the field; I myself
will indicate the place and will inform you of the time. I know that the
Tsar has sent messengers to Napoleon to ask for peace; the war is not yet
proclaimed. But Prince Joseph has heard from Pan Bignon,110 a Frenchman, a
member of the Imperial Council, that all these negotiations will come to
nothing, that there will be war. The Prince sent me as a scout with
instructions that the Lithuanians should be ready to announce to Napoleon
when he came that they wish to unite anew with their sister, the Kingdom,
and desire that Poland be restored. Meanwhile, brother, you must be
reconciled with the Count; he is a crank, a trifle fantastic in his
notions, but he is a good, honest young Pole; we need such; cranks are
very necessary in revolutions, as I know from experience; even stupid
fellows will be of service, so long as they are honest and under the
authority of clever men. The Count is a magnate, and has great influence
among the gentry; the whole district will rise if he joins the revolt;
knowing his estate, every gentleman will say, 'It must be a sure thing,
since the magnates are in it; I will join directly.' "

"Let him make the first move," said the Judge, "let him come here, let him
beg my pardon. At any rate I am older than he, and hold an office! As for
the lawsuit, we will refer it to arbitration."

The Bernardine slammed the door.

"Well, a happy journey to you!" said the Judge.

The Monk mounted a vehicle standing by the threshold, lashed the horses
with the whip, tickled their sides with the reins, and the carriage flew
off and vanished in billows of fog; only now and then the grey cowl of the
Monk rose above the mist like a vulture above the clouds.

The Apparitor had long ago arrived at the Count's house. As an experienced
fox, when the scent of bacon allures it, runs towards it but bears in mind
the secret tricks of hunters; it runs, stops, sits up frequently, raises
its brush, and with it as with a fan waves the breeze to its nostrils, and
asks the breeze whether the hunters have not poisoned the food: so Protazy
left the road and circled over the meadow around the house; he twirled his
stick in his hand and pretended that he had somewhere seen some stray
cattle; thus skilfully manoeuvring he arrived close to the garden; he bent
down and ran so that you would have said that he was trailing a land rail;
then he suddenly jumped over the fence and plunged into the hemp.

In that thick,