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 L25 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.--_Barthelemy 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. Peppe
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. Peppe 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. Buehrer 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. Peppe
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. Peppe
for his public-spirited action in the matter.--_London Times, Dec.
17, 1886._
GELLERT (Christian Fuerchtegott, 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 a
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 GOeTHE (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:
"I can desire nothing better for this great country than that a
barrier high as heaven be raised between the unpolluted lips of the
children and the intoxicating cup; that everywhere men and women
should raise strong and determined hands against whatever will
defile the body, pollute the mind, or harden the heart against God
and His truth."
GRANT (Ulysses Simpson, eighteenth President of the United States, and
one of the most distinguished of American generals), 1822-1885.
"_Water_," said to an attendant who inquired if he wished for anything.
GRATTAN (Henry, Irish statesman and orator), 1750-1820. "_I am perfectly
resigned. I am surrounded by my family. I have served my country. I have
reliance upon God, and am not afraid of the Devil._"
GRAY (Thomas, author of "Elegy written in a country churchyard"),
1716-1771. "_Molly, I shall die!_"
GREELEY (Horace, famous editor of "The Log Cabin," and later founder,
and, for thirty years editor of "The New York Daily Tribune"),
1811-1872. "_It is done!_" During the closing days of his life his mind
was deranged.
GREEN (Joseph Henry, distinguished English surgeon, thinker,
philosopher, and instructor), 1791-1863. "_Stopped!_"
Among all the brilliant young men who gathered at the feet of Samuel
Taylor Coleridge, eager to learn from this "rapt one of the god-like
brow," none surpassed him in admiration, and possibly in ability. It was
not strange that Coleridge selected him to complete the development of
that "Spiritual Philosophy" which was the great unaccomplished work of
his life. Upon Coleridge's death, Mr. Green abandoned all his London
work, threw aside the distinctions and emoluments of professional life,
rewards that would surely increase from year to year, and devoted his
whole time to philosophy and incidental studies to qualify himself for
carrying out the commission of Coleridge. The story of his death has
been told by one of his colleagues at St. Thomas's Hospital, one whose
fame is familiar to the profession, Mr. Simon. "Not even the last agony
of death," said Mr. Simon, "ruffled his serenity of mind, or rendered
him unthoughtful of others. No terrors, no selfish regrets, no
reproachful memories were there. The few tender parting words which he
had yet to speak he spoke. And to the servants who were gathered
grieving round him, he said, 'While I have breath, let me thank you for
all your kindness and attention to me.' Next, to his doctor who quickly
entered,--his neighbor and old pupil, Mr. Carter,--he significantly, and
pointing to the region of his heart, said, 'Congestion,' after which he
in silence set his finger to his wrist, and visibly noted to himself the
successive feeble pulses which were just between him and death.
Presently he said 'Stopped,' and this was the very end. It was as if
even to die were an act of his own self-government; for at once, with
the warning word still scarce beyond his lips, suddenly the stately head
drooped aside, passive and defunct, forever."
_Dr. Theophilus Parvin._
GREGORY VII. ("the Great," Pope Hildebrand), about 1020-1085. "_I have
loved justice and hated iniquity; therefore, I die an exile._" He died
at Salerno, May 25, 1085.
His dying words are deeply affecting, but yet a stern and unbending
profession of the faith of his whole life, and of the profound
convictions under which even his enemies acknowledge him to have acted.
_Chambers' Encyclopaedia._
GREY (Lady Jane), 1537-1554. "_Lord, into Thy hands I commend my
spirit._"
Then the hangman kneeled down and asked her forgiveness, whom she
forgave most willingly. Then he willed her to stand upon the straw;
which doing, she saw the block. Then she said, "I pray you despatch me
quickly." Then she kneeled down, saying, "Will you take it off before I
lay me down?" And the hangman said, "No, Madam." Then she tied the
handkerchief about her eyes, and, feeling for the block, she said, "What
shall I do? Where is it? Where is it?" One of the standers-by guided her
thereunto; she laid her head down upon the block and then stretched
forth her body, and said "Lord, into Thy hands I commend my spirit,"
and so finished her life in the year of our Lord 1554.
_Fox's "Book of Martyrs."_
Lady Jane was only in her seventeenth year, and was remarkable for her
skill in the classical, oriental, and modern languages, and for the
sweetness of her disposition.
