River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1879-02-27
The Tragical Deaths of Authors.


Robert Greene, worn out with debauch-
cry and completely shattered with dis
eases which were the consequences of his
i'll. guided indulgences, was carried off, it
is said, by a surfeit Of red behring's. There
is no sadder book iu literature than his
dying homily. "a Greats Worth of Wit
Bought with Million of Repentance"
That 0tway died miserable is clear,
thong a it is not easy to learn the precise
manner Of his death. Johnson gives three
accounts, either that he was literally
starved to death, or that rushing out in
the rage of hunger into the streets he went
into a coffee house, where, gentleman
giving him a guinea, he bought roll,
and choked himself with the first mouth
full, or thirdly, that he died of fever
caught by violent pursuit of thief who
had robbed one his friends For this last
story there is, we believe, no foundation;
it is lamentably probable that the i'm
mortal author of "Venice Preserved and
"The Orphan" persisted of actual want.
His remains are Wondering away in St
Clement Danes church-yard, with no
stone to mark the spot. In the same
place, toe, sleeps his friend Lee, who also
"died like dog" Poor Leel His Rival
Queens is certainly one of the gems OF
the later drama, and his other plays, with
all their bombast, are full of beauties. he
had been, it is said, carousing with a
party of friends, none of whom had the
grace TO see him home. In the mornng
ne was found dead in the streets, which
were covered with snow. A dray had
passed over his body, whether before or
after death was uncertain. A great mys
| terry bangs over the fate of Peter MotteauN
who WAS also connected with the stage.
though he is better known 10 us as s.
coadjutor of Urquhart in the mastery
version of Rabelais' great work, which
almost dispGtes,the palm with the original
He was found strangled in house ii
| Wych street. into which he Lad gone one
afternoon.
Four women and a soldier were put oB
/ trial for numbering him, but after an Ia
| quiry which lasted between five and SIN
hours, the jury acquitted them. There
was no adequate motive, it seems, for the
murder, and though marks on the neck
proved that death must have been caused
by strangulation, it was possible that he
had accidentally made away with aim
self; that it was no case of voluntary sui
eide wss perfectly clear, except on a sup
position that paroxysm of suicidal
mania had suddenly seized him. To the
present day the problem of his death re
mains unsolved. A similar fate, though
without the mystery, befell Thomas May
the historian of the Long parliament, the
translator and contin0er of Lucan' !
"Pharsalia," and one of The most versa.
tile authors of the seventeenth century
He was found dead in his bed with al
the signs of having been strangied. A
examination of the body, however, proves
to the satisfaction OF every one that be
had neither fallen victim to murder G.
suicide. He had been suffocated by tbs
strings of his night-cop being tied tog
closely, for he was very fat, and had gon,
bed intoxicated. Becoming comatose,
it is supposed that he had neither tbs
power to loosen the strings or to cry fcl
assistance, and so persisted. Andres
Marvel has indeed tried to make out IN
an amusing poem that his poor friend
had died not from the indirect but tbs
direct 'force of good wine," and conse-
quently is to be numbered strictly among
the martyrs of Bacchus. Marvel himself
by the way, died very mysteriously, AMI
not without strong suspicion of having
been poisoned, though it would be diff
cult to ssign any motive for the deed
he had little to leave anyone, poor soul
but his integrity. We question whethei
any assassin ''drugged the dut
bowl or pointed the murderous knife
for that.