"Waldemar, what occurred yesterday at the chase?"
"At the chase?" repeated Waldemar. "Nothing. Why do you ask?"
"Because you returned in such ill humor; and besides, at the dinner-table, I heard some hint of a dispute between you and your brother."
"Ah, indeed!" replied Waldemar, indifferently. "Leo was irritated because I treated his favorite horse rather harshly; but the matter is not of the least consequence--it is already settled."
"Then it was something else."
"Yes--something else."
Another silence followed: then the doctor began again:
"Waldemar, the princess recently called me your only confidant; I might have replied that you have no confidant. Perhaps I am somewhat nearer to you than others, but you never open your heart to me. Must you endure and fight through everything alone?"
Waldemar smiled, but it was a cold, joyless smile. "You must take me as I am," he said; "but why this solicitude? I may well be out of sorts, so many anxieties and difficulties beset me here."
The doctor shook his head. "These things no doubt irritate and embitter you beyond measure, but the sorrow that oppresses you has another cause. I have seen you in this mood only once before, Waldemar; it was at Altenhof, when--"