Part 7

FARINATO (Paolo, Italian painter), about 1525-1606. "_Now I am going._" These words he cried out as he lay upon his death bed. His wife who was sick in the same room, hearing him, answered, "I will bear you company, my dear husband;" and she did so, for as he drew his last breath she also expired.

FICHTE (Johann Gottlieb, distinguished German philosopher whose name is forever associated with those of Kant, Schelling, and Hegel as worthy of a place with the greatest thinkers of modern times), 1762-1814. "_Indeed no more medicine; I am well._"

The following, purporting to be the "Dying Confession of Fichte," has been frequently published, but upon what authority the compiler of this book has been unable to discover:

"I know absolutely nothing of any existence, not even of my own. Images there are, and they constitute all that apparently exists. I am myself one of those images; nay, not so much, but only a confused image of an image. All reality is converted into a marvellous dream, without a life to dream of, or a mind to dream; into a dream itself made up only of a dream. Perception is a dream; and thought, the source of all the existence, the reality of which I imagine to myself, is but the dream of that dream."

For eleven days he lingered, with but few intervals of clear consciousness, his sleep being ever deeper till on the night of the 27th of January all sign of life vanished. He was buried in the first churchyard before the Oranienburg gate in Berlin; at his side now lie the remains of Hegel and Solger. Five years later his wife was laid at his feet. On the tall obelisk which marks his grave is the inscription from the Book of Daniel: "The teachers shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars that shine for ever and ever." _Adamson: "Life and Philosophy of Fichte."_

FILLMORE (Millard, thirteenth President of the United States), 1800-1874. "_The food is palatable._"

FLAVEL (John, distinguished nonconformist clergyman and author), 1627-1691. "_I know that it will be well with me._"

A man of beautiful Christian character and great learning who was ejected from his charge at Dartmouth in 1662 for nonconformity. The Episcopalians were not satisfied to persecute this servant of God during his life, but ordered his monument removed from the Church of St. Saviour.

FONTENELLE DE (Bernard le Bovier, author of "Conversations on a Plurality of Worlds," "Dialogues of the Dead" and "History of the Academy of Science"), 1657-1757. "_I suffer nothing, but feel a sort of difficulty of living longer._"

Voltaire calls him, "The most universal genius of the age of Louis XIV."

FORDYCE (George, distinguished Scottish physician, Author of "Elements of Agriculture and Vegetation"), 1736-1802. "_Stop, go out of the room; I am about to die_," to his daughter who was reading to him.

FORSTER (Johann Reinhold, a Polish Prussian naturalist, geographer and philologist), 1729-1798. "_This is a beautiful world._"

FOX (George, founder of the Society of Friends), 1624-1690. "_All is well, all is well--the Seed of God reigns over all, and over death itself. Though I am weak in body, yet the power of God is over all, and the Seed reigns over all disorderly spirits._" A little later he said, and they were his last words, "_Never heed; the Lord's power is over all weakness and death._"

FOX (Charles James, English orator and statesman), 1749-1806. "_Trotter will tell you_," said to Mrs. Fox, who did not understand what he meant.

FRANCIS ("Saint," of Assisi, founder of an order of mendicant friars called Franciscans or Cordeliers, from the cord with which they girded their coarse tunics), 1182-1226. "_The righteous wait expectant till I receive my recompense._"

Members of his order were kneeling around his bed, awaiting his death.

FRANCKE (August Hermann, professor of Oriental languages at Halle, author of "Methodus Studii Theologiæ;" and other works, and founder of the orphan asylum and college for the poor which were known as Francke's Institutions), 1660-1727. "_Yes_," to his wife who asked him if his Saviour was still with him.

So long as he was able to speak he would repeat from time to time in both Hebrew and German, "God will continue to support me. My soul has cast itself upon him; Lord, I wait for thy salvation."

FRANKLIN (Benjamin, moralist, statesman, and philosopher), 1706-1790. "_A dying man can do nothing easy._" He endured in later years a complication of diseases, which brought the extremity of physical suffering, but courage was strong, and he worked on almost to the last. Worn with pain, he welcomed the end. His last look was on the picture of Christ which had hung for many years near his bed, and of which he often said, "That is the picture of one who came into the world to teach men to love one another." The resolute repression of all signs of suffering, every indication of the long conflict, passed at once. He lay smiling in a quiet slumber, and the smile lingered when the coffin lid shut him in. His grave is in the heart of the city he loved, and even the careless passerby pauses a moment to read the simple legend.

