Weekly national intelligencer., 1854-02-04

Tor their good taste fhe only merit Tor example, OF
dish composed of the brains Of i've hundred peacocs
the tongues of five hundred nghtngales must have been
its extravaganza But it strikes the whole that the
luxury of ancient Rome is after ALL not so very impress
sive to modens who live in these latter days Of the
progress" The humblest citizen among us all is daily
habuated to luxures, under the of necsssares
of life to which Cicero and Augustus were strangers
At his morning meal our modern mbibes the decoction
of berry brought from remotest Java the bamy beve
being sweetened by the clarified product Of the
cultivated in tropical clmes. At his dinner he
his wefurnished board the sirloin of beef that
fattened the grassy praries Of Texas while his
dpenses the olive oil that for him has been gathered in
sunny Italy, with pepper that grew in Cayenne Su
for dessert he parakes of raisns that have
from Malaga figs that preserved in Greece dates
that grew in Syria oranges that rpened beneath the
of Sicily His evening repas is rounded off" by
ibasn from the fragrant leaves fthe ten plant which
natives of the Celestial Empire in " far Cathay have
pucked and dried that he sip Souchong
or Hyson from the smmering urn. These or many of
them ut least uxuries to which the voluptuous Ro
man could not attain bat which the American counts
among his prime necessities and the enjoyment of which
procured cost less than that which Cleopatra paid
for single peacocks tongue in the confection Of patti
which, fancy, despite its expensiveness, not very
good to take.
mas passages = from grave 10 gay from lively
to severe" and have books. In the sSaad for the
Solitary is chapter the "Dying Words Of Dstin-
guished Men," directly succeeding o disqusition on
g Pastmes and Sports" We have known men who were
great amateurs in the collection Of autographs
selves we confess to pencan similar it may be lin kind
bat somewhat different in its object We love, with Ad-
olson, to mediate the ultima sprid Of the dying, and
think with him that collection Of them always furnishes
abundant food for contemplatve mind We venture to
append few Of these "last words which to have
escaped the memory diligence of an "Epcure." (our
authors de plume does not sound well in this connex-
ion, but it is fault of ours 1t is quite possible how
ever that shall repeat which already found
in the work before u.s. but for this "Epi
oure will readily pardon us, seeing that he has himself
than in the chapter repeated his examples
| OF these mortuary quotations.
Augustus Cesar when about to breathe his last asked
the courers who stood around his couch he had played
well his part auling to the custom of the Roman play
actors who at the end of each piece wont to solicit
the applause of their audtors and, being answered in
the affirmative, replied, Plaudas Applaud me, then!
The Emperor Vepasian when dying bade his attendants
raise him his feet, saying that it became empe
to die standing" Sir Walter Raeighs last words
addressed to the hestatng and trembling headsman
he stood his PROSTATE but still majestic victim
"Why dost not strike? Fear not, man, strike" !" Lord
Nelson died like true sailor with " Kiss me, Hardy
and don't let them forget poor Lady Emma his lips
as he expired Murat the King Naples when about
to be shot, refused to have his eyes bandage and claim
ed to give himself the word of command to the platoon
which appointed to execute his sentence. Fixing
his eyes the soldiers he calmly said Straight to the
heart-fre" Marshal Ney the bravest Of the brave,
in like manner met his death, saying to the troops who
detailed to perform the sad Office of his execution,
I" Fire mo, my comrades" The Due dEnghien, when
about to be shot that fatal morning in the sse at
Vncennes, boldly commanded the grenaders to "lower
the muzsles of their pieces they would only wound
him" Frederick the Great of Russia died while sitting
in his chair painting for breath under attack Of
dropsy the chest and exclaming to his nurse, sol
tary soldier, Raise up higher, higher still !" and
expired, the water quenched the fame of life.
Gustavus Adolphus, when he fell the bloody field Of
Lutuen famary and pleasantly said to Of his suite,
"My brother am gone.' Socrates, we are informed,
just before drinking the fatal hemock spent the hours
in conversation philosophical subjects, and especially
the Immortality of the sou but what pity it is that
the last words of the dying sage should have been about
" cock he owed to Escuapius" Socrates was "poor
heahen," it seems after all; and yet not his death
becoming than that of Hume who spent his last
ments at whist and INDUCED in facetous jokes about
Charon and the Syx 1t has always seemed to that
the closing Of Hume's life, as described by his
friend Adam Smith, was to say the least exceedingly
unagnfed But there not wanting those who assert
that his end was horrible Of remorse and de-
spair" That was noble and grand saying of the Mar
quis of Argyle when advancing to the scaold could
die Roman, but / choose rather to die Chris
tan The dying Hooker, gathering up his feet in the
bed, reoiced that he about to exchange "a world
where all confusion for one where all ORDER
The last words of Louis XIV, addressed to Madame du
Barri "Chere annie, shall soon meet in another
world The response Of the exemplary Madame was
equally remarkable: g Yoyez rendezvous qu donneP
John Adams, when dying, was told that his neighbors
were celebrating the 4th of July: alt is great and
glorious day." exclaimed the dying statesman, he
breahed his last the very day whose perpetual ami
versay he had predicted and whose glory he great
y contributed The last words of John Quincy Adams
still fresh in the memory of a cit is the last of
earth" The dying words of Gen. Harrison fol-
lows, though he fancied himself addressing his
wish you to understand the true principles OF
the Governments wish them carried out" The death
Of the Roman noralist Seneca remarkable. Con-
demned to die by Nero he welcomed death o release
from the caprces of the tyrant and he lay bleeding
in his bath scooped up handful of the red water and
dedicated it to Jupiter the Deliyerer.
We might multiply indefinitely these mortuary memo
randa but author has already forestaed by cul
ling the best of them and do better than to
refer the amateur Of such supiria de prunds to the
volume before
Tur or A that tba o;pe