Ton jour de mort est arrive:
Contre toi de la tyrannie
Le couteau sanglant est leve!"
Being then tied to the plank and flung into the usual horizontal
position in order to be brought under the blade, he still went
on--_Allons, pauvre victime_, _Ton jour de mort_ ... --until a heavy
sound was heard, the blade fell, something else fell with it, and
all was over.--_Jacox._
BLOOD (Thomas, an Irish adventurer who served in Cromwell's army. He
seized the Duke of Ormond in his coach in London, and would have hanged
him but for the resistance of his servants. In 1671 he came very near
possessing himself of the crown jewels), 1628-1680. "_I do not fear
death._"
Blood, that wears treason in his face,
Villain complete in parson's gown,
How much is he at court in grace,
For stealing Ormond and the crown!
Since loyalty does no man good,
Let's steal the king and outdo Blood.
_Lord Rochester._
BLUM (Robert, German democrat and politician, founder of the Schiller
Association and of the German Catholic Church at Leipsic, popular leader
of the Liberal party in the Revolution of 1848. On the capture of the
city of Windischgraetz he was arrested, tried by court-martial, convicted
of having instigated the uprising, and shot), 1807-1848. "_I am
ready--let there be no mistake and no delay_," to the soldiers who were
charged with the duty of shooting him.
He entreated as a last favor, that he might be permitted to write to
his wife, which was agreed to, and the letter concluded with these
words: "Let not my fate discourage you; but bring up our children so
that they may not bring disgrace on my name." "Now I am ready," said he,
addressing the officers of justice, when the letter was done. Arrived at
the place of execution, he said to one of the cuirassiers of his escort,
"Here, then, we are come to the last stage of my journey." He desired
not to have his eyes bandaged; and this being refused, lest his
unsteadiness should cause the men to miss their aim, he blindfolded
himself, and knelt down with manly courage. He fell pierced by three
balls, and died instantly.--_Balleydier, ii. 366, 367._
BOEHM or BOHME (Jacob, German mystic who believed himself divinely
illuminated and gifted with an understanding of the secrets of nature
and grace. Some of his writings are so obscure and visionary as to be
well nigh incomprehensible, yet he numbered among his admirers many
learned and distinguished persons who sat at the feet of the
"phylosophical shoemaker of Goerlitz," and adopted his most remarkable
opinions), 1575-1624. "_Do you hear the music? Now I go hence._"
BOERHAAVE (Herman, Dutch physician and philosopher), 1668-1738. "_He
that loves God ought to think nothing desirable but what is pleasing to
the Supreme Goodness._"
The reputation of Boerhaave as a physician and a man of learning is
perhaps without a parallel in history. His fame extended not only to
every part of Christendom, but to the farthest bounds of Asia. A Chinese
mandarin addressed a letter to him with this superscription, "To
Boerhaave, Physician in Europe," and the missive was duly received....
His intense application to study, and the exposure incident to his
professional duties, had brought upon him (in 1732) a severe illness,
which confined him to his bed for several months. When he recovered, the
inhabitants of Leyden celebrated the joyful event by a public
illumination.--_Lippincott._
BOILEAU (Boileau-Despreaux, Nicolas, eminent French poet and satirist),
1636-1711. "_It is a great consolation for a dying poet to have never
written a word against morality._"
BOLEYN or BULLEN (Anne, wife of Henry VIII), 1507-1536. Just before she
knelt to lay her head on the block she clasped her neck with her hands,
and said: "_It is small, very small indeed._"
BOLINGBROKE (Henry St. John, Viscount, English author, orator, and
politician), 1678-1751. At last, though the precise words are not
preserved, he gave directions that no clergyman should visit him, and
avowed his adherence to the deistical principles to which he had held
through his life.
His last words to Lord Chesterfield were: "_God, who placed me here,
will do what he pleases with me hereafter, and he knows best what to do.
May he bless you._"[6]
The dreadful malady under which Bolingbroke lingered, and at length
sank--a cancer in the face--he bore with exemplary fortitude, a
fortitude drawn from the natural resources of his mind, and unhappily
not aided by the consolation of any religion; for, having early cast off
the belief in revelation, he had substituted, in its stead, a dark and
gloomy naturalism, which even rejected those glimmerings of hope as to
futurity not untasted by the wiser of the heathens.--_Lord Brougham._
[6] It is too early for the last words of John Burroughs (may it be
yet many years before they are spoken), but we are struck with the
wonderful accord between the last words of Bolingbroke and the
closing paragraph to the preface with which Burroughs introduces
his, "The Light of Day:" "I am content to let the unseen powers go
their own way with me and mine without question or distrust. They
brought me here, and I have found it well to be here; in due time
they will take me hence, and I have no doubt that will be well for
me too."
