It was my habit to meet him in an
out-of-the-way corner of the park, because I did not want my parents or
friends to know of it. For this same reason, I had never told him my
last name or place of residence. At this meeting, I informed him that he
must either give up all further connection with the movement he had
instituted toward the regeneration of mankind, or bid me good-bye
forever. He chose the latter course, although I know that his heart was
fairly bursting with grief when I left him.
"'Now, that it is too late, I can fully appreciate what a grand, noble
fellow he was. I offered him a million dollars to forsake the cause he
had pledged himself to uphold. Think of it, one million dollars! A sum
of money for which most civilized men would gladly sell their eternal
souls. But John Convert, a believer in Natural Law, could not be bought
at any price, and even though I offered him my hand in marriage, an
offering which many Crown Princes of Europe have repeatedly begged for,
still he would not recede from the grand purpose he had undertaken.
"'Well, we parted, and the next morning I boarded a steamer bound for
Europe. But I was wretched and unhappy, and felt that life was a burden
to me. I was unable to drive the image of John Convert out of my mind,
and as I stood upon the deck of the steamer, as it passed along the
river leading to the ocean. I looked back toward New York, and fancied I
could see poor John standing alone, and forlorn, upon one of the docks,
with his arms outstretched, sadly imploring me to return, and with a
feeling of remorse I started for my stateroom to lie down and have a
good cry.
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