did he send me?’ I did not want to tell her, but then it struck me it might be better for her if she knew the whole truth; and I told her you wished her happiness with Kromitzki.  She rose, and after a moment said, in a quite changed voice:  ’Thank him for me, aunty!’ and then left the room.  I am afraid you will not thank me for repeating to her your very words, without disguising them under any kind expressions; but since you do not want Aniela, the more plainly she is told about it the better.  Convinced that you treated her badly, she may forget you all the sooner.  Besides, if it give you pain, remember how much pain and anxiety you have caused us,—­especially Aniela.  Yet she has more control over herself than I even expected.  Her eyes were quite dry the whole day, and she gave no sign of inward trouble; she is anxious to spare her mother, about whose health she is much concerned; she only clung more to her and to me,—­which moved me so deeply that it made my chin tremble.  Pan Sniatynski, who came to see us the same day, did not notice anything unusual in Aniela.  Knowing he is in your confidence, I told him all about it; and he was dreadfully shocked, and got into such a rage with you that it made me quite angry with him.  I need not repeat what he said,—­you know his ways.  You, who do not love Aniela, cannot understand how happy you might have been with her; but you have done wrong, Leon, in making her believe you loved her.  Not only she,—­we all thought the same; and that is where the sting lies.  Only God knows how much she suffered; and it was this that made her accept Kromitzki,—­it was done out of despair.  She must have had a long talk with her mother, and then it was decided.  When Kromitzki arrived the day after, she treated him differently; and a week later they were engaged.  Pan Sniatynski heard about it only a few days ago, and he was tearing his hair; and as to my own feelings, I will not even try to put them into words.

“I was more angry with you than I have ever been in my life with anybody, and only your second letter has pacified me a little, though it convinced me at the same time of the futility of my dreams.  I confess that after the first letter, and before Kromitzki had finally proposed, I still thought:  ’Perhaps God will be good to us and change his heart; maybe he has written thus in a fit of auger!’ but when afterwards you sent kind messages to Aniela without denying or contradicting what you had written in the first letter, I saw it was of no use deceiving myself any longer.  Aniela’s wedding is to take place on the 25th of July, and I will tell you why they have fixed upon such a short date.  Celina is really very ill, thinks she will soon die, and is afraid her death might delay the marriage, and thus leave Aniela without a protector.  Kromitzki is in a hurry because he has his business to attend to in the East; lastly, Aniela wishes to drain the cup with as little delay as possible.  Ah!  Leon, my boy, why should all this have happened, and why is that poor child made unhappy?