Pan Stanislav began to tell; but whether it was that he wished to appear better before Pani Emilia, or that he determined to reckon with that delicate nature, or, finally, that the last thoughts concerning Marynia had attuned him to a note more sensitive than usual, it is sufficient that he changed the affair altogether. He confessed, it is true, to a quarrel with Plavitski, but he was silent touching this, that before his departure from Kremen he had answered Marynia almost with harshness; besides, he did not spare praises on her in his story, and finally he finished,-- "Since that debt became a cause of misunderstanding at once between me and Plavitski,--a thing which must be reflected on Panna Marynia,--I chose to sell it; and just before I left Warsaw, I sold it to Mashko." Pani Emilia, who had not the slightest conception of business, and, besides, was of a simplicity truly angelic, remarked,-- "You did well. There should be no such thing as money between you." Ashamed to deceive such a simple soul, he answered,-- "True! Or rather the contrary, I think I did badly. Bigiel, too, is of the opinion that it was not well. Mashko may press them; he may put various demands before them; he may offer Kremen for sale. No, that was not a delicate act, nor one to bring us nearer; and I should not have committed it, were it not that I came to the conviction that it was necessary to drive all that out of my head." "But no; do not say so. I believe that there is predestination in everything; and I believe, too, that Providence designed you for each other." "I do not understand that. If that be true, then I need not do anything, for in every case I must marry Panna Plavitski." "I have a woman's head, and say stupid things, perhaps; but it seems to me that Providence wills and arranges everything for the best, but leaves people freedom. Frequently they do not wish to follow that which is predestined, and this is why so many are unhappy." "Maybe. It is difficult, however, to follow anything but one's own convictions. Reason is like a lantern, which God puts in our hands. Who will assure me meanwhile that Panna Marynia will marry me?" "I ought to have news from her of your visit to Kremen, and I wonder that so far I have none. I think that a letter will come to-morrow at latest, for we write every week to each other. Does she know of your departure for Reichenhall?" "She does not. I did not know myself when in Kremen where I should go." "That is well; for she will be outspoken, though she would be so in any case."