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.
Assyrian warriors with pointed beards, oblique eyes, and oblong
shields, had to represent the Israelites; they marched by in an
endless procession. He saw the blue-green of the vineyards on the
hillside, the shadow of the dusty palm-trees upon the dusty road.
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