[Hostess-info] Years of want, his little dilapidated dwelling--granted

[Suchecki S. <pre...@bf...>]

G angel is going from house to house, and striding from village to
village, bringing with him wherever he goes sorrow and terror. Men
perceive that life is cheap and that it can't last long. Desperation has
severed every bond between masters and servants, creditors and debtors,
superiors and inferiors. It needs but one spark to ignite the whole
mass. That spark has already been kindled." "How?" "A blind rumour has
begun to circulate among the masses to the effect that the gentry are
about to poison their peasants _en masse_." Maria looked at the master
in amazement. "But is there anyone who believes such a thing?" "The
tales of wayfarers first spread the rumour, the thoughtless speech of a
drunken apothecary's assistant established it, intercepted letters
written by the gentry to one another served as confirmatory testimony."
"And the gentry actually wrote to each other that they were about to
poison the peasants?" "No, but those who read out these letters to the
people, took care to find therein things that had never been written
down." In her horror and disgust Maria had been on the point of
betraying herself. "Oh! I see. You read out forged letters to the
illiterate p