Editing Thomas Carlyle (section)

=== Final years (1866–1881) ===

[[File:Dr John Carlyle, Thomas Carlyle, Miss Mary Aitken, Provost Swan (Crop).jpg|thumb|upright|Carlyle and his niece Mary Aitken, 1874]]

Carlyle travelled to Scotland to deliver his "Inaugural Address at Edinburgh" as Rector in April 1866. During his trip, he was accompanied by [[John Tyndall]], [[Thomas Henry Huxley]], and [[Thomas Erskine (theologian)|Thomas Erskine]]. One of those that welcomed Carlyle on his arrival was Sir David Brewster, Principal of the university and the commissioner of Carlyle's first professional writings for the ''Edinburgh Encyclopædia''. Carlyle was joined onstage by his fellow travellers, Brewster, [[Moncure D. Conway]], [[George Harvey (painter)|George Harvey]], [[Lord Neaves]], and others. Carlyle spoke extemporaneously on several subjects, concluding his address with a quote from Goethe: "Work, and despair not: ''Wir heissen euch hoffen,'' 'We bid you be of hope!'" Tyndall reported to Jane in a three-word telegram that it was "A perfect triumph."{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|pp=236–237}} The warm reception he received in his homeland of Scotland marked the climax of Carlyle's life as a writer. While still in Scotland, Carlyle received abrupt news of Jane's sudden death in London. Upon her death, Carlyle began to edit his wife's letters and write reminiscences of her. He experienced feelings of guilt as he read her complaints about her illnesses, his friendship with Lady Harriet Ashburton, and his devotion to his labour, particularly on ''Frederick the Great''. Although deep in grief, Carlyle remained active in public life.{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|p=83}}

[[File:Mr. Carlyle delivering the address on his installation as Lord Rector of Edinburgh University, April 2, 1866.jpg|thumb|Engraving depicting the Inaugural Address|left]]

Amidst controversy over governor [[Edward John Eyre|John Eyre]]'s violent repression of the [[Morant Bay rebellion]], Carlyle assumed leadership of the Eyre Defence and Aid Fund in 1865 and 1866. The Defence had convened in response to the anti-Eyre [[Jamaica Committee]], led by Mill and backed by [[Charles Darwin]], [[Herbert Spencer]], and others. Carlyle and the Defence were supported by [[John Ruskin]], [[Alfred, Lord Tennyson]], [[Charles Dickens]], and [[Charles Kingsley]].<ref>Hall, Catherine (2002). ''Civilising Subjects: Metropole and Colony in the English Imagination, 1830–1867''. University of Chicago Press, p. 25.</ref><ref name="daiches90">D. Daiches ed., ''Companion to Literature 1'' (London, 1965), p. 90.</ref> From December 1866 to March 1867,{{Sfn|Nichol|1904|loc=Chapter VII. Decadence [1866–1881]}} Carlyle resided at the home of [[Louisa Baring, Lady Ashburton]] in [[Menton]], where he wrote reminiscences of Irving, Jeffrey, [[Robert Southey]], and [[William Wordsworth]]. In August, he published "Shooting [[Niagara Falls|Niagara]]: And After?", an essay in response and opposition to the [[Reform Act 1867|Second Reform Bill]].<ref>Trella, D. J. (1992). "Carlyle's 'Shooting Niagara': The Writing and Revising of an Article and Pamphlet", ''Victorian Periodicals Review'' '''25''' (1), pp. 30–34.</ref> In 1868, he wrote reminiscences of [[John Wilson (Scottish writer)|John Wilson]] and [[William Hamilton (metaphysician)|William Hamilton]], and his niece Mary Aitken Carlyle moved into 5 Cheyne Row, becoming his caretaker and assisting in the editing of Jane's letters. In March 1869, he met with [[Queen Victoria]], who wrote in her journal of "Mr. Carlyle, the historian, a strange-looking eccentric old Scotchman, who holds forth, in a drawling melancholy voice, with a broad Scotch accent, upon Scotland and upon the utter degeneration of everything."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Weintraub |first=Stanley |title=Victoria: An Intimate Biography |publisher=Dutton |year=1987 |isbn=978-0525244691 |location=New York |page=352}}</ref> In 1870, he was elected president of the London Library, and in November he wrote a letter to ''[[The Times]]'' in support of Germany in the [[Franco-Prussian War]]. His conversation was recorded by a number of friends and visitors in later years, most notably [[William Allingham]], who became known as Carlyle's [[James Boswell|Boswell]].{{Sfn|Allingham||p=202}}

[[File:Commemoration Medal for Thomas Carlyle LACMA 79.4.41 (2 of 5).jpg|thumb|Commemoration Medal for Thomas Carlyle, front]]

In the spring of 1874, Carlyle accepted the ''[[Pour le Mérite für Wissenschaften und Künste]]'' from [[Otto von Bismarck]] and [[List of people who have declined a British honour|declined]] Disraeli's offers of a state pension and the [[Knight Grand Cross in the Order of the Bath]] in the autumn. On the occasion of his eightieth birthday in 1875, he was presented with a commemorative medal crafted by [[Joseph Edgar Boehm|Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm]] and an address of admiration signed by 119 of the leading writers, scientists, and public figures of the day.{{Efn|For the letter, written by [[John Morley]] and [[David Masson]], and list of signatories, see ''New Letters of Thomas Carlyle'', edited by Alexander Carlyle, vol. II, pp. 323–324.}} "Early Kings of Norway", a recounting of historical material from the [[Sagas of Icelanders|Icelandic sagas]] transcribed by Mary acting as his [[amanuensis]],<ref>Ousby, I. (ed.), ''The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English'' (Cambridge, 1995), p. 154.</ref> and an essay on "The Portraits of [[John Knox]]" (both 1875) were his last major writings to be published in his lifetime. In November 1876, he wrote a letter in the ''Times'' "On the [[Eastern question|Eastern Question]]", entreating England not to enter the [[Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)|Russo-Turkish War]] on the side of the Turks. Another letter to the ''Times'' in May 1877 "On [[Great Eastern Crisis|the Crisis]]", urging against the rumoured wish of Disraeli's to send a fleet to the [[Baltic Sea]] and warning not to provoke Russia and Europe at large into a war against England, marked his last public utterance.{{sfn|Marrs|1968|p=790}} The [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] elected him a Foreign Honorary Member in 1878.<ref name="AAAS">{{cite web |title=Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter C |url=http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterC.pdf |access-date=23 September 2016 |publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences}}</ref>

On 2 February 1881, Carlyle fell into a coma. For a moment he awakened, and Mary heard him speak his final words: "So this is Death—well ..."{{Sfn|Wilson|||pp=|loc=6:470–471}} He thereafter lost his speech and died on the morning of 5 February.{{Sfn|Froude||p=|loc=4:501}} An offer of interment at [[Westminster Abbey]], which he had anticipated, was declined by his executors in accordance with his will.<ref>Froude, James (1903). ''My Relations with Carlyle''. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 70.</ref> He was laid to rest with his mother and father in Hoddam [[Kirkyard]] in Ecclefechan, according to old Scottish custom.{{Sfn|Wilson|||p=|loc=6:471}} His private funeral, held on 10 February, was attended by family and a few friends, including Froude, Conway, Tyndall, and [[William Edward Hartpole Lecky|William Lecky]], as local residents looked on.{{Sfn|Cumming|2004|p=83}}