not utter a word till he had read it to the end. Even when he had finished it, he did not speak for a while.
“That letter has touched you deeply, has it not?” he asked at last.
“More than words can tell. If anybody had written to tell me that Mathew had died suddenly, I could not feel more cast down and grieved.”
“In truth, he is a good artillerist. His words are like the reports of a piece of ordnance; a man can hardly help wincing at them.”
“What am I to do with him? Give me your advice. I cannot live without his respect. I should fret myself to death if he remained in this erroneous opinion of me.”
“My advice is this: sit down at your writing-table, dip your pen in the ink-bottle, and tell him the whole simple truth just as it is.”
“I am bound by a promise, and I must keep the secret.”
“The secret need not be violated by you. Tell him all under the seal of confession, and Neducha will not refuse you his absolution.”
Father Cvok was silent for a few minutes, lost in thought. At last he said,“ I must allow that you are right. There is no other help, no other way to take the load from my heart, and bring back peace to my mind. And now, one word more, brother. What do you advise me to do in future to put down this scandal among the people?”
“Have the child removed out of your house. The cackling gossips will then grow quiet and go to sleep over it, and all this talk, like everything else in the world, will slowly sink into oblivion.”
“That I cannot do. My word is pledged, and must be
