Part 4

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 anæsthetic 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 Cæsar 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 Cæsar, 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 Cæsars."_

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 François 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 £70,000 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' Médici), 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."

CHÉNIER (André), 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 zéphyre Anime la fin d'un beau jour; Au pied de l'échafaud j'essaie encore ma lyre, Peut-être est ce bientôt mon tour;_

"_Peut-être avant que l'heure en cercle promenée Ait posé sur l'émail brillant, Dans les soixante pas où sa route est bornée, Son pied sonore et vigilant,_

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

Here, at this pathetic line, was André Chénier 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 Cæsar'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._"