They were his last words, because Maurice had disappeared thereabouts, leaving no trace of his presence except a little pile of the petals of the eve… - E. M. Forster

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They were his last words, because Maurice had disappeared thereabouts, leaving no trace of his presence except a little pile of the petals of the evening primrose, which mourned from the ground like an expiring fire. To the end of his life Clive was not sure of the exact moment of departure, and with the approach of old age he grew uncertain whether the moment had yet occurred.