Oh! to die in a few hours, and to think that a year ago, on the same
day, I was innocent and at liberty, enjoying autumnal walks, wandering
beneath the trees! To think that in this same moment there are, in the
houses around me, men coming and going, laughing and talking, reading
newspapers, thinking of business; shopkeepers selling their wares, young
girls preparing their ball-dresses for the evening; mothers playing with
their children!