Florence MacCarthy

Funeral Sermon

Say to the faint-hearted, take courage and fear not — behold your God will bring the revenge of recompense — God himself will come, and save you.

Amid the various dangers that threaten us in this life, amid the snares by which we are continually environed and beset, amid the calamities that actually befall us, and the evils we are fated to encounter and to feel, such My Brethren, is the consoling assurance that Religion offers to mankind. — Such is the cheering language she addresses to the faint-hearted. — She exhorts them to take courage and not to fear — that the Almighty will repay their ills by recompence and requital — and in fine that he will bring them  p.4 assistance and Salvation. This is the engagement that the sublime Prophet enters into with mortals on behalf of the Divinity whose truths he utters, and whose inspiration he feels. This is the prospect he holds out to the unfortunate of the human race — the mercies of Heaven compensating the ills of the Earth — and beneficence infinite remunerating suffering patience.

To those who are barely spectators of human events — who consider each occurrence of this life in itself, and as unconnected with what has preceded, or what is likely to follow, this language of the Prophet will appear unintelligible. By all such it will not readily be assented to, when iniquity is seen to rule imperious and triumphant, while virtue appears prostrate and opprest — when crimes, countless in number, and immeasurable in depravity, are every day committed, and apparently with impunity — when the actors in these crimes are now among the Rulers  p.5 of the Earth, and spread havoc and desolation wherever they have authority — these are circumstances that startle unreflecting mortals and cause them to enquire why these things are so? To behold these abettors of anarchy, and who glory in being considered Apostles of impiety, to behold such persons, I say, exercising dominion and power, and supporting it by professed hostility against good order and virtue, would be a circumstance of amazement and wonder, did we not advert, that the ingredients that daily pass before our eyes are only a part of a general system — a detached portion of a Whole, that is too mighty for our understanding to grasp — of which we are not therefore competent to judge — did not in a word, reason inform us what Revelation has likewise confirmed, that there is a superintending Providence that directs the things of this Earth.

Among the various instances of sanguinary injustice of which the inhuman savages  p.6 of a neighbouring Kingdom have been guilty, is to be numbered the sad event, that has given occasion to the melancholy solemnities of this day — solemnities, whose pomp, dark with the sable ensigns of death, is rendered still more gloomy by the reflection, that they are but a repetition of the same mournful scene, commemorating a similar catastrophe, which you, My Brethren, have already witnessed and deplored. A few short months have scarce elapsed, since the august Consort of Marie Antoinette, Louis XVI. the Restorer of Gallic Liberty and the Father of his People, has been immolated on the same scaffold that now is crimsoned with the blood of this unfortunate Princess. On that sorrowful occasion, you, My Brethren, obedient to the call of Religion, celebrated his obsequies with edifying attention — and yielding to the sympathies of humanity, bedewed his urn with your tears. You are now, My Brethren, once more called on (grant, O Eternal Father, it may be for the last time!) to fulfil this  p.7 sacred, this afflicting duty — and though painful it may be at the moment, even to you it is not without its advantage. Evils which, like the catastrophe before us, are of no common magnitude, and involve consequences of no common extent, it is meet that we consider in their proper point of view, that we see them in their true light — and thereby be enabled to put them to their real use. With this intention, I shall briefly make a few observations that naturally arise from the subject, to which permit me to entreat your serious attention.

The Providence of God, My Brethren, is the manifestation of his Will, and the exercise of his Power — it is at the same time the instrument of our instruction, and its dispensations are calculated to convey the most salutary admonitions to persons of reflecting minds. When we look around us, and in the immediate circle of domestic observation, behold the eternal shifting of the scenes of life — how many at one period wantoning in affluence, and splendor, we now see pining in wretchedness and misery — how many, whose fortunes seemed to be erected on the most solid basis, have unexpectedly in an instant been displaced and overthrown. — If from the vicissitudes of private life, we turn our eyes to those of public importance — when from insignificant individuals we look to those who are placed in exalted stations — when we see that the same common distress — when we see that even those who are invested  p.9 with rank and authority, and occupy a space in the world's eye, are liable in a moment to be despoiled of all — that no state, no situation is a security against those reverses, to which all mankind are exposed, and from which no human being can claim an exemption — that neither meanness nor obscurity can shield the peasant in his cottage, nor even goodness and virtue the Monarch on his throne — hence we will assuredly learn how little reliance is to be placed on the boasted blessings of this world. Philosophy addressing our reason, is copious and eloquent on its emptiness and futility — experience that speaks to our feelings, instructs us in its miseries and pains: this is the purest antidote to worldly attachments. Declamation may expand and be diffuse on the imaginary ills of life — but the view of one victim suffering for imputed guilt, the accumulated weight of injustice, oppression and inhumanity, is more forcible and energetic than volumes in its reprobation.  p.10 Such a sufferer, My Brethren, is exhibited in the royal victim, whose lamented death has called us together on this day — a Personage whose tragic fate, as it has already interested the feelings and sensibility, so likewise should it stand recorded as a warning and example to the universe.

