At last, however, his mother too began to have her suspicions. With icy coldness but with all delicacy she gave me to understand this. And I had always known that on that side sanction for marriage was not to be expected. I had not thought of it myself either. I saw the unreasonableness of such a match. Absolutely penniless, seven years older ... and he still without employment, also without means, but qualified and assured to make a brilliant marriage—all the girls were crazy about him—should I stand in the way of his future? That had never been my plan—there must one day be a parting, and now that the secret was half disclosed the moment had come for me to tear myself away. I mustered up all my courage and said to the baroness: “I am going to leave the house. I cannot go to Mingrelia yet, the castle will not be finished for another year. Could you not give me a recommendation to London? I should like to find a position there in the meantime—far from Vienna.” “That is right, my dear child,” she exclaimed warmly, “I understand you.... See, in to-day’s paper I have found an advertisement for something which would perhaps suit you; would you like to answer it?” The advertisement read: “A very wealthy, cultured, elderly gentleman, living in Paris, desires to find a lady also of mature years, familiar with languages, as secretary and manager of his household.” So I wrote offering my services, and received a reply signed with the then to me unknown name Alfred Nobel. I showed the letter to the baroness; she made inquiries and learned that the person in question was the famous and universally respected inventor of dynamite. Mr. Nobel and I exchanged several letters. He wrote cleverly and wittily, but in a melancholy tone. The man seemed to feel unhappy, to be a misanthrope, with the widest culture, with deeply philosophical views. He, a Swede, whose second mother tongue was Russian, wrote in German, French, and English with equal correctness and elegance. My letters too, for whatever reason, seemed to have a very stimulating effect on him. After a brief delay an agreement was reached: I was to take the position. The day of my departure for Paris was set. Now for saying farewell, separating from what is dearest ... _Scheiden tut weh_: the truth of that popular proverb I experienced.