The iron clanging of the tongue of fate,
That drives me on a pathway strange and dim
And strikes my flowers of hope all desolate.
Thou know’st,—thou other, dearer soul of mine—
How hard it is to say farewell, and part;
Through clouds that darken, suns that shine,
I venture—but I leave with thee my heart.
[[123]]
At Madrid he wrote her regularly and with deep affection and received replies that, his diary says, gave him unbounded joy, as these entries indicate:
1884. January 10. Received two letters, one from Uncle Antonio [Leonora’s father] and the other from L. Nov. 30. The letter from Leonora was lovely with a sweet ending.
January 25. To-night I had a sad dream. I returned to the Philippines, but oh, what a sad reception! Leonora had been unfaithful; an inexcusable unfaithfulness without any remedy.
April 13. To-day I received letters from Leonora, Uncle Antonio, and Changoy. I am well satisfied with what Leonora writes but not with her state of health.[3]