or taken off his armor for many days, and his person was by no means free from vermin. He asked contemptuously what was the use of perfuming a soldier's garments; and, thrusting his hand into his bosom, drew forth a number of lice, which he told the astonished Emperor were better companions than all his sweet scents. Nadir had ordered a splendid mausoleum to be built for himself at Mush'hed, in Khorassan; and on his return from India he went to see it. The night before he visited his intended resting-place, some unfriendly wag wrote above the spot destined for his grave--"Welcome, conqueror of the world! your place here has long been empty." The wag had in mind Nadir's common salutation to a friend who had been long absent, "Your place has been long empty." Nadir offered a reward for the discovery of the writer, but never succeeded in finding out who he was. The place was not long empty, for Nadir was assassinated soon after, and here his remains rested till they were dug up and desecrated by Agha Mohammed. _Welby: "Predictions Realized in Modern Times."_

NANI (Giambattista Felice Gasparo, author of "Istaria della Republica Veneta"), 1616-1678. "_How beautiful!_"

NAPOLEON I. (Napoleon Bonaparte), 1769-1821. "_Mon Dieu! La Nation Francaise! Tete d'armee_," He died on the island of St. Helena, May 5, 1821. In 1840 his remains were removed to France and deposited in the Hotel des Invalides.[38]

During the last nine days of his life he was constantly delirious. On the morning of May 5th he uttered some incoherent words, among which Montholon fancied that he distinguished, "_France ... armee ... tete d'armee._" As the patient uttered these words he sprang from the bed, dragging Montholon, who endeavored to restrain him, on the floor. It was the last effort of that formidable energy. He was with difficulty replaced in bed by Montholon and Archambault, and then lay quietly till near six o'clock in the evening, when he yielded his last breath. A great storm was raging outside, which shook the frail huts of the soldiers as with an earthquake, tore up the trees that the Emperor had planted, and uprooted the willow under which he was accustomed to repose. Within, the faithful Marchand was covering the corpse with the cloak which the young conqueror had worn at Marengo. _Lord Rosebery._

[38] The heart of the first Napoleon had a narrow escape from
disappearing forever, elsewhere than in the tomb. It is recorded
that when he died at St. Helena his heart was extracted for
preservation. The English physician who had charge of it placed it
in a silver basin containing water, and leaving tapers burning
beside it retired to rest. Sleep, however, visited him not, and
suddenly, breaking the silence, he heard first a rustling, then a
plunge in the water of the basin, then a fall with a rebound on the
floor, all in quick succession. Springing from his couch, the
physician saw an enormous rat dragging Bonaparte's heart to its
hole: in a few moments more it would have formed a meal for rats.

NAPOLEON III. (Louis Napoleon, "The Little," "Ratipole," "The Man of Sedan," "The Man of December," "Boustrapa," "Badinguet" and "The Comte d'Arenenberg"), 1808-1873. "_Were you at Sedan?_" He asked the question of Dr. Conneau. It was at Sedan that he surrendered his sword to the King of Prussia.

NARES (Rev. Edward, "Thinks I to myself"), 1762-1841. "_Good-bye._"

NARUSZEWICZ (Adam Stanislas, "The Polish Tacitus"), 1733-1796. "_Must I leave it unfinished?_" He referred to his "History of Poland."

NEANDER (Johann August, the celebrated church historian. He was of Jewish descent, but early in life embraced the Christian faith, and at his baptism assumed the name "Neander," from two Greek words signifying a new man), 1789-1850. "_I am weary; I will now go to sleep. Good night!_"

NELSON (Horatio), 1758-1805. "_Thank God, I have done my duty._" He died in battle. Some say his last words were: "Kiss me, Hardy." Others give them thus: "Tell Collingwood to bring the fleet to anchor."

