Epilogue

Epilogue

The history that I have set forth in the foregoing pages is the history of an episode. That episode opened with instantaneous abruptness; and in an instant it came to an abrupt end. The fatal words that I had overheard in my father’s house had been as an incantation that had cast over me a malign spell. In the moment in which they were spoken the sinister shadow of Lewis Otway had fallen upon my life; and in the long months that followed it had never lifted. Even the death of the unhappy wizard had left the spell still working, the shadow deepening from hour to hour, until Dr. Thorndyke, like a benevolent magician, had spoken the counter-charm. Then, in an instant, the spell was broken; the shadow lifted and lifted for ever.

And with the breaking of the spell and the lifting of the shadow, the episode is at an end, and my tale is told. Yet I am loth to lay down my pen until the reader who has followed my pilgrimage through the valley of the shadow has been given at least one glimpse of me straying in the sunshine, “along the meads of asphodel.” I would crave his attendance at the sombre, old church of St. Clement Danes, where, on a bright May morning, was spoken another incantation that opened to four faithful hearts the gates of a Paradise of life-long happiness and love. I would bid him admire sweet Peggy, tripping forth, all smiles and blushes, beside her stalwart husband to foregather with Jasper and me and our friends from Wellclose Square and the Temple in the ancient rooms in Clifford’s Inn.

But my tale is told. The curtain is rung down; and I may not linger before it, babbling over the extinguished footlights on an empty stage--perchance to an empty house.

THE END

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

This edition was published in 1922.

Though not without flaws, the edition hosted on Project Gutenberg Australia (date and publisher not given) was cautiously consulted for many of the changes listed below.

Minor spelling inconsistencies (e.g. attaché-case/attaché case, clockwise/clock-wise, unmistakeable/unmistakable, etc.) have been preserved.

Alterations to the text:

Punctuation: fix some quotation mark pairings/nestings, and some missing periods and commas.

[Prologue]

Change “will make a wig--should I die it and hush up its treason?” to dye.

[Chapter I]

“with so sign of life or movement save the tumultuous thumping” to no.

(“There is just one way for you out of this mess, Vardon,”) change the last comma to a period.

(“Do!” repeated Mr. Otway. “What can I do. As a trustee,…) change the period after do to a question mark.

(would rather go to gaol than connive at the sacrifice of my daughter’s unhappiness.”) to happiness.

[Chapter II]

(how could I entertain… “certain conceivable alternatives.”) change the period to a question mark.

(“Yes,” he replied, after a brief pause, “it was Mr. Oway. to Otway.

[Chapter III]

“not that I am suspecting you of trying to evade fufilment.” to fulfilment.

“will probably continue to refuse. so that one would rather” change the period to a comma.

“He shook my hand in a drily, courteous fashion” delete the comma.

[Chapter IV]

“But they never had been, The necessary refracting medium” change the comma to a period.

[Chapter V]

“What do you say to a few fays in London?” to days.

[Chapter VI]

“escape or protest against the most repulsive familarities” to familiarities.

(“Do you mean to say,” my father demanded, “that the marriage has actually taken place.”) change the period to a question mark.

(“I haven’s seen it myself, yet. The morning’s correspondence) to haven’t.

[Chapter VIII]

“seen my father’s latter and deliberately left it unopened” to letter.

(“Have you been able to give any more consideration to my proposal, Helen.”) change the period to a question mark.

“approaching with a defferential and rather uncomfortable air” to deferential.

[Chapter IX]

“it must evitably lay bare the real nature of the transaction” to inevitably.

(“Naturally. But you would say that the fainting attack preceded the blow on the head.”) change the last period to a question mark.

[Chapter XI]

“Dr. Thorndyke had admitted that the neighbourhood was squali d” to squalid.

[Chapter XII]

“What did this portend. To Mr. Jackson it meant no more” change the period to a question mark.

[Chapter XIII]

“had suddenly become transformed into the mystic--; wide-eyed, dreamy, yet intense.” delete the semicolon and following space.

(great things of life,” she said in low, earnest, tones.) delete the last comma.

“I have been fearful of intruding on your strongly individual, self-contained, personality.” delete the last comma.

[Chapter XIV]

“he conceived the briliant idea of making over his kingdom” to brilliant.

“I gave that maw worm ten guineas for it” to mean.

[Chapter XV]

“recalling, but not imitating, the works of Burne Jones and Rosetti” to Rossetti.

