what did it signify that he should have written this
in an account-book on the day that his child was
born ? He must have sat at this same table, in the
eyening after the shop was shut. He had sat there
thinking about the fate of the new-born child, and
the first thing he saw was sin, red as blood. But
why write it down?
And why should the book with those words in it,
after all these years, fall at the feet of him, his son ?
There is a purpose in everything, he thought, even
in the fact that his father's voice still admonished
him long after it had been silenced for ever. He
knew his duty and carried it out conscientiously,
but his thoughts were full of sin, and when he
pondered over this he could not understand it.
What mind was capable of fathoming the hidden
depths of man ? We long for good and yet we are
full of wickedness.
Here was a case in point. Why must his first
thought always be of harm ? His brothers were
long since grown-up men who could look after them-
selves and no longer needed their elder brother's
care. He looked at the clock, which was slowly
striking eleven. Diderik was not usually so late
coming home, but he was a boy who kept to the
right path. As for the other, he had reason to fear
he might get into bad company; not that there
was much harm in him, but he didn't think he had
much sense. To his mind the boy was too fond of