The International Monthly, Volume 5, No. 4, April, 1852Various
History
The International Monthly, Volume 5, No. 4, April, 1852
Various
Art, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Science -- History -- Periodicals
"His illness lasted a week, and was pronounced, on the
fourth day, to be a decided attack of inflammation on the
lungs. His hopes sank at first, but rose with his increasing
danger and weakness; even on the morning of the last day he
said, 'I may still recover.' Two days before, his faithful
wife, who had exerted herself beyond her strength in nursing
him, fell ill and was obliged to leave him. He then turned
his face to the wall, and exclaimed with the most painful
presentiment, 'Hapless house! To lose father and mother at
once!' And to the children he said, 'Pray to God, children!
He alone can help us!' And his attendants saw that he
himself was seeking comfort and strength in silent prayer.
But when his hopes of life revived, his active and powerful
mind soon demanded its wonted occupation. The studies that
had been dearest to him through life, remained so in death;
his love to them was proved to be pure and genuine by its
unwavering perseverance to the last. While he was on his
sick bed, Classsen read aloud to him for hours the Greek
text of the Jewish History of Josephus, and he followed the
sense with such ease and attention, that he suggested
several emendations in the text at the moment; this may be
called an unimportant circumstance, but it always appeared
to us one of the most wonderful proofs of his mental powers.
The last learned work in which he was able to testify his
interest, was the description of Rome by Bunsen and his
friends, which had just been sent to him; the preface to the
first volume was read aloud to him, and called forth
expressions of pleasure and approbation. He also asked for
light reading to pass the time, but our attempts to satisfy
him were unsuccessful. A friend proposed the 'Briefe eines
Verstorbenen,' which was then making a great sensation; but
he declined it, faying he feared that its levity would jar
upon his feelings. One of Cooper's novels was recommended to
him, and excited his ridicule by its extraordinary verbiage;
he was much amused by trying an experiment he proposed,
which consisted in taking one period at hap-hazard on each
page; and by the discovery that this mode of reading did
little violence to the connection of the story. The
'Colnishe Zeitung' was read aloud to him up to the last day,
with extracts from the French and other journals. He asked
for them expressly, only twelve hours before his death, and
gave his opinion half in jest about the change of ministry
in Paris. But on the afternoon of the 1st of January, 1831,
he sank into a dreamy slumber; once on awakening, he said
that pleasant images floated before him in sleep; now and
then he spoke French in his dreams; probably he felt himself
in the presence of his departed friend De Serre. As the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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