“Let the wretched man who now addresses you, my dear Copperfield, be a beacon to you through life. He writes with that intention, and in that hope. If he could think himself of so much use, one gleam of day might, by possibility, penetrate into the cheerless dungeon of his remaining existence⁠—though his longevity is, at present (to say the least of it), extremely problematical.

“This is the last communication, my dear Copperfield, you will ever receive

“From

“The