Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, brought to the stake, where he
first thrust his right hand into the fire (with which he had before
subscribed a recantation) till it first, and then his whole body was
consumed; but what was most remarkable, his heart remained whole,
and was not once touched by the fire.--_Baker's Chron. p. 463._
We have the same story about the heart of Zuinglius. Three days
after it had been cast into the fire to be burned to ashes some
friends found it untouched by the flames.--_Melch. Adam. Vit. p.
37._
"MR. J. C. JEAFFRESON in his book 'The Real Shelley' writes: 'All
the world knows how Shelley's torn and disfigured corpse was reduced
to ashes and a few fragments of bone (with the exception of the
heart that would _not_ be burnt) on the pyre;' and probably, since
Trelawny, shortly after the poet's death, reported that 'his heart
remained entire,' his statement has been unhesitatingly accepted. I
have, however, reason for thinking that the story does not rest on
trustworthy evidence.
"When a body is burnt the part which longest resists the action of
the fire after the base of the skull and one or two of the most
solid portions of bone, is the liver. The heart, being hollow and
smaller, is easily destroyed: but the liver, a moist and solid mass,
repels intense heat, and ultimately deposits an ash of pure carbon,
which no continued burning or increase of temperature can further
change. In the cemetery of Milan where I have seen human cremations
completely carried out in seventy minutes by Signor Venini's
reverberatory furnace, the best method known, I also learned that
the liver, perhaps from its containing this element of carbon, can
endure for a considerable time even that concentrated whirlwind of
fire, and remain almost intact after the heart has totally
disappeared. Moreover, in Shelley's case the liver would have been
saturated with sea-water, and thereby rendered still more
incombustible. It is extremely improbable that Byron, Leigh Hunt, or
Trelawny knew enough anatomy to identify accurately the charred
substance they took to be the heart, and it is more likely, owing to
the thin edge of the liver being consumed, and its size consequently
being much reduced, that they mistook the shrunken remains of the
one organ for the whole of the other.
"From observing the Milanese cremations alluded to I think it barely
possible that the human heart is ever capable of withstanding fire
for more than a brief period; but since Mr. J. A. Symonds asserts,
to my surprise, that Shelley's heart was given by Leigh Hunt to Mrs.
Shelley, and is now at Boscombe, the seat of the present baronet, it
would be easy for some competent anatomist to determine the question
I have raised.
"In any case, the hero-worshipping and sentimental tourists who go
in crowds to that lovely spot beneath the pyramid of Caius Cestius
to mourn over Shelley's untimely fate have been strangely deceived
for more than sixty years in believing that beneath the marble
graven with the touching words 'Cor Cordium' lies the flame proof
heart of their favorite poet."--_Bicknell._
CROMWELL (Oliver), 1599-1658. "_My desire is to make what haste I may to
be gone._" Cromwell died of grief at the loss of his favorite daughter.
Some say his last words were, "Then I am safe," in response to his
chaplain who assured him that, "once in grace is always in grace."
CROME (John, English landscape painter), 1766-1821. "_O Hobbima,
Hobbima, how I do love thee!_"
CROSBY (Howard, Presbyterian clergyman, Chancellor of the University of
New York, and a man of great classical learning), 1826-1891. "_My heart
is resting sweetly with Jesus, and my hand is in his._"
CULLEN (William, distinguished physician), 1712-1790. "_I wish I had the
power of writing, for then I would describe to you how pleasant a thing
it is to die._"
CUMMINGS (George David, first Bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church),
1822-1876. "_Jesus! precious Saviour!_"
His last message to his church was: "_Tell them to go forward and do a
good work_."
CUSHMAN (Charlotte Saunders, distinguished American actress), 1816-1876.
Her last words are not recorded, but on the night before her death she
asked to have Lowell's poem "Columbus" read to her, and from time to
time she prompted the reader when a word or line was missing.
CUVIER (George Chretien Leopold Frederic Dagobert, Baron, one of the
greatest naturalists of modern times, and founder of the science of
comparative anatomy), 1769-1832. "_It is delightful to see those whom I
love still able to swallow_," to his daughter-in-law, to whom he handed
a glass of lemonade he found himself unable to swallow.
