Amid the turmoil of his activities and distractions, however, Pierre at the end of a year began to feel that the more firmly he tried to rest upon it, the more Masonic ground on which he stood gave way under him.

At the same time he felt that the deeper the ground sank under him the closer bound he involuntarily became to the order.

When he had joined the Freemasons he had experienced the feeling of one who confidently steps onto the smooth surface of a bog.

When he put his foot down it sank in.