admiration for him, but at the same time he felt all the more
strongly the intolerable yoke which he laid upon them--upon every
living being on the estate. It became a secret religion with him
to oppose his father and help his mother, for it was she who
suffered. He would resemble her even to his hair, he would protect
her, he would make it all up to her. It was a positive delight to
him when his father made him suffer: he absolutely felt proud when
he called him Rafaella, instead of Rafael, the name which his
mother had chosen for him; it was the one that she loved best.

No one was allowed to use the boats or the carriage, no one might
walk through the woods, which had been fenced in, the horses were
never taken out. No repairs were undertaken; if Fru Kaas attempted
to have anything done at her own expense, the workmen were ordered
off: there could no longer be any doubt about it, he wished
everything to go to rack and ruin. The property went from bad to
worse, and the woods--well! It was no secret, every one on the
place talked about it--the timber was being utterly ruined. The
best and largest trees were already rotten; by degrees the rest
would become so.

At twelve years of age Rafael began to receive religious teaching
from the Dean: the only subject in which his mother did not
instruct him. He shared these lessons with Helene, the Dean's only
child, who was four years younger than Rafael and of whom he was
devotedly fond.

The Dean told them the story of David. The narrative was unfolded
with additions and explanations; the boy made a picture of it to
himself; his mother had taught him everything in this way.