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It was decided that the young man should spend the years of his captivity under the
strictest supervision in one of the lodges in the banker's garden. It was agreed that for
fifteen years he should not be free to cross the threshold of the lodge, to see human beings,
to hear the human voice, or to receive letters and newspapers. He was allowed to have a
musical instrument and books, and was allowed to write letters, to drink wine, and to
smoke. By the terms of the agreement, the only relations he could have with the outer
world were by a little window made specifically for this purpose. He might have anything
he wanted - books, music, wine, and so on - in any quantity he desired by writing an order,
but could only receive them through the window. The agreement provided for every detail
and every trifle which would make his imprisonment strictly solitary, and bound the young
man to stay there exactly fifteen years, beginning from twelve o'clock of November 14,
1870, and ending at twelve o'clock of November 14, 1885. The slightest attempt on the
young man’s part to break the conditions, if only two minutes before the end, released the
banker from the obligation to pay him the two million promised.
The banker observed the progress of the young lawyer’s adaptation to his imprisonment.
During the first year, he read fight books and played the piano. In the second year, he
ceased being interested in music but turned to great literature. In the fifth year, he loafed,
drank wine, and played the piano. Then for four years he studied languages, history, and
philosophy before moving to the New Testament and to theology. Finally, his reading
became eclectic.
udaykirankamuju
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