What was the matter? We stopped eating and all eyes were turned questioningly upon him. Our silent anxiety was sufficiently eloquent. He perceived, felt it and said:
'I… forgive me… I… my happiness… I am so sorry… I do not want to trouble you, and I fear I shall spoil your pleasure. I beg you… I entreat you, dear brothers, take no notice of me…it is nothing, it will pass,' and he broke into a strange sobbing laugh.
'Jesus, Mary!' we all cried, for we had not noticed before how unnatural his laugh was; there was no further thought of eating; and he, when he saw the general anxiety, mastered himself with an effort and said rapidly amidst the general silence:
'I thought you knew what the life was like that I have lived for three years, but I see you don't know it; when I realized this I tried… I… well, I tried while you were eating and drinking to swallow a small piece of bread… just a tiny piece of bread… but I cannot do it… I cannot! You see, for three years… three whole years I have tasted no salt… I ate all my food without salt, and this bread is rather salt—very salt in fact, it is burning and scorching me, and probably all the other things are also very salt.' 'Certainly, some were even salted too much in our haste and eagerness,' I answered simultaneously with the student.
'Well then, eat, beloved brothers, eat, but I cannot eat anything; I shall watch you with great pleasure—eat, I beg you fervently!' and with hysterical laughter and tears he sank back into his seat.
Now we understood this laugh which was like a spasm….
Not one of us was able to swallow the food which he had in his mouth.
The misery of the existence of which we had longed to know something had lifted the veil off a small portion of its mysteries.
We all dropped our spoons and hung our heads.
How vain, how small appeared to us now the trouble we had taken about the food, how clumsy our childish enjoyment!