His ever-memorable signal to his fleet, immediately before the battle commenced, had been; "England expects every man to do his duty," and if ever a man lived and died in earnest, fearless, unselfish discharge of his duty to his country, it was Admiral Nelson, victor of the Nile, Copenhagen and Trafalgar.--_Appleton's Cyclopaedia of Biography._

NERO (Lucius Domitius Claudius Caesar, Emperor of Rome), 37-68. "_Qualis artifex pereo!_"

The poor wretch who, without a pang, had caused so many brave Romans and so many innocent Christians to be murdered, could not summon up resolution to die. He devised every operatic incident of which he could think. When even his most degraded slaves urged him to have sufficient manliness to save himself from the fearful infamies which otherwise awaited him, he ordered his grave to be dug, and fragments of marble to be collected for its adornment, and water and wood for his funeral pyre, perpetually whining: "What an artist to perish!" Meanwhile a courier arrived for Phaon. Nero snatched his dispatches out of his hand, and read that the Senate had decided that he should be punished in the ancestral fashion as a public enemy. Asking what the ancestral fashion was, he was informed that he would be stripped naked and scourged to death with rods, with his head thrust into a fork. Horrified at this, he seized two daggers, and after theatrically trying their edges, sheathed them again, with the excuse that the fatal moment had not yet arrived! Then he bade Sparus begin to sing his funeral song, and begged some one to show him how to die. Even his own intense shame at his cowardice was an insufficient stimulus, and he whiled away the time in vapid epigrams and pompous quotations. The sound of horses' hoofs then broke on his ears, and venting one more Greek quotation, he held the dagger to his throat. It was driven home by Epaphroditus, one of his literary slaves. At this moment the centurion who came to arrest him rushed in. Nero was not yet dead, and under pretense of helping him, the centurion began to stanch the wound with his cloak. "Too late," he said; "is this your fidelity?" So he died; and the bystanders were horrified with the way in which his eyes seemed to be starting out of his head in a rigid stare. He had begged that his body might be burned without posthumous insults, and this was conceded by Icelus, the freedman of Galba. _Farrar: "Early Days of Christianity."_

It was the remark of Nero's father, Ahenobarbus, that nothing but what was hateful and pernicious to mankind could ever come from Agrippina and himself. Yet the story of a strange hand that strewed flowers upon the tomb of this tyrant is well known.

NEWELL (Harriet, missionary in India), 1793-1812. "_The pains, the groans, the dying strife. How long, O Lord, how long?_"

NEWPORT (Francis, once famous as an opponent of Christianity). "_Oh, the insufferable pangs of hell and damnation!_" Died 1692.

NEWTON (John, English divine. His early life was that of a profligate sailor engaged in the African slave-trade. After his conversion he became the friend of the poet Cowper, and with him wrote the "Olney Hymns"). 1725-1807. "_I am satisfied with the Lord's will._" Last recorded words.

NEWTON (Richard, an English divine, founder of Hertford College, Oxford), 1676-1753. "_Christ Jesus the Saviour of sinners and life of the dead. I am going, going to Glory! Farewell sin! Farewell death! Praise the Lord!_"

NOTT (Eliphalet, American clergyman, President of Union College, Schenectady, N. Y., for more than sixty years), 1773-1866. "_One word, one word--Jesus Christ!_"

NOURSE (Rebecca, a good and brave woman who, in the old Puritan-days, suffered as a witch at Salem, Mass.), 1621-1692. Her last words are not preserved, but it is recorded that just before her death she declared her innocence and appealed to the judgment of Almighty God. The story of her death forms one of the saddest of the many distressing chapters in the history of early New England.

Mrs. Nourse was a very devout woman, and probably the hardest blow of all was the action of the First Congregational Church, of which she was a member. The records still preserved read as follows:

"After Sacrament the elders propounded to the church, and it was by unanimous vote consented to, that our Sister Nourse, being a convicted witch, and condemned to die, be excommunicated, which was accordingly done in the afternoon, she being present."

The scene presented on this occasion must have been as impressive at the time, as it is shocking to us in the retrospect. The spacious meeting-house was filled with people. The sheriff, accompanied by his deputy brought in the prisoner, manacled, with the chains clanking from her side. The two elders, Higginson and Noyes, as the clergy were then called, delivered an address over the sorrow-burdened form condemning her to eternal punishment.

Then came the day of execution, July 19, 1692. At an early hour the little village was bristling with activity. "The devil's angel on earth" was to be punished with the death she deserved, and so the Puritan maidens attired themselves in holiday dress to honor the event. The procession to the gallows was a long one, scores of people from the neighboring towns and villages taking part. The victim, manacled and guarded by the sheriff and his deputy, headed the line, while close behind followed troops of men and women who laughed, deeming it rare sport to see the agonized faces of the terror-stricken family as they watched the mother and wife grow pale, and tremble as she began the ascent of the rocky cliff whose top was crowned with the instrument of death. It is impossible in words to depict the scene of the execution in the horrible colors in which tradition has painted it. With firm steps and eyes upturned to heaven, the gray-haired woman took her place on the drop. Silently the hangman tied the rope before the eager waiting assembly; then a momentary hush passed over the crowd--the executioner's duty was done. A moment later all that was left to tell the story was the body of the aged woman swinging gently in the summer wind.

