Then came the report of the inquest, at which the following letter was
read, it having been addressed to a friend at a distance:-

'DEAR -,--Before these lines reach your hands I shall be delivered
from the inconveniences of seeing, hearing, and knowing more of the
things around me. I will not trouble you by giving my reasons for the
step I have taken, though I can assure you they were sound and
logical. Perhaps had I been blessed with a mother, or a sister, or a
female friend of another sort tenderly devoted to me, I might have
thought it worth while to continue my present existence. I have long
dreamt of such an unattainable creature, as you know, and she, this
undiscoverable, elusive one, inspired my last volume; the imaginary
woman alone, for, in spite of what has been said in some quarters,
there is no real woman behind the title. She has continued to the
last unrevealed, unmet, unwon. I think it desirable to mention this
in order that no blame may attach to any real woman as having been the
cause of my decease by cruel or cavalier treatment of me. Tell my
landlady that I am sorry to have caused her this unpleasantness; but
my occupancy of the rooms will soon be forgotten. There are ample
funds in my name at the bank to pay all expenses. R. TREWE.'

Ella sat for a while as if stunned, then rushed into the adjoining
chamber and flung herself upon her face on the bed.

Her grief and distraction shook her to pieces; and she lay in this frenzy
of sorrow for more than an hour. Broken words came every now and then
from her quivering lips: 'O, if he had only known of me--known of me--me!
. . . O, if I had only once met him--only once; and put my hand upon his
hot forehead--kissed him--let him know how I loved him--that I would have
suffered shame and scorn, would have lived and died, for him! Perhaps it