"The prince had been left an orphan when quite a little child and Pavlicheff had entrusted him to an old lady a relative of his own living in the country the child needing the fresh air and exercise of country life. He was educated first by a governess and afterwards by a tutor but could not remember much about this time of his life. His fits were so frequent then that they made almost an idiot of him (the prince used the expression "idiot" himself ). Pavlicheff had met Professor Schneider in Berlin and the latter had persuaded him to send the boy to Switzerland to Schneider's establishment there for the cure of his epilepsy and five years before this time the prince was sent off. But Pavlicheff had died two or three years since and Schneider had himself supported the young fellow from that day to this at his own expense. Although he had not quite cured him he had greatly improved his condition; and now at last at the prince's own desire and because of a certain matter which came to the ears of the latter Schneider had despatched the young man to Russia!"