BOOTH (John Wilkes, American actor, the assassin of President
Lincoln),--1865. _"Useless! useless!"_ Said to the officer who demanded
that he should surrender.
There has been some strange discussion of a mysterious paper said to
have been delivered to Mr. John F. Coyle, editor of "The National
Intelligencer" and purporting to be a statement to the public from John
Wilkes Booth. An eye-witness relates that on the night of the
assassination of President Lincoln, a private dinner-party was in
progress in a back room at Wormley's restaurant, in Washington, at which
were present General Baird, Robert Johnson, the Hon. Samuel J. Randall,
John Morrissey, John F. Coyle, editor of "The National Intelligencer,"
and one other gentleman. During the progress of the dinner a waiter, who
had been out on the street, returned and stated that the President had
been shot at Ford's Theatre. The news created great consternation in the
party, who at first thought the waiter was drunk or crazy. Later, when
they were assured that it was a fact, and that John Wilkes Booth was
accused of the crime, John F. Coyle, with blanched features and
trembling lips, said: "My God, gentlemen! This very day I met John
Wilkes Booth on the market-space. He was on a bay mare, and rode up to
me and handed me a sealed envelope, saying, as he did so, 'If you hear
of me within twenty-four hours, publish this; if you do not hear of me
within that time, destroy this,' and he rode away. Here is the package,"
continued Mr. Coyle, producing a letter envelope from his pocket; "what
shall I do with it?" "Destroy it at once," said Mr. Randall. "They will
hang anybody who knows anything about the assassination, no matter how
innocently he may have come by the knowledge; don't open it--burn it up
just as it is!" "Yes," said Mr. Morrissey, "burn it up, for God's sake,
at once." The doors were carefully locked. A fire was made in the grate,
and the mysterious envelope and its contents were carefully burned. Even
the ashes were collected and placed in a dish; water was poured upon
them, and the two were mixed into a paste, which was afterward put into
the fire and burned again.
BORGIA (Cesare), killed at the siege of the Castle of Biano in 1507. "_I
die unprepared._"
"Cesare Borgia was one of the most crafty, cruel, and corrupt men of that
corrupt age. No crime was too foul for him to perpetrate or be suspected
of. He was charged with the murder of his elder brother, Giovanni, duke
of Gandia, and of Alfonso, the husband of Lucrezia; with plotting with
his father the murder of Cardinal Corneto; and with incest with his
sister. In his wars he had garrisons massacred, and carried off bands of
women to gratify his lust."--_Cate._
BOSSUET (Jacques Benigne, French divine and pulpit orator), 1627-1704.
"_I suffer the violence of pain and death, but I know whom I have
believed._"
BOURG DU (Anne, French magistrate. He was falsely accused of the
assassination of Minard, and was executed in 1559), 1521-1559. "_Six
feet of earth for my body, and the infinite heavens for my soul, is what
I shall soon have._"
BOYLE (Robert, chemist and experimental philosopher), 1626-1691. "_We
shall there desire nothing that we have not, except more tongues to sing
more praise to Him._"
Boyle learned the Hebrew and Greek languages to qualify himself to write
in defence of revealed religion; and printed at his own expense a
translation of the gospels into the Malay language. He refused a
peerage, which was offered to him repeatedly. It has been remarked that
he was born in the year of Bacon's death, as the person destined by
nature to succeed him; and he may be accounted the most zealous and
successful disciple of Bacon in inductive philosophy. His merits were
commemorated by Boerhaave in terms like these: "Mr. Boyle, the ornament
of his age and country, succeeded to the genius and talents of Lord
Verulam. We owe to him the secrets of fire, air, water, animals, plants
and fossils." He was distinguished for his liberality and active
benevolence.--_Lippincott._
BOZZARIS (Marcos, a Greek patriot, celebrated by Fitz-Greene Halleck in
a thrilling poem), 1790-1823. "_O, to die for Liberty is a pleasure and
not a pain._"
BRADFORD (Alden, Secretary of the State of Massachusetts from 1812 to
1824, and author of a history of Massachusetts and other works),
1765-1843. "_Peace!_"
BRADFORD (Andrew, publisher of the "American Weekly Mercury," the first
newspaper that appeared in Philadelphia. He was the only printer in
Pennsylvania from 1712 to 1723), 1686-1742. "_O Lord, forgive the
errata!_"
Bradford's last words rest upon the doubtful authority of an old letter
signed by George E. Clarkson.
BRADFORD (John, a martyr of the Reformation),--1555. "_Be of good
comfort, brother, for we shall have a merry supper with the Lord this
night: if there be any way to heaven on horseback or in fiery chariots,
this is it._" These words were addressed to a fellow martyr.
