The two rooms in the Castle occupied by Dr. Fabian looked out on to the
park, and were in some measure shut off from the rest of the house.
There was a special reason for this. When the Princess caused the
hitherto unused apartments of her first husband to be put in readiness
for that husband's son, some thought was naturally given to the
ex-tutor who was to accompany him, and a room was prepared in
consequence. It was rather small and very noisy, for it lay next to the
main staircase; but, according to the lady's notion, it was just suited
to the Doctor. She knew that at Altenhof very little fuss had been made
about him, especially by his former pupil. There must have been a
considerable change in this respect, however, for on his arrival
Waldemar had declared the accommodation to be quite inadequate, had
caused the visitors' rooms on the other side of the house to be opened,
and had sequestrated two of them to his friend's use. Now these rooms
had been specially fitted up for Count Morynski and his daughter, who
often spent whole weeks at Wilicza. Of this fact the young owner of the
place could not possibly be aware; but when Pawlick, who now filled the
office of major-domo at the Castle, opened his mouth to reply, Waldemar
stopped him with a brief inquiry as to whether the apartments in
question formed part of the Princess's suite, or of Prince Leo's. On
receiving an answer in the negative, he declared very decidedly, "Then
Dr. Fabian will occupy them at once." That same day the corridor which
ran close by, where the servants were constantly passing up and down,
was closed, and the order given that in future they were to go round by
the other staircase, in order not to disturb the Doctor by running to
and fro--and so the matter was settled.
The Princess said no word when informed of these occurrences. She had
laid it down as a rule never to contradict her son in trifles. Other
rooms were immediately prepared for her brother and niece. Still it was
natural that she should look upon poor Fabian, the innocent cause of
this mishap, with no very friendly eyes. She never made this apparent,
it is true, for both she herself and the whole Castle soon came to know
that Waldemar was exceedingly sensitive on the subject of his old
tutor, and that, though he claimed little attention for himself, any
failure of respect towards the Doctor would be most sharply reproved by
him. This was almost the only point on which he asserted his right to
command; but on this head he spoke so emphatically that every one, from
the Princess down to the domestics, treated Dr. Fabian with the utmost
consideration.
It was no very hard task to be polite to the quiet, retiring man, who
was always so modest and courteous, who stood in nobody's way, required
but very little attendance, and showed himself grateful for the
smallest service. He was rarely seen except at table, for he spent the
whole day over his books, and his evenings generally in the company of
his old pupil, with whom he seemed on the most intimate footing. "He is
the only being for whom Waldemar has any regard," the Princess said to
her brother, when she explained to him the change in his quarters. "We
must respect this whim, though I really do not understand what he can
see in this tiresome professor. Formerly he used altogether to ignore
the man, and now he makes quite a pet of him."
However it may have come about, the complete change in his
circumstances had exercised an unmistakable influence on Dr. Fabian.
His timidity and modesty were conspicuous as ever; they were too deeply
ingrained in his nature ever to be eradicated; but the anxious,
depressed look, which had clouded his face of old, had disappeared with
all that was painful in his position. He had grown stronger, healthier
of aspect than in former days. The years spent at the University, and
his subsequent travels, may have helped to transform the sickly, shy,
neglected tutor into a well-bred man, whose pale but winning
countenance and low sweet-toned voice impressed every one favourably,
and whose timidity alone prevented him from appearing everywhere to
advantage.
The Doctor had a visitor, a rare occurrence with him. By his side on
the sofa sat no less a person than the Government Assessor, Herr Hubert
of L----, most peacefully minded on this occasion and indulging in no
dreams of arrest. That former fatal error of his was precisely what had
led to the acquaintanceship. Dr. Fabian had shown himself the one
friend and consoler in the deluge of troubles which had poured down on
the Assessor's devoted head when once the thing became known. This
happened all too soon. Gretchen had been 'heartless enough,' as Hubert
expressed it, to relate the story in fullest detail to her friends in
L----. The tale of the master of Wilicza's intended arrest went the
round of the whole town; and, if no formal report of the affair was
laid before the President, that magnate soon got to hear of it, and the
over zealous official received a sharply worded piece of advice to be
more prudent in future, and next time he was seeking to lay hands on
secret Polish emissaries not to fix on a great German landowner, on
whose attitude so much might depend. The incident was known, too, in
Wilicza. Waldemar himself had told the Princess--the whole
neighbourhood knew of it, and wherever the unfortunate Assessor put in
an appearance, he was met by covert allusions or open taunts.