An epitaph, written by him in 1729, holds his chief characteristics, his humor, his quiet assurance of better things to come, whether for this world or the next:

THE BODY OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, PRINTER, (LIKE THE COVER OF AN OLD BOOK, ITS CONTENTS TORN OUT, AND STRIPT OF ITS LETTERING AND GILDING), LIES HERE, FOOD FOR WORMS. YET THE WORK ITSELF SHALL NOT BE LOST, FOR IT WILL, AS HE BELIEVES, APPEAR ONCE MORE, IN A NEW AND MORE BEAUTIFUL EDITION, CORRECTED AND AMENDED BY THE AUTHOR.[21]

[21] It has been suggested that Franklin was helped to his famous epitaph upon himself by Benjamin Woodbridge's funeral elegy upon John Cotton, preserved in Mather's Magnalia:

"A living, breathing Bible; tables where Best covenants at large engraven were; Gospel and law in his heart had each its column; His head an index to the sacred volume; His very name a title-page; and next His life a commentary on the text. O, what a monument of glorious worth, When in a new edition he comes forth, Without erratas, may we think he'll be In leaves and covers of eternity."

FREDERICK WILLIAM I. (Friedrich Wilhelm I., King of Prussia, son of Frederick I.), 1688-1740. "_Herr Jesu, to thee I live; Herr Jesu, to thee I die; in life and in death thou art my gain._"

"Feel my pulse, Pitsch," said he, noticing the Surgeon of his Giants: "tell me how long this will last." "Alas! not long," answered Pitsch. "Say not, alas; but how do you know?" "The pulse is gone!" "Impossible," said he, lifting his arm: "how could I move my fingers so, if the pulse were gone?" Pitsch looked mournfully steadfast. "Herr Jesu, to thee I live; Herr Jesu, to thee I die; in life and in death thou art my gain (_Du bist mein Gewinn_)." These were the last words Friedrich Wilhelm spoke in this world. He again fell into a faint. Eller gave a signal to the Crown Prince to take the Queen away. Scarcely were they out of the room when the faint deepened into death; and Friedrich Wilhelm, at rest from all his labors, slept with the primeval sons of Thor.[22]--_Carlyle._

[22] Mr. Carlyle may well call it a "characteristic trait" in his favorite Friedrich Wilhelm, as that "wild son of Nature" lay a-dying, that on a certain German hymn which he "much loved" being sung to him, or along with him,--when they came to the words, "Naked I came into the world, and naked shall I go out,"--"No," said he, with vivacity, "not quite naked; I shall have my uniform on." After which the singing went on again with vivacity, akin to that with which the mother of Henri Quatre--not left the world, but brought her son into it; for historians, without romancing, tell us she sung a gay Béarnais song as her brave boy was coming into the world at Pau.

FREDERICK II. (of Prussia, called Frederick the Great), 1744-1786. "_Throw a quilt over it._" He referred to one of his dogs that sat on a stool near him, and was shivering from cold. These were his last conscious words, but later, in delirium, he said, "_La montagne est passée, nous irons mieux._"

The king had always about him several small English greyhounds; but of these only one was in favor at a time, the others being taken merely as companions and playmates to the fondling. As these greyhounds died they were buried on the Terrace of Sans Souci, with the name of each on a gravestone; and Frederick, in his will, expressed his desire that his own remains might be interred by their side--a parting token of his attachment to them, and of his contempt for mankind! On this point, however, his wishes have not been complied with.[23] _Lord Mahon's Historical Essays._

[23] Mr. Berkley, of Knightsbridge, who died in 1805, left a pension of £25 per annum to his four dogs. This man, when he felt his end approaching, called for his four dogs. These were placed by his side; and he reached them his trembling hand, caressed them, and breathed his last between their paws. The four dogs were sculptured, according to his last wish, upon the corners of his tomb.