Seldom has a woman met with a harder fate. Her body was thrown with the previous victims into a hole in a crevice of the rocks, and hastily covered with earth. Then the masses of spectators turned homeward, leaving the bereaved family at the homestead uncared for and ignored by their once firm friends.

It is a family tradition that in some way the remains of Mrs. Nourse were recovered by her husband and sons and interred in the spot which is now pointed out on the estate as her grave. Imagination only can recall the details of the event, so sad and awful. In the darkness of night the sons hasten to the new-made grave, throw off the slight covering of earth, and by the feeble light of a lantern discover the remains. What feelings of revenge and sorrow must have stirred their hearts as they raised their mother's soulless frame tenderly in their arms, and carried it along through woods and valleys, over highways and fields to the homestead, where, on the following night, the three pronounced the only burial service over the remains, as they lowered the body into a newly-made grave in their own consecrated grounds, which down through the generations has been reverently guarded.

A beautiful shaft of granite has been erected over her grave by her descendants. The monument is of Rockport and Quincy granite, and is eight and a half feet high. The base and apex are of Rockport granite, and the die of Quincy granite, polished and lettered as follows:

REBECCA NOURSE.
YARMOUTH, ENGLAND.
1621.
SALEM, MASS.
1692.

O Christian martyr, who for truth could die,
When all about thee owned the hideous lie,
The world redeemed from superstition's sway,
Goes breathing freer, for thy sake, to-day.

(On the reverse.)

Accused of witchcraft, she declared, "I am innocent, and God will clear my innocency." Once acquitted, yet falsely condemned, she suffered death July 19, 1692.

In loving memory of her Christian character, even then fully attested by forty of her neighbors, this monument is erected July, 1885.

NEY (famous French marshal, "The bravest of the brave"), 1769-1815. "_Soldiers--fire!_" said to the soldiers appointed to dispatch him.

Some say his last words were: "Comrades, straight to the heart, fire!" While repeating these words, he took off his hat, it is said, with his left hand, and placed his right hand upon his heart. The officer gave the signal with sword at the same moment, and the marshal instantly fell dead, pierced with twelve balls, three of which took effect in the head.

NOYES (John, the martyr). "_We shall not lose our lives in this fire, but change them for a better, and for coals, have pearls_," said to a fellow martyr.

OATES (Titus), about 1619-1705. "_It is all the same in the end._"

Titus Oates was the son of an anabaptist minister, but was educated for the Church of England, and received an appointment as chaplain in the royal navy. He was dismissed in disgrace from the navy, and united with the Jesuits. Later he rejoined the Church of England, and revealed a pretended popish plot, which resulted in the execution and imprisonment of many innocent persons. For this he received a large pension, and was granted a residence at Whitehall, where he lived until the death of Charles II. Under King James he was convicted of perjury and publicly whipped. William III. pensioned him.

An old acrostic, in a book published by Nat. Thompson, the bookseller, "at the entrance into the Old Spring Garden near Charing Cross," during the reign of Charles II., has this choice description of Titus Oates:

Trayter to God, damn'd source of blasphemy,
Insect of hell, grand mass of perjury;
Thorough-pac'd villain, second unto none,
Unless to Judas (if by him out-done),
Satan's black agent, hell's monopoly,
Of all that's called sin and villainy;
Accursed parent of an hell-bred brood,
Teacher of lies, spiller of guiltless blood;
England's dark cloud, eclipsing all her glory;
Satan's delight, and hell's repository.

O'CAROLAN, or CAROLAN (Turlough, famous Irish bard and musical composer), 1670-1738. "_It would be hard indeed if we two dear friends should part after so many years, without one sweet kiss._" These words were spoken to a bowl of wine which he kissed when he was no longer able to drink.

OLIVER (Francois, Chancellor of France), 1497-1560. "_O Cardinal! thou wilt make us all to be damned_," to Cardinal Lorrain under whom he had condemned to death many innocent men for their faith. He fell sick through remorse, and in his delirium charged Cardinal Lorrain with bringing down upon him the wrath of God.

