The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1909-01-03
LAST WORDS OF GREAT MEN
Some Deathbed Speeches Of Famous
Characters Of History.
Queen Elizabeth to the Last Re
sisted All Attempts to Have
Her Marry.

From tie L1ud1- Globe.
Cynics there m1y Ire who viii as-rfbe
20 the inventive faculties OF p0stsrity
the words which generations Of mankind
have revereueed as the last utterances
OF the worlds great men. To -he worst
Of them perhaps even the last poignant
cry OF the murdered Julius. or the pa
thetic tenderness OF Nelson's farewell 70
Hardy. may seem no more than PIGMENTS
of the dramatic historian. Yet. as We
Ike O. hope. 90 the majority these utter
ances are the ipslssiua verba OF those
20 whom they are attributed. and worthy
Of especial veaerauon. ia that through
them the characters OF those who speak
al thIS. often the most serious, crisis o..
lie. the passing from IT, are revealed.
Who finds il hard to believe the account
given Of the death Of Cromwell by Cs~-
IyIe's Writer. Of our Old Pamphlet" Of
The saying God &c good, which he fire.
qUently used all along- and who would
speak II with much chserf-l1ess and
fervor o. spirit. IN the midst Of his pains.
and how toward mornings Pc used d.
vers holy expressions. implying much in
ward consolation and peace" among the
rest speaking some exceeding self-de-
basiuE words, anniHiIatng and judging
himself
Our last glimpse Of RicheIeu shows him
StiU the statesman absorbed IN public
affairs. and Offering 10 the world
spectacle OF iron resolution and unruf-
fed composUre. Among his last words
was his reply. recorded by Nine. de
MotjeviTe. when asked II he pa-doned
his enemies: Il have had no enemies
except those Of the state
i is the man rather than the states
man that We see in the touching picture
drawn for Us by the C0mte de Brienns
Of Mazsria I'm his last hours. Death
cvertahes him III the midst Of his SDIen-
dor. triumphant 81 last over all his
enemies and no less the real ruler OF
France than his iIluStr.0us predecessor.
But IL is not on France thar his last
thoughts are fixed. Inspired as he was
by genuine love Of art. though even
here are 70 be found traces OF that
avarice which disfgUred his character. he
had amassed IN his palace priceless
treasures IN pictures, tapestry. and the
COldsnitl's art The thought oE these
drass him from his ned. and he forces
himself painfully along. murT1UTi1E as he
stops before one treasure after another.
II faut gutter tout celia. i faut gutter
tout celia
Characteristic. too. Is the deathbed
TRADE Of Queen Elizabeth when the
name of BeaUchanp is suggested 70 her
as that Of her successor. "I VIII have
no raScols son in my seat. hut one
worthy 20 be a king" All through her
reign she had Indignantly resisted the
attempts Of Parliament and the nation
70 settle the questions Of her marriage
and the succession.
The dry humOr Of the monarch who
never said a foolish thing and never
cid wise one" did not fan him when,
amid the tortures OF q painful death. he
apologized to his courtiers for "the TN
considerable time he took in dying"
and Inc keynote Of his life is struck IN
his last words to his successor. 10 whom
he beqUeaths no maxim OF stateCraft,
no message 20 his people. bat a prayer
not 10 let poor Nelly starve'
The true Roman spirit was shown by
the Emperor Eespasian as, in his last
deliriur. he struggled to rise. saying that
an imperator should die standing. while
his last words. Ut pUto, IDEAS no" ('-AIe-
thinks 1 become a god'0, are character
istiC
The traditional death words Of Nero,
What an artist am 70 perish" uttered
as. paralyzed with terror. he groveled
on straw 20 hide even from his slaves
are less worthy Of credence- Il IS more
reasonable to suppose that IN the face
Of death. with TO fiattsrer 30 inteTpose
the lying mirror. he would see himself
more nearly as he was.
We cannot leave the Roman emperors
without quoting the verses with which
the contemplation OF death inspired the
Emperor Hadrian. The naivete of their
expression and their almost childIike
simplicity form s striking contrast with
the pomp and gravity Of an imperial
deathbed. The translation, good as Il is.
fails adequately 20 reproduce the tone Of
wistful musing. and the playfUl1ess. with
its Undercurrent of melancholy, Of the
original:
Soul Of mine. pretty one. Sitting one.
Guest and partner a. my clay.
Whittier wilt thou HE away
pallid one, rigd one naked one
Nere= 10 play again. never 90 riay-