On the very day following his misadventure he had called on Herr
Nordeck to offer his apologies, but had not found that gentleman at
home. The Doctor, though himself an offended party, had behaved with
generosity on this occasion. He received the crestfallen Hubert,
consoled him to the best of his ability, and undertook to make
his excuses for him. But the Assessor's contrition was neither
of great depth nor duration. He possessed far too great a dose of
self-importance to attain to any true knowledge of his own merits; and,
like any steel spring, rebounded into his former position, so soon as
the pressure was withdrawn. The general derision annoyed and hurt him,
but his confidence in himself was in no degree shaken by it. Any one
else after such a misfortune would have kept as quiet as possible, in
order to let the remembrance of it die away, and would certainly not,
for some time to come, have eagerly undertaken similar tasks. This,
however, was precisely what Hubert did with a feverish zeal. The fixed
idea had taken possession of him that he must make good his fiasco and
show his colleagues, the President, and all L----, that,
notwithstanding what had occurred, his intelligence was, beyond all
doubt, of a superior order. It was absolutely necessary now that he
should capture a couple of conspirators, or unearth a plot, no matter
how or where; it grew to be, in some sort, a question of life or death
with him, and he was constantly in pursuit of the object he had set
himself to attain.
Wilicza still remained the focus of his observations; Wilicza, which in
L---- was well known to be dangerous ground, and yet over which no hold
could be obtained! There seemed less chance than ever of getting at the
truth, for it was evident that all hopes founded on the master's
presence must be given up. He was, although a German, entirely in the
hands of his Polish relations, and if not a consenting party, at least
indifferent to their operations. This conduct, which was very generally
condemned in L----, found its severest judge in the Assessor. In a like
position, how much more energetically would he have acted, how he at a
blow would have extinguished and defeated their secret intrigues! He
would have been a shining example of loyalty to the whole province,
would have earned the gratitude of the State and the admiration of the
world in general. However, as he was not lord of Wilicza, nor even
Counsellor as yet, no choice was left him but to set to work to
discover the conspiracy which assuredly existed. To this aim and object
all his thoughts and endeavours now tended.
There was indeed no mention of such matters in the talk between the two
gentlemen. The good-natured Dr. Fabian must not be allowed to perceive
that this visit to him was prompted by a burning desire to effect an
entrance into the Castle. The Assessor had, therefore, sought a pretext
in a subject which was certainly one of interest to him, but which he
could very well have introduced at the steward's house, where he and
Fabian occasionally met.
"I have a favour to ask of you, Doctor," he began, after a few words of
greeting and preface had been spoken, "a little claim to make on your
kindness. It is not exactly a personal matter, but one concerning the
Frank family at whose house you frequently visit. As Herr Nordeck's
former tutor, you are no doubt acquainted with French?"
"I speak it certainly," answered the Doctor; "but I have got rather out
of practice during the last few years. Herr Nordeck does not like the
language, and here at Wilicza every one pays us the attention of
speaking German to us exclusively."
"Yes, yes, practice!" interrupted the Assessor. "That is just what
Fraeulein Margaret wants. She spoke French very nicely when she came
back from school a few years ago, but here in the country she has no
opportunity for it. I was going to ask if you would occasionally read,
or hold a little conversation in French with the young lady. You have
plenty of time, and you would confer a great obligation on me."
"On you, Herr Hubert?" asked Fabian, amazed. "I must confess to feeling
some surprise that such a proposition should come from you rather than
from Herr Frank, or the Fraeulein herself."
"There are good reasons for it," said Hubert, with dignity. "You may
possibly have already remarked--I make no secret of it--that I cherish
certain wishes and intentions which may be realised at no very distant
date. In a word, I look on the young lady as my betrothed."
The Doctor suddenly stooped to pick up a sheet of paper which lay on
the floor, and which he now scrutinised attentively although it bore no
writing. "I congratulate you," he said, laconically.
"Oh, for the present I must decline to accept congratulations," smiled
the Assessor, with indescribable self-complacency. "There has been no
avowal of our sentiments as yet, though I think I may safely count on
her consent. To be frank, before proffering my suit, I should prefer to
obtain the Counsellorship which I am shortly expecting. Such a position
would produce a better effect, and you must know that Fraeulein Frank is
a good match."
