The Advocate did not read any further, but laid the paper aside and said:
"Men who take part in public matters are open to attacks of this kind. There is nothing to complain of."
"And yet," thought Pierre Lamont, when the Advocate left him, "there was in his face, as he read the article, an expression denoting that he was moved. Well,--well--men are but human, even the greatest."
Later in the day he was visited by Christian Almer, to whom he repeated his apologies.
"I have one of my bad attacks on me. They frequently last for days. At such times it is dangerous for me to be moved about."
"Then do not be moved about," said Almer, with a smile.
But despite this smile. Almer was inwardly disquieted. He had not been aware on the previous night that Pierre Lamont occupied the next room to his. After the departure of the Advocate, Adelaide had not been careful; her voice had been frequently raised, and Almer was anxious to ascertain whether it had reached the old lawyer's ears.
"Yes, until the early morning, a little after sunrise. I am a very deep sleeper for four or five hours. The moment I close my eyes sleep claims me, and holds me so securely that, were the house on fire, it would be difficult to arouse me. But the moment the sunshine peeps into my room, my rest is at an end. When I had the use of my limbs I was an early riser."
Almer's mind was relieved. "Sleeping in a strange bed is often not conducive to repose."
"I have slept in so many strange beds." And Pierre Lamont thought as he spoke: "But never in a stranger bed than this."
"You can still find occupation," said Almer, pointing to the books on table and bed.
"Ah, books, books, books!" said Pierre Lamont. "What would the world do without them? How did it ever do without them? But I am old, and I am talking to a young man."
"My father was a bookworm and a student," said Almer. "Were he alive, he would be disappointed that I do not tread in his footsteps."
"Perhaps not. He was a wise man, with a comprehensive mind. It would not do for us all to be monks."
FRITZ THE FOOL RELATES A STRANGE DREAM TO PIERRE LAMONT
Half-a-dozen times in the course of the day Pierre Lamont had sent in search of Fritz the Fool, and it was not till the afternoon that Fritz made his appearance.