ait, she may perhaps soon find in me a better man--and a man
more worthy of her; perhaps by my constancy I shall gain her affection,
perhaps I shall adorn my name with some trifling glory, perhaps I shall
soon return to the home of my fathers. Then, uncle, I shall remind you of
your promise, then on my knees I shall greet my dear Zosia, and, if she is
free, I shall beg her hand; but now I am abandoning Lithuania, perhaps for
long, and perhaps in the meantime another man may win Zosia's favour. I do
not wish to bind her will, and to beg for an affection that I have not
deserved would be a base act."

While the young man, much moved, was uttering these words, two tears, like
two great round pearls, shone in his great blue eyes and rolled down
quickly over his rosy cheeks.

But the curious Zosia from the depths of the alcove had been following
this mysterious conversation through a crack; she had heard Thaddeus tell
frankly and boldly of his love, and with fluttering heart she had seen
those two great tears in his eyes. Though she could not find the key to
his mystery, why he had fallen in love with her, why he was abandoning
her, and where he was departing, nevertheless this departure made her sad.
For the first time in her life she heard from the lips of a youth the
great and marvellous news that she was beloved. So she ran to the little
altar of the house and took from it a picture, and a small reliquary; the
picture was of Saint Genevieve, and in the reliquary was a bit of the robe
of Saint Joseph the Bridegroom, the patron of youths and maidens who are
betrothed. With these sacred objects she entered the room:--

"Are you going away so soon? I want to give you a little present for the
journey and a bit of warning too: always carry with you these relics and
this picture, and remember Zosia. May the Lord God guide you in health and
happiness and may he soon guide you back prosperously to us!"

She ceased, and lowered her head; hardly had she closed her blue eyes,
when floods of tears escaped from under her lashes, and Zosia stood there
silent, with closed eyelids, shedding tears like diamonds.

Thaddeus, taking his gifts, kissed her hand, and said: "Panna Sophia, now
I must bid you good-bye! Farewell, do not forget me, and deign sometimes
to repeat a prayer for me! Sophia!----" He could say no more.

But the Count, who had entered unexpectedly with Telimena and had observed
the tender farewell of the young pair, was