“No more hope!  All is over.  I must die!  The grave yawns to receive me.  Alas! what a place for my mortal remains!  Forgotten, unknown, concealed by the darkness of a horrible crime!  Not a tear will fall upon the tomb of the unfortunate victim; not a cross will mark the spot where I lie; not a prayer will be whispered over my body!  Death approaches.  Ah!  I must not thus cling to life; I will pray and lift my hands in supplication to God.  He alone—­”

He stopped under the influence of a sudden emotion.

“Heavens! did I not hear a noise?”

He listened breathlessly for a time to catch the indistinct sound he thought he had heard; but he was mistaken.

“Why should I hope, when hope is no longer possible?  Let me rather seek strength in the consideration of the better life which awaits me.  The death I endure will purify me from all my sins.  If God, in His impenetrable designs, has appointed this to be my earthly fate, He will, in His mercy, take into account before his judgment-seat what I have innocently suffered here below.  Consoling hope, which, encourages me to look with confidence into eternity!

“And yet my life was so happy!  Everything in the world smiled upon me; my path was strewn with roses; the future spread out before me like a cloudless sky resplendent with stars.  God had not only given me health, fortune, and peace of heart, but also the hope of uniting my fate with that of a lovely young girl.  Mary Van de Werve! the incarnation of all that men admire and heaven loves:  virtue, piety, modesty, charity, beauty, love!  Alas! alas! must I leave all that?  Must I say a last adieu, renounce my hopes, and never see her again?  Die and sleep forever in an unknown tomb, while she lives!”

A cry of anguish escaped him.  But it was caused rather by his train of thought than by the adieu he had just spoken, for he added, in a suppliant voice: 

“Pardon, O Lord, pardon!  Thy creature clings to life; but be not angry with the weakness of my nature.  Should I die by the terrible death of starvation, I humbly accept Thy holy will, and I bless Thy hand which deals the blow!  God of mercy, grant that I may find grace with Thee!”

Calmed by this invocation, he resumed, with less emotion and in a tone which proved that his soul had received consolation: 

“And if I be permitted in my last hour to offer to Thee my supplications, I pray Thee, O God of mercy, to spare my uncle, and let not my misfortune deprive him also of life.  He was my father and benefactor; he taught me to live in the fear of Thy holy name.  By the cruel sufferings which I endure, by my terrible death, have pity on him!  Let Thy angels also guard and protect the pious and pure young girl who is before Thee as an immaculate dove!  Jesus, Saviour of mankind, on the cross you prayed to your heavenly Father for those who crucified Thee.  Demand not an account of my blood from my enemy.  Pardon him, lead him back to the path of virtue, and after death grant him eternal rest!  My strength fails; the sweat of death is on my brow.  O my God! in this, my last hour, grant me the grace to die with Thy love alone in my heart, and Thy holy name alone upon my lips!”