But he was not received. Then it occurred to him to apply to Pani Otocka. After a while, he nevertheless perceived that the causes of his rupture with Hanka were of such a nature that it was impossible to discuss them either with Pani Otocka or his mother. In his soul he now began to accuse Hanka of downright cruelty, but at the same time the greater the difficulties interposed between them the greater was his grief. He could not, in any measure, be reconciled to the thought that whatever he regarded as his own should be taken away from him; and as is usual with weak persons, he began to commiserate himself. From Pani Otocka he went to Gronski, regarding him as the only person with whom he could speak frankly and whose mediation would be effective. And here disappointment awaited him. Gronski had suffered for several days with his eyes and was not allowed to read; this put him into a bad humor, and for this reason he received Ladislaus more indifferently than usual. Ladislaus became convinced that it was difficult to speak of the rupture not only with Pani Otocka and his mother, but even with a man and old friend who knew of his former relations with Hanka. A feeling of shame plainly choked the words in his throat, and he began to beat about the bush and palliate things, talk in empty phrases about a misunderstanding and the necessity of a friendly mediation, so that Gronski at last asked, with a shade of impatience: "Tell me plainly about what you had a falling out, and then I can tell whether I will undertake to bring you together again." And evidently he did not attach much importance to the matter for he waved his hand and said: "It would be best if you made it up between yourselves." "No," replied Ladislaus; "this is more serious than you think, and we ourselves cannot come to any agreement." "Well, finally, what was it about?" Shame, exertion, and constraint were depicted upon Ladislaus' face. "In a moment of forgetfulness and ecstasy," he said, "I passed--that is--I wanted to pass--certain limits--" And he stopped abruptly. Gronski began to look at him with amazed eyes and asked: "And she?" "Why, if anything had happened there would not have been any rupture and I surely would not speak of it now. She ordered me to the door and not to show myself there any more." "May God bless her," exclaimed Gronski. Silence ensued. Gronski walked with big paces over the room repeating every little while, "It is unbelievable!" and again, "An unheard-of thing!" and in addition his face became more and more severe and cold. After which he sat down and, looking at Ladislaus, began to speak deliberately: "I have known many people even among our aristocracy, in whom beneath the veneer of society, beneath high descent and all the pretensions of elegant breeding were concealed the ordinary coarse, low, peasant instincts. If this observation can be applied to you as a comfort, accept it, for I have no other for you."