He seemed to comprehend every one of these motions of my
heart, for his manner towards me altered every day. It first
became anything but agreeable, then supercilious, and, finally,
intolerable; so that I resolved to shake him off, cost what it
would, even though I should be reduced to beg my bread in a
foreign land. To do it at home was impossible, as he held my life
in his hands, to sell it whenever he had a mind; and, besides, his
ascendancy over me was as complete as that of a huntsman over
his dogs: I was even so weak as, the next time I met with him, to
look steadfastly at his foot, to see if it was not cloven into two
hoofs. It was the foot of a gentleman in every respect, so far as
appearances went, but the form of his counsels was somewhat
equivocal, and, if not double, they were amazingly crooked.
But, if I had taken my measures to abscond and fly from my
native place, in order to free myself of this tormenting, intolerant,
and bloody reformer, he had likewise taken his to expel me, or
throw me into the hands of justice. It seems that, about this time, I
was haunted by some spies connected with my late father and
brother, of whom the mistress of the former was one.
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