escribed to me, brought to my
remembrance the picture of your daughter at Harcourt Manor with
a _fac-simile_ of the necklace on. Added to this, I had heard
that the girl had been found by a wood-cutter in the Black
Forest, and that of her birth and parentage nothing was known.
It is now with deep repentance that I confess to having
concealed these facts (though I had no doubt as to whose child
she was), because I knew that by disclosing the secret my right
to succeed to the property of Harcourt Manor would be done away
with. I felt even then the shame and disgrace of so doing, and
knew also the trouble and grief I was causing to you, whom
(although you may find it difficult to believe) I really loved,
and who had ever been such a kind friend to me. I now see that
it was a love of self-indulgence which led me to commit so foul
a sin. Conscience remonstrated, and the words of the Bible, so
early instilled into my mind by my mother, constantly reproached
me; but I turned from and stifled the voice of conscience, and
deliberately chose the evil way. All these years I have
experienced at times fits of the deepest remorse, but
selfishness prevailed; and when I heard that Frida Heinz was
coming to England, and that probably ere-long all might be
disclosed, I resolved to leave my native land and begin a better
life here. Ere I left I had reason to believe that she was
unable to come to England, so even now I may be the first to
reveal the secret of her existence. I do not know if even yet I
would have gained strength to do this or not, had not God in His
great mercy opened my eyes, during a fearful storm at sea, when
it seemed as if any moment might be my last, to see what a
sinner I was in His sight, and led me to seek forgiveness
through the merits of Christ for all my past sins. _That_ I
believe I have obtained, and now I crave a like forgiveness from
you whom I have so cruelly wronged. Should you withhold it, I
dare not complain; but I have hopes that you, who are a follower
of our Lord Jesus Christ, will not do so. One more request, and
I have done. Comfort, I beg of you, my mother when she has to
bear the bitter sorrow of knowing how shamefully the son she
loves so dearly has acted. By this post I write also to her. I
trust to prove to both of you by my future life that my