Upon the sill had settled two doves, which seemed to regard him curiously.

He made a soft gesture with his hand, and the birds flew away.
'Speak on,' he said after brief reflection, and with the same indulgence.

'He who tells all speaks not to man but to God.' And Basil told all; told it with humble simplicity, with entire truthfulness, recounting his history from the day when he first beheld Veranilda to the dreadful hour when Marcian's blood stained his hands.
He began in calm, but the revival of emotions which had slept during his sickness and his convalescence soon troubled him profoundly.

Not only did the dormant feelings wake up again, but things which he had forgotten rushed into his memory.

So, when he came to the last interview with Veranilda, he remembered, for the first time since that day, what he had said to her, and the recollection dismayed him.