"Really?"
"An excellent match. The steward is a rich man, there can be no doubt
of that. Think of all the money he must have made here in twenty years,
what with his salary and his percentage on everything! It is a positive
fact that, on leaving his post, he means to buy and settle down on a
place of his own, and I know that he is realising capital to a
considerable amount with that intention. Fraeulein Margaret and her
brother, who is now studying at the school of agriculture, are the only
children. I can count on a fair dowry and a snug little fortune to be
inherited by-and-by. Added to this, the young lady herself is a most
amiable, charming girl, whom I adore."
"Added to this!" repeated the Doctor, in a low tone, but with a
bitterness most unusual to him. His murmured exclamation escaped the
Assessor, who went on with an air of great importance.
"Frank has spared nothing in the education of his children. His
daughter was for a long time at one of the first establishments in
P----, and there acquired all that a lady need know--much to my
satisfaction, for you will easily understand, Doctor, that, looking to
my future position, it is indispensable that my wife should be a person
of cultivated mind. It will be required of us to appear in society, and
to entertain at home, and therefore I feel it a duty even now to see
that such accomplishments as pianoforte playing and French are not laid
aside and forgotten. If you would be so good, therefore, in regard to
the latter ..."
"With pleasure, if Herr Frank and his daughter wish it," said Fabian,
in a constrained tone.
"Certainly they wish it, but it was I more especially who counted on
your kind help," declared Hubert, who was evidently very proud of his
bright idea. "When Fraeulein Margaret was complaining not long ago that
she had very nearly forgotten her French, her father hit on the plan of
having the master of languages out from the town occasionally. Just
imagine! a young Frenchman who would begin making love to his pupil at
the very first lesson! Frank's head is always running on his farming
and his accounts, and he does not trouble himself with such things, but
I was more prudent. I would not have that young Frenchman there so
often, playing the gallant with the girl, for anything; but a man of
more advanced age, like yourself ..."
"I am thirty-seven, sir," the Doctor interrupted him.
"Oh, never mind, that has nothing to do with it," said Hubert, smiling.
"I should be quite easy with you--but I should really have taken you to
be older! Tell me though, Doctor, what made you bring such a quantity
of books with you as you have here? What are you studying? Pedagogical
science, I suppose. May I look?"
He rose, and was going towards the writing-table, but Dr. Fabian was
quicker than he. With a rapid movement, almost betokening alarm, he
threw a newspaper over some bound volumes lying on the table, and
placed himself before them.
"Only a hobby of mine," said he, a vivid flush mounting to his cheeks.
"Historical studies."
"Oh, historical studies!" repeated the Assessor. "Well, then, I must
inquire whether you know Professor Schwarz, the great authority on such
matters. He is my uncle. But, of course, you must know him. He is on
the staff of the University of J----, where Herr Nordeck studied."
"I have that pleasure," said Fabian, rather dejectedly, with a glance
at the newspaper.
"How should you not?" cried the Assessor. "My uncle is a celebrity, an
intellect of the very first order! We have every reason to be proud of
his relationship, though our family can boast many a well-sounding
name. Now I do not consider that I disgrace it myself!"
The Doctor still stood anxiously on his guard before his writing-table,
as though to ensure himself against any attempt at robbery or violence
on the part of the Assessor, but that gentleman was now far too deeply
absorbed by the importance of his family in general, and by his uncle's
celebrity in particular, to pay any special attention to the scribbling
of an insignificant tutor. Nevertheless he felt himself called on to
say something polite.
"But it is extremely creditable for laymen to take an interest in such
studies," he remarked, condescendingly. "I only fear that you cannot
have the necessary leisure for them here. There must be a great deal of
stir in the Castle, a continual coming and going of all sorts of
people, is there not?"
"It may be so," replied Fabian, unsuspiciously, and without an inkling
of the man[oe]uvre executed by his visitor; "but Waldemar, knowing my
bent, has been so kind as to choose for me the most secluded and
quietest rooms."
"Naturally, naturally!" Hubert was standing at the window now, trying
to take a thorough survey of the place. "But I should fancy that such
an old building as this Wilicza, dating back through many centuries,
must in itself have a great interest for you, with its various
historical reminiscences. All these halls, staircases, and galleries!
and what immense cellars there must be below! Were you ever in the
cellars?"
