“Agreed!” thundered Svirski, from behind the screen. “Verbum! I give myself into her hands; and when she says ‘marry,’ I will marry with closed eyes.”
And appearing, still without a coat, he began to repeat, “Agreed, agreed! without joking. If the lady wishes.”
“Women always like that,” answered Pan Stanislav. “Have you seen, for instance, what that Pani Osnovski did to marry our Pan Ignas to Panna Castelli? And Marynia helped her as much as I permitted; she kept her ears open. For women that is play.”
“I made the acquaintance of that Pan Ignas at your house yesterday. He is an immensely nice fellow; simply a genial head. It is enough to look at him. What a profile, and what a woman-like forehead! and with that insolent jaw! His shanks are too long, and his knees must be badly cut, but his head is splendid.”
“He is the Benjamin of our counting-house. Indeed, we love him surpassingly; his is an honest nature.”
“Ah! he is your employee? But I thought he was of those rich Zavilovskis; I have seen abroad often enough a certain old original, a rich man.”
“That is a relative of his,” said Pan Stanislav; “but our Zavilovski hasn’t a smashed copper.”
“Well,” said Svirski, beginning to laugh, “old Zavilovski with his daughter, the only heiress of millions, a splendid figure! In Florence and Rome half a dozen ruined Italian princes were dangling around this young lady; but the old man declared that he wouldn’t give his daughter to a foreigner, ‘for,’ said he, ‘they are a race of jesters.’ Imagine to yourself, he considers us the first race on earth, and among us, of course, the Zavilovskis; and once he showed that in this way: ‘Let them say what they like,’ said he; ‘I have travelled enough through the world, and how many Germans, Italians, Englishmen, and Frenchmen have cleaned boots for me? but I,’ said he, ‘have never cleaned boots for any man, and I will not.’”
“Good!” answered Pan Stanislav, laughing; “he thinks boot-cleaning not a question of position in the world, but of nationality.”
“Yes, it seems to him that the Lord God created other ‘nations’ exclusively so that a nobleman from Kutno may have some one to clean his boots whenever he chooses to go abroad. But doesn’t he turn up his nose at the marriage of the young man? for I know that he thinks the Broniches of small account.”