Marie Antoinette, My Brethren, entered upon this mortal scene with the most flattering and brilliant prospects. Descended from a long line of royal ancestors, and daughter of the first Sovereign in the globe, there was no situation to which her birth did not entitle her, nor any elevation to which she might not have aspired. Sprung from Maria Theresa, whose very name was in itself a title to the love and respect of mankind — a Maria Theresa — the varied and important events of whose reign, when the faithful pen of history shall relate, then will those virtues, that her cotemporaries witnessed and admired, remain engraven in never-fading characters for posterity —  p.11 it will tell, how when flying from her capital with her infant son in her arms, and nearly oppressed by a combination almost too mighty to be resisted, she notwithstanding supported her cause, with no resource but her own magnanimity — with no shield but the affection of her people. And this, My Brethren, will be a lesson of two-fold instruction — of beneficence for Sovereigns, and of loyalty for their subjects — history will also tell in justice to Maria Theresa, that the services and gallantry of the Hungarians were neither forgotten, nor unrewarded — in fine, it it will tell, that during the whole course of a lengthened reign, this illustrious Female continued the fame, and that, throughout, she blended the meekness and piety of a Christian Princess, with the dignity and fortitude of a Roman Matron.

It was under the auspices of such a mother, that Marie Antoinette received her education — the elegance of her form — the  p.12 charms of her person — her numerous accomplishments — and the graces of her mind, were perfectly in unison with the greatness of her rank. But when in superficial attainments she had made such a progress, we may well believe, that the more important and essential ones were not neglected, and that under the superintendence of such a parent, due care was taken to instil into her heart the principles of Morality and Religion. She had scarcely attained her fifteenth year — those attractions that were afterwards to shine so fascinating, had not yet opened to public view, when, the fame of her perfections having spread over Europe, a Crown was offered to her acceptance, and she was wooed to become the Consort of the heir apparent of France.

This was a measure projected to allay the animosities and dissentions of the Houses of Austria and Borbon, high in independance and spirit, and rivals in greatness and power, and  p.13 by whose jealousies and contentions the tranquility of Europe was perpetually disturbed. Of this plan Marie Antoinette was to become the corner stone — she was to be the bond of amity and the cement of union. Taking her then departure from under the wing of her respected parent, she, like the Dove bearing the olive branch, journeyed towards France, the Herald of Concord and the Messenger of the glad tidings that the storms which agitated the world were now about to subside — that the warring elements would settle into quiet — and that peace would resume its dominion on our hemisphere. Joy and acclamations were the harbingers of her approach — and pleasure and delight were the attendants in their train.

And here, My Brethren, let us pause! Let us contrast the splendor of her rising, with the eclipse of her setting sun: — the bright radiance that gilded the morn, with the darksome gloom that overcast the evening  p.14 of her life — a life so unfortunately snapped short, ere yet the half of its appointed course was run. Behold then, My Brethren, this young Princess, lively, animated and gay — flushed with youth, health and spirits, — caressed, flattered and admired — sparkling as the diadem that encircled her brow — more brilliant than the gems that studded it around: — the first personage in the most polished court in Europe, and superior, not so much by her rank, as by her attractions, to the females of whom it was composed — her commands a law — her wishes anticipated — and her desires outrun.

It was thus she dwelt for the period of eighteen years as a Sovereign, amidst a people then famed for refined manners, dignified sentiments, nice honor, and proverbial loyalty — accustomed to every enjoyment that the heart could seek — the imagination fancy —  p.15 treasures purchase — or the world supply — in possession of every thing — but an ungratified wish — and acquainted with all things — but misery or distress. The reverse was to follow, and a fearful change now about to take place.