FREDERICK V. (of Denmark), 1723-1766. "_It is a great consolation to me, in my last hour, that I have never wilfully offended anyone, and that there is not a drop of blood on my hands._"

FULLER (Andrew, English Baptist clergyman, first secretary of the English Baptist Missionary Society, and an author of great repute in his day. He has been called the "Franklin of Theology"), 1754-1815. "_I have no religious joys; but I have a hope, in the strength of which I think I could plunge into eternity_," said to a young minister who stood by his bedside.

FUSELI or FUESSLI (John Henry, historical painter), 1741-1825. "_Is Lawrence come--is Lawrence come?_"

He looked anxiously round the room--said several times, "Is Lawrence come--is Lawrence come?" and then appeared to listen for the sound of the chariot wheels which brought his friend once a day from London to his bedside. He raised himself up a little, then sank down and died, on the 16th of April, 1825, and in the 84th year of his age. _Life of Fuseli_

GAINSBOROUGH (Thomas, eminent portrait and landscape painter), 1727-1788. "_We are all going to heaven, and Vandyke is of the company._"

GALBA (Servius Sulpicius, Roman Emperor), 3 B. C. 69 A. D. "_Strike, if it be for the Roman's good._"--_Plutarch._

"Ferirent si ita e republica videretur," are the words of Tacitus, who says, however, that there were many different stories of what he said; those who killed him could not be expected to care what it was; "non interfuit occidentium quid diceret."--_Clough._

GAMBETTA (Leon Michel, French statesman. He was a brilliant and courageous agitator, and it is to his efforts in large measure that the French Republic owes its existence. It was reported at the time of his death that he met with an accident in handling a revolver, but there are those who insist that he was deliberately shot by his mistress, with whom he had quarreled), 1838-1882. "_I am lost, and there is no use to deny it._"

GARDINER (James, a Scottish officer distinguished for piety and courage), 1688-1745. "_You are fighting for an earthly crown; I am going to receive a heavenly one._" These words he is reported to have spoken to an officer upon the opposite side after the battle against the Pretender at Prestonpans, in which he was mortally wounded, but there is some doubt in the minds of his biographers as to the trustworthiness of the report.

See Rev. Dr. Philip Doddridge's "Life of Colonel James Gardiner," and the account of Colonel Gardiner's death in Scott's "Waverley."

GARDINER (Stephen, Bishop of Winchester), 1483-1555. "_Erravi cum Petro, sed non flevi cum Petro._"

GARDNER (Thomas, Colonel in the American army, killed at the battle of Bunker Hill), 1724-1775. His precise words are not preserved, but the last desire that he expressed was that he might have sufficient strength to continue the fight against the British one half hour longer.

Colonel Gardner is represented, in a dramatic production called "The Battle of Bunker Hill" which was printed at Philadelphia in 1776, as saying immediately after receiving the wound of which he died:

"A musket ball, death-winged, hath pierced my groin, And widely oped the swift current of my veins. Bear me then, soldiers, to that hollow space A little hence, just on the hill's decline. A surgeon there may stop the gushing wound, And gain a short respite to life, that yet I may return and fight one half hour more. Then shall I die in peace, and to my God Surrender up the spirit which he gave."

GARFIELD (James A., twentieth President of the United States: assassinated by Charles Julius Guiteau), 1831-1881. "_The people my trust._"

GARIBALDI (Giuseppe, Italian patriot and general, author of "Cantoni the Volunteer" and "The Rule of the Monk"), 1807-1882. As he lay dying two small birds alighted on the window-sill and looked into his room. He noticed them, and said, "_Those are the spirits of my little girls, Rosa and Annita, who have come to see their father die. Be kind to them, and feed them when I am dead._" It is thought that his mind was wandering.

