Dr. Arne and Rule, BritanniaCummings, William Hayman
History
Dr. Arne and Rule, Britannia
Cummings, William Hayman
Arne, Thomas Augustine, 1710-1778
"When she was ill and supposed to be dying, notwithstanding their
different Communions they [the Barthelemon family] read the Psalms and
Lessons together in Mrs. Arne's bedroom, where, at her bed's head,
was a Crucifix, at the foot of which was a little vase full of holy
water." "One day, she was supposed to be dead, and the Doctor, whose
name was Carson, being present assured Mrs. Barthelemon that she was
gone. She, however, could not resign herself to that belief, although
he said he wished he could be as certain of going to heaven as he
was that she was already there. Mrs. Barthelemon, however, tried to
delay his departure, and accompanied him to the house door, when she
implored him to look at her aunt once more, and to this he impatiently
consented, and almost angrily applied a flame to her mouth and nose to
show that breathing had ceased, when he suddenly called out for the
strongest cordial at hand, the result of which was the revival of the
supposed deceased, who soon exclaimed--'Oh! my dears, you have called
me back from the glories described in the Te Deum.'" This restoration
took place nine months before she eventually expired, on the 6th of
October, 1789. Her mortal remains were placed in the vaults of the
church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Ten years later her loved niece,
Mrs. Barthelemon, was buried in the same vault, "the two coffins being
linked together by a chain."
The following interesting letter addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Barthelemon,
written by Dr. Burney on the 21st of October, 1789, throws a flood of
light on the life and character of Mrs. Arne:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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