Tradition relates that Rob Roy was visited on his death-bed by a person with whom he was at enmity, and that as soon as the visitor, whom he treated with a cold, haughty civility during their short conference, had departed, the dying man said, "Now all is over—let the piper play 'Ha til mi tulidh' (we return no more)"—and he is said to have expired before the dirge was finished.—Francis Jacox.
Royer-Collard (Pierre Paul, French philosopher and statesman), 1763-1845. "There is nothing solid and substantial in the world but religious ideas."
Rogers (John, Vicar of St. Pulchers, and reader of St. Paul's in London. He was burnt at the stake),—1555. "Lord, receive my spirit."
Roland (Marie Jeanne Philipon, Madame. "The Spirit of the Girondin Party"), 1754-1793. "Go first; I can at least spare you the pain of seeing my blood flow."
When she arrived in front of the Statue of Liberty, she bent her head to it, exclaiming, "Oh Liberty, how many crimes are committed in thy name!" At the foot of the scaffold she said to her companion, an old and timid man, whom she had been encouraging on the way, "Go first; I can at least spare you the pain of seeing my blood flow."
Romaine (William, English theologian, for thirty years rector of Blackfriars), 1714-1795. "Holy, holy, holy, blessed Lord Jesus! to Thee be endless praise!"
Rosa (Salvator, Italian painter), 1615-1673. "To judge by what I now endure, the hand of death grasps me sharply." Last recorded words.
Rossetti (Dante Gabriel, English painter and poet, leader in the Pre-Raphaelite movement), 1828-1882. "I think I shall die to-night." These are his last recorded words.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti is buried near the waves of his beloved German Ocean in the churchyard of Birchington, a small village on the Isle of Thanet. He died in 1882 at his bungalow, on a cliff near by, and his grave is marked by a tall Celtic cross of stone, carved with designs by Ford Madox Brown. The head and arms of the cross are decorated with a spray ending in leaves, and two leafy branches right and left. The shaft has four panels, with reliefs. The upper compartment has a figure of Christ, fronting, and two figures right and left in profile. The panel below has a kneeling bull, with wings, to represent the Evangelist. Below that is a kneeling painter, with canvas and easel before him and his palette on his arm. The lowest panel is filled with a decorative scroll. There is a stained-glass window to his memory in the little church.
Rousseau (Jean Jacques, the famous author of "La Nouvelle Héloïse," "Émile," "Du Contrat Social" and "Confessions"), 1712-1778. "Throw up the window that I may see once more the magnificent scene of nature."