As an instance of his dislike of publicity, I may mention that I had been with him several months before I discovered that he had published, under a pseudonym, several scientific works which, had he acknowledged them, would have made him famous.
After Guiseppe Griscelli's attempt on his life, I prevailed on Mr.
Fortescue never to go outside the park gates unaccompanied; when he went to town, or to Amsterdam, Ramon always went with him, and both were armed.
I also gave strict orders to the lodge-keepers to admit no strangers without authority, and to give me immediate information as to any suspicious-looking characters whom they might see loitering about.
These precautions, I thought, would be quite sufficient to prevent any attack being made on Mr.Fortescue in the daytime.

It was less easy to guard against a surprise during the night, for the park-palings were not so high as to be unclimbable; and the idea of a night-watchman was suggested only to be dismissed, for the very sufficient reason that when he was most wanted he would almost certainly be asleep.

I had no fear of Griscelli breaking in at the front door; but the house was not burglar-proof, and, as it happened, the weak point in our defence was one of the windows of Mr.Fortescue's bedroom.

It looked into the orchard, and, by climbing a tree which grew hard by, an active man could easily reach it, even without a ladder.

The danger was all the greater, as, when the weather was mild, Mr.Fortescue always slept with the window open.