d the
fabric of our empire, and rallied her sons from the four winds to
fight beneath her banner on the veldt. It all seems very ancient
history now. But I remember nothing better or more vividly than the
last words of Raffles upon his last crime, unless it be the pressure
of his hand as he said them, or the rather sad twinkle in his tired
eyes.

The Last Word

The last of all these tales of Raffles is from a fresher and a sweeter
pen. I give it exactly as it came to me, in a letter which meant more
to me than it can possibly mean to any other reader. And yet, it may
stand for something with those for whom these pale reflections have a
tithe of the charm that the real man had for me; and it is to leave
such persons thinking yet a little better of him (and not wasting
another thought on me) that I am permitted to retail the very last
word about their hero and mine.

The letter was my first healing after a chance encounter and a
sleepless night; and I print every word of it except the last.

"39 CAMPDEN GROVE COURT, W.,

"June 28, 1900.

"DEAR HARRY: You may have wondered at the very few words I
could find to say to you when we met so strangely yesterday.
I did not mean to be unkind. I was grieved to see you so
cruelly hurt and lame. I could not grieve when at last I
made you tell me how it happened. I honor and envy every man
of you--every name in those dreadful lists that fill the
papers every day. But I knew about Mr. Raffles, and I did not
know about you, and there was something I longed to tell you
about him, something I could not tell you in a minute in the
street, or indeed by word of mouth at all. That is why I
asked you for your address.

"You said I spoke as if I had known Mr. Raffles. Of course I
have often seen him playing cricket, and heard about him and
you. But I only once met him, and that was the night after
you and I met last. I have always supposed that you knew all
about our meeting. Yesterday I could see that you knew
nothing. So I have made up my mind to tell you every word.

"That night--I mean the next night--they were all going out
to several places, but I stayed behind at Palace Gardens. I
had gone up to the drawing-room after dinner, and was just
putting on the lights, when in walked Mr. Raffles from the
balcony. I k