ry painful
incident lasted about three-quarters of an hour.

He talked about various things which I can scarcely repeat here. Though
it was very harrowing, I really did not attach any importance to my
farewell, and I did not respond to poor Oscar's emotion as I ought to
have done, especially as he said, when I was going out of the room,
"Look out for some little cup in the hills near Nice where I can go when
I am better, and where you can come and see me often." Those were the
last articulate words he ever spoke to me.

I left for Nice the following evening, November 13th.

During my absence Reggie went every day to see Oscar, and wrote me short
bulletins every other day. Oscar went out several times with him
driving, and seemed much better. On Tuesday, November 27th, I received
the first of Reggie's letters, which I enclose (the others came after I
had started), and I started back for Paris; I send them because they
will give you a very good idea of how things stood. I had decided that
when I had moved my mother to Mentone on the following Friday, I would
go to Paris on Saturday, but on the Wednesday evening, at five-thirty, I
got a telegram from Reggie saying, "Almost hopeless." I just caught the
express and arrived in Paris at 10.20 in the morning. Dr. Tucker and Dr.
Kleiss, a specialist called in by Reggie, were there. They informed me
that Oscar could not live for more than two days. His appearance was
very painful, he had become quite thin, the flesh was livid, his
breathing heavy. He was trying to speak. He was conscious that people
were in the room, and raised his hand when I asked him whether he
understood. He pressed our hands. I then went in search of a priest, and
after great difficulty found Father Cuthbert Dunn, of the Passionists,
who came with me at once and administered Baptism and Extreme
Unction--Oscar could not take the Eucharist. You know I had always
promised to bring a priest to Oscar when he was dying, and I felt rather
guilty that I had so often dissuaded him from becoming a Catholic, but
you know my reasons for doing so. I then sent wires to Frank Harris, to
Holman (for communicating with Adrian Hope) and to Douglas. Tucker
called again later and said that Oscar might linger a few days. A _garde
malade_ was requisitioned as the nurse had been rather overworked.

Terrible offices had to be carried out into which I need not enter.
Reggie was a perfect wreck.

He and I slept at the Hotel d'Al