St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-06-07
MACDONALD IS DEAD,
Canada'S Brave Old Premier
and Statesman Sleeps
at Last.
The Dominion Mourns Sin
cepely for Her Heroic
Servant.
Scenes During the Closing
Hours Of the Long
Struggle.
Some Of the MileStones in
His Career as Diplomat
and Premier.

aid is dead. A nation is tonight
mourning its greatest statesm an and a
great party is i'll grief for the loss of
beloved leader. Toward that sick
chamber at Earnscliffe public notice
has been directed for the last ten days.
and the sympathy of the ma
tion has gone out in greater
degree as the picture presented grew
darker and more pathetic. From all
parts of the dominion, and from the
sovereign came messages Of coincidence.
To all of the inquiries but one answer
could be giveu-the end might be de-
layed, but was inevitable. The begin
ming of the end came early yesterday
morning. The premier had slept the
greater part of the night and
through the day he slept at
intervals. The afternoon bulletin from
the physicians at the bedside an
nounced that the premier's strength
was rapidly diminishing and then all
hopes fled. AS the afternoon slowly
waned profound stiffness reigned at
Earnscliffe. The scene after nightfall
was impressive in its solemnity. Up to
midnight anxious groups gathered upon
the lawn ana spoke in whispers of the
dying patients condition. At o'clock
Sir Johns Heart Failed
in its work and he sank so low that
for some time he seemed to have ceased
tolive. He rallied feebly and fought
his way back to the weakest hold on
life. man could have. His stupendous
vitality was making a grand struggle.
Many members of parliament came to
Earnscltfe during the early even
ing to learn personally the pa
tient's condition. The governor general
with an aide-de-camD walked over to
make his last nightly visit. At mid
night the callers had all departed, and
the correspondents were left to watch
the night out alone. The hours wore
siowly'on. The light of new day
brought with it nothing to relieve the
anxious suspene. There was no change
in the patients condition. He was un-
conscious; his limbs were numb and
there was nothing to mark that
life was not extinct but the
feeble gatherings of the pulse
and the almost imperceptIble breathing.
The family had been gathered about
the bedside all night. Lady Macdonald,
almost worn out by her long vigil, was
there, and the premier's son, Hugh j.
Macdonald, had hept his place at his
fathers side.
There was no bulletin from the physl-
clans this morning. Nothing could be
said beyond what had already been
given out. 1t was a matter of time,
perhaps moments, perhaps hours. The
marvellous vitality which was
Staying the Hand of Death
was slowly but surely ebbing. The
scenes of the morning and the after
noon were but counterparts of yester-
day. At ? o'clock the physicians con-
curred in the opinion that the premier
could not live until 8 O'Clock, and again
did they err. The dying man had
been perfectly unconscious for
nearly thirty-eight hours and the
spark of life still fingered on.
The members of the cabinet held a
long meeting this afternoon, and Min
listers Downey, Powell, Upper and
Costigan afterward called at Earns
cliffe for the last report. The action of
the patients heart at times during
the evening was so feeble that Sir
John was believed to be dead Once the
family gathered at the bedside under the
impression that the end had come, but
it proved to be another of the dreadful
sinking spells which in succession had
left the aged statesman with less and
less vitality. Not since5 o'clock yester-
day afternoon had any substantial
liquid nOurishment passed his lips.
Such an unequal struggle could not
much longer be sustained. Eventde
found the members of the family gath
cred about the bedside of
The Dying States man
waiting patiently for dissolution. Out
side in the dusk were gathered the cor
respondents and small groups of anxious
friends. The patient lay unconscious.
Nature no longer asserted itself; life's
fires were burning low, fickered and
smouldered as though the soul
would leave its tenement at
each successive break. No one
would recognize in the dying
man one vestige of resemblance to the
great political leader who had guided
the destinies of Canada for nearly half
a century. At 10 o'clock it was evident
that the end was near at hand. The
household was summoned to the death
chamber. Lady Macdonald stood BY
the side of her noble husband, and
around her gathered the members of
the family. Her face showed traces of
weary watching and the long suspense.
She bore up bravely. Death came
peacefully to the aged premier at 1O:15.
He was unconscious to the last. The
pulse fluttered. the breath came shorter
and the pulse was still. When the an
nouncement of Sir Johns death was
made the bells Of the city were tolled to
convey the Intelligence to the thousands
who were anxiously awaiting this sig
nal that their beloved premier was no
more. Lady Macdonald is now pros
strated with grief.
Lady Macdonald fori three hours pre-
viouS to the sad event never left the
room for an instant. The other watch
ers included Mary, her invalid daugh-
ter; Hugh John Macdonald, the pre-
mier's son; Job Pope, Sir Johns faith
full private secretary, and near friends
of the family. An undertaken was
promptly notified to, prepare the
body tor embalMent. The funeral is
likely to take place Tuesday next, and
viii be Of q state character. On that