Thou canst not weep;
Nor ask I for a year
To rid me of my woes
Or make my life more dear.
The mystic chains that bound
Thy all-fond heart to mine,
Alas! asundered are
For now and for all time.
In vain you strove to hide,
From vulgar gaze of man,
The burning glance of love
That none but Love can scan.
Go on thy starlit way
And leave me to my fate;
Our souls must needs unite--
But, God! 'twill be too late.
To all and sundry of which I replied:
"MY DEAR CAPTAIN BECUCCI:
"I regret exceedingly to hear that by act of God, at half past three
this afternoon, you lost the key to your cubicle. Please have the boy
bring the skins at seven o'clock to-morrow morning, at which time,
when he brings the skins, I shall be glad to make you that tangible
return for your 'Tranquil Hour Waltz.'
"Sincerely yours,
"JACK LONDON."
At seven o'clock came no skins, but the following:
"SIR:
"After offering you my most sincere respects, I beg to continue by
telling you that no one, up to the time of writing, has treated me
with such lack of attention. It was a present to _gentlemen_ who were
to retain the piece of music, and who have all, without exception,
made me a present of five dollars. It is beyond my humble capacity to
believe that you, after having offered to send me money in an
envelope, should fail to do so.
"Send me, I pray of you, the money to remunerate the small boy for his
repeated visits to you. Please be discreet and send it in an envelope
by the bearer.
"Last night I came to the hotel with the boy. You were dining. I
waited more than an hour for you and then went to the theatre. Give
the boy some small amount, and send me a like offering of larger
proportions.
"Awaiting incessantly a slight attention on your part,
"CAPTAIN ERNESTO BECUCCI."
And here, like one of George Moore's realistic studies, ends this
intercourse with Captain Ernesto Becucci. Nothing happened. Nothing
ever came to anything. He got no tangible return, and I got no leopard
skins. The tangible return he might have got, I presented to Eliceo, who
promptly invested it in a pair of trousers and a ticket to the
bull-fight.
(NOTE TO EDITOR.--This is a faithful narration of what actually happened
in Quito, Ecuador.)