Knowing that Englishmen governed by a fixed idea sometimes resort to the desperate expedient of suicide, Passepartout kept a narrow watch upon his master, though he carefully concealed the appearance of so doing.
Sabido es, en efecto, a qué deplorables desesperaciones se entregan los ingleses monomaniáticos cuando les domina una idea fija. Por eso Picaporte vigilaba a su amo con disimulo.