“Then, while tears of joy dimmed my eyes, in the madness of passion, my future was molded. As the poisonous little reptile stings the lion, who is king of the forest, and causes him to writhe in death’s agony, so did the lecherous fangs of passion fasten themselves into poor Lannie’s pure, white soul, sending the venomous poison into a heretofore healthful system. “If I could but live that hour over again. If I erred the sin was tempered with love. “I know, in the way that sins are reckoned, This thought is a sin of the deepest dye; But, I know, too, if an angel beckoned, Standing close by the throne on high, And you a-down by the gates infernal, Should open your loving arms and smile, I would turn my back on things supernal, To lie on your breast a little while, To know for an hour you were mine completely. Mine in body and soul, my own— I would bear unending tortures sweetly, With not a murmur and not a moan.” —_Wilcox._ “Lannie went away. Our parting was like the clinging vine being torn from the stone wall. In ten weeks my husband arrived home. Ten days later he was the victim of a railroad accident and I was left a widow. I waited and longed for the love of my life, to take his place beside me, but Lannie did not come. At last, in sheer desperation, I wrote him. This was his answer: “‘_Dear Friend_: “‘I am pained to write you as I shall, but you cannot expect me to come to you. You know my ideas of purity so well, that I am surprised to be asked to call. I do love you, always have, and shall continue to do so, but I fear the sweetness of our love has been blighted by the madness of folly. This little verse is very expressive, I think: “A flower I feign would pluck today, From the garden above her dust, Not the pure, white lily of soulless sin, Nor the blood-red rose of lust, But the blossom of holy love.” “‘I shall always be interested in your welfare and shall ever seek to do you good. Yours devotedly, “‘LANNIE.’ “The blow was cruel, but ‘As a man soweth, so shall he also reap.’ The same applies to women. “The next important event of my life was the announcement of the insolvency of my husband’s estate. He had died leaving me penniless; even the holdings my father had placed with him as security for his loan were swept away into the chasm with the other unrecoverable assets.” “But you live well.”