Part 2

"The benevolent and accomplished Dr. Arnold was taken from us by _angina pectoris_. He awoke in the morning with a sharp pain across his chest, which he had felt slightly on the preceding day, before and after bathing. He composed himself to sleep for a short time; but the pain seemed to increase, and to pass down the left arm, which called to Mrs. Arnold's remembrance what she had heard of this fatal disease. Their usual medical attendant, Dr. Bucknill, was sent for, and found Dr. Arnold lying on his back--his countenance much as usual--his pulse, though regular, was very quick, and there was cold perspiration on the brow and cheeks. He apologized in a cheerful manner for troubling Dr. Bucknill at so early an hour, and inquired as to the nature and danger of his illness: he was told it was a spasm of the heart. The physician quitted the house to furnish himself with remedies. On his return, Dr. Arnold said, 'If the pain is again as severe as it was before you left, I do not know how I can bear it.' He again questioned Dr. Bucknill as to the danger of his complaint--he was told of his danger--inquired as to the remedies, and on being told, answered, 'Ah! very well.' The physician, who was dropping the laudanum into a glass, turned around, and saw him quite calm, but his eyes were shut. In another minute he heard a rattle in his throat, and a convulsive struggle,--flew to the bed, and called to one of the servants to fetch Mrs. Arnold. The family soon arrived; but the sobs and cries of his children were unable to affect him--the eyes were fixed, the countenance was unmoved, there was a heaving of the chest, deep gasps escaped at prolonged intervals, and just as the usual medical attendant arrived, and as the old school-house servant, in an agony of grief, rushed with the others into the room in the hope of seeing his master once more, he breathed his last." _Stanley's Life of Arnold._

ARRIA (wife of Cæcina Pætus, a consul under Claudius), died about the year B. C., 42. When her husband was condemned to die by his own hand, seeing that he hesitated, she seized the dagger, and plunged it into her own breast. Then withdrawing it, she presented it to her husband, saying with a smile: "_It is not painful, Pætus._"

When to her husband Arria gave the steel, Which from her chaste, her bleeding breast she drew; She said--"My Pætus, this I do not feel, But, oh! the wound that must be given by you!"[1] _Martial._

[1] Casta suo gladium cum traderet Arria Pæto Quem de visceribus traxerat ipsa suis, Si qua fides, vulnus, quod feci, non dolet, inquit; Sed quod tu facies, hoc mihi, Pæte, dolet.

AUGUSTINE ("Saint," Latin Father, able controversialist and eloquent preacher, author of "On the City of God," "Confessions," and many other books of value), 354-430. "_Oh, Lord, shall I die at all? Shall I die at all? Yes! Why, then, oh, Lord, if ever, why not now?_"

His mother, Monica, was a woman of the most devoted piety. His father was a pagan, and from him Augustine inherited a vehement and sensual disposition. While a mere youth he gave way to his unbridled passions and sensual propensities. His mother's patient prayerfulness for both husband and son, which was at last crowned with success, has passed into a touching type of womanly saintliness for all ages.--_A. H. Gottschall._

AUGUSTUS (Caius Julius Cæsar Octavianus, first Emperor of Rome), B. C. 63-14. "_Vos plaudite_," after asking how he had acted his part in life. These reputed last words of Augustus rest upon the authority of Cicero.

Suetonius gives his last words thus: "Live mindful of our wedlock, Livia, and so farewell."

BABINGTON (Anthony, English gentleman devoted to the cause of Mary Stuart. Executed for having conspired against the life of Queen Elizabeth),--1586. "_The murder of the Queen had been represented to me as a deed lawful and meritorious. I die a firm Catholic._" Said on the scaffold.

