“He opened it, and read its contents, which ran something like this—
“‘You have struck me for the last time. Love has long departed from my heart. I, whom you have so cruelly deceived without regrets, bid you farewell.’
“‘Oh! that’s it, eh?’ said Phillip, hiccuping. ‘Gone!—farewell! and all that kind of style, eh? Well, all right, it’s just the thing; it couldn’t be better! I’ll sell off all the things, and make some ready money. I’ll do it this very day. Just what I wanted.’
“Phillip pulled off his boots with much difficulty, and fell upon the bed, and was soon fast asleep.
“The blinds were not drawn.
“The pale moon shed its holy rays upon the disordered apartment, and as morning dawned, the lamplight flickered and died.
“The moonlight lit his haggard face, as he lay half scowling in his sleep, and with fists tightly clenched, and hair disordered, he ground his teeth in dreams.
“The vision of his life passed before him.
“His mother’s face and form appeared as in his childhood, and looked with sadness upon him.
“His schoolboy days and boyish loves caused him to sigh and smile, in unconscious sleep.