GROTIUS or DE GROOT (Hugo, jurist, divine, historian, and scholar),
1583-1645. "_I heard your voice; but did not understand what you said_,"
to Quistorpius, a clergyman who repeated in German a prayer suitable for
a dying person. Some say his last words were, "Be serious."
GUITEAU (Charles Julius, hanged June 30, 1882, in the United States
jail, Washington, D. C, for the assassination of President Garfield),
1841-1882. "_Glory hallelujah! I am going to the Lordy! I come! Ready!
Go!_"
Guiteau published, while in jail, his autobiography, through the medium
of a metropolitan newspaper. It is full of repetitions and minute
details, and its reading is a severe tax upon patience. It establishes
the fact that, in spite of his assertions to the contrary, his motive
was not political, but was the gratification of an inordinate vanity. In
one place Guiteau says: "During the week preceding the President's
removal, I read the papers carefully. I thought it all over in detail. I
thought just what people would talk, and thought what a tremendous
excitement it would create, and I kept thinking about it all the week. I
then prepared myself. I sent to Boston for a copy of my book, 'The
Truth,' and I spent a week in preparing that, and I greatly improved it.
I knew that it would probably have a large sale on account of the
notoriety that the act of removing the President would give me, and I
wished the book to go out to the public in proper shape." It is now
generally believed that Guiteau was insane.
GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS (Gustavus II., King of Sweden, one of the greatest of
soldiers and one of the best of men), 1594-1632. "_I have enough,
brother; try to save your own life_," to the Duke of Lauenburg.
Some authorities say that when he was fallen to the ground, he was
asked, who he was, and replied: "I am the King of Sweden, and seal with
my blood the Protestant religion and the liberties of Germany. Alas! my
poor Queen! My God! My God!"
A subaltern of the imperial army, observing the respect with which the
unknown officer was treated by his few followers, naturally concluded
that he was a person of importance, and called out to a musketeer:
"Shoot that man, for I am sure he is an officer of high rank." The
soldier immediately fired, and the King's left arm fell powerless by his
side. At this moment a wild cry was raised, "The King bleeds! the King
is wounded!" "It is nothing!" shouted Gustavus; "follow me." But the
pain soon brought on faintness, and he desired the Duke of Lauenburg in
French to lead him out of the throng. Whilst the duke was endeavoring to
withdraw him without being noticed by the troops, a second shot struck
Gustavus and deprived him of his little remaining strength. "I have
enough, brother," he said in a feeble voice to the duke; "try to save
your own life." At the same moment he fell from his horse, and in a
short time breathed his last.--_Markham's Germany._
HALE (Nathan, captain in Continental Army, executed by the British as a
spy), 1755-1776. "_I only regret that I have but one life to give to my
country!_"
He was confined in the green-house of the garden during the night of
September 21, and the next morning, without even the form of a regular
trial, was delivered to Cunningham, the brutal provost marshal, to be
executed as a spy. He was treated with great inhumanity by that monster.
The services of a clergyman and the use of a Bible were denied him, and
even the letters which he had been permitted by Howe to write to his
mother and sisters during the night were destroyed. He was hanged upon
an apple-tree in Rutger's orchard, near the present intersection of East
Broadway and Market street. _Lossing's Field-Book of the Revolution._
HALLER (Dr. Albert, eminent Swiss anatomist and physiologist. He is
chiefly known by his "Disputationes Anatomicae Selectae." George II.
obtained for him a brevet as a noble of England, and he is sometimes
spoken of as Baron Haller), 1708-1777. Feeling his own pulse, he
exclaimed, "_The artery ceases to beat_," and instantly expired.
HALYBURTON (Thomas, professor of divinity in the new college at St.
Andrews), 1674-1712. "_Pray! pray!_"
He cried out several times, "Free grace, free grace; not unto me." He
spoke little the last six hours before his death, only some broken
sentences, which with difficulty were understood. Now and then he would
lift up his hands and clap them as a sign that he was encouraging
himself in the Lord. At last he cried, "Pray! pray!" which was done by
five or six ministers, and so he fell asleep in our Lord.
HAMLIN (Cyrus, distinguished American missionary and first President of
Robert College, Constantinople), 1811-1900. "_Put me there_," pointing
to a chair which belonged to his mother and in which he used to sit as a
boy, eighty years ago, in his old home at Waterford. He passed away
peacefully, and his body was buried, a few days later, in the cemetery
at Lexington, Massachusetts.
HAMMOND (Henry, English divine and author), 1605-1660. "_Lord, make
haste!_"