BACON (Francis, Baron Verulam, Viscount St. Albans), 1561-1626. "_Thy creatures, O Lord, have been my books, but Thy Holy Scriptures much more. I have sought Thee in the fields and gardens, but I have found Thee, O God, in Thy Sanctuary--Thy Temple._"

"In March, 1626, he came to London, and one day near Highgate was taken with a desire to discover whether snow would act as an antiseptic. He stopped his carriage, got out at a cottage, purchased a fowl, and with his own hands assisted to stuff it with snow. He was seized with a sudden chill and became so seriously unwell that he had to be conveyed to Lord Arundel's house near by. There his illness increased, and he died of bronchitis after a few days of suffering."--_Encyclopedia Britannica._

For my burial, I desire it may be in St. Michael's Church, St. Albans; there was my mother buried, and it is the parish church of my mansion-house of Gorhambury, and it is the only Christian Church within the walls of Old Verulam. For my name and memory, I leave it to men's charitable speeches, to foreign nations and the next ages. _From the Will of Lord Bacon._

BAILLI or BAILLIFF (Roche de, known by the name of La Riviere, a distinguished French physician),--1605. "_I must now hasten away since my baggage has been sent off before me._"

When feeling the approaches of death, he sent for all his servants, and distributed his money and property among them, on condition that they immediately left the house, which was so punctually complied with, that when the physicians came on their next visit, they found the doors open, and their patient by himself, with no property left but the bed he lay upon. When the physicians remarked this circumstance to him, he answered that he must now go likewise, "since his baggage was sent off before him," and immediately expired. _The Book of Death._

BAILLY (Jean Sylvain, French astronomer and philosopher, first President of the States-General, and later a victim of the Revolution), 1736-1793. "_My friend, it is only from cold_," to one of the bystanders who, witnessing the refinement of cruelty attending his execution, said, "Bailly, you tremble."

He was led on foot, amidst a drenching fall of snow and sleet, to the banks of the river, where, to parody the scene on Calvary, the heavy beams which support the guillotine were placed on his shoulders. He sank under the weight, but barbarous blows obliged him again to lift it. He fell a second time, and swooned away; yells of laughter arose in the crowd, and the execution was postponed till he revived, and could feel its bitterness. But nothing could subdue his courage. "You tremble, Bailly," said one of the spectators. "My friend," said the old man, "it is only from cold."[2]

[2] Charles I., of England, put on two shirts the morning of his execution, saying, "If I tremble with cold, my enemies will say it was from fear: I will not expose myself to such reproaches."--_Lingard: "History of England."_

BARNEVELDT (Johan van Olden, Dutch statesman of liberal principles greatly in advance of his age. He has been called "the father of Dutch freedom and religious liberty." He was beheaded at the Hague in his seventy-first year, and met his fate without regret or a sign of fear), 1549-1619. "_Oh God, what then is man!_" Some say his last words were these, addressed to the executioners: "Be quick about it. Be quick."

BARRE, DE LA (Jean François le Fèvre, Chevalier. He was condemned to death for having mutilated a crucifix, and was executed in 1766, at the age of nineteen), 1747-1766. "_I did not think they would put a young gentleman to death for such a trifle._"[3]

Poor young Barre was tortured, strangled and burned for not taking off his hat to a file of greasy monks. He remained covered while the Capuchins carried some mediæval trumpery in procession. _Walter Besant's "French Humorists."_

[3] See Voltaire's "Account of the Death of the Chevalier de la Barre."

BATTIE (William, English physician), 1704-1776. "_Young man, you have heard, no doubt, how great are the terrors of death: this night will probably afford you some experience; but you may learn, and may you profit by the example, that a conscientious endeavor to perform his duties through life, will ever close a Christian's eyes with comfort and tranquillity_," to his servant.

BAXTER (Richard, noted English nonconformist, author of "The Saints' Everlasting Rest," and "The Call to the Unconverted"), 1615-1691. "_I have pain--there is no arguing against sense--but I have peace, I have peace!_" A little later he said, "_I am almost well._"

BAYARD (Pierre du Terrail, called "_le chevalier sans peur et sans reproche_," the knight without fear and without reproach), 1475-1524. "_At least, I may die facing the enemy._"

At the defeat of Romaguans, Bonnivet, wounded and not able to serve any longer, gave the command of the army up to Bayard; who, as usual, performed prodigies of valor, until he was wounded by a musket shot, which broke the vertebrae of his back. He then caused himself to be helped off his horse, and to be placed at the foot of a tree. "At least," said he, "I may die facing the enemy;" and in a few moments he was dead.