BRAINERD (David, Missionary to the Indians), 1718-1747. "_Lord, now let
thy servant depart in peace._"
Some say his last words were: "I am almost in eternity. I long to be
there. My work is done. The watcher is with me; why tarry the wheels of
his chariot?"
BREMER (Fredrika, the most celebrated of Swedish novelists, called the
"Miss Austen of Sweden"), 1802-1865. "_Ah! my child, let us speak of
Christ's love--the best, the highest love!_"
BROCKLESBY (Richard, distinguished English physician), 1722-1797. "_What
an idle piece of ceremony this buttoning and unbuttoning is to me,
now_," to his servants who had undressed him and prepared him for bed.
BRONTE (Rev. Patrick, father of Charlotte and Emily), 1774-1861. "_While
there is life there is will._" He died standing.[7]
[7] Some have thought it an evidence of strength of will to die
standing; and some have even wished to be buried in that posture. In
Oliver Heywood's Register is the following entry:--"Oct. 28, 1684.
Captain Taylor's wife, of Brighouse, buried in her garden, with head
upwards, standing upright, by her husband, daughter, and other
Quakers."
Mrs. George S. Norton, of Pawling, N. Y., was buried at her own
request sitting upright in a rocking chair enclosed in a box made of
seasoned chestnut. The funeral services were held July 27,
1899.--_Albany Argus._
M. Halloin of the neighborhood of Caen, in Normandy, who died in the
early part of this century, when he felt his end approach inserted
in his last will a clause expressing his desire to be buried at
night, in his bed, comfortably tucked in, with pillows and coverlets
as he had died. As no opposition was raised against the execution of
this clause, a huge pit was sunk, and the corpse was lowered into
its last resting place, without any alteration having been made in
the position in which death had overtaken him. Boards were laid over
the bed, that the falling earth might not disturb this imperturbable
quietist.--_S. Baring-Gould: "Curiosities of Olden Times."_
BRONTE (Emily), 1818-1848. "_No, no!_" to her sister who begged her to
allow them to put her to bed. She died sitting upon the sofa.
BROOKS (Phillips, Bishop of Massachusetts), 1835-1893. His last written
words were, "_There is no other life but the eternal._"
BROWN (John, Scottish linguist and preacher), 1720-1787. "_My Christ._"
BROWN (John, hanged December 2, 1859, for his part in the famous
Harper's Ferry insurrection), 1800-1859. "_I am ready at any time--do
not keep me waiting_," said to the sheriff who asked him if he should
give him a private signal before the fatal moment.
His last request was not complied with. The troops that had formed his
escort had to be put in their proper position, and while this was going
on he stood for some ten or fifteen minutes blindfolded; the rope round
his neck and his feet on the treacherous platform, expecting instantly
the fatal act; but he stood for this comparatively long time upright as
a soldier in position and motionless.--_J. T. L. Preston (an eye-witness
of John Brown's death) in the Bivouac for August, 1886._
BROWNING (Elizabeth Barrett, English poet), 1805-1861. "_It is
beautiful._"
BRUCE (Robert, distinguished divine of the Scottish Church), about
1554-1631. "_Now God be with you, my dear children; I have breakfasted
with you, and shall sup with my Lord Jesus Christ._"
Robert Bruce, the morning before he died, being at breakfast, and
having, as he used, eaten an egg, said to his daughter: "I think I am
yet hungry; you may bring me another egg." But, having mused awhile, he
said: "Hold, daughter, hold; my Master calls me." With these words his
sight failed him, on which he called for the Bible, and said: "Turn to
the eighth chapter of Romans and set my finger on the words, 'I am
persuaded that neither death, nor life,' etc., 'shall be able to
separate me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.'"
When this was done, he said: "Now, is my finger upon them?" Being told
it was, he added: "Now, God be with you, my dear children; I have
breakfasted with you, and shall sup with my Lord Jesus Christ this
night." And then he expired.
BRUNO (Giordano, philosopher of an independent and speculative mind. He
was burned at Rome in 1600 by the Inquisition on the charges of heresy
and apostasy), 1550-1600. "_I die a martyr and willingly--my soul shall
mount up to heaven in this chariot of smoke._"[8]
[8] There is a story which comes to us from Scioppius, that Bruno
rejected "with a terrible menacing countenance" a crucifix which was
held up to him, and which may have been heated red hot, as was
customary, in order to convince the spectators of the sufferer's
impiety, and prevent them from feeling pity for him in his distress.
The story has no very good foundation, but we know that heated
crucifixes were not uncommon among the ghostly persecutors of
earlier and darker days; and we can easily see how a man asked to
kiss such a crucifix might exhibit "a terrible menacing
countenance."