ORANGE (William, Prince of, called "William the Silent," founder of the Dutch Republic), 1533-1584. "_I do_," in response to his sister's question, "Dost thou commend thy soul to Jesus Christ?"

William staggered and fell into the arms of an equerry. All crowded round. "I am wounded," said William in a feeble voice.... "God have mercy on me and on my poor people!" He was all covered with blood. His sister, Catherine of Schwartzburg, asked, "Dost thou commend thy soul to Jesus Christ?" He answered, in a whisper, "I do." It was his last word. They placed him on one of the steps and spoke to him, but he was no longer conscious. They then bore him into a room near by, where he died.--_De Amicis: "Holland."_

The assassin was put to death by the Dutch, but his parents were ennobled and richly rewarded by Philip II. of Spain. Philip had offered a reward for the prince's murder, and five separate attempts had been made previously to kill him.

ORLEANS (Louis Philippe Joseph, Duc d', surnamed "Egalite"), 1747-1793. "_They will come off better after: let us have done_," to the executioner who was about to draw off the duke's boots.

OWEN (Robert, socialistic writer and philanthropist), 1771-1858. "_Relief has come._"

OWEN (John, English non-conformist divine and author, chaplain to Cromwell, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, in 1651, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford. He was a man of great ability and devoted piety), 1616-1683. The first sheet of his "Meditations on the Glory of Christ" had passed through the press under the superintendence of the Rev. William Payne; ... and on that person calling on him to inform him of the circumstances, on the morning of the day he died, he exclaimed with uplifted hands, and eyes looking upward, "_I am glad to hear it; but, O brother Payne! the long-wished-for day is come at last, in which I shall see that glory in another manner than I have ever done, or was capable of doing, in this world._" _From Quotation in Allibone._

PAINE (Thomas, author of "Common Sense," "The Rights of Man" and "The Age of Reason"), 1737-1809. "_I have no wish to believe on that subject._" These words were in answer to his physician's inquiry: "Do you wish to believe that Jesus is the Son of God?"

There is a dispute with regard to Paine's death. Some writers say he recanted and became a Christian, while others affirm that he died as he lived--an avowed Deist. In his last will and testament he says: "I have lived an honest and useful life to mankind; my time has been spent in doing good; and I die in perfect composure and resignation to the will of my creator, God." On the other hand some authors say that he was grossly intemperate and licentious, and that he discarded Christianity, not so much from conviction as from a base desire to lead a bad life.

"In 1802, he (Paine) returned to America and resided a part of the time on a farm at New Rochelle, presented to him by the State of New York for his Revolutionary service. Paine became very intemperate, and fell low in the social scale, not only on account of his beastly habits, but because of his blasphemous tirade against Christianity." _Lossing in "Our Countrymen."_

Of Paine's last hours Rev. O. B. Frothingham speaks as follows:

"The truth is, that Paine, though not rich, was in comfortable circumstances. He had considerable property, which is specified in his will. His sick bed was surrounded by friends who ministered to his wants, witnessed the firmness and calmness of his last hours, and attested the sincerity and sufficiency of his convictions. Not even the impertinent intrusiveness of the clergy disturbed the entire serenity of his death."

The commonly received opinion, and most likely the correct one, with regard to Paine is this which we excerpt from _Appleton's Cyclopaedia of Biography_:

"His attacks upon religion had exceedingly narrowed his circle of acquaintance; and his habitual intemperance tended to the injury of his health and the ultimate production of a complication of disorders, to which he fell a victim in 1809. The Quakers refused to admit his remains among their dead, and he was buried on his own farm. Cobbett boasted of having disinterred him in 1817, and of having brought his body to England; many, however, assert that Cobbett did not take that trouble, but brought over from America the remains of a criminal who had been executed."[39]

[39] The effects of Mr. Cobbett were sold by auction, in 1836; and
the bones brought forward to be offered for competition. The
auctioneer, however, refused to put them up; and they were
withdrawn, and remained in the possession of the receiver. This
gentleman, desiring to be relieved, awaited the orders of the Lord
Chancellor; but the latter, upon the matter being mentioned to him
in court, refused to recognize them as part of the estate, or make
any order respecting them. The receiver thus continued to hold them;
but finding that none of the creditors would relieve him of them,
or, indeed, make inquiry about them, he transferred them, in 1844,
to a Mr. Tilley, who retained them in his possession until a public
funeral could be arranged. I have never heard that this has been
done, and know nothing more of these _Thomae venerabilis
ossa_.--_William Bates: "The Maclise Portrait Gallery."_

_Ode to the Bones of the Im-mortal Thomas Paine, newly transported
from America to England, by the no less Im-mortal William Cobbett,
Esq._, by Thomas Rodd, Senr., the Bookseller (London, 1819, 4to). _A
Brief History of the Remains of the late Thomas Paine, from the time
of their disinterment, in 1819, by the late William Cobbett, M.P.,
down to the year 1846_ (London, Watson, 1847); and _Notes and
Queries_, Fourth Series.

