At any rate, not till the last day of her life. Jacobus hired for
her a bungalow to die in. He got a couple of Sisters from the
hospital to nurse her through these few months. If he didn't marry
her in extremis as the good Sisters tried to bring about, it's
because she wouldn't even hear of it. As the nuns said: 'The
woman died impenitent.' It was reported that she ordered Jacobus
out of the room with her last breath. This may be the real reason
why he didn't go into mourning himself; he only put the child into
black. While she was little she was to be seen sometimes about the
streets attended by a negro woman, but since she became of age to
put her hair up I don't think she has set foot outside that garden
once. She must be over eighteen now."

Thus my friend, with some added details; such as, that he didn't
think the girl had spoken to three people of any position in the
island; that an elderly female relative of the brothers Jacobus had
been induced by extreme poverty to accept the position of
gouvernante to the girl. As to Jacobus's business (which certainly
annoyed his brother) it was a wise choice on his part. It brought
him in contact only with strangers of passage; whereas any other
would have given rise to all sorts of awkwardness with his social
equals. The man was not wanting in a certain tact--only he was
naturally shameless. For why did he want to keep that girl with
him? It was most painful for everybody.

I thought suddenly (and with profound disgust) of the other
Jacobus, and I could not refrain from saying slily:

"I suppose if he employed her, say, as a scullion in his household
and occasionally pulled her hair or boxed her ears, the position