As he arose from bed with the burden of all this hopeless misery crushing his soul, a sense of utter exhaustion and loneliness came over him.
“My love, I must go back to bed and try to sleep. I lay awake last night until two o’clock. I can’t eat anything,” he said to his wife as she announced breakfast.
“John, dear, don’t give up like that.”
“Can’t help it.”
“But you must. Come, here is something that will tone you up. I found this note under the front door this morning.”
“What is it?”
“A notice from some of your admirers that you must leave this county in forty-eight hours or take the consequences.”
He looked at this anonymous letter and smiled.
“Not such a failure after all, am I?” he mused.
“I thought that would help you,” she laughed.