"At last further concealment became impossible. A week ago the yearly examination of the books took place. The expert accountant employed was, as usual, Thomas Chatham, and of course, as usual, his report was entirely satisfactory. It seemed, therefore, as though discovery could be postponed a little longer; when suddenly, this morning, we were informed that a change in the system of bookkeeping would be adopted after the first of January. I saw at once that all was over. The discovery of my crime is now a matter of hours. I must be out of the way before the crash comes or I am doomed. I can already see the felon's stripes upon my back; the clang of the prison gates rings in my ears. "I am too dazed to think; but I feel that my only escape is in death. And yet I cling to life. I know that the happy days of the past are gone forever; and yet I feel a sort of numb relief at the thought that the worst is now certain to come, and to come at once. "I have carefully prepared my flight, so that I shall have plenty of time to reach a place of safety. Once there, I shall be free from pursuit; but I shall be an exile, and I shall carry with me to the grave the burden of my sin. "The most bitter pang in my remorse is caused by the thought of the great wrong I have done you, dear wife. You will now be forced to face the world not only unprotected by the one whose duty and whose desire it was to smooth the way for you; but, what is worse, oppressed by the burden of his sin. "What little money I have left in the savings bank I have transferred to your name. You may use it all with a clear conscience; for every dollar of it was honestly mine. I swear I have never had a single cent of the money I have stolen. It has all been drawn by Henry Seymour, and used I know not how. "As soon as I am settled in the place to which I am going, I shall try, as far as lies in my power, to redeem my past by a life of honest labor; and I hope to be able to contribute to your support in the near future. "Oh! my wife! my darling wife! Would that the past could be blotted out, and that I could once more place my hand in yours, an honest man. Though you may find it hard to forgive me now, perhaps in time you may be able to think gently of him who through all his crime and degradation, has remained "Your devoted husband, "JOHN W. ARBOGAST. "My safety depends upon your keeping the contents of this letter secret for at least three days. After that time, please send to Mr. Dunlap, president of the Knickerbocker bank, the inclosed papers, which will reveal to him the full extent of my defalcations.