BEARD (Dr. George Miller, an American physician and scientist of unusual promise, who died upon the threshold of a great career), 1839-1883. He said to the doctors who endeavored to save his life, "You are good fellows, but you can do nothing for me. My time has come." His last words were, "_I should like to record the thoughts of a dying man for the benefit of science, but it is impossible._"

Dr. Beard had wonderful insight. He exposed and ruined the notorious Eddy Brothers, and comprehended, explained, and paralleled the exploits of Brown, the Mind Reader, showing the simple principle on which they were produced. His defects were too rapid generalization, and too positive and comprehensive assertion of results. Knowing well the uncertainty of average human testimony where the supernatural, or even the mysterious, is involved, he held that experts in the supposed supernatural alone were competent witnesses. Of these he thought that there were but three or four living, nor did he shrink from claiming that he was easily _princeps_ among them. Of course, as there were no experts on earth when the miracles were wrought, he had no evidence of them. He was prone to comprehend as much as possible under one generic term. His work on _Neurasthenia_ did not command general approbation, because it made almost everything a sign of nervous exhaustion. As a writer, he was brilliant and prolific. His fame would be more enduring if he had written five books, instead of fifty. _Obituary._

BEATON OR BEATOUN OR BETON (David, Cardinal and Archbishop, an implacable enemy of Protestants. He knew neither rest nor mercy in his determination to crush the Reformed Faith, and his execution of George Wishart drew down upon him the execration of all good men), 1449-1546. "_I am a priest! Fie! Fie! All is gone._"

Cardinal Beaton was assassinated in May, 1546, in the chamber of his castle, by a band of men who sympathized with the Reformers, headed by Norman Leslie.

BEAUFORT (Henry, half-brother of Henry IV. He was made cardinal in 1426, and in 1430 he crowned Henry IV. at Notre Dame. He presided over the tribunal that sent the Maid of Orleans to the stake, and is supposed to have participated in the murder of the Duke of Gloucester), 1370-1447. "_I pray you all pray for me._" Some authorities give his last words thus: "And must I then die? Will not all my riches save me? I could purchase a kingdom, if that would save my life! What! is there no bribing death? When my nephew, the Duke of Bedford, died, I thought my happiness and my authority greatly increased; but the Duke of Gloucester's death raised me in fancy to a level with kings, and I thought of nothing but accumulating still greater wealth, to purchase at last the triple crown. Alas! how are my hopes disappointed! Wherefore, O my friends, let me earnestly beseech you to pray for me, and recommend my departing soul to God!" _Harpsfield: Hist. Eccles. edit. Duaci, 1622, p. 643._

A few minutes before his death, his mind appeared to be undergoing the tortures of the damned. He held up his two hands, and cried--"Away! away!--why thus do ye look at me?" He seemed to behold some horrible spectre by his bedside.[4]

[4] _Enter the KING, SALISBURY, WARWICK, to the CARDINAL in bed._

_King._ How fares my lord? speak, Beaufort, to thy sovereign.

_Car._ If thou be'st death, I'll give thee England's treasure, Enough to purchase such another island, So thou wilt let me live and feel no pain.

_King._ Ah, what a sign it is of evil life, Where death's approach is seen so terrible!

_War._ Beaufort, it is thy sovereign speaks to thee:

_Car._ Bring me unto my trial when you will. Died he not in his bed? where should he die? Can I make men live, whether they will or no? O, torture me no more! I will confess. Alive again? Then show me where he is: I'll give a thousand pound to look upon him. He hath no eyes, the dust hath blinded them. Comb down his hair; look, look! it stands upright, Like lime-twigs set to catch my winged soul. Give me some drink; and bid the apothecary Bring the strong poison that I bought of him.

_King._ O thou eternal Mover of the heavens, Look with a gentle eye upon this wretch! O, beat away the busy meddling fiend That lays strong siege unto this wretch's soul, And from his bosom purge this black despair!

_War._ See how the pangs of death do make him grin!

_Sal._ Disturb him not; let him pass peaceably.

