Page:The Mysterious Warning - Parsons (1796, volume 1).djvu/228

The old servant returned with bread and wine and a cup; he looked very attentively on Ferdinand, and then withdrew. The Recluse, who penetrated through the silence of his guest, said, "I read your surprise, and guess at the doubts which occupy your mind: I will satisfy them in part. I am not the owner of this once magnificent seat, yet I am the master here, and have resided in it above twelve years. In a clear moon-light night I walk, sometimes to the skirts of the Black Forest, but at other times I never exceed the courts of the Castle, for the gardens are now a wilderness of weeds. Once a week the provisions I want are brought from a village about five miles off, on the edge of the forest. Wine is sometimes drawn here, though not by me, I have that within me which supports my strength and spirits; my old attendant requires more substantial food. Bread, fruits and water, is all that my table affords, and as much as nature requires. I am not so old as you may suppose from my appear-