CHAPTER V.
HE BETRAYS HIMSELF The confession was entitled, "Memoirs of a Miserable Man." It began abruptly in these words: I "I acknowledge, at the outset, that misfortune has had an effect on me which frail humanity is for the most part anxious to conceal.

Under the influence of suffering, I have become of enormous importance to myself.
In this frame of mind, I naturally enjoy painting my own portrait in words.

Let me add that they must be written words because it is a painful effort to me (since I lost my hearing) to speak to anyone continuously, for any length of time.
"I have also to confess that my brains are not so completely under my own command as I could wish.
"For instance, I possess considerable skill (for an amateur) as a painter in water colors.

But I can only produce a work of art, when irresistible impulse urges me to express my thoughts in form and color.

The same obstacle to regular exertion stands in my way, if I am using my pen.