upon its rewards. In the
perfection of these sunful days, all possibility of change seemed to
have been outgrown, left far behind in an old, wearisome existence of
long ago. The world had entered upon an eternal blessedness, and the
jasper walls of heaven shut it out from harm forever, like coral reefs
encircling a lagoon in the Pacific seas. Only by remembering the years
that had been before, and the years that should follow after, could
the reluctant mind convince itself that this seeming eternity was
frail; that whoso lingered too long among the splendors of September
would be surely overtaken by treacherous frost, and biting winter
winds; that there was but one way to escape the revolting decline from
this pinnacle of life--to die. That was my secret. I alone, of all who
shivered at approaching winter, had learned how to escape. For me, not
only the year, but life itself, should cease at its pinnacle, refusing
to go down to a lower place, as a dethroned being prefers death to
miserable exile. And with these thoughts, I felt myself possessed by
an unutterable calm, such as comes to fever patients when they are
dying.

The first day of the experiment little was to be done. I called Guy,
who lingered in the laboratory, and bade him apply the first layer of
caustic to my breast, over the heart. The little operation required
small skill, and this was fortunate, for Guy's hand trembled so
violently, that a delicate manipulation would have been ruined. A drop
of the paste fell on my coat-sleeve, and in a few minutes had burned a
hole entirely through.

"Look, Guy," I exclaimed, "through such a window shall you soon gaze
at the central mystery of life. I almost envy you the opportunity."

"Oh!" he cried, "if you would but take it! If you would but use me for
your experiment, and spare me this dreadful trial!"

He had urged this exchange from the beginning, but of course I would
not consent. What! give up my great chance for immortality, surrender
my unique place in the history of science and the world? No, indeed; I
was already generous in sharing my achievement, in trusting the
preservation of my fame to even my most loyal friend. Beyond that it
were folly, madness, to go.

"Nonsense," I replied therefore to this senseless entreaty. "That
question has already been sufficiently discussed. Bah! that caustic
burns."

It was necessary to wait three or four days before renewing the
caustic to deepen the eschar made by