_King._ Peace to his soul, if God's good pleasure be! Lord cardinal, if thou think'st on heaven's bliss, Hold up thy hand, make signal of thy hope. He dies, and makes no sign. O God, forgive him!

_War._ So bad a death argues a monstrous life.

_King._ Forbear to judge, for we are sinners all. Close up his eyes and draw the curtain close; And let us all to meditation. _Exeunt. --King Henry VI, Part II, Act iii._

BECKET (Thomas à, first Saxon archbishop of Canterbury after the Norman conquest), 1117-1170. "_For the name of Jesus and the defense of the church I am willing to die._"

He was assassinated by four barons, servants of Henry II. The Roman Catholic Church regarded him as a martyr; and in 1172 he was canonized.

BEDE (surnamed "The Venerable;" an English monk, and the author of "_Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum_"), 673-735. "_Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost._"

It is related that on the night of his death he continued dictating to his amanuensis a translation of some work, probably of the gospel of St. John, into Anglo-Saxon. He asked the scribe how many chapters remained. "Only one," he replied; "but you are too weak to dictate." "No," said Bede, "take your pen and write quickly." After some time the scribe said, "Master, it is finished;" to which Bede replied, "Thou hast said truly, _consummatum est_," and shortly after expired. _Lippincott._

BEECHER (Henry Ward, distinguished American clergyman, for many years pastor of Plymouth Congregational Church, Brooklyn, N. Y.), 1813-1887. "_Now comes the mystery._"

BEETHOVEN (Ludwig van), 1770-1827. "_I shall hear in heaven._"

When about thirty-five years old, while at work upon his opera of "Leonora," known in English as "Fidelio," he was attacked with deafness. The malady began gradually, but after a year made more rapid progress, and soon his hearing was entirely destroyed.

Some authorities give his last words thus: "Is it not true, dear Hammel, that I have some talent after all?" Hammel was an old friend with whom he had once quarrelled, and who, after being separated from him for a long time, came to him when he was upon his death bed.

Beethoven received the sacraments of the Roman church, and at about one in the afternoon of the same day he sank into apparent unconsciousness, and a distressing conflict with death began which lasted the rest of that day, the whole of the next day, and until a quarter of six on the evening of the day following. As the evening closed in, there came a sudden storm of hail and snow, covering the ground and roofs of the Schwarzspanierplatz, and followed by a flash of lightning, and an instant clap of thunder. So great was the crash as to arouse even the dying man. He opened his eyes, clinched his fist, and shook it in the air above him. This lasted a few seconds while the hail rushed down outside, and then the hand fell, and the great composer was no more. _Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians._

BELLARMINO (Cardinal Roberto), 1542-1621. "_It is safest to trust in Jesus_," to one who enquired whether it is safer to trust in the Virgin Mary than in Jesus.

BENTHAM (Jeremy, English philosopher and jurist, author of "Defence of Usury," "Theory of Penalties and Rewards," "The Rationale of Judicial Evidence," "Panopticon," and many other works of interest and value. He devoted much of his time and ability to the development of the theory that "Utility is the test and measure of virtue"), 1748-1832. "_I feel now that I am dying._"

BÉRENGER (de Tours, celebrated French ecclesiastic), 998-1088. "_I shall not long hesitate between conscience and the Pope, for I shall soon appear in the presence of God, to be acquitted, I hope; to be condemned, I fear._"

"No more 'twixt conscience staggering and the Pope, Soon shall I now before my God appear: By him to be acquitted, as I hope; By him to be condemned, as I fear."--_Coleridge._

Bérenger opposed the dogmas of Transubstantiation and the Real-Presence. His teachings were condemned by Pope Leo IX. in 1050.

BERGERUS (councillor to the Emperor Maximilian), "_Farewell, O farewell all earthly things, and welcome heaven._"

BERKELEY (George, Bishop of Cloyne, metaphysical philosopher and author), 1684-1753.

