When the Count saw my face, his eyes lit up with a sort of demonic fury. He made a sudden grab at my throat. I moved away and his hand touched the string of beads which held the crucifix. It made an instant change in him. The fury vanished so quickly that I could hardly believe that it was ever there.

"Take care," he said, "take care how you cut yourself. It is more dangerous than you think in this country." Then he picked up the shaving mirror. "And this is the thing that has done the mischief. It is a foul toy of man's vanity. Let us have it no more!" He opened the window with one wrench of his terrible hand. Then he flung out the mirror. The mirror fell and shattered into a thousand pieces on the stones of the courtyard far below. Then Dracula left me without saying another word. All this is very annoying, because I need a mirror to shave, unless I use my watch-case or the bottom of the shaving pot, which is fortunately of shiny metal.