_Dear Master_:
I have kept the promise that I had made you. An innocent man, I
have faced the most frightful martyrdom that can be inflicted upon
a soldier. I have felt the contempt of the crowd around me. I have
suffered the most terrible torture imaginable. How much happier I
should have been in the grave! There all would have been over; nothing
would have reached my ears; there would have been perfect calmness,
and all my sufferings would have been forgotten.
But, alas! duty forbade, as you so clearly showed me. I am forced to
live, forced to undergo martyrdom for long weeks yet, in order to
arrive at a discovery of the truth, at the rehabilitation of my name.
Alas! when will it all be over? When shall I be happy again? I rely
on you, dear master. I tremble yet at the thought of all that I have
endured today, of all the sufferings that still await me. Sustain me,
dear master, with your warm and eloquent words. Bring this martyrdom
to an end. Let them send me as soon as possible to my place of exile,
where I shall wait patiently, in company with my wife.
“You see, gentlemen, that he hoped for the company of his wife.
Let the light be shed on this mournful affair, and let my honor be
restored. For the present, that is the only favor that I ask. If
doubts are entertained, if any believe in my innocence, I ask but one
thing,--the society of my wife; then I will wait till all who love me
have found a solution of this dreadful mystery. But let it be done as
quickly as possible, for my strength is nearing its end. It is really
too tragic, too cruel, to be innocent, and yet to be convicted of a
crime so terrible.
Pardon this disconnected style. In my physical and moral depression,
I am not in full possession of my ideas. My heart has bled too much
today. For God’s sake, then, dear master, let my unmerited torture be
abridged. Meantime you will seek, and it is my firm conviction that
you will find. Believe me always your devoted and unfortunate