CYPRIAN (Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus, "Saint," Bishop of Carthage, Latin
Father and martyr. He is the author of numerous epistles and tracts),
200-258. "_Thanks be to God_," to the heathen judge, on hearing from him
the sentence of death.
CYRUS (Cyrus the Elder, surnamed "the Great," founder of the Persian
empire, and the greatest of Persian monarchs. He appears in Sacred
History as the conqueror of Belshazzar. Herodotus represents him as
killed in battle, but Xenophon records that he died a natural
death),--B. C. 559.
Xenophon (Cyropaedia B. viii. 7) gives the speech which Cyrus is said to
have made upon his death-bed. These are the closing sentences in that
speech:
"_When I am dead, my children, do not enshrine my body in gold, or in
silver, or in any other substance; but restore it to the earth as soon
as possible; for what can be more desirable than to be mixed with the
earth, which gives birth and nourishment to everything excellent and
good? I have always hitherto borne an affection to men, and I feel that
I should now gladly be incorporated with that which is beneficial to
men. And now my soul seems to be leaving me, in the same manner as, it
is probable, it begins to leave others. If, therefore, any one of you is
desirous of touching my right hand, or is willing to see my face, while
it has life, let him come near me; but when I shall have covered it, I
request of you, my sons, let no man, not even yourselves, look upon my
body. Summon, however, all the Persians, and the allies, to my tomb, to
rejoice for me, as I shall then be safe from suffering any evil, whether
I be with the divine nature, or be reduced to nothing. As many as come,
do not dismiss until you have bestowed on them whatever favors are
customary at the funeral of a rich man. And remember this, as my last
admonition: by doing good to your friends, you will be able also to
punish your enemies. Farewell, dear children, and say farewell to your
mother as from me; farewell, all my friends, present and absent._"
Having said this, and taken every one by the right hand, he covered his
face and expired.
DAMIENS (Robert Francois, known for his attempt to assassinate Louis
XV., and called, because of his crimes, Robert le Diable), 1715-1757.
"_Oh death, why art thou so long in coming?_"
The punishment inflicted upon Damiens for his attack upon the king was
horrible. The hand by which he attempted the murder was burned at a slow
fire; the fleshy parts of his body were then torn off by pincers; and
finally, he was dragged about for an hour by four strong horses, while
into his numerous wounds were poured molten lead, resin, oil and boiling
wax. Towards night, the poor wretch expired, having by an effort of will
almost superhuman, kept his resolution of not confessing who were his
accomplices if, indeed, he had any. His remains were immediately burned,
his house was destroyed, his father, wife and daughter were banished
from France forever, and his brothers and sisters compelled to change
their names.--_Chambers._
From his arrest to his death--nearly three months--he was in torture;
bound in chains, and frequently taken to the torture room, and there
treated as the North American savages were wont to treat their victims,
and with the aid of more skillful appliances for inflicting pain than
Indians have. By a circuitous journey he was taken to the place of
execution, guarded by a small army, all Paris ready to see the show. For
half an hour he was kept waiting in view of the preparations for his
murder, and in the presence of an immense assemblage--many of them
delicate ladies of high rank--he was bound naked upon a table placed on
a high platform. The ladies and gentry looked on with joy; those who had
succeeded, through influence in gaining good positions for seeing the
spectacle, saw his right hand (the one with which he had struck the
King) burned off; the pieces of flesh torn from him by red-hot pincers,
and melted lead and resin poured into his wounds; a powerful horse was
attached to each of his four limbs, but it was impossible to tear him to
pieces, and a request was sent to cut the muscles; but not until the
request was repeated was permission given, and he did not expire until
both legs and one arm had been torn from the body. His execution lasted
over an hour. His body was burned, his house purchased and destroyed;
and the leaders in this murder were munificently rewarded. To the two
judges who pronounced sentence were given life pensions of six thousand
francs a year; the lawyers, the clerks, the torturers and the
executioners also had their reward.... Damiens was a monomaniac of the
style of Guiteau, driven insane, or excited to this special development
of insanity by the political excitement of the time. It is probable,
also, that he was a religious monomaniac, for he was a pious fanatic--a
Jacobinist--and in his pocket were found a copy of the New Testament,
and thirty gold pieces. He had no accomplices, no plan, no motives that
could appeal to a sane mind, any more than had Guiteau.
