“The days of trouble were not conducive to strengthening my character and my tempter was a man of wiles and charms, so much so that his constant observation disclosed my different moods to his discernible mind. His plans were carried out with that accuracy and precision so characteristic of a man of the world.
“That was the first step down the incline of rectitude; other men sought me and so surely did I descend into the valley of shame that it was an easy matter for me to consent to live with men in open defiance of the law.
“During my career I met a gentleman who was more interested in me than any one I had ever met; he lived in a small town in the west; he was a man of great tenderness and we in time grew fond of each other. Much of our time was consumed in talking of schools, books, music and travel. I knew little of him and he nothing of me, any more than he had met me one day as I was buying tickets for a matinee; the line at the window doubled back around the entrance of the theatre. As the crowd crawled slowly along I found myself standing beside him; he addressed me, whereupon a conversation sprung up and he kindly offered to buy my tickets for me when he reached the window, which would save me a delay of several moments. As he handed me the tickets he apologized for his intrusion; I thanked him for his kindness and was not at all surprised when I found him in the seat next to mine. Our friendship grew and finally ripened into such mutual admiration that I frequently found myself counting the days that I must wait for his coming. Finally his visits grew less frequent; I did not ask him why he came so seldom, for I considered it none of my business; one of the waits proved longer than any before. He did not come for a year, but when he came he found me in my old haunt. This time he explained why his visits had been so far apart; his wife had been ill and he had lost her six months before; they had a child, a boy by adoption, and he could not well leave the little fellow. I insisted on his bringing his boy along next time.
“I had become so attached to this man of genial nature that I was quick to become interested in anything which was of importance to him. He came again in two weeks, and with him came the boy. I met them in the parlor of a hotel, and oh, how my heart fluttered as I saw the youngster; all the love, pity and compassion of my happier days rushed back into the places of my nature, which had been devoid of anything sweet for the last six years. The boy was standing with his back to me talking to his father. As I approached with outstretched hand to welcome my friend, who stood with his back to the mirror, he reached out to clasp mine and stepped slightly to one side, revealing the complete image of the child in the mirror.
“God only knows what I suffered in that one brief second. The picture I saw there in the frame of the mirror was more vivid than any work of art ever produced. My own child stood beside me. The hardening process of years did much to assist me in my self-control. We went to dinner; my friend was aware of my unhappy state of mind and questioned me closely. I could not tell him the whole truth; I simply told him that I had been married and that I had had a boy so much like this adopted son that the sight of his boy had refreshed my memory, had recalled the sad hour of parting with him when I had to give him up.”
“‘And his father—is he dead, too?’ he asked, as he gently put his arm around me.
“‘Yes,’ I sobbed, ‘dead, everything is dead to me.’
“My sufferings must have touched the strings of his harp of love and caused a melody to re-echo from his soul.
“‘Come, and be a mother to my little chap,’ said he.
“‘Oh, please don’t! I beg of you not to punish me by such jests.’