Above all, she planned to keep me in ignorance of the truth until I should be equipped to win the place in the world that she coveted for me.

It was for that, she sent me away, and kept me from home.

As the demands for my educational expenses grew naturally heavier, she supplemented the slender resources, left in the final settlement of my father's estate, by sacrificing the treasures of her home, and by giving up the luxuries to which she had been accustomed from childhood.

She even provided for me after her death--not wealth, but a comfortable amount, sufficient to support me in good circumstances until I can gain recognition and an income from my work." Under the lash of his memories, the young man sprang to his feet.
"In God's name, Lagrange, why did not some one tell me?
I did not know--I did not know--I thought--O mother, mother, mother--why did you do it?
Why was I not told?
All these years I have lived a selfish fool, and you--you--I would have given up everything--I would have worked in a ditch, rather than accept this." The deep, quiet voice of Conrad Lagrange broke the stillness that followed the storm of the artist's passionate words.

"And that is the answer, Aaron.