And at last the King decided to abdicate the throne of Britain for my sake!..

After the failure of my attempt to bring David to go back on his decision, I had to look for another way: perhaps I should go far away, to some place he could never reach, so that the gulf between us would widen; and in this I would be helped by his pride, which would not allow him to pursue me while the world watched him — so he would draw back and return to his former life. I thought of freeing myself from the strange atmosphere and returning to the United States, but the thought of the American press, and the crises it might create for me at this particular time, made me abandon the idea... But why not go to China, and bury all my anxiety there, and live like anyone seeking forgetfulness?

Perry had sent Evans to the city to book our passage to Genoa, where we could find a ship sailing wherever we wished. With Perry and Herman, to prepare a final statement to give out to the press, in which I would include my definitive withdrawal.

A wave of anxiety swept over me at the thought of this last act. How would I tell David; how would I, with my own hand, put an end to our strong love and stifle its breath forever? When I heard his voice at the other end, I began repeating to him the lesson I knew by heart from having rehearsed it so often to myself; but he would not let me finish. He interrupted me, saying: It seems I am unable to make you understand the situation, and what things have come to... Everything is over; I have prepared my abdication; I cannot explain more to you than this.. Perhaps George Allen will convince you, so wait. After a minute's silence, I heard him go on: Listen to what George Allen has written me: "The only condition for my remaining on the throne is to give you up and never see you again." Then he continued: And of course I will not accept all this. The Council met twice today, and I gave them my final word. I shall leave England within forty-eight hours. Listen to what George has to say.

The account George Allen gave me was matter-of-fact and cold; nothing would turn the King

from his decision; he would sign the abdication on the morrow.

There was nothing I could do after that but weep; I wept hotly and painfully, and Katherine tried her utmost to comfort me and lighten what I was feeling; and in a dazed moment I felt that I had detached myself entirely from the tragedy being enacted over there, on the British stage, and I went stumbling through a world of silence and anxiety...

At dawn on Thursday, Perry read me the substance of the declaration Baldwin had delivered, by which the King abdicated; and it was my good fortune that Perry was the only person to witness my flood of tears. I was stunned by what David told me the next day: that he had taken rooms in a hotel in Switzerland, and that the British government had so far denied him his due that it abandoned him completely in the very days when he needed to secure his position and his personal stability. Here I was able to help him: I got in touch with some friends to help us, and managed to secure lodging for the King in the mansion of Baron de Rothschild...

Nor shall I forget the cup I drank to the dregs: David had to broadcast his abdication, and every one of us gathered in the villa — even the servants and the guards — listening for the decisive declaration. His voice came from afar, calm and moving. I lay on the bed, my hands over my eyes, trying to hide the tears that flowed in torrents, and I stayed where I was a long time before I found the strength to walk to my room.

The next day Perry left me and went to meet David and help him in his loneliness; and the last thing he said as he bade me farewell was: I shall tell them in London that you strove to stop this tragedy... They may not believe it, but this is my testimony; and I wish you the happiness for which you and the King have paid the dearest of prices.

David arrived in Austria; his brother had ascended the throne, and matters calmed somewhat, and the journalists who had camped for several days around the villa withdrew. Aunt Bessie came from London,