"How Tom gets a living now ... I know not, nor does it much signify.
He has done all the mischief he can in the world; and whether his
carcase is at last to be suffered to rot on the earth, or to be
dried in the air, is of very little consequence. Whenever or
wherever he breathes his last, he will excite neither sorrow nor
compassion; no friendly hand will close his eyes, not a groan will
be uttered, not a tear will be shed. Like _Judas_, he will be
remembered by posterity; _men will learn to express all that is
base, malignant, treacherous, unnatural, and blasphemous, by the
single monosyllable_--PAINE!"--_Life of Thomas Paine_, by William
Cobbett.

PALMER (John, English actor of considerable merit), 1742-1798. "_There is another and a better world._"

His death took place on the stage of the Liverpool Theatre while he was performing the character of the _Stranger_, and his last words were a line in the play.

Palmer was a man of acute and affectionate feelings, which had been much exercised by the course and events of his life. He had recently lost his wife and a favorite son, labored in consequence under profound grief and depression of mind which he strove to overcome, and had expressed a conviction that these mental sufferings would very shortly bring him to his grave. During some days he seemed, however, to bear up against his misfortunes, and performed in some pieces, including _The Stranger_, with much success. About a week afterward he appeared a second time in that character, when he fell a victim to the poignancy of his feelings. On the morning of the day he was much dejected, but exerted himself with great effect in the first and second acts of the play. In the third act he showed evident marks of depression; and in the fourth, when about to reply to the question of Baron Steinfort relative to his children, appeared unusually agitated. He endeavored to proceed, but his feelings overcame him. The hand of death arrested his progress, and he fell on his back, heaved a convulsive sigh and instantly expired without a groan. Having been removed to the scene-room, and medical aid immediately procured, his veins were opened, but yielded not a single drop of blood, and every other means of resuscitation was tried without effect. His death was by most persons ascribed to apoplexy; but Dr. Mitchell and Dr. Corry gave it as their opinion that he certainly died of a broken heart, in consequence of the family afflictions which he had recently experienced. _Annual Register._

PARK (Edwards Amasa, distinguished American theologian, author and translator, professor in Andover Theological Seminary, and one of the editors of the "Bibliotheca Sacra"), 1808-1899. "_These passages may be found on the following pages._" His mind was wandering, and, like Dr. Adam, head master at the High School in Edinburgh, he thought himself once more in the class-room.

PARKER (Theodore, Unitarian preacher and writer), 1810-1869. "_It is all one, Phillips and Clarke will come for my sake._" He meant that Wendell Phillips and James Freeman Clarke would attend his funeral. He died at Florence, where he had gone for his health. The character of Theodore Parker was above reproach. His tone of morality was high. His motives were elevated, and, apparently, sincere. His firm grasp of some of the fundamental principles of natural religion, together with his unfailing confidence in his own powers, gave a strength to his utterances of truth and duty which often stirred and swayed the moral nature of his hearers. But in all his writings we find no expression of a consciousness of guilt and of need as a sinner, and no recognition of Christ as a Saviour. Of Theodore Parker, Lowell speaks thus wittily, in his "Fables for Critics:"

His hearers can't tell you on Sunday beforehand,
If in that day's discourse they'll be Bibled or Koraned,
For he's seized the idea (by his martyrdom fired),
That all men (not orthodox) may be inspired;
Yet though wisdom profane with his creed he may weave in,
He makes it quite clear what he doesn't believe in,
While some, who decry him, think all kingdom come
Is a sort of a, kind of a, species of Hum,
Of which, as it were, so to speak, not a crumb
Would be left, if we didn't keep carefully mum,
And, to make a clean breast, that 'tis perfectly plain
That all kinds of wisdom are somewhat profane;
Now P's creed than this may be lighter or darker,
But in one thing 'tis clear he has faith, namely--Parker.
And this is what makes him the crowd-drawing preacher.
There's a background of God to each hard-working feature.

