* * * * *
_Thursday, 11 o’clock in the evening._
I almost hoped to receive one more word from you this evening. If you
could only know with what happiness I receive your letters, with what
intoxication I read and re-read them all day long!
Good-night; sleep well, my darling. We will live still for each other.
_Friday, 10 o’clock in the morning, 28 December, 1894._
My dear Lucie:
I have received your good letter dated yesterday at noon. You are right.
I must live. I must live for you--for our dear children, whose name I
must restore to honor. Whatever may be the terrible tortures of soul I
endure, I must resist. I have no right to desert my post.
If I were alone, I should not hesitate; but your name, the name of my
family--everything, all we have, is attacked. We must arm with all our
courage for the struggle. By the force of our energy, our will, we shall
triumph. In the end they shall speak out. Supported, sustained by your
unfailing courage, we shall conquer.
Write to me often. You must relieve each other in writing; write to me
in turn. Each one of your letters soothes me. It seems to me that I hear
you speak--that I hear your dear parents speak.