He gave minute and positive orders to be cremated immediately after death. The urn containing his ashes was to be placed under the orange tree that shaded the tombs of his two little girls. But this wish, cherished for years, was disregarded. He was embalmed and exposed to the gaze of the crowds who hastened to Caprera on hearing of his death. The excuse was, that it would have been impossible to have burned his body in the way he indicated, with the aromatic woods that grow near the spot he had chosen, as the ashes would have been mixed with the burned wood. But this was only an excuse and nothing more, for Dr. Praudina, to whom Garibaldi wrote on this subject five years before his death, had prepared the sheet of asbestos that would have kept together the precious ashes. The true reason for this violation of the great man's order was the desire of the Republican party to have the remains brought to Rome and buried on the Janiculum, where from time to time political demonstrations might be made. When once a man is dead it is very uncertain what degree of respect will be paid to his expressed wishes by those who survive.

GARTH (Sir Samuel, English physician and poet), --1718. "_Dear gentlemen, let me die a natural death_," to his physicians whom he saw consulting together just before his death. After receiving extreme unction he said, "I am going on my journey: they have greased my boots already."

GASSENDI or GASSEND (Pierre, philosopher, mathematician, astronomer and metaphysician), 1592-1655. "_You see what is man's life._"

GAUTAMA ("The Buddha," Siddhartha or Sakya Muni, founder of Buddhism), B. C. 624-543. "_Beloved Bickus, the principle of existence, and mutability carries with it the principle of destruction. Never forget this; let your minds be filled with this truth; to make it known to you I have assembled you._" _Bigandt's Life of Gautama, Vol. ii., p. 68._

Sometimes his last words are given thus: "Behold, brethren, I exhort you, saying, Decay is inherent in all component things, but truth will remain forever."

His life was without reproach. His constant heroism equalled his conviction; and if his theory was false, his personal example was irreproachable. He was the model of all the virtues he preached. His abnegation, his charity, his unalterable gentleness did not forsake him for an instant. He prepared his doctrine by six years of silence and meditation, and he propagated it for half a century by the sole power of his word. And when he died in the arms of his disciples, it was with the serenity of a sage who had practised good all his life, and who was assured he had found the truth.--_Barthélemy St. Hilaire._

Sir Edwin Arnold (in the preface to his "The Light of Asia") calls Gautama "the highest, gentlest, holiest and most beneficent personality, with one exception, in the History of Thought," who "united the truest princely qualities with the intellect of a sage and the passionate devotion of a martyr.... Forests of flowers are daily laid upon his stainless shrines, and countless millions of lips daily repeat the formula, 'I take refuge in Buddha!'"[24]

[24] The King of Siam is sending an envoy to India to receive the relics of Buddha, discovered some time ago on the Nepal frontier, which were offered his Majesty by the Indian Government. The King, who gratefully accepted the offer, has agreed to distribute portions of the relics among the Buddhists of Burma and Ceylon from Bangkok. It will probably be remembered that in January last a well-preserved stupa was opened at the village of Piprahwa, on the Nepal frontier, in the Basti district of the North-west Provinces. This village was in the Birdpur grant, a large property owned by Mr. William C. Peppé and his brother. Inside the building was found a large stone coffer, crystal and steatite vases, bone and ash relics, fragments of lime, plaster, and wooden vessels, and a large quantity of jewels and ornaments placed in two vases in honor of the relics. A careful list was at once made of all the articles, and Mr. Peppé generously offered to place them at the disposal of the Government. The special interest of the discovery lies in the fact that the relics in honor of which the stupa was erected appear to be those of Gautama Buddha Sakya Muni himself, and may be the actual share of the relics taken by the Sakyas of Kapilavastir at the time of the cremation of Gautama Buddha.

The inscription on one of the urns proves that the builders of the stupa believed the relics to be those of Gautama Buddha himself, and runs: "This relic-receptacle of the Blessed Sakya Buddha is dedicated by the renowned brethren with their sisters and their sons' wives." The characters of the record, Prof. Bührer points out, do not mark medial long vowels, and appear to be older than those of the Asoka inscription.

The actual relics, being a matter of such intense interest to the Buddhist world, were offered by the Indian Government to the King of Siam, who is the only existing Buddhist monarch, with a proviso that he would not object to offer a portion of the relics to the Buddhists of Burma and Ceylon, and it was suggested that his Majesty should send a deputation to receive the sacred relics with due ceremonial.

