Howsoever magnificent an abode may be, a lonely man will weary of it unless he has the solace of books or of some great idea. I had neither, and boredom soon made itself felt. A pretty peasant girl came into my room, and finding her to my taste I tried to make her understand me without the use of speech, but she resisted and shouted so loudly that the door-keeper came up, and asked me, coolly,-- "If you like the girl, why don't you go the proper way to work?" "What way is that?" "Speak to her father, who is at hand, and arrange the matter amicably." "I don't know Polish. Will you carry the thing through?" "Certainly. I suppose you will give fifty florins?" "You are laughing at me. I will give a hundred willingly, provided she is a maid and is as submissive as a lamb." No doubt the arrangement was made without difficulty, for our hymen took place the same evening, but no sooner was the operation completed than the poor lamb fled away in hot haste, which made me suspect that her father had used rather forcible persuasion with her. I would not have allowed this had I been aware of it. The next morning several girls were offered to me, but the faces of all of them were covered. "Where is the girl?" said I. "I want to see her face." "Never mind about the face, if the rest is all right." "The face is the essential part for me," I replied, "and the rest I look upon as an accessory." He did not understand this. However, they were uncovered, but none of their faces excited my desires. As a rule, the Polish women are ugly; a beauty is a miracle, and a pretty woman a rare exception. At the end of a week of feasting and weariness, I returned to Warsaw. In this manner I saw Podolia and Volkynia, which were rebaptized a few years later by the names of Galicia and Lodomeria, for they are now part of the Austrian Empire. It is said, however, that they are more prosperous than they ever were before. At Warsaw I found Madame Geoffrin the object of universal admiration; and everybody was remarking with what simplicity she was dressed. As for myself, I was received not coldly, but positively rudely. People said to my face,-- "We did not expect to see you here again. Why did you come back?" "To pay my debts." This behaviour astonished and disgusted me. The prince-palatin even seemed quite changed towards me. I was still invited to dinner, but no one spoke to me. However, Prince Adam's sister asked me very kindly to come and sup with her, and I accepted the invitation with delight. I found myself seated opposite the king, who did not speak one word to me the whole time. He had never behaved to me thus before. The next day I dined with the Countess Oginski, and in the course of dinner the countess asked where the king had supper the night before; nobody seemed to know, and I did not answer. Just as we were rising, General Roniker came in, and the question was repeated. "At Princess Strasnikowa's," said the general, "and M. Casanova was there."