"

"My brother, Desi, a very good fellow. Kiss him, Czipra."

Czipra did not wait to be told twice, and Desiderius returned the kiss.

"Now give him a room: to-day we shall stay here. Send up water to my
room, we have got very dusty on the way, although we wished to be
handsome to-day."

"Indeed?"--Czipra took Desiderius' hand, and as she led him to his room,
asked him the whole history of his life: where he lived: why he had not
visited Lorand sooner: was he married already, and would he ever come
back there again?

Desiderius had learned from Lorand's letters about Czipra that he might
readily answer any question the poor girl might ask, and might at first
sight tell her every secret of his heart. Czipra was delighted.

Lorand, however, did not wait for Topandy, who was coming behind, but
rushed to his room.

That letter, that letter!--it had been on his mind the whole way.

His first duty was to take it out of the closed drawer and read it over.

He did not deliberate long now whether to break the seal or not: and the
envelope tore in his hand, as the seal would not yield.

And then he read the following words:

"SIR:

"That minute, in which I learned your name, raised a barrier for ever
between us. The recollections which are a burden upon you, cannot be
continued by an alliance between us. You who dragged my mother down
into misfortune, and then faithlessly deserted her, cannot insure me
happiness, or expect faithfulness from me. I shall weep over Balint
Tatray, as my departed to whom my dream gave being, and whom cold truth
has buried; but Lorand Aronffy I do not know. It is my duty to tell you
so, and if you are, as I believe, a man of honor, you will consider it
your duty, should we ever meet in life, never again to make mention of
what was Balint Tatray.
Good-bye,
"MELANIE."

Lorand fell back in his chair broken-hearted.

That was the contents of the letter he had kissed--the letter which, on
the threshold of the house of death he had not dared to open, lest the
happiness which would beam upon him should shake the firmness of his
tread. Ah, they wished to make death easy for him! To write such a
letter to him! To utter such words to one she had loved!...

"Why, she is right. I was not the Joseph of the Bible: but does not love
begin with pardon? Did I blame her for the possession of that ring she
let fall in t