No relics of Buddha authenticated by a direct inscription have before been found in modern times, so the relics are as rare as they are unique, and by all Buddhists will be regarded as most sacred and holy objects of devotion. Their presentation to the King of Siam, the recognized head of the religion, is therefore highly proper. The accessories which were discovered will, it is understood, be distributed among the Imperial Museum at Calcutta, the Lucknow Provincial Museum, and perhaps the British Museum, Mr. Peppé retaining a reasonable number of duplicates for his own use. The stone coffer above referred to is over four feet in length and two in height. It is made out of a solid block of sandstone, and weighs about sixteen hundredweight. It is understood that the acknowledgments of the Government have been conveyed to Mr. Peppé for his public-spirited action in the matter.--_London Times, Dec. 17, 1886._

GELLERT (Christian Fürchtegott, a German poet of rare grace and beauty), 1715-1769. "_Now, God be praised, only one hour!_" on being told that he could live only an hour.

GEORGE IV. (of England, eldest son of George III. and Queen Charlotte), 1762-1830. "_Wally, what is this? It is death, my boy: they have deceived me_," said to his page, Sir Walthen Waller.

GERSON (Charlier de, surnamed "The Most Christian Doctor," chancellor of the University of Paris and canon of Notre-Dame. He is supposed to have been the author of the "Imitation of Christ," attributed to Thomas à Kempis), 1363-1429. "_Now, O God, thou dost let thy servant depart in peace! The soul that is accompanied to eternity by the prayers of three hundred children, may advance with humble hope into the presence of their Father and their God._"

The pious Gerson, the canon of the church and chancellor of the University of Paris, had the terror of his last moments assuaged by the prayers of three hundred children supported and educated by his charity, and who were congregated in his house from the threshold to his bedchamber.

GIBBON (Edward, author of "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"), 1737-1794. "_Mon Dieu! Mon Dieu!_"

Some authorities give his last words thus: "Pourquoi est ce que vous me quittez," to his _valet-de-chambre_.

The _valet-de-chambre_ observed that Mr. Gibbon did not at any time, show the least sign of alarm, or apprehension of death; and it does not appear that he ever thought himself in danger, unless his desire to speak to Mr. Darrell may be considered in that light. _Lord Sheffield's Memoirs._

GOAR (Saint, "Patron Saint of the Rhine"), "_My children, these fearful forests and these barren rocks shall be adorned with cities and temples, where the name of Jesus shall be openly adored. Ye shall abandon your precarious and hard chase, and assemble together under temples lofty as those pines, and graceful as the crown of the palm._

"_Here shall my Saviour be known in all the simplicity of his doctrines. Ah! would that I might witness it; but I have seen those things in a vision. But I faint! I am weary! My earthly journey is finished! Receive my blessing. Go! and be kind one to another._" _Robert Blakey: "Christian Hermits."_

GOETHE or GÖTHE (Johann Wolfgang von, greatest of German poets), 1749-1831. "_More light! more light!_" He mistook the shadow of death for evening twilight.

He continued to express himself by signs, drawing letters with his fore-finger in the air, while he had strength, and finally, as life ebbed, drawing figures slowly on the shawl which covered his legs. At half past twelve he composed himself in the corner of the chair. The watcher placed a finger on her lip to intimate that he was asleep. If sleep it was it was a sleep in which a great life glided from this world. _Lewes's Story of Goethe's Life._

Coudray, who was present when the poet died, left a manuscript on "The Last Days and the Death of Goethe," which has been published. Goethe was seated in the bed-room, in an arm-chair standing beside the bed. Thinking that he saw paper lying on the floor, he said: "Why is Schiller's correspondence permitted to lie here?" Immediately, thereupon, he uttered his last audible words: "Do open the shutter in the bed-room, in order that more light may enter." (_Macht doch den Fensterladen im Schlafgemach auf, damit mehr Licht herein komme._)

GOLDSMITH (Oliver), 1728-1774. "_No, it is not_," to a physician who asked if his mind was at ease.

GOUGH (John Bartholomew, distinguished American temperance advocate), 1817-1886. "_Young man, keep your record_--" the last word was inaudible, but was probably "clean."[25]

[25] A paragraph from one of Mr. Gough's public addresses, carved upon his monument in Hope Cemetery, Worcester, shows the strength of his conviction and illustrates the directness and force of his style: