A Letter to Mr Gabriel Flynn
My dear Gabriel Flynn,
I must begin, I think, with an apology, for I have done you an unkindness when most you relied upon me for kindness. I had promised you sanctuary, and, in my ensuing confusion, I seemed to with-hold my promise of a safe haven; I must apologise for such a cruel betrayal, which I did not intend and which you did not deserve. I fear that, when I asked you to return to the home which I thought a sanctuary for you, any rational person must have seen in it a gesture of punishment--and that, when I denied you my company, you could have thought it no other thing. It was not my intention to punish you, for in your fear and your deep repentance, you deserved only my respect, my charity, and my love.
Know this: That, whatever my fleeting passions and fears, I believe you to be a good man, deserving of complete love and complete forgiveness. I do not believe you to be deserving of punishment, at my hands or at your own, and therefor I cannot countenance the thought that, in my lapse of sympathy, we became fellow-torturers.
I cannot speak for S----- or for her sentiments; it is not my task to absolve you or to condemn you in her stead. What strife you have with her is your affair and hers. As your friend, and as one who loves you, I can do no other thing but love you and offer you what aid you crave.
I am yours, and always yours,
H. Paulsen.