"In the cellars?" asked the Doctor, in much astonishment. "No,
certainly not. What should I be doing there?"
"_I_ should go down," said the Assessor. "I have a fancy for such old
vaults, as indeed for everything that is curious. By-the-by, is the
late Herr Nordeck's collection of arms still complete? They say he had
a most extravagant mania for such things, and that he got together
hundreds of the finest rifles and other weapons."
"You must ask his son!" Dr. Fabian replied with a shrug. "I own I have
not yet been in the armoury."
"That will be on the other side of the house," observed Hubert, taking
his bearings with all the keenness of a detective. "According to
Frank's description it must be a dark, uncanny sort of place, like
everything about Wilicza indeed. Have not you heard that the house is
haunted? You have not yourself noticed anything unusual, out of the
common, at night, I suppose?"
"I sleep at night," replied the Doctor, tranquilly, but with a slight
smile at his visitor's superstition.
The Assessor cast an appealing glance towards Heaven. This man, whom
accident had placed in the very heart of the place, saw and heard
nothing of what was going on around him. He had not visited the
cellars; he had not even been in the armoury, and at night he slept! No
information could be extracted from this simple bookworm. Hubert could
see that, so after a few polite speeches he took his leave and left the
room.
He went slowly along the corridor. On his arrival a servant had
received, and led him to the Doctor's study; but now on his way back he
was alone, alone in this 'nest of conspiracy,' which now, in the broad
daylight, with its carpeted galleries and stairs, certainly appeared as
secure and dignified in its repose as the most loyal home of the most
loyal subject. But the Assessor was not to be deluded by appearances.
Right and left he scented those plots which unfortunately escaped his
grasp. There was a door which had a suspicious look, he thought. It
stood in the shade of a colossal pillar, and was strongly and deeply
encased in the wall. This door possibly led to a back staircase, or
into a secret gallery, possibly even below into the cellars which
Hubert's fancy at once peopled with troops of traitors and filled with
concealed stacks of arms. Should he press the latch? At the worst, he
could allege a mistake, could say he had lost himself in the Castle's
intricate ways ... perhaps the key to all its secrets lay here....
Suddenly the door opened, and Waldemar Nordeck stepped out. The
Assessor sprang back. Just Heaven! for the second time he had nearly
fallen foul of the master of Wilicza. One glance through the open chink
showed him that the place he had held to be such dangerous ground was
that gentleman's bedroom. Waldemar passed him with a very cool bow, and
went on to Dr. Fabian's apartments. Hubert saw that, in spite of his
apology, this 'suspicious character' had not forgiven him. The
consciousness of this and the shock of the unexpected meeting had, for
the present, robbed him of all desire for further discoveries, and a
servant just then appearing on the staircase, no alternative was left
him but at once to make his way out.
Meanwhile Waldemar had gone in to his old tutor, who was still standing
at the writing-table, busy putting in order the books and papers he had
lately screened from the Assessor's curious gaze. The young man went up
to him.
"Well, what news?" he asked. "You have had letters and newspapers from
J----. I saw them when I sent you the packet over."
The Doctor looked up. "Oh, Waldemar," he said in a grievous tone, "why
did you almost force me to bring my work and quiet studies before the
public? I resisted from the first, but you went on urging and
persuading me until the book appeared."
"Of course I did. What use was it to yourself, or to any one else while
it was lying shut up in that drawer? But what has happened? Your
'History of Teutonism' was received in learned circles with a favour
far beyond our expectations. The first recognition of its worth came
from J----, from Professor Weber, and I should think _his_ opinion
would be decisive on such a subject."
"I thought so too," replied Fabian, despondingly. "I was so proud and
happy at receiving praise from such a mouth, but that is just what has
roused Professor Schwarz--you know him, don't you?--to attack me and my
book in quite an unprecedented manner. Just look at this."
He held out the newspaper to him. Nordeck took it and read the
paragraph through coolly. "This is nothing but a charming specimen of
spitefulness. The end is especially neat. 'We hear that this new
celebrity just discovered by Professor Weber was for a long time tutor
to the son of one of our greatest landed proprietors, and that his
system of education was attended by no very brilliant result.