The last words of Berkeley are not recorded, but the peacefulness and suddenness of his death are interesting. One evening he and his family were sitting and drinking tea together; he on one side of the fire, and his wife on the other, and his daughter making the tea at a little round table just behind him. She had given him one dish which he had drunk. She had poured out another which he left standing some time. "Sir," said she, "will you not take your tea?" Upon his making no kind of an answer, she stooped forward and looked at him, and found that he was dead. _Life of Bishop Berkeley._

Berkeley directed in his will that his body should be kept above ground more than five days, and until it became "offensive by the cadaverous smell, and that during the said time it lye unwashed, undisturbed and covered by the same bedclothes, in the same bed, the head raised upon pillows."

BERNARD ("Saint," Abbot of Clairvaux and active promoter of the crusade of 1146. He is the author of many beautiful hymns), 1091-1153. "_May God's will be done_," said when he was told that his last hour was at hand.

BERRY or BERRI (Caroline Ferdinande Louise, Madame de), 1798-1870. "_Is not this dying with courage and true greatness?_"

BIRON (Armand Louis de Gontaut, Duc de Lauzun, French general-in-chief of the army of the Rhine), 1747-1793. "_I have been false to my God, to my order, and to my king: I die full of faith and of repentance._"

The executioner's messenger surprised him at a breakfast of oysters and white wine, and said he was at the duke's orders; to which the latter rejoined, "_No morbleu_, 'tis just the other way: I am at yours!" He then asked that he might be permitted to finish his breakfast, after which he answered the summons of the executioner.

BISMARCK VON SCHONHAUSEN (Karl Otto, Prince, the most distinguished of Prussian statesmen), 1813-1898. "_Thank you, my child_," to his daughter, Countess von Rantzau, who wiped the perspiration from his forehead.

On Thursday evening an improvement set in in the Prince's condition, in which repeated changes for the worse had occurred since October last, and he was able to appear at the table and take part in the conversation, drinking champagne and afterward smoking several pipes, which he had not done lately.

His condition was so satisfactory that Dr. Schweninger, after the Prince had gone to bed, went away, with the intention of returning on Saturday. His condition was comparatively satisfactory throughout Friday and Saturday morning. He read the "Nachrichten" and conversed on politics, particularly referring to Russian affairs. In the forenoon he took luncheon, grumbling jocularly at the small proportion of spirits in his drinking water. Then a sudden change for the worse occurred, and in the afternoon he frequently became unconscious.

Recently, besides periods of unusual mental clearness, the Prince had had intervals of drowsiness, falling into long, sound and beneficial sleep, on awaking from which he would be completely refreshed.

On Saturday evening grave symptoms appeared. Death came easily and painlessly. Dr. Schweninger was able to some extent to lighten the last moments, wiping the patient's mouth and enabling him to breathe more freely.

The last words Prince Bismarck uttered were addressed to his daughter, Countess von Rantzau, who wiped the perspiration from his forehead. They were, "Thank you, my child."

The whole family were assembled at the bedside at the time of his death, and Dr. Schweninger, Dr. Chrysander and Baron and Baroness Merck were also present. As no breathing, movement or pulse was perceptible for three minutes, Dr. Schweninger declared quietly and simply that the Prince was dead.

Dr. Schweninger telegraphed the news to Emperor William, in Norway.

The Prince lies as he used to sleep, with his head slightly inclined to the left. The expression on his face is mild and peaceful. It is remarked that his head remained warm for an unusually long time.

In accordance with Prince Bismarck's wish, he will be buried upon the hill opposite the castle in the vicinity of Hirschgruppe. _Nachrichten, July 31st, 1898._

BLAKE (William, English artist and poet), 1757-1828. Blake died singing.

"On the day of his death," writes Smith, who had his account from the widow, "he composed and uttered songs to his Maker, so sweetly to the ear of his Catherine, that when she stood to hear him, he, looking upon her most affectionately, said, 'My beloved! they are _not mine_. _No!_ they are _not_ mine!' He told her they would not be parted; he should always be about her to take care of her. A little before his death, Mrs. Blake asked where he would be buried, and whether a dissenting minister or a clergyman of the Church of England should read the service. To which he answered, that as far as his own feelings were concerned, she might bury him where she pleased. But that as father, mother, aunt and brother were buried in Bunhill Row, perhaps it would be better to lie _there_. As for service, he should wish for that of the Church of England.