BRUTUS (Decimus Junius, one of the murderers of Caesar),--B. C. 33. Dion
Cassius (Lib. xlvii) represents Brutus as quoting, just before his
death, the following passage from Euripides, "_O wretched virtue! thou
art a bare name! I mistook thee for a substance; but thou thyself art
the slave of fortune._"
BRYANT (William Cullen, American poet and journalist), 1794-1878.
"_Whose house is this? What street are we in? Why did you bring me
here?_"
His death was caused by a blow on the head received in falling upon the
stone steps in front of Mr. James Grant Wilson's house in New York City.
He was carried into Mr. Wilson's house, where he soon recovered
sufficiently to be removed to his own home. But his thoughts were
clouded, and he did not know where he was.
BUCHANAN (George, Scottish historian, scholar, and Latin poet),
1506-1582. "_It matters little to me; for if I am but once dead they may
bury me or not bury me as they please. They may leave my corpse to rot
where I die if they wish._" To his servant, whom he had directed to
distribute his property among the poor, and who thereupon asked him,
"Who will defray the expenses of your burial?"
BUCHANAN (James, fifteenth President of the United States), 1791-1868.
"_O Lord Almighty, as thou wilt!_"
BUCKLE (Henry Thomas, author of "The History of Civilization"),
1822-1862. "_Poor little boys!_"
BULL (George, Bishop of Saint David's, author of "The Defence of the
Nicene Faith"), 1634-1710. "_Amen._"
BUNYAN (John, author of "Pilgrim's Progress"), 1628-1688. "_Weep not for
me, but for yourselves. I go to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
no doubt will receive me, though a sinner, through the mediation of our
Lord Jesus Christ; where I hope we shall ere long meet to sing the new
song and remain happy forever--forever, world without end. Amen!_"
BUONAROTTI (Michael Angelo), 1474-1564. "_My soul I resign to God, my
body to the earth, and my worldly possessions to my relations;
admonishing them that through their lives and in the hour of death they
think upon the sufferings of Jesus Christ. And I do desire that my body
be taken to the city of Florence for its last rest._"--_Vasari xii:
269._
It was now necessary to convey the mortal remains to Florence.
Opposition was feared from the Romans. It was asserted that it was not
Michael Angelo's last wish to be buried in his native city. His friends
went secretly to work. The coffin was conveyed as merchandise out of the
gates.
On the eleventh of March it arrived at Florence. After thirty years of
voluntary exile, Michael Angelo returned, when dead, to his native city.
Only a few knew that it was he who entered the gate in that covered
coffin.
* * * * *
In the sacristy the coffin was opened for the first time. The people had
forced their way into the church. There he lay; and, in spite of three
weeks having elapsed since his death, he seemed unchanged, and bore no
symptom of decay; the features undisfigured, as if he had just died.
_Grimm: "Life of Michael Angelo."_
About the year 1720 the vault in Santa Croce was opened, and the remains
of Michael Angelo were found not to have lost their original form. He
was habited in the costume of the ancient citizens of Florence, in a
gown of green velvet, and slippers of the same.--_Bottari._
BURKE or BOURKE (Edmund, orator, and statesman), 1730-1797. "_God bless
you._"
BURN (Andrew, major-general in the Royal Marines), 1742-1814. "_Nobody,
nobody but Jesus Christ. Christ crucified is the stay of my poor
soul_," to one who asked him if he wished to see any one.
BURNS (Robert, the great peasant poet of Scotland), 1759-1796. "_Oh,
don't let the awkward squad fire over me!_" He alluded to a body of
Dumfries militia, of which he was a member, and of which he entertained
a very poor opinion.[9]
[9] In the Appendix of Allan Cunningham's "Life of Burns" we read of
an examination of the poet's Tomb, made immediately after that life
was published:
"When Burns's Mausoleum was opened in March, 1834, to receive the
remains of his widow, some residents in Dumfries obtained the
consent of her nearest relative to take a cast from the cranium of
the poet. This was done during the night between the 31st of March
and 1st of April. Mr. Archibald Blacklock, surgeon, drew up the
following description:
"The cranial bones were perfect in every respect, if we except a
little erosion of their external table, and firmly held together by
their sutures, &c., &c. Having completed our intention [_i. e._, of
taking a plaster cast of the skull, washed from every particle of
sand, &c.], the skull securely closed in a leaden case, was again
committed to the earth, precisely where we found it."
BURR (Aaron, third Vice-President of the United States. In 1804 he
fought his famous duel with Hamilton), 1756-1836. "_Madame._"
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 anaesthetic
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 Caesar 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 Caesar, 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 Caesars."_
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._"