Cry aloud my innocence; cry it with all the strength of your lungs; cry it upon the house-tops, till the very walls fall.
And hunt out the guilty one. It is he whom we must find.
I embrace you as I love you.
Alfred.
Thursday, 10 o’clock in the evening, 27 December, 1894.
My dear Lucie:
Your heroism has conquered me. Strong in your love, strong in my conscience and in the immovable support I find in our two families, I feel my courage born again.
I shall struggle therefore to my last breath. I shall struggle to my last drop of blood.
It is not possible that light shall not be some day let in upon this crime. With the feeling that your heart is beating close to mine I shall bear all the martyrdoms, all the humiliations, without bowing my head. The thought of you, my darling, will give me the strength needful. My dear, adored one, women certainly are superior to us; and among women you are of the most beautiful and the most noble!