VII
“Ishallhavetobegin，“saidhe，whentheywereallseatedandreadytolisten，“bygivingyousomeidea，notsomuchofthefamilytradition，asoftheeffectofthistraditionuponallwhoborethenameofVanBroecklyn。Thisisnottheonlyhouse，eveninAmerica，whichcontainsaroomshutawayfromintrusion。
InEnglandtherearemany。Butthereisthisdifferencebetweenmostofthemandours。Nobarsorlocksforciblyheldshutthedoorwewereforbiddentoopen。Thecommandwasenough；thatandthesuperstitiousfearwhichsuchacommand，attendedbyalongandunquestioningobedience，waslikelytoengender。
“Iknownomorethanyoudowhysomeearlyancestorlaidhisbanuponthisroom。ButfrommyearliestyearsIwasgiventounderstandthattherewasonelatchinthehousewhichwasnevertobelifted；thatanyfaultwouldbeforgivensoonerthanthat；
thatthehonourofthewholefamilystoodinthewayofdisobedience，andthatIwastopreservethathonourtomydyingday。Youwillsaythatallthisisfantastic，andwonderthatsanepeopleinthesemoderntimesshouldsubjectthemselvestosucharidiculousrestriction，especiallywhennogoodreasonwasalleged，andtheverysourceofthetraditionfromwhichitsprungforgotten。Youareright；butifyoulooklongintohumannature，youwillseethatthebondswhichholdthefirmestarenotmaterialones——thatanideawillmakeamanandmouldacharacter——thatitliesatthesourceofallheroismsandistobecourtedorfearedasthecasemaybe。