The season of prosperity, My Brethren, however enviable it may appear, and however ardently misjudging mortals may desire to enjoy it, is nevertheless the season of danger. It is the period when the world appears to mortals in its most seducing colors — to the prosperous, whose favor it courts, it exhibits nothing else — obsequiousness and kindness precede them as they go — and pleasure and enjoyment hang upon their footsteps. It is by such perfidious arts as these, that the thoughtless and unsuspecting are inveigled and ensnared — that the attachments that enter by the senses, at length take root in the heart — and that the allurements of guilt and sin accomplish the perversion of innocence and virtue.  p.16 Such, My Brethren, possibly might have been the fate of this Princess, had she continued in her career of prosperity — but here did the Almighty in his goodness step in — and here did he (whose mercies are as unnumbered as his ways are unfathomable) interpose, to snatch her from the perils by which she was surrounded — to preserve her from the abyss, on whose edge she was fearlessly playing — to extricate her from the labyrinth in which she might have been bewildered — and to reconduct her to himself through the thorny paths of tribulation and sorrow. The scene was therefore now changed — and from the convulsions which for its own wise purposes, Providence had permitted to take place in that ill-fated kingdom, the very nature of the people, as well as the form of its government, seemed to have undergone a terrific alteration. Confusion had now commenced its reign, the mounds of established order being broken down, a deluge of evils rushed in, and overflowed the nation. But on no  p.17 person did they fasten with such peculiar aggravation as on the Queen — she who for eighteen years reigned sovereign Mistress in the land — who heretofore had never experienced ought but courtesy, submission, and respect, was now for the first time, reviled, insulted, and defamed — she who had been hitherto an object of adoration and idolatry, was now beheld with detestation and horror. Her station could not screen her from violence, nor her sex protect her from brutality. It was now, by the permission of Heaven, her lot, to endure the keen, the poignant anguish of sufferings without measure or commiseration; for of spirits heated in the furnace of anarchy, moderation is not the attribute — and of hearts case-hardened in the forge of republicanism, pity will not prove the virtue.

Upon her demeanor during a period of four years back, from the time she was led captive from her palace, to the moment she was butchered on a scaffold — from her first  p.18 commencement of her woes, to the final close of her mortal career, among the impartial and humane there can be no difference of sentiment. To suffer much is the general doom of humanity — to suffer well, the acknowledged prerogative of Religion. Herein she has united the suffrages of all, as I trust she has likewise conciliated the favor of Him, whose favor is alone worth seeking, as it alone is above all price.

Under the dreadful visitation that was now upon her, (a visitation rightly considered, that sprang not from the avenging justice, but from the tender mercies of the Almighty), the unshaken fortitude with which she sustained herself, the submissive resignation she displayed, are the best key to her sentiments, and to her heart. She, who was habituated to opulence and splendor, was now sunk to indigence and degradation — she, who was used to every luxury, now wanted the comforts of life — she, who had once the world in her  p.19 range, and might then have commanded the attendance of millions, was now the solitary inmate of a narrow dungeon — with a husband, a sufferer like herself, immured in the same prison, and though a captive under the same roof, still with irremovable barriers interposed between them — the hearts of their relentless gaolers being as impenetrable as the grates and bolts by which they were guarded and inclosed: — thus, so near the father of her children, yet denied the sad consolation of mingling her tears with his — of weeping together over their mutual sorrows, and bewailing jointly their hard and wretched fate — until the measure of his ills being full, his savage oppressors resolved to bring them to a close — and then condemned him to a parting interview to heighten his agonizing pangs, and to aggravate the very bitterness of death.

She saw him, now truly purified by adversity, led out by the parricide ruffians, like a  p.20 lamb to the slaughter, unresisting and resigned — with the calm serenity of conscious virtue, and the assured hope of final retribution. Soon, very soon, she heard the martial instruments play — the trumpets' sound and the roar of cannon, the attendant signals of the fatal stroke. The dire event being thus announced, she then looked inward, and beholding her widowed self and orphan offspring, now deprived of their common protector, unable for the moment to bear up, she sunk, and in the frenzy of despair was bereaved of her senses. But it did not long continue — and though returning reason brought with it tenfold horror, and made her feel the weight of that yoke that is upon the children of men, from the day of their birth to the day of their burial, yet betaking herself to Religion as her last and only resource, she extracted from it this soothing consolation, that the present tribulation which is momentary, worketh for the patient sufferer, above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory.  p.21 To indulge a reliance that length of awaits him, is the common delusion of the unreforming sinner — of him who defers the work of his salvation. This is the treacherous hope by which mankind are ensnared — this the broken reed that props the worldling's expectation. But the Almighty in the fullness of his mercy, did not permit her to be involved in this deceitful security, a security by which millions have been betrayed to perdition. In this inversion of the nature of things, wherein the lamb was confined and watched, while the tyger was left to prowl at large, she foresaw that her doom was not far distant, and that the murder of the Ling was only the opening scene of a tragedy, in which she was to bear a part, and sacrificed.

With this prophetic spirit, she began to prepare for that awful moment quickly to arrive, when she was to be released from her worldly sorrows, and to appear before the judgment seat of a righteous and merciful Judge,  p.22 — and thenceforward casting off all thoughts about this life, she now was only solicitous about eternity. As she foresaw, just so it came to pass — she was now called on to her mock trial, and with instant alacrity she obeyed the summons.