PARKMAN (Francis, American author), 1823-1893. He died peacefully about noon on the 8th of November, 1893, and was buried in the Mount Auburn Cemetery. The last book he read was "Childe Harold," and his last words were to tell that he had just dreamed of killing a bear. Though suffering extremely, he yet maintained to his last hour an impressive degree of dignity, firmness, gentleness and serenity. _Farnham: "Life of Francis Parkman."_

PASCAL (Blaise, one of the most profound thinkers and accomplished writers of France), 1623-1662. "_May God never forsake me!_"

PAYSON (Rev. Edward, American Congregational divine), 1783-1827. "_Faith and patience hold out._" These words were spoken with extreme difficulty and in great pain. Some report his last words thus: "_I feel like a mote in the sunbeam._"

Dr. Payson directed that when he was dead a label should be attached to his breast on which should be written, "Remember the words I spake unto you while I was yet present with you," that all who came to view his dead body might receive from him one more sermon. The same words were at the request of his people engraven upon the plate of the coffin.

PELLICO (Silvio, Italian poet, author of "Francesca da Rimini" and "My Prisons"), 1789-1854. "_O Paradise! O Paradise! At last comes to me the grand consolation. My prisons disappear; the great of earth pass away; all before me is rest._"

PEMBO (the hermit), "_I thank God that not a day of my life has been spent in idleness. Never have I eaten bread that I have not earned with the sweat of my brow. I do not recall any bitter speech I have made for which I ought to repent now._" This suggests the prayer of the Pharisee, "God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that I possess."--_Luke xviii: 11, 12._

PENN (William, founder of Pennsylvania), 1644-1718. "_To be like Christ is to be a Christian._"

PERCEVAL (Spencer, distinguished statesman, assassinated on the 11th of May, 1812, in the lobby of the House of Commons, by John Bellingham), 1762-1812. "_O my God!_"

PESTEL (Paul, Russian revolutionist, author of "Pestel's Hymn." He was a brave man who loved liberty, and desired to establish it upon the ruins of Russian absolutism), 1794-1826. "_Stupid country, where they do not even know how to hang._" These words were spoken when the rope broke by which he was to be hanged.

PETER (His original name was Simon; but when he became a disciple of Christ he received the name Peter, which in Greek signifies a "rock." He was sometimes called Cephas. He was one of the most distinguished of the twelve apostles of our Lord, and is the author of two epistles included in the canon of Scripture),--65. "_Remember the Lord Jesus Christ._" These words which rest upon the authority of Eusebius, Peter is said to have addressed to his wife on seeing her going to martyrdom. Some suppose that he was himself at the time suspended upon the cross.[40]

[40] It is said that Peter was crucified with his head down, himself
so requesting, because he thought himself unworthy to be crucified
in the same manner as his Lord.

PETER I. (of Russia, "Peter the Great"), 1672-1725. "_I believe, Lord, and confess; help my unbelief._"

PETER III. (Feodorovitch, of Russia, grandson of "Peter the Great." He drew down upon himself, by his innovations, the enmity of the nobles and clergy, and was in consequence dethroned and strangled by conspirators, of whom his wife, the profligate, cruel and infamous Catherine II. was an accomplice), 1728-1762. "_It was not enough to deprive me of the Crown of Russia, but I must be put to death._"

PETERS (Hugh, distinguished clergyman and politician, pastor of the First Congregational Church in Salem, Mass., succeeding Roger Williams, "whose doctrines he disclaimed and whose adherents he excommunicated." In 1637 he was appointed overseer of Harvard. In 1641 he returned to England, where he joined the Parliamentary party, and became a chaplain in the army. After the restoration of Charles II. Peters was committed to the Tower, and indicted for high treason. He was executed in London, Oct. 16, 1660), 1599-1660. "_Friend, you do not well to trample on a dying man._"

When Hugh Peters was carried on a sledge to the scaffold, he was made to sit within the rails, and see the execution of Mr. Cook. When the latter was cut down to be quartered, Colonel Turner ordered the sheriff's men to bring Mr. Peters near, that he might see it; and when soon after the hangman rubbed his blood-stained hands together, he tauntingly asked, "Come, how do you like this work, Mr. Peters?" He calmly replied, "Friend, you do not well to trample on a dying man." _The Percy Anecdotes._