Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-06-08

SIX JphN A. MACDONALD.
pathetic. From all parts of the Dominion
and from the sovereign herself came ten
der messages of coincidence and anxious
inquiries as to the aged statesmans condi-
ton. To all of the inquiries but one an
swer could be given-the end might be de-
layed but was inevitable The beginning
Of the end came early Friday morning.
The Last Feeble Rally.
The premier had slept the greater part
of the night and throughout the day he
slept at intervals. The Friday afterno Don
bulletin from the physicians at the bedside
announced that the premier's strength
was rapidly diminishing and then all hope
fed. As the afternoon slowly waned pro-
found stiffness reigned at Earnscliffe.
The scene there after ni-htfaI was i'm
pressive in its solemnity. Upto midnight
anxious groups gathered upon the lawn
and spoke in whispers of the dying
patients condition. At 9 O'Clock Sir Johns
heart failed in its work and he sank so
owthat for some time he seemed TO have
ceased TO live. 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.
Watching the Vital spark Die Out.
At midnight the callers had all departed
and the correspondents were left TO watch
the night out alone The hours wore
slowly on. The light of a new day
brought with it nothing 10 relieve the
anxious suspense. The was no change in
the patients condition. He was uncon-
scious His limbs were numb. and there
was nothing TO mark that life was not ex-
tinct but the feeble fiutterings of the pulse
and the almost imperceptible breathing
The family had been gathered about the
bedside all night. Lady Macdonald, al
most worn out by her long vigil. was
there. and the premier's son, Hugh John
Macdonald, had kept his place at his
fathers side.
Thirty Hours of Uncon>ciousness.
There was no bulletin from the physi-
clans Saturday morning Nothing could
be said beyond what had already been
given out. 1t was a matter Of time-per-
haps moments, perhaps hours. The mar
velous vitality which was staving the
hand OF death was slowly. but surely
ebbing. The scenes of the morning and
the afternoon We're but counterparts OF
Friday. AT O'Clock the physicians
concurred in the opinion that the premier
could not live until 9 o'clock, and again
did they err. The dying premier had been
perfectly unconscious for nearly thirty
hours, and still the spark Of life fingered
on. The action Of the patients heart at
times during the evening was 80 feeble
that Sir Jehn was believed to be dead
The Angel of Death at Hand.
Once, I ~ ssnnly gathered at the bedside
under the impression that the end had
come. butit proved TO be another of the
dreaded sinking spells which in succession
had left the aged statesman with less and
less vitality. Such an unequal struggle
could not much longer be sustained. Even
tide found the mem bers Of the family gath
cred about the bedside of the dying states
man waiting patiently for dissolution.
Outside in the dusk We're 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, lickered and
smouldered as though the soul would
leave its tenement at each successive break.