The Complete Writings of Lord Macaulay (Volume 20); Excursions in Literature (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1900. Excerpt: ... mended Cornewall Lewis; and I have little doubt that the offer will be made to him. December 13th, 1852. Poor Empson died with admirable fortitude and cheerfulness. I find that his wife was lately brought to bed. He spoke to her, to his friends, and to his other children with kindness, but with perfect firmness; but when the baby was put on his bed he burst into tears. Poor fellow For my part, I feel that I should die best in the situation of Charles the First, or Louis the Sixteenth, or Montrose--I mean quite alone, surrounded by enemies, and nobody that I cared for near me. The parting is the dreadful thing. I do not wonder at Russell's saying, "The bitterness of death is past." 1 December 30th, 1852. I am glad that you like Beaumarchais. The result was that the Goezmans were utterly ruined: the husband forced to quit his office, the wife driven to a convent. Beaumarchais was blame by the Court. The effect of that blame was very serious. It made a man legally infamous, I believe, and deprived him of many civil rights. But the public feeling was so strongly with Beaumarchais that he paraded his stigma as if it had been a mark of honor. He gave himself such airs that somebody said to him, "Monsieur, ce n'est pas assez que d'etre blame: il faut etre modeste." Do you see the whole finesse of this untranslatable mot? What a quantity of French words I have used I suppose that the subject Frenchifies my style.2 1 The famous scene between Lord Russell and his wife is described, briefly enough, by Hume: "With a tender and decent composure they took leave of each other on the day of his execution. 'The bitterness of death is now past, ' said he, when he turned from her." 2 Mr. Goezman was the judge who threw Beaumarchais over, after Madame Goezman had accepted a...