A man on his deathbed, a man in such peril that his end is certain, can afford to be sentimental.
"The Frozen Pirate"
W. Clark Russell
Rosalind acknowledged to herself now how great the relief had been when, during the few hours that passed between her communication to her old friend on his deathbed and the last state of insensibility from which he never rallied, there had actually been on this earth one other than herself who knew all her story and its strange outcome.
"Somehow Good"
William de Morgan
I will make you a king, youth; you shall command mighty armies, and you shall lead them to battle on a prancing horse; your enemies shall quail before your face, and at last you shall die no sluggard's death, but pierced by honourable wounds, and the field of battle shall be your deathbed; a nation shall mourn your loss, and your name shall go down famous to after ages.
"Orientations"
William Somerset Maugham