Explore "The Crimson Candle" by Ambrose Bierce on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
A man lying at the point of death called his wife to his bedside and said:
"I am about to leave you forever; give me, therefore, one last proof of your affection and fidelity, for, according to our holy religion, a married man seeking admittance at the gate of Heaven is required to swear that he has never defiled himself with an unworthy woman. In my desk you will find a crimson candle, which has been blessed by the High Priest and has a peculiar mystical significance. Swear to me that while it is in / existence you will not remarry."
The Woman swore and the Man died. At the funeral the Woman stood at the / head of the bier, holding a lighted crimson candle till it was wasted / entirely away.