CHAPTER 4 - Jonathan Harker's Journal Continued, part 4

The Count has come.

He sat down beside me, and said in his smoothest voice as he opened two letters, "The Szgany has given me these, of which, though I know not whence they come, I shall, of course, take care. See!" --He must have looked at it.--"One is from you, and to my friend Peter Hawkins. The other,"--here he caught sight of the strange symbols as he opened the envelope, and the dark look came into his face, and his eyes blazed wickedly,--"The other is a vile thing, an outrage upon friendship and hospitality! It is not signed. Well! So it cannot matter to us. " And he calmly held letter and envelope in the flame of the lamp till they were consumed. Then he went on, "The letter to Hawkins, that I shall, of course send on, since it is yours.

Your letters are sacred to me. Your pardon, my friend, that unknowingly I did break the seal. Will you not cover it again? " He held out the letter to me, and with a courteous bow handed me a clean envelope. I could only redirect it and hand it to him in silence.

When he went out of the room I could hear the key turn softly. A minute later I went over and tried it, and the door was locked. When, an hour or two after, the Count came quietly into the room, his coming awakened me, for I had gone to sleep on the sofa.

He was very courteous and very cheery in his manner, and seeing that I had been sleeping, he said, "So, my friend, you are tired? Get to bed. There is the surest rest. I may not have the pleasure of talk tonight, since there are many labours to me, but you will sleep, I pray. I passed to my room and went to bed, and, strange to say, slept without dreaming.

Despair has its own calms.