"John was not rich then; he had his way to make, but when an old family friend offered him a place in New York City he hesitated. He did not want to take me away from my mother; he has always been so good to me. But mother would not hear of it; and so we came to this big city, and John succeeded from the very first. It was not ten years before he was taken into the firm; and now for two years he has been at the head of it. I doubt if there is another man as young as he is in all New York at the head of so large a business. "When we first came to New York we boarded; and then after a while we found a little house in Grove Street. It was there baby was born and there she died; and perhaps that is why I was so ungrateful as to be sorry when John bought this big house here on Gramercy Park. He said he wanted his wife to have as good a house as anybody else. Of course, I ought to have known that a man of John's prominence could not go on living in Grove Street; he had to take his position in the world. He let me have my own way about furnishing this house, although he did pretend to scold me for not spending enough money. I have been very happy here, although I will not say that I have never regretted the little house where my only child died; but, of course, I never told this to John, and it has always pleased me to see the pride he took in this handsome house. And now in a few weeks or a few months I shall leave it forever, and I leave him also. "But I must not talk about myself any more. It is about John I wanted to speak. I meant to tell you how good he is and how he deserves to be loved with your whole heart. I intended to ask you to take care of him as I have tried to do, to watch over him, to comfort him, to sympathize with him, to be truly his helpmate. [Illustration: SHE FLUNG HERSELF INTO HIS ARMS] "Especially must you watch over him, for he will not take care of himself. For instance, he is so busy all day that he will forget to eat any luncheon unless you keep at him; and if he goes without his lunch sometimes he has bad attacks of indigestion. And even when it is raining he does not always think to take his overshoes or even his umbrella; and he ought to be particular, because he is threatened with rheumatism. If he has a cold, send for Dr. Cheever at once, and John seems to catch cold very easily; once, three years ago, he came near having pneumonia. You must see that he changes his flannels early in the fall; he will never do it unless you get them out for him. You will have to look after him as if he were a baby; and that is one reason why I am writing this long, long letter, just to tell you what you will have to do.