_Dr. George M. Beard._
DANTON (George Jacques), 1759-1794. "_You will show my head to the
people--it will be worth the display!_" Said to the executioner.
When the judges asked him his name, residence, etc., he answered, "My
name is Danton; my dwelling will soon be in annihilation; but my name
will live in the Pantheon of history!"--_Lamartine._
DARWIN (Charles, one of the most eminent of English naturalists),
1809-1882. "_I am not in the least afraid to die._"
DARWIN (Erasmus, English poet and physician. Author of "The Botanic
Garden"), 1731-1802. "_There is no time to be lost._"
It is reported at Lichfield, that, perceiving himself growing rapidly
worse, he said to Mrs. Darwin, "My dear, you must bleed me instantly."
"Alas!" said she, "I dare not, lest--" "Emma, will you? There is no time
to be lost." "Yes, my dear father, if you will direct me." At this
moment he sank into his chair and expired.--_The Book of Death._
DE LAGNY (Thomas Fantet, French mathematician), 1660-1734. "_144_," in
response to a friend who asked for the square of 12.
DELGADO (Gen. E., the Honduras Revolutionist),--1886. "_We are
ready--soldiers, fire!_"
He was shot with three other revolutionists (Lieut.-Col. Indalecio
Garcia, Commander Meguel Cortez, and Lieut. Gabriel Loyant), at
Comayagua, October 18, 1886.
It was the desire of President Bogran to spare Gen. Delgado's life if
possible, and any pretext would have been readily seized upon to give
him an opportunity of saving himself and at the same time vindicate the
tribunal which had condemned him. The President sent a messenger to him
to say that if he would promise to never again take up arms against
Honduras he should receive a pardon. The soldier was too brave to accept
even his life on these terms, and he sent back word that he would see
Honduras in an even more tropical climate than she now enjoys before he
would accept his pardon on such a pledge. When his answer was received
there was nothing left but to prepare for the execution.
On the morning of their execution the men were taken to a point near the
Church of Comayagua; four coffins were placed near the wall and the
four condemned men were led to them. They accepted their positions as
easily and gracefully as if they were in boxes at the opera, and not a
face was blanched, not a nerve quivered. Gen. Delgado asked and received
permission to order the guard to fire, which he did, first requesting
them not to shoot him in the face, but in the breast. There was no
rattle, no scattering reports, but one sharp, stunning report. The four
men for half a second remained in an upright position, as if still
unhurt, and then rolled over, limp and bloody, dead. The soldiers had
complied with Gen. Delgado's request, for three balls had penetrated his
breast.
DEMORAX (Greek philosopher), second century, B. C. "_You may go home,
the show is over._"
_Lucian._
DE QUINCEY (Thomas, "The English opium-eater"), 1785-1859. "_Sister!
sister! sister!_" During his last illness he was subject to fits of
delirium, and in one of these he died. His last words indicate that he
was living over in his mind the scenes of early days.
Mr. Mackay gives this account of the condition of De Quincey's grave as
it was in 1889:
"The mural tablet is not weather-stained, and his grave is not utterly
neglected, but well cared for by some loving hand or other. When in
Edinburgh I almost always visit his grave, and only on Thursday, May 23
last, I was there, and as the birds sang about in the grounds, the trees
rustled, and the sun shone, I could hardly think of him sleeping in a
more lovely spot, save it might be along with Wordsworth and Hartley
Coleridge in the churchyard at Grasmere."
* * * * *
A bright, ready and melodious talker, but in the end inconclusive and
long-winded. One of the smallest man-figures I ever saw; shaped like a
pair of tongs, and hardly above five feet in all. When he sat, you would
have taken him, by candle-light, for the beautifulest little child,
blue-eyed, sparkling face, had there not been a something too which
said, "Eccovi--this child has been in hell."--_Carlyle._
DESMOULINS (Benedict Camille, prominent French democrat and pamphleteer,
called the "Attorney-general of the Lamp-post," because of his part in
the death of those who were hung by the mob in the street), 1762-1794.
"_Behold, then, the recompense reserved for the first apostle of
liberty._" Said while standing before the guillotine, and looking at the
axe. When at the bar of Tinville he was asked his age, name, and
residence, he said: "My age is that of the sansculotte Jesu--I am
thirty-three; an age fatal to revolutionists."
