"A convulsive laugh broke from me at the idea of deception having also been practised upon the old man; yet, at the next instant, it struck me as something strange that he should know of my brother's visit to the castle.
"You speak enigmatically, holy father (said I); I know nothing of any letter my brother wrote, nor of any sad event that———.'
"I suddenly paused;—the dying groan of Philippe again, me—thought, sounded in my ear, and stopped my utterance.
'If the meaning of my words is incomprehensible (said the monk, regarding me with mingled horror and surprise), so is also the meaning of your looks: explain what has disordered you.'
"First say (cried I), what you know about my brother's visit to the castle; explain the reason of it."
'Concealment is no longer necessary (said he); the Count came to the castle to receive the last sigh of his wife.'
