Elizabeth daily monitor. [volume] (Elizabeth, N.J.) 1868-1880, 1869-04-12
SIisabsts pailp @onitof,
PUBLISHED AT 1856 BROAD STREET, BY
J MADISON DRAKE.
vOLTAIRE's DEATHBED.
DISCOVERY BY THE AMERICAN CONSUL
AT NgoSc0w

tOry-tue UedLu " NCltalF6. III tuc
journal DIES Debats. M. Taine, author
of Historic de la Litterature Anglaise, =
has given to the world new and con-
temporary account of the death of the
great Frenchman. This account was
forwarded to M. Tame by Mr.. Schuyler,
the American Consul at Moscow, who
discovered it among the Russian arch
ives. 1t was originally sent by Prince
Ivan Bariantinsky, the Russian AM
bassador at Paris at the time of Vol
taires death. to the Empress Catharine
III. The ambassador says Knowing
that your imperial majesty takes a
deep interest in all that concerns this
great man, I have had prepared for
your Majesty the following account of
the death of Voltaire, by one of my
friends who was well acquainted with
all the details" The narrative is not
signed from internal evidence NJ.
Taine judges it to have been written
bNa octor cat all events, he says,
cit is perfectly authentic and Of great
interest. The whole account fills more
than three columns of Debats, but the
Pail Mall Gazette translates the mater
ial passages :
In the first part of the despatch the
writer states what was already known,
that Voltaire fastened his death by an
overdose of opium, which he took to
alleviate the violent pains brought on
by his abuserof coffee. The most i'm
portant part of the new accounts that
relating to the last moments of Voltaire,
and the difficulties with with his
burial was attended. Voltaire, at the
desire of his relatives, who were anxious
that he should have Christian burial,
confessed himself and made sort of
recantation, said by the Russian des-
patch to have been in the following
terms II, the undersigned, certify
and protest that die in the Catholic,
Roman and Apdstolical Church. If it
has happened that I have caused scan
dial, by my works, to the church and to
religion, ask Gods pardon for it, hop
ing that in his goodness he will vonch-
safe to pardon my faults. " Nothing
could we'll be more vague : there is no
word of belief, nor even a denial of his
errors, and it is no wonder the priests
we're but half satisfied. On Saturday,
the Both of May, 1778, all hope of his
recovery being abandoned, Voltaire's
nephew, the Able Mignot, sent for the
cure of Saint Sulpice the parish IN
which Voltaire lay dying and for the
Able Gautier, to whom the aforesaid
confession had been made two months
before. The new account says
"These two priests came to M. de
Voltaire's house ; he was in state of
languor, exhaustion and stupor, quite
frightful. He was, too, extremity weak
from pain and from the want of nonrsh-
ment. his stomach being no longer able
to retain any food. When the two
priests entered M. de Voltaire's cham
Der, they found there NJ. - and M.
-. both of them friends of nj. de
Voltaire. These gentlemen asked the
cure if their presence would be object
ionable (de trop) at so sad time. The
cure replied no. Then the arrival OF
the cure was nnnunced to M. de Vol
taire. The first time he appeared not
to have heard. On being told asecond
time, he replied, =" Tell him respect
him." and he passed his arm round the
cure, to mark his attachment. Then
the cure came nearer to the bed, and,
after having spoken of God, of death,
md of the sick mans approaching end
he asked in pretty loud voice dune
voix assez haute), Monsieur, do yon
recognise the divinity of Jesus Christ?
Thereupon NJ. de Voltaire seemed to-
collect all his strength, made an effort
to sit up, quilted brusquely the cure,
whom he had held almost i'll his en-
brace, and using the same arm which
he had thrown round the cures neck,
he made a gesture of anger, and, APP
pearing to repulse the fanatical(?) priest
he said, in strong marked voice, Let
me die in peace, and at once turned his
back on the cure. The latter, turning
to those present, said with readiness
which no one would have expected from
one whose head was so strangely trou-
bled by superstition(g, Gentlemen,
Won see he is not i'll his right mind
(qu'il ma pas sa tete)' He asked for
pen and paper, and wrote permission
to carry the body of M. de Voltuire
wherever it might be desired, and in
the same writing declared that he
abandoned it.
(Mr Tame explains in note that by
the use of this term he meant to deprive
it of all rights of christian burial. The
Able Gautier, the confessor Of M. de