DE SOTO (Hernando, Spanish explorer, discoverer of the Mississippi
River), about 1496-1542. "_Luis de Moscoso_"--the name of his successor.
He must have spoken later, for he lived twenty-four hours after
appointing his successor, but what he said the compiler has been unable
to discover.
Believing his death near at hand, on the twentieth of May he held a last
interview with his followers and, yielding to the wishes of his
companions, who obeyed him to the end, he named a successor. On the next
day he died. Thus perished Ferdinand de Soto, the governor of Cuba, the
successful associate of Pizarro. His miserable end was the more observed
from the greatness of his former prosperity. His soldiers pronounced his
eulogy by grieving for their loss; the priests chanted over his body the
first requiems that were ever heard on the waters of the Mississippi. To
conceal his death, his body was wrapped in a mantle, and in the
stillness of midnight was sunk in the middle of the stream.--_Bancroft._
DE WITT (Cornelius, Dutch naval officer and statesman), 1625-1672.
One Tichelaer, a barber, a man noted for infamy, accused Cornelius de
Witt of endeavoring by bribes to engage him in the design of poisoning
the Prince of Orange. The accusation, though attended with the most
improbable, and even absurd circumstances, was greedily received by the
credulous multitude; and Cornelius was cited before a court of
judicature. The judges, either blinded by the same prejudices, or not
daring to oppose the popular torrent, condemned him to suffer the
question. This man, who had bravely served his country in war, and who
had been invested with the highest dignities, was delivered into the
hands of the executioner, and torn in pieces by the most inhuman
torments. Amidst the severe agonies which he endured, he still made
protestations of his innocence, and frequently repeated an ode of
Horace, which contained sentiments suited to his deplorable condition:
"_Justum et tenacem propositi virum_," _etc._[16]
The judges, however, condemned him to lose his offices, and to be
banished the commonwealth. The pensionary, who had not been terrified
from performing the part of a kind brother and faithful friend during
this prosecution, resolved not to desert him on account of the
unmerited infamy which was endeavored to be thrown upon him. He came to
his brother's prison, determined to accompany him to the place of exile.
The signal was given to the populace. They rose in arms; they broke open
the doors of the prison; they pulled out the two brothers, and a
thousand hands vied who should first be imbrued in their blood. Even
their death did not satiate the brutal rage of the multitude. They
exercised on the dead bodies of those virtuous citizens indignities too
shocking to be recited; and till tired with their own fury, they
permitted not the friends of the deceased to approach or to bestow on
them the honors of a funeral, silent and unattended.
_Hume's History of England._
[16] The man whose mind, on virtue bent,
Pursues some greatly good intent,
With undiverted aim,
Serene beholds the angry crowd;
Nor can their clamors, fierce and loud,
His stubborn honor tame.
Not the proud tyrant's fiercest threat,
Nor storms, that from their dark retreat
The lawless surges wake;
Not Jove's dread bolt, that shakes the pole,
The firmer purpose of his soul
With all its power can shake.
Should nature's frame in ruins fall,
And chaos o'er the sinking ball
Resume the primeval sway,
His courage chance and fate defies,
Nor feels the wreck of earth and skies
Obstruct its destined way.
_Translated by Blacklocke._
DICKENS (Charles), 1812-1870. "_On the ground._" He was losing his
balance and feared that he would fall to the floor.
DIDEROT (Denis, French philosopher, atheist and chief among the
Encyclopedists), 1712-1784. On the evening of the 30th of July, 1784, he
sat down to the table, and at the end of the meal took an apricot. His
wife, with kindly solicitude, remonstrated. "_Mais quel diable de mal
veux-te que cela me fosse?_" he said, and ate the apricot. Then he
rested his elbow on the table, trifling with some sweetmeats. His wife
asked him a question; on receiving no answer, she looked up and saw that
he was dead. He had died as the Greek poet says that men died in the
golden age, "They passed away as if mastered by sleep."--_John Morley._
DILLON (Wentworth, Earl of Roscommon, English poet and translator),
about 1633-1684. His last words were from his own translation of the
"Dies Irae:"
"_My God, my Father, and my Friend,
Do not forsake me in the end._"
DIOGENES (the Cynic, son of Isecius), B. C. 413-323. Just what were his
last words is uncertain, but a short time before he died, he was asked
where he would be buried when dead. "In an open field," said he. "How!"
enquired one, "are you not afraid of becoming food for birds of prey and
wild beasts?" "Then I must have my stick with me," said Diogenes. "But,"
continued the other, "you will be devoid of sensation." "If that is the
case," said he, "it is no matter whether they eat me or not, seeing I
shall be insensible to it."