Notwithstanding this, the influence of the distinguished pupil we speak
of may have had something to do with our friend's exaggerated
appreciation of a work by which an ambitious dilettante hopes to force
his way into the ranks of scientific men!'"
Waldemar threw down the paper. "Poor Doctor! How often will you be made
to suffer for having brought up such a monster as myself! In truth,
your system of education has as little to do with my unamiable
character as my influence had with Weber's review of your book; but in
these exclusive circles they will never forgive you for having been a
private tutor, even though you should one day mount into a Professor's
chair."
"Good Heavens, who ever dreams of such a thing!" exclaimed the Doctor,
fairly frightened at so bold a notion. "Not I, certainly, and therefore
it hurts me all the more to be accused of ambition, and of intrusively
thrusting myself forward, merely because I have written a scientific
book which keeps strictly to the matter in hand, offends no one,
interferes with no one ..."
"And moreover is of remarkable merit," interrupted Waldemar. "I should
have thought you would have come round to that belief yourself when
Weber took up the cudgels for you so decidedly. You know he does not
allow himself to be influenced, and you used to think him an
indisputable authority, to whom you looked up in veneration."
"Professor Schwarz is an authority too."
"Yes, but an atrabilious one who admits no one's importance but his
own. What the deuce made you hit on this Teutonic theme? That is _his_
province--_he_ has written on that, and woe to the man who lays his
finger on it. That man's work is condemned beforehand. Don't look so
discouraged. It is not becoming in a recently discovered celebrity.
What would Uncle Witold, with his sovereign contempt for the old
'heathen rubbish,' have said to Weber's discovery? I think you would
have been treated rather more respectfully than was, I regret to say,
the case. You made a great sacrifice in remaining with me."
"Do not speak so, Waldemar," said the Doctor, with a touch of
indignation. "I well know on whose side the sacrifice is now! Who
obstinately insisted upon keeping me with him when I could be of no
further use to him, and yet refused to accept the smallest service
which was likely to take me from my books? Who gave me the means to
devote myself solely to study, so that I could gather together and set
in order the scattered knowledge I possessed? Who almost compelled me
to accompany him on his travels, because my health was shaken by
constant work? The hour in which your Norman injured me was a blessed
one for me. It has brought me all I ever hoped or wished for from
life."
"Then you wished for very little," said Waldemar, impatiently--he was
evidently anxious to turn the conversation into another channel. "But
one thing more. I met that gifted representative of the L---- police
wandering about the Castle just now. He had been here with you, and I
see him continually over yonder at the manor farm. He can have no
object in visiting us now that we have proved ourselves beyond
suspicion. What is he always hanging about Wilicza for?"
Fabian looked down in much embarrassment. "I don't know, but I imagine
that his frequent visits to the steward's house have a purely personal
motive. He called on me to-day."
"And you received him with the utmost friendliness? Doctor, you are a
living impersonation of the doctrines of Christianity. To him who
smites you on the right cheek, you will meekly turn the left. I believe
you would not hesitate a moment to render Professor Schwarz an
important service, if it were in your power. But beware of this
Assessor, with his frantic mania for arresting people. He is on the
hunt for conspirators again, you may be sure; and limited as his
intelligence may be, chance might for once play the right cards into
his hands. It would not be difficult here at Wilicza."
The last words were spoken in such a tone of angry annoyance that the
Doctor let fall the first volume of his 'History of Teutonism,' which
he had just taken up.
"You have made some unpleasant discovery?" he asked. "Worse even than
you expected. I thought so, though you have said so little about it."
Waldemar had sat down, and was leaning his head on his hand.
"You know that I am not fond of talking of worries so long as I have
not mastered them; and besides, I wanted time to look about me. What
guarantee had I that, in representing matters to me as he did, the
steward was not prompted by some interest of his own, that he was not
exaggerating and distorting facts? One can only trust to one's own
judgment in these things, and I have been exercising mine during the
last few weeks. Unfortunately, I find every word confirmed which Frank
wrote to me. So far as his supremacy extends, there is order, and hard
enough it must be for him to maintain it; but on the other estates, on
the other farms, and worst of all in the forests--well, I was prepared
to find things in a bad way, but such an utter chaos I really did not
expect!"
Fabian had pushed his books and papers to one side, and was following
Waldemar's words with anxious sympathy and attention. The gloomy look
on his old pupil's face seemed to cause him some uneasiness.
