Infamous Last Words: William Allingham (1824–1889)

Infamous Last Words:

William Allingham (1824–1889) was an Irish poet, diarist and editor. He wrote several volumes of lyric verse. He was regarded, during his career as "the quintessential poet." In 1889 he died of colon cancer while surrounded by family and friends. Amazingly, Mr. Allingham sat up in bed and wrote verse right up to the bitter end. At his deathbed, a friend asked of him, “What do you see?”

At this point Allingham had been slipping in and out, and he appeared to be in a state of semi-consciousness. But he managed to reply: 

“I can see such things; such pretty things as you cannot dream of.” 

These words were spoken when he emerged briefly from a semicolon.

Infamous Last Words: William Allingham (1824–1889)

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