His death was occasioned by indigestion from eating a neat's foot raw;
but some say he put an end to his life by holding his breath. After his
death there was a great dispute among his friends and followers as to
who should be accorded the privilege of burying him, and when they were
about to come to violence, the magistrates interfered and quieted the
disturbance.
DODD (Rev. Dr. William, author of numerous religious and other works. He
was the founder of "The Magdalen" for reclaiming young women fallen from
virtue, the "Poor Debtors' Society" and the "Humane Society." He was
executed for forgery), 1729-1777. Just before his death he said to the
executioner, "_Come to me_," and when the executioner obeyed, the doctor
whispered to him. What he said is not known, but it was observed that
the man had no sooner driven away than he took the place where the cart
had been, under the gibbet, and held the doctor's legs, as if to steady
the body, and the unhappy man appeared to die without pain.
DOMINIC ("Saint," founder of the order of Dominicans and of the order of
Preaching Friars. He was one of the instigators of the cruel and inhuman
crusade against the Albigenses about 1212. Many strange stories are told
of him, and among these that he offered himself for sale to the highest
bidder, in order to raise money for charitable purposes), 1170-1221.
"_Under the feet of my friars_," when asked where he would like to be
buried.
DONNE (John, D. D., English poet and theologian), 1573-1631. "_I were
miserable, if I might not die._" Some say his last words were: "I repent
of my life except that part of it which I spent in communion with God,
and in doing good." Others say his last words were, "Thy will be done."
Dr. Donne was formerly Dean of St. Paul's. Among other preparations for
his death, he ordered an urn to be cut in wood, on which was to be
placed a board of the exact height of his body. He then caused himself
to be tied up in a winding-sheet. Thus shrouded, and standing with his
eyes shut, and with just so much of the sheet put aside as might
discover his death-like face, he caused his portrait to be taken, which,
when finished, was placed near his bedside, and there remained to the
hour of his death. He was buried in St. Paul's Cathedral, where a
monument was erected over him, composed of white marble, and carved from
the above-mentioned picture, by order of his dearest friend and
executor, Dr. King, Bishop of Chichester.[17]
[17] Charles V., of Spain, seems to have entertained the same morbid
desire for a personal acquaintance with his own _postmortem_
appearance and condition. In Robertson's History of the Reign of the
Emperor Charles V. we have this account of the monarch's attendance
upon his own funeral: "He resolved to celebrate his own obsequies
before his death. He ordered his tomb to be erected in the chapel of
the monastery. His domestics marched thither in funeral procession,
with black tapers in their hands. He himself followed in his shroud.
He was laid in his coffin with much solemnity. The service for the
dead was chanted, and Charles joined in the prayers which were
offered up for the rest of his soul, mingling his tears with those
which his attendants shed, as if they had been celebrating a real
funeral. The ceremony closed with sprinkling holy water on the
coffin in the usual form, and all the assistants retiring, the doors
of the chapel were shut. Then Charles rose out of the coffin, and
withdrew to his apartment, full of those awful sentiments which
such a singular solemnity was calculated to inspire." This story is
somewhat changed in Stirling's "Cloister Life of the Emperor Charles
V."
If I must die, I'll snatch at every thing
That may but mind me of my latest breath;
Death's-heads, Graves, Knells, Blacks, Tombs, all these shall bring
Into my soul such useful thoughts of death,
That this sable king of fears
Shall not catch me unawares.--_Quarles._
DORNEY (Henry, a man of peculiarly beautiful life and religious
experience. His "Contemplations and Letters," published after his death,
had a large circulation), 1613-1683. "_I am almost dead; lift me up a
little higher_," to his wife.
DREW (Samuel, English preacher and author. He commenced life as an
infidel shoemaker, but after conversion gave himself to constant study
of the Bible and Christian Theology. He wrote the once famous book, "The
Immateriality and Immortality of the Soul"), 1765-1833. "_Thank God,
to-morrow I shall join the glorious company above._" Last _recorded_
words.