You are lost to me now.  There is nothing more in life for me.  If the injustice of mankind has stained my honour beyond repair, has robbed me of every chance of happiness at any time and in any place, then I die easily, beloved, for there is little charm in such a life as would be mine after this.

But I do not wish to die quite in vain.  There are two men who have touched my life, who need the lesson my death can teach them.  These men are Albert Graumann and the prosecuting attorney Gustav Schmidt, the man who once condemned me so cruelly.  His present position would make him the representative of the state in a murder trial, and I know his opinions too well not to foresee that he would declare Graumann guilty because of the circumstantial evidence which will be against him.  My letter, given to the Presiding Judge after the Attorney has made his speech, will cause him humiliation, will ruin his brilliant arguments and cast ridicule upon him.

Do not think me hard or revengeful.  I do not hate anyone now that death is so near.  But is it inhuman that I should want to teach these two men a lesson? a lesson which they need, believe me, and it is such a slight compensation for the torture these last eight years have been to me!

And now I will explain in detail all the circumstances.  I have arranged that Albert Graumann shall come to me on the evening of September 23rd between 7 and 8 o’clock.  I asked him to do so by letter, asking him also to keep the fact of his visit to me a secret.  To-night, the 22nd of September, I received his answer promising that he would come.  Therefore I can look upon everything that is to happen, as having already happened, for now there need be no further change in my plans.  I will send this letter this evening to my friend Pernburg in Frankfurt am Main.  In case anything should happen that would render impossible for me to carry out my plans, I will send Pernburg another letter asking him not to carry out the instructions of the first.

I can now proceed to tell you what will happen here to-morrow evening, the 23rd of September.

Albert Graumann will come to me, unknown to his family or friends, as I have asked him to come.  I will so arrange it that the old servant will see him come in but will not see him go out.  My landlady will not be in my way, for she has already told me that she will spend the night of the 23rd with her mother, in another part of the city.  It is to be a birthday celebration I believe, so that I can be certain her plans will not be changed.

Graumann and I will be alone, therefore, with no reliable witnesses near.  I will keep him there for a little while with commonplace conversation, for I have nothing to say to him.  If he moves near the desk I will upset the inkbottle.  The spots on his clothes will be another evidence against him.  I will endeavour to get him to keep my jewelry which is, as you know, of considerable value.  I will tell him that I am going away for a while and ask him to take charge of it for me.  I, myself, will take him down to the door and let him out, when I have satisfied myself that the old servant is in bed or at least at the back of the house.  The revolver which shall end my misery is Graumann’s property.  I took it from its place without his knowledge.