In the quietness of the early morni

In the quietness of the early morning he sat alone to reflect on the life he had led. It was, he thought, quite uneventful. He had so far accomplished nothing. He was ambitious, but not in the narrow sense of the word. His hope was to see the destruction of what he hated and the establishment of what he loved. This had proved too great an ambition for him. Perhaps he would never see the day when this would happen. However, he believed he had chosen the right path; he was sure that many others would follow when he had passed away. Formerly, whenever he was setting out on a risky undertaking, he could not help feeling sorry for his wife, to whom he thought he had brought little happiness but plenty of worry. At times he had even thought of putting everything aside and escaping to that deserted island on the far distant coast of the South Sea, to live a life of absolute retirement with Lotus Fragrance. But then he would have a guilty conscience. He would be a deserter. Neither he nor she would have a moment of peace if he were to feel like a deserter.