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1His face was a strong--a very strong--aquiline, with high bridge of the thin nose and peculiarly arched nostrils; with
2lofty domed forehead, and hair growing scantily round the temples but profusely elsewhere. His eyebrows were very
3massive, almost meeting over the nose, and with bushy hair that seemed to curl in its own profusion. The mouth, so far
4as I could see it under the heavy moustache, was fixed and rather cruel-looking, with peculiarly sharp white teeth;
5these protruded over the lips, whose remarkable ruddiness showed astonishing vitality in a man of his years. For the
6rest, his ears were pale, and at the tops extremely pointed; the chin was broad and strong, and the cheeks firm though
7thin. The general effect was one of extraordinary pallor. Hitherto I had noticed the backs of his hands as they lay on
8his knees in the firelight, and they had seemed rather white and fine; but seeing them now close to me, I could not but
9notice that they were rather coarse--broad, with squat fingers. Strange to say, there were hairs in the centre of the
10palm. The nails were long and fine, and cut to a sharp point. As the Count leaned over me and his hands touched me, I
11could not repress a shudder. It may have been that his breath was rank, but a horrible feeling of nausea came over me,
12which, do what I would, I could not conceal. The Count, evidently noticing it, drew back; and with a grim sort of smile,
13which showed more than he had yet done his protuberant teeth, sat himself down again on his own side of the fireplace.
14We were both silent for a while; and as I looked towards the window I saw the first dim streak of the coming dawn. There
15seemed a strange stillness over everything; but as I listened I heard as if from down below in the valley the howling of
16many wolves. The Count's eyes gleamed, and he said:-- "Listen to them--the children of the night. What music they make!"
17Seeing, I suppose, some expression in my face strange to him, he added:-- "Ah, sir, you dwellers in the city cannot
18enter into the feelings of the hunter." Then he rose and said:-- "But you must be tired. Your bedroom is all ready, and
19to-morrow you shall sleep as late as you will. I have to be away till the afternoon; so sleep well and dream well!" With
20a courteous bow, he opened for me himself the door to the octagonal room, and I entered my bedroom.... I am all in a sea
21of wonders. I doubt; I fear; I think strange things, which I dare not confess to my own soul. God keep me, if only for
22the sake of those dear to me! 7 May.--It is again early morning, but I have rested and enjoyed the last twenty-four
23hours. I slept till late in the day, and awoke of my own accord. When I had dressed myself I went into the room where we
24had supped, and found a cold breakfast laid out, with coffee kept hot by the pot being placed on the hearth. There was a
25card on the table, on which was written:-- "I have to be absent for a while. Do not wait for me.--D." I set to and
26enjoyed a hearty meal. When I had done, I looked for a bell, so that I might let the servants know I had finished; but I
27could not find one. There are certainly odd deficiencies in the house, considering the extraordinary evidences of wealth
28which are round me. The table service is of gold, and so beautifully wrought that it must be of immense value. The
29curtains and upholstery of the chairs and sofas and the hangings of my bed are of the costliest and most beautiful
30fabrics, and must have been of fabulous value when they were made, for they are centuries old, though in excellent
31order. I saw something like them in Hampton Court, but there they were worn and frayed and moth-eaten. But still in none
32of the rooms is there a mirror. There is not even a toilet glass on my table, and I had to get the little shaving glass
33from my bag before I could either shave or brush my hair. I have not yet seen a servant anywhere, or heard a sound near
34the castle except the howling of wolves. Some time after I had finished my meal--I do not know whether to call it
35breakfast or dinner, for it was between five and six o'clock when I had it--I looked about for something to read, for I
36did not like to go about the castle until I had asked the Count's permission. There was absolutely nothing in the room,
37book, newspaper, or even writing materials; so I opened another door in the room and found a sort of library. The door
38opposite mine I tried, but found it locked. In the library I found, to my great delight, a vast number of English books,
39whole shelves full of them, and bound volumes of magazines and newspapers. A table in the centre was littered with
40English magazines and newspapers, though none of them were of very recent date. The books were of the most varied
41kind--history, geography, politics, political economy, botany, geology, law--all relating to England and English life
42and customs and manners. There were even such books of reference as the London Directory, the "Red" and "Blue" books,
43Whitaker's Almanac, the Army and Navy Lists, and--it somehow gladdened my heart to see it--the Law List. Whilst I was
44looking at the books, the door opened, and the Count entered. He saluted me in a hearty way, and hoped that I had had a
45good night's rest. Then he went on:-- "I am glad you found your way in here, for I am sure there is much that will
46interest you. These companions"--and he laid his hand on some of the books--"have been good friends to me, and for some
47years past, ever since I had the idea of going to London, have given me many, many hours of pleasure. Through them I
48have come to know your great England; and to know her is to love her. I long to go through the crowded streets of your
49mighty London, to be in the midst of the whirl and rush of humanity, to share its life, its change, its death, and all
50that makes it what it is. But alas! as yet I only know your tongue through books. To you, my friend, I look that I know
51it to speak." "But, Count," I said, "you know and speak English thoroughly!" He bowed gravely. "I thank you, my friend,
52for your all too-flattering estimate, but yet I fear that I am but a little way on the road I would travel. True, I know
53the grammar and the words, but yet I know not how to speak them." "Indeed," I said, "you speak excellently." "Not so,"
54he answered. "Well, I know that, did I move and speak in your London, none there are who would not know me for a
55stranger. That is not enough for me. Here I am noble; I am boyar; the common people know me, and I am master. But a
56stranger in a strange land, he is no one; men know him not--and to know not is to care not for. I am content if I am
57like the rest, so that no man stops if he see me, or pause in his speaking if he hear my words, 'Ha, ha! a stranger!' I
58have been so long master that I would be master still--or at least that none other should be master of me. You come to
59me not alone as agent of my friend Peter Hawkins, of Exeter, to tell me all about my new estate in London. You shall, I
60trust, rest here with me awhile, so that by our talking I may learn the English intonation; and I would that you tell me
61when I make error, even of the smallest, in my speaking. I am sorry that I had to be away so long to-day; but you will,
62I know, forgive one who has so many important affairs in hand." Of course I said all I could about being willing, and
63asked if I might come into that room when I chose. He answered: "Yes, certainly," and added:-- "You may go anywhere you
64wish in the castle, except where the doors are locked, where of course you will not wish to go. There is reason that all
65things are as they are, and did you see with my eyes and know with my knowledge, you would perhaps better understand." I
66said I was sure of this, and then he went on:--
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