And here let the exalted manner in which she conducted herself on this solemn occasion — the collected firmness, with which she answered the interrogatories, and the unaltered countenance with which she heard the sentence pronounced, be considered as irrefragable proofs of the native dignity of her mind. While the charges were decent, she answered them respectfully — when accused by the monsters of a crime too diabolical to commit, and only fit for them to conceive, she was silent in scorn — but when pressed to reply, she spurned the foul accusation, and swelling with a burst of virtuous indignation, she appealed to all mothers whether such a crime were possible. It was here that the descendant of Maria  p.23 Theresa shone, it was here that her magnanimity displayed itself. But neither innocence nor virtue, could shield her from her impending fate: — it was in vain she had already twice escaped the assassin's dagger — now, though unconvicted and guiltless, she was notwithstanding doomed to die — nor even then did her fortitude forsake her. She ascended the bloody stage without terror or dismay — and there on a scaffold reeking with the gore of slaughtered victims, with countenance undaunted and resigned she laid down her life.

Here, My Brethren, let us dwell! Let this example serve as the mirror to reflect the instability of human enjoyments and of life — the vicissitudes that are hourly taking place before our eyes, and which from the very circumstance of their frequency and number fail of making a due impression. In this unfortunate Princess, all this has been fatally exemplified — her birth was great — her ac-  p.24 endowments numerous — her rank exalted — and her prospects grand. She had every earthly blessing to hope for and enjoy — with no bounds to her wishes — nor any limits to her pretensions — with the universe before her to chuse, it rested with her what situation to accept — with fortune's wheel open before her, she was the arbitress of her own fate, and drew to all human appearance one of the first of prizes. But time that unfolds the secrets of Providence, though it leaves them as yet unexplained, has shewn us the fallacy of her choice. We all now know the issue. She who was born to magnificence, happiness, and a Crown, has known both indigence and wretchedness, and has died upon a scaffold. Her sun rose in splendor but went down in blood.

Learn form this sad example, My Brethren, that in any, and in all situations in life, though many be the blessings we hope for, still few have we the good fortune to attain — and  p.25 though slight be the evils we apprehend, yet numberless are those that await us. Learn that a variety of incidents untoward as they are unexpected, may interpose between us and the object of our fondest desire. Too often does the bud of hope wither from the blight of disappointment — and at the moment we fancy ourselves most secure, even then shall the rude hand of misfortune dash the cup of happiness away, ere yet we have time to raise it to our lips.

Learn likewise, My Brethren, from this memorable example, to prize your own situation, and to be sensible of its real value — let the mischiefs of anarchy teach us to estimate the blessings of government. — Look to the robberies, and massacres exercised not under the implied sanction, but by the express command of the wretches who now tyrannize over France — look to their laws and decrees, avowedly framed, on the ruins of Religion to form a nation of Atheists.  p.26 They are now about to extinguish that principle, that was the only counterpoise to the evils of life: — to deprive the wretch who suffers under the acuteness of bodily infirmity or mental anguish, of his last hope — to tell him, that here his doom must be misery, and hereafter, ANNIHILATION.

But let us turn, My Brethren, from a spectacle so replete with horror, and cherish with redoubled ardor an attachment to our own system of government, where rational principles blended and combined co-operate for the purposes of social order and happiness. Let us look at the Monarch whom we, My Brethren, are peculiarly called on to revere and love — for in him we have found a Father, a Benefactor, and a Friend — Oh! may his lengthened course glide on here in uninterrupted felicity, and terminate in everlasting bliss! Let us, I say, uphold his government, and support his person and family  p.27 against the disturbers of the one, or the foes of the other.

And here all Gracious God! to thee do I also address this my earnest prayer. — “Grant that this scene of horrors may now be closed for ever. Extend, Almighty Father, thy protecting arm to save the surviving remnant of Louis's illustrious House — and suffer them not to be levelled with the dust. Behold the orphan innocents, whose earthly parents are now prostrate and laid low — listen to their cries, O God! who have now no Father but Three — nor any resource but in Thy mercy — save them from the gulph which is yawning for their destruction — arrest he poniard of the assassin — unnerve the murderer's uplifted arm — or rather O Gracious God! convert his heart. Save their lives, O Lord! thou, who as thy Prophet says, art the helper of the orphan, and save that infatuated nation from its own fury, and  p.28 from this new addition to its crimes. — Turn them O Lord! from their wickedness, that they may be converted and live. Accept likewise, O Father of Mercies! the prayers which we now offer thee, on behalf of their victim and their Queen, to accompany her departed spirit to the throne of thy Eternal Justice — may her persecutions and sufferings have appeased thy wrath, and effaced the memory of her transgressions; and grant to her and to us all, the blessings of Eternal life.” — Amen.

@book{E790003,
  title 	 = {A funeral sermon, preached at a solemn high mass, celebrated in Cork, on Tuesday, 12th November, for Marie Antoinette, her late most cherished majesty},
  author 	 = {Florence MacCarthy},
  edition 	 = {1},
  note 	 = {28 pages},
  publisher 	 = {James Haly, King's Arms Exchange},
  address 	 = {Cork},
  date 	 = {1793}
}
 E790003.bib