Tama County Republican. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1867-1872, 1869-12-30
East Words OF Great Tscs,


tcrield had labored all his life to
build IN the most shining reputation
tor aifab;lity and elegance OF speech
and maners the world had ever seen.
And could you suppose he failed to
appreciate the efficiency of character
istc "lass words" in the matter of seiz-
ing the successfully driven nail OF
such reputation and c!inching 1t for
ever? Not lie. He had prepared
himself He kept his eye on the clock,
his finger on his pulse. He awaited
his chance And at last, when he
knew his time had come, he pretended
to think new visitor had entered,
and so, with the rattle in his throat,
emphasized tor dramatic effect, he
said to the servant, SPIN around John
and get the gentleman & chair" And
then he died, amid thunders of APP
plause.
Next we have Benjamin Franklin;
Franklin, the author OF poor Richard S
quaint sayings; Franklin, immortal Ak
iom builder, who used to set up nights
reducing the ranlcst old threadbare
platitudes to crisp and snappy maNiins
look in their new regimentals; who
said ''virtue is its own reward" who
said "Procrastnatioa is the thief Of
time;" who said Time and tide wait
for no man. and Necessity is the
mother OF invention" good old Frank
/ lin m 4 ,,,,if y
century-though sooth to say, the lat
ter transcenas him in proyerbal origi-
nality as much as he tails short OF him
in correctness OF orthography. What
sort OF tactics did Franklin p;.fsut.
He pondered over his last words for
as much as two weeks, ami then when
the time came, he said: 'sNone but
the brave deserve the fair, and died
happy. He could not have said a
swectcr thing if he had lived till he
was an idiot. Byron made a poor
business OF it, and could not think o.
anything TO say at the last moment
but "Augusta-sistcr--Lady Byron
tell Harriet Beecher Stowe, etc;" but
Shakespeare was ready, and said: Eng.
land expects every man to do his du.
ty.' aud went off with splendid ec3at.
And there are other instances OF sa-
gacious preparation for tclicitous
closing remark. For instance:
Joan of Arc said: Tramp, tramp,
tramp, the boys are marching"
Alexander the Great said: Another
OF those Santa Graz punches, If YOU
please"
The Empress Josephine said: Not
ior Jo-' and could get no further
Cleopatra said The Old Guard
dies but never surrenaers.n
Sir Walter Raleigh says: Execution
er, can l take your milestone mo-
ment, please. >
John Smith said: "Alas, l am the
last of my racem
Queen Elizabeth said: ooh, l would
give my kingdom for one moment
more. | have forgotten my last
words"
And Red Jacket, the noblest Indian
brave that ever welded to.lahawk in
defence OF friendless and prosecuted
race, expired with these touching
words upon his lips: "Wawkawanwan-
yanoosac, winnebago wallawallasag
amorcsaskatchewan." There was not
a dry eye in the wigwam.
Let not this moment be lost upon
our public men. Let them take a
healthy moment for preparation, and
contrive some last words that will be
neat and to the point. Let Louis Ma
poleon say:
81 am content to follow my uncle;
still | do not desire to improve on his
last words. Put me down for 7ats
darmee."
And Garrett Davis: LET me rec.te
the unabridged dictionary
And IL. g.: Il desire, now, to say q
few words on political economy"
And Mr.. Bergh: Only take part ot
me at a time, Il the load Will be tatigu-
ing to the hearse horses
And Andrew Johnson: Il have been
an Alderman, member OF Congress,
Governor, Senator, Pres, alieu,
you know the rest"
And Seward: "Alas-ka'
And Grant: 90
All Of which is respectfully submit
ted with the most honorable inten-
tlons..-[ Mark Twain.