ge at once, as soon as I am gone, and her brain and
her ambition are appealed to, before she has time to fall in love, she
will develop on that side, prematurely--marvellously--and the rest will
atrophy. And then when the moment for falling in love is over--and with
her it mayn't be a long one--she will be a lecturer, a member of
Parliament perhaps--a Socialist agitator--a woman preacher,--who
knows?--there are all kinds of possibilities in Helena. But she will have
missed her chance of being a woman, and a happy one; and thirty years
hence she will realize it, when it is too late, and think bitterly of us
both. Believe me, dear Philip, the moment for love won't last long in
Helena's life. I have seen it come and go so rapidly, in the case of some
of the most charming women. For after all, the world is now so much
richer for women; and many women don't know their own minds in time, or
get lost among the new landmarks. And of course all women can't marry;
and thank God, there are a thousand new chances of happiness for those
who don't. But there are some--and Helena, I am certain, will be one--who
will be miserable, and probably wicked, unless they fall in love, and are
happy. And it is a strait gate they will have to pass through. For their
own natures and the new voices in the world will tempt them to this side
and that. And before they know where they are--the moment will have
gone--the wish--and the power.

"So, dear Philip, lend yourself to my plan; though you may seem to
yourself the wrong person, and though it imposes--as I know it will--a
rather heavy responsibility on you. But once or twice you have told me
that I have helped you--through difficult places. That makes me dare to
ask you this thing. There is no one else I can ask. And it won't be bad
for you, Philip,--it is good for us all, to have to think
intimately--seriously--for some other human being or beings; and owing
to circumstances, not your own fault, you have missed just this in
life--except for your thoughts and care for me--bless you always, my
dear friend.

"Am I preaching? Well, in my case the time for make-believe is over. I
am too near the end. The simple and austere soul of things seems to
shine out--

"And yet what I ask you is neither simple, nor austere! Take care of
Helena for two years. Give her fun, and society,--a good time, and every
chance to marry. Then, after two years, if she hasn't married--if she
hasn't fallen in love---she mu