me he was unmanageable."

"I did not understand him, but the older I became the better did I
feel that there was a sad secret germinating in the bottom of his
soul, where it grew like a spreading tree, the branches of which crept
up to the castle and covered the walls, little by little overshadowed
the sunlight, absorbed the air, and darkened everyone's heart. I
gritted my teeth in vain; I could not work; I could not start to
accomplish anything. I struggled with hundreds and hundreds of
determinations; to-day I prepared for this or that; to-morrow for
something else; ambition pressed me within; I could not make up my
mind. Behind every resolution I made, I noticed my father's
countenance, like a note of interrogation. The old fables that we
heard together in our childhood were renewed in my memory. Little by
little the thought grew within me, like a fixed delusion, that my
father's fatal secret was locked up in the tower room. After that I
lived by the calendar and dwelt on the passing of time on the clock.
And when the sun that shone on me when I was born arose the
twenty-fourth time, I pressed my hand on my heart and entered my
father's room--this very room.

"'Father,' I said, 'I became of age to-day, everything may be opened
before me, and I am at liberty to know everything.' Father looked at
me and pondered over this.

"'Oh, yes!' he whispered, 'this is the day.'

"'I may know everything now,' continued I; 'I am not afraid of any
secrets. In the name of our family tradition, I beg of you, please
open the tower-room.'

"Father raised his hand, as if he wanted to make me become silent. His
face was as white as a ghost.

"'Very well,' he murmured, 'I will open the tower-room for you.'

"And then he pulled off his coat, tore his shirt on his breast, and
pointed to his heart.

"'Here is the tower-room, my boy!' did he whisper in a husky voice.
'Here is the tower-room, and within our family secret. Do you see it?'

"That is all he said, but when I looked at him I immediately perceived
the secret; everything was clear before me and I had a presentiment
that something was nearing its end, something about to break.

"Father walked up and down; and then he stopped and pointed to this
picture; to this very picture.

"'Did you ever thoroughly look at your ancestors? They are all from
the Orzos. If you scrutinize their faces you will recognize in them
your father, yourself, and your grandfather; and if you ever r