st upon living a serene and well-ordered life.
He had woven many dreams within these four walls. How far away those
days now seemed to be from him! He would never dream any more; for him
the world's great dream was very close at hand.

He poured himself out a glass of wine from a quaintly cut decanter,
and set it down on his writing-desk, emptying into it with scrupulous
care the contents of a little packet which he had been carrying all
day in his waistcoat pocket. He paused for a moment before taking up
his pen, to move a little on one side the deep blue china bowl of
flowers which, summer and winter alike, stood always fresh upon his
writing-table. To-day it chanced, by some irony of fate, that they
were roses, and a swift flood of memories rushed into his tingling
senses as the perfume of the creamy blossoms floated up to him.

He set his teeth, and, taking out some paper, began to write.

"Berenice, farewell! To-night I am going on a very long
journey, to a very far land. You and I may never meet again,
and so, farewell! Farewell to you, Berenice, whom I have
loved, and whom I dearly love. You are the only woman who
has ever wandered into my little life to teach me the great
depths of human passion--and you came too late. But that was
not your fault.

"For what I am doing, do you, at least, not blame me. If
there were a single person in the world dependent upon me,
or to whom my death would be a real loss, I would remain.
But there is no one. And, whereas alive I can do you no
good, dead I may! Berenice, your husband lives--in suffering
and in poverty; your husband and your little boy. Freddy has
looked at me out of your dark eyes, my love, and whilst I
live I can never forget it. I hold his little hands, and I
look into his pure, childish face, and the great love which
I bear for his mother seems like an unholy thing. Leave your
husband out of the question--put every other consideration
on one side, Freddy's eyes must have kept us apart for ever.

"And, dear, it is your boy's future, and the care of your
stricken husband, which must bring you into closer and more
intimate touch with the vast world of human sorrows. Love
is a sacrifice, and life is a sacrifice. I know, and that
knowledge is the comfort of my last sad night on earth,
that you will find your rightful place amongst her toi