“work on the easel was a similar drawing of a freize-like character” to frieze-like.

Hyphenate “U P E A S F,” “U P S A S F,” “J A E P E F,” and “J A S E S F.”

(… picture of some event that is going to take place in the near future,”) change the comma to a period.

[Chapter XVI]

“he would probably have been con-considerably startled” to considerably.

“And the question is, what cards does that person hold. Is he acting on a mere guess or has he any actual knowledge.” change both periods to question marks.

[Chapter XVII]

“show-cases which had been set up for the occasion were surrrounded” to surrounded.

“what is Miss Finch going to do with that bieu de roi vase?” to bleu.

“I shall call you Miss Vardon, unless you let me call you, Helen” delete the second comma.

“the two roisterers who had just emerged from a handsom-cab” to hansom-cab.

(“I shan’t wan’t to sell it,” she said. “If it is good) to want.

[Chapter XVIII]

“just a pair of walnut slab hinged together, the lower slab having” to slabs.

“said Mr. Campbell, pulling a face pf proportionate length” to of.

“it would be a sin to put those spoons unto a velvet-lined case” to into.

(… and while he lives I can contract no other marriage,”) change the comma to a period.

“that his separation of the things that really mattered from those that were trivial and inessential and true and just.” to was.

[Chapter XIX]

“I had looked for a rather dull, social call flavoured with porcelain.” delete the comma.

“resembled a solemn and unspeakably dull, drawing-room game” delete the comma.

“… so you, needn’t mind asking me anything that you want to know.”) delete the comma.

[Chapter XX]

“not much interested in anything connected with with my daily life” delete one with.

“I had endeavoured to revive my enthusiam for my work” to enthusiasm.

“worked in repousé with enrichments in enamel” to repoussé.

“and he man from the office downstairs looks in sometimes” to the.

“well-beloved name, painted in white l tters” to letters.

“I entered and was confronted by a somewhat unkempt, young man” delete the comma.

“But life is before us, and mine shall be one, long thanksgiving” delete the second comma.

[Chapter XXI]

“at least give the the comfort of your sympathy” to me.

Change:

I viewed him as the insurance director views interested in his decease, not in his survival. I loathed him, the generalised “proposer,”--but inversely; for I was but I did not hate him.

to:

I viewed him as the insurance director views the generalised “proposer,”--but inversely; for I was interested in his decease, not in his survival. I loathed him, but I did not hate him.

(But are you quite sure--thought you might have taken it away with you.”) add I and a space after the em-dash.

“He drew h mself to the edge of the bed, and, thrusting” to himself.

“It had parts--recognisble members.” to recognisable.

[Chapter XXIII]

“He gave me a few explcit directions as to how to find” to explicit.

[Chapter XXIV]

“But there the plain, undeniable facts, were.” delete the second comma.

“The length of ripe had been joined at the ends” to rope.

“bottle of veronal tablets on a table b y the bed” to by.

“night of the 18th as the time at which death occured” to occurred.

(“No, I do not?”) change the question mark to a period.

“The coroner nodded gravely and opened another letter: and as he read aloud” delete the colon.

[Chapter XXV]

“cross, to Fetter Lane and into Clifford’s Inn by the postern gate” delete the comma.

“Before I had replied to Mr. Isaacs, letter I received two” change the comma to a possessive apostrophe.

“which had slipped from me subsconsciously would have been” to subconsciously.

“But would it escape Dr. Thorndyke’s almost superhuman penetration.” change the period to a question mark.

[Chapter XXVI]

“the collection taken from Mr. Hyams’ includes tourmalines, emeralds” delete the apostrophe.

(“Is it necessary, sir, for me to answer that question,” he asked) change the last comma to a question mark.

“He is a dealer in works of art, principally goldsmiths work” to goldsmith’s.

“Is it not possible that this stick lying in the shade on the shelf, might have been overlooked?” delete the comma.

[Chapter XXVII]

“and there is a further possiblity that he was actually her” to possibility.

“The last letter refers explicity to the loaded stick” to explicitly.

“unmounted precious stones illictly obtained are difficult” to illicitly.

“weighed 231 pounds--more that half a hundredweight in excess” to than.

(“What method did you employ to measure the strength of the peg.”) change the period to a question mark.

[Chapter XXVIII]

“being a liquid--is an an intensely poisonous substance” delete one an.

[Epilogue]

“followed my pilgrimage through the valley of the shadow, has been given” delete the comma.

[End of text]