"Uncle Witold always imagined that my Polish estates could be managed
from a distance," went on Nordeck, "and unfortunately he brought me up
in that belief. I disliked Wilicza. For me the place had none but
bitter memories; it reminded me of the sad breach between my parents,
of my own joyless early childhood. I was accustomed to look on Altenhof
as my home; and later on, when I intended coming, when I ought to have
come, something else held me back---- The penalty for all this has to
be paid now. The twenty years of official mismanagement during my
guardian's time had worked mischief enough; but the worst has come to
pass in the last four years under the Baratowski regime. It is
altogether my own fault. Why have I never taken any interest in the
property? Why did I adopt that unfortunate habit of my uncle's of
putting faith in every report which stood on paper in black and white.
Now I am, as it were, sold and betrayed on my own land."
"Your majority was fixed at so early a date," said the Doctor,
soothingly; "those three years at the University were indispensable to
your mental culture and improvement, and when we determined on giving
twelve months to travelling, we had no suspicion of how matters stood
here. We set our faces homeward so soon as you received the steward's
letter, and you, with your energy, will, I am sure, find yourself equal
to any emergency."
"Who knows?" said Waldemar, gloomily. "The Princess is my mother, and
she and Leo are quite dependent on me. It is that which ties my hands.
If I once let it come to a serious rupture, they will have to leave
Wilicza. Rakowicz would be their only refuge. I will not expose them,
or at any rate my brother, to such a humiliation. And yet a stop must
be put to all this, especially to the doings in the Castle itself. You
suspect nothing? That I believe, but _I_ know it. I only wanted to get
a clear view of the state of affairs first. Now I shall speak to my
mother."
A long pause ensued. Fabian did not venture to reply. He knew that when
his friend's face took that expression, no trifling matters were on
hand. At last, however, he got up and went over to him.
"Waldemar," he asked in a low tone, laying his hand on the young man's
shoulder, "what happened yesterday, when you were out hunting?"
Waldemar looked up. "When I was out hunting? Nothing. What made you
think of that?"
"You seemed so thoroughly out of sorts when you came back. I heard some
allusions at dinner to a dispute between you and Prince Baratowski."
"No, no," said Nordeck, indifferently. "Leo was a little huffed,
because I had treated his favourite horse rather roughly; but the thing
was of no consequence. We have settled it already."
"It was something else, then?"
"Yes--something else."
"Waldemar, the other day the Princess called me your one confidant. I
might have replied that you had never need of a confidant. It may be
that I stand somewhat closer to you than other people, but you never
open your mind to me. Is it absolutely necessary that you should bear
all, fight through all alone?"
Waldemar smiled, but it was a cold, cheerless smile. "You must take me
as I am. But what is there now to make you anxious? With all the worry
and the annoyances which come pouring in upon me on all sides, I have
reason enough to be out of sorts."
The Doctor shook his head. "It is not that. Such things may irritate
and annoy you, but your present frame of mind is a very different one.
I have never seen you so but once, Waldemar--that time at Altenhof ..."
"Pray spare me these reminiscences, sir," Waldemar broke in so harshly
and abruptly that Fabian recoiled; then, recovering himself quickly, he
added far more mildly, "I am sorry you, too, should feel the effects of
the vexation and harass this Wilicza causes me. It was selfish of me to
bring you. You should have returned to J----, at least until I had
established some sort of order here, and until I could have offered you
a peaceful asylum."
"Nothing would have induced me to let you come alone," Fabian declared
in his gentle voice, but with a decision of manner most unusual to him.
Waldemar held out his hand to him, as if to ask pardon for his former
vehemence. "I know it, but do not torment yourself any more about me,
or I shall really regret having spoken openly to you. You have enough
to do with your own affairs. When you write to J---- again, remember me
to Professor Weber, and tell him I am about to make a practical
illustration of your book, and to impress on my Slavonic lands the
stamp of the Teuton. It is much needed here at Wilicza. Good-bye."
He went. Dr. Fabian looked after him, and sighed. "Impenetrable and
hard as a rock directly one approaches that one subject; and yet I know
that he has never got over the old trouble, and never will. I fear the
unhappy influence, to escape which we so long avoided Wilicza, is again
at work. Waldemar may deny it as he will--I saw it plainly when he came
home from hunting yesterday--he is under the old spell again."