What  was  I,  what  any  one,  but  a  small  bit  of  seaweed  on  an
endless  sea,  flotsam,  jetsam,  being  moved  hither  and  thither —
by  what  subterranean  tides  ?

Oh,  Alice,  dead  or  living,  eternally  sleeping  or  etemalfy
waking,  listen  to  theSe  few  true  words !  You  were  beautiful
to  me.  My  heart  was  hupgry.  I  wanted  youth,  I  wanted
beauty,  I  wanted  sweetness,  I  wanted' ft  tender  smile,  wide
eyes,  loveliness — all  these  you  had  and  gave.
Peace  to  you !    I  do  not  ask  as  much  for  myself.
My  determination  to  leave  the  Corbin  Company  was  as-
sociated with  other  changes  Equally  important  and  of  much
more  emotional  interest.  Our  home  life,  now  that  my  mother
was  gone,  was  most  unsatisfactory.    What  I  took  to  be  the

airs  and  plotting  domination  of  my  sister  M ,  toward  whom

I  had  never  borne  any  real  affection,  had  become  unbearable.
