Alexandria gazette & advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1822-1824, 1824-03-09
From the Bali. Morning Chronicle.

From the Bdtt. Morning CnrOntcse.
THE RULING PASSION sTRONG In
DEATH.
sT;s the last blaze Of life-N Nature revives,
Like dim wiuking lamp. that flashes brightly
With parting light, and straight IS dark TOT
ever. Tamerianc.
The reader win bear in remem-
brance, that, some months ago, !
Published ia the Chronicle, an essay
attempting to illustrate, by a series
pf anecdotes. the fact, that the perso-
nal character usually predomi mates
in death, and its habituai associa-
tions prevail in the last moments
/ will nov conclude the subject, by
drawing together in a short compass,
the mempriais have since collected,
relative to the feelings and conduct
displayed in the closing scene OF ex-
isteace.
Lord St. Vincent (the illustrious
naval hers) died with a picture OF a
sea fight suspended near his bed, on
which he looked with fixed attention,
till every earthly object glided from
before his eyes, Tho last words of
Lord Nelson were, "teli Colling>
wood 10 bring the fleet to an anchor"
But the passion which his lordship
most strongly displayed. in the last
awful hour of his trial, was his inta-
suation for lady Hamilton, the bane-
full Influence Of which hung over him
like q magical spell. On the morn
ing of Trafalgar, (Says Southey,) he
wrote a most singular memoir in his
journal, in which he solemnly be-
qxeathed " his beloved Emma as a
legacy to his king and country -
Gen. Lee died in . miserable tavern
in Philadelphia, surrounded with all
the paraphernalia Of Indebtedness
but the sentiments which had ani>
mated him in his brightest days,
broke forth in his last mortal agony.
He died exciaiming, "advance my
brave grenadiers !" The volup,uous
st. Isetaax, on his death bed, desir-
ed his mistress to play an air OF
which he was extremely fond, $50
that" said he, i" my soul may steal
away more voluptuously." Dumar-
sails, the French grammarian, as his
death drew near, was listening with
the utmost iinpatiencs to a monoto-
nous harangue Of his confessor, whom
he at length interrupted with, "my
dear fellow, if You describe the joys
Of Paradise in such bad French, you
will absolutely disgust me with it,"
He died in the greatest grammatical
dilemma, as to whether he would
say, "je men pais," or "je men
cas mourir."
Miss Aiken, in her delightful Me-
moirs Of James /. thus describes tho
death Of Mrs. Turner, tho poisoner
of Sir Thos. Overbury: Many wo-
men of fashion, as well as men, went
in their coaches to Tyburn, to wit
ness the execution Of this criminal.
The graces of youth had all faded
before the whitening sense OF afro.
oious guilt; but she could not deny
her vanity the slight qualification of
making this, her last appearance, in
a ruff, stiffened with yellow starch,
a favorite fashion imported by herself
from France; but 10 which this ex-
hibition of it proved Immediately fa-
tai. George Buchanan. the precep-
tor of king James, vas distinguish:
ed by a contempt for the artificial
distinctions Of rank and fortune, ex-
aggerated into a specious of rePub.
Ecan cynicism. When on his death
bed. (says Miss Aiken he was en-
treated by his friends to soften some
passages Of his history, for fear of
incensing the king. sis not what ]
said true i"-they assented-" Then
(said he) I will stand his feud and
of all his kin. l am going shortly,
whore very few kings are admitted. I"
DR.. Carve. physician to Freder>
lick the Great, observed how extraor-
binary was, during bis last illness,
the association ofvigor and imbecili-
~, which had distinguished the life
of that illustrious monarch. His
concern for his guests during his last
days, (says Carve speaks as high
ly in favor of his heart, as the part
he took in conversation in favor of
his understanding. And even tho
circumstance of his bringing on the