THANATHOPIA

JAMES LEEN BEGINS HIS STORY

"when I was a child, I lost my mother and was at once sent by my father to a boarding school in Oxford. My father never showed me affection and only came to visit me once a year. As i grew up , I became a more and more melancholy and lonely boy. I was still very young, but I could say I had learnt everything about sadness.

"One day, the visit of my father was announced. I remember that at that moment I needed to unburden myself to someone so much that I received him with joy, even though over time his hostility had made me end up hating him.

"Althougth he avoided looking directly at me, I was surprised to note he sremed much friendlier than on other occasions. And when i explained that my studies had concluded and i wanted to return to london, his reply surprised me still more.

"I was thinking of taking you with me today. You have to know that at my age I need the support of a family and I've looked for one. I've remarried, so now you have a stepmother and she wants to meet you.

"A stepmother! when I heard the word, the image of my sweet mother came to mind and I remembered how much she suffered on feeling practically abandoned by my father, who spent day and night shut up in his laboratory. I remained silent and began to pack my bags so as to leave with my father."