beneath hers. He would never have subjected himself to a snub, and he
had avoided her for that reason. He knew it would pain her to snub him,
yet she would be compelled to do so. It would only have meant more
suffering for him. But now it was different. He was more than her equal
socially. In fact, he was her social superior. He could not go away
without saying good-by. There could never be anything between them. She
was going to marry the other fellow and satisfy her ambition to be a
member of a royal house. Yet for all that they were still good friends.

He wondered how he could see her. The best way probably was to write
her a letter, telling her he was sailing immediately and asking for an
interview. He would say nothing about his accession to the title, but
just that his condition had changed for the better. This revealed
nothing, and yet would account for his better clothes and possession of
funds.

A firm of ready-made clothiers speedily fitted him with a neat business
suit and furnished all the other things he required. When the
transformation was complete with a clean shave and hair cut, he did not
recognize himself in the mirror.

That night he took rooms at the Waldorf, and after enjoying a good
dinner with Mr. Willoughby at the Union League Club, he returned to the
hotel, sitting down in the reading-room, he wrote Grace a letter.

CHAPTER XXII.

NEW YORK CITY, Tuesday.

DEAR MISS HARMON: You will perhaps consider this letter an
impertinence, and yet you may not--under the circumstances. When
the other day I called at your house, at your father's request,
Mr. Harmon asked me to go up-stairs to see you. It was impossible
for me at that time to accept his kind invitation. You will
understand why. Since then, however, a change for the better has
taken place in my affairs. The outlook is no longer so hopeless. I
am leaving America. I sail on Saturday.

I cannot go without saying good-by. I have read in the newspapers
about your coming marriage to the Prince of Eurasia. I sincerely
hope that this realization of your life's ambition will bring the
happiness you expect.

No matter what the future may have in store for me, the
recollection of those all too few weeks we spent alone in close
association on Hope Island will never grow dim in my memory. I can
never forget you or the dream of supreme happiness that I once