Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1901-10-03
LAST WORDS OF IA
NOUS PERSONS.

consciousness, we seem to recognize
final summing up Of lie and its
deepest impressions, sort of fore
shadowing of the great mystery upon
which the disembodied spirit is about
to enter. Montaigne the great
French essayist of the sixteenth cen
fury said: IF l were a writer Of
books l would compile register with
a comment Of the various deaths OF
men. He who should teach men to
die would at the same time teach men
to live .
Lord. into Thy hands | commit
my spirit" These were alike the
last words OF Charlemagne. dying al
ter m eventful reign of 45 years; of
Columbus, the broken-hearted, disap-
pointed man weighed down by a
sense of the worlds ingratitude, and
OF Mary Queen OF Scots. just as she
laid her head upon the block.
Cromwell. dying Of grief at the loss
Of his best beloved daughter, said:
oily desire is to make what haste l
NAV to be gone Queen Elizabeth
of England, in her last agony cried:
..Nly kingdom Ter one hour of time. =
Julian, the Roman emperor, whose
hostility to Christianity gave him the
name of '.the Apostate, exclaimed in
his last moment: "Galilean, thou
hast conquered.
Machiavelli, the great Italian polit-
ical writer and atheist, in dying ex-
pressed desire to 60 to hell rather
than to heaven. saying that in the
former place he should enjoy the
company of popes. kings and princes,
while in heaven he should find only
beggars, monks, hermits and apostles.
"See in what peace Christian can
die" were. the pious words of the
poet and essayist, Joseph Addison.
Prince Albert, the husband of Queen
Victoria, died repeating some lines of
the famous hymn. Rock of Ages,
cleft for me-" and rejoicing in the
faith that solaced his last hour. Il
am not afraid to die" were the last
words of Geo. Washington. John
Adams and Thos. Jefferson died on
the 4th of July, 1926, the tiftieth an
niversary OF the Declaration of indie
pendence. Jefferson's last words
were: Il resign my spirit to God
and my daughter to my country. "
jefferson survives. were the last
words of Adams
Byron's last words are said to have
been: Come, come, nc weakness.
Let me be man to the last" The
great German author and scientist,
Baron Won Hum boldt, said in dying:
Chow grand the sunset! II seems TO
beckon from earth to heaven. :"
Goethe, mistaking the shadows OF
death for the evening twilight, cried
More light. more light Dr. john
sons last words spoken to his friend,
nv dear John Keats exclaimed in
his last'moment, i feel the flowers
growing over me- Others say that
still later he exclaimed II die Of a
broken heart Sir Walter Raleigh,
when on the scaffold he was permitted
TO feel the edge OF the ave that was
about to behead hir said; This is
a sharp medicine but a sure remedy
for all evils The famous French
humorous author, Radicals, said at
last: Let down the curtain, the
farce is over. l am going to the
great perhaps.
Among all these last words we find
none more sanity. more pathetic
and vet more filled with the solace Of
an immortal hope than those of the
latest OF our martyred presidents.
These words will live in the worlds
annals as long as time endues. In
their quiet trust they recall the
words Of Paul as the moment OF his
martyrdom drew near. Il have fought
a good fight, have finished my
course. have kept the faith. " In
their Christ-like spirit toward his
murderer, they prove this martyred
one to have been a devout disciple Of
Him who in the agony OF the cross.
prayed, Father. forgive them for
they know not what they do
The .Good bye, Good bye. 1t Is
Gods way. Ii Is all for the best.
Gods will. not ours, be done" shows
.bat the optimistic and heroic spirit
of this rare man was strong even in
death, aud that the religious faith
which had been the stay and comfort
of his life was the staff on which he
leaned in passing through the dark
valley.
That divine hymn, Nearer my
God to Thee. on the wings Of whose
melody so many a soul has passed to
the great beyond, will henceforth re-
ceive a new conservation in the hearts
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