When the great man comes to the hour of his death, we expect
him to be natural, avoiding all sentiments that are forced or
incongruous. That is the striking thing about the last words
of Sir Walter Raleigh; they were the inevitable and necessary
words. Looking down upon his enemies and his friends, Raleigh
exclaimed about the executioner’s axe, “It is a sharp medicine,
but it is a sure cure of all diseases.” When the sheriff asked
if the niche in the block would fit his neck, Raleigh answered,
“It matters not how the head lies, if only the heart be
right.”--N. D. HILLIS.
(687)