s forebears; he rode well on horseback
and walked well; he was not dull, but he had made little progress in his
studies, though his uncle had spared nothing on his education. He liked
better to shoot, or to practise with a sabre; he knew that they had
intended to fit him for the army, that his father in his will had
expressed this desire; while sitting in school he yearned constantly for
the sound of the drum. But his uncle had suddenly changed his first
intentions, and had sent him word to come home and to marry and take over
the farming; he had promised to give him at first a little village, and
later the whole estate.

All these virtues and good qualities of Thaddeus had attracted the gaze of
his neighbour, an observant woman. She had measured his tall and shapely
form, his strong shoulders, his broad chest, and she looked into his face,
on which a blush rose as often as the young man met her eyes. For he had
already entirely recovered from his first timidity, and looked on her with
a bold glance, in which fire blazed; even so did she gaze on him, and
their four pupils glowed opposite one another as do candles at the Advent
mass.

She started a conversation with him in French. Thaddeus had returned from
town, from school: so she asked his opinions about new books and authors,
and from his answers derived new questions; she went so far as to speak of
painting, of music, of dancing--even of sculpture! She proved herself
equally familiar with the pencil, with tunes, and with books, until
Thaddeus was petrified by so much learning, and feared that he might
become the butt of ridicule, and stammered like a little lad before his
teacher. Luckily the teacher was beautiful and lenient; his neighbour
guessed the cause of his perturbation, and shifted the talk to less deep
and difficult subjects, to the cares and troubles of existence in the
country, and how one must amuse oneself, and how divide the time in order
to make village life gay and pleasant. Thaddeus answered more boldly, and
things went better; in a half-hour they were already fast friends, they
even started jests and small quarrels. Finally she placed before him three
little balls of bread, three persons to select from; he chose the nearest.
The two daughters of the Chamberlain frowned at this; his neighbour
laughed, but she did not tell him whom that happy ball was meant to
signify.

At the other end of the table they were amusing themselves quite
differently,