The "girls," as they were invariably called, were on the lawn looking for four-leaved clovers, and the little blonde declared that she was bent on finding one, for whoever found it first was sure to be married first. I laughed, and, looking down, I saw one little quatrefoil just at my feet. I gathered it, and presented it to the little blonde countess, but she refused to accept it. "No," she said, "everybody must keep his own fortune. You have found the leaf, and you will get married first, and within the year."
"Ought not I to know something of the coming happiness in advance?" I asked, smilingly. "Surely I can't get married without my own knowledge!"
"Just you keep quiet. Mockery is not becoming to you; but tell us in good earnest, why don't you marry? You ought to."
"Why, then, in good faith, I do not marry because the girls that would not reject me I do not care for, and those that I might care for would not accept me."
"How do you know? First tell us what qualities a girl must possess to make you care for her."
"Well, I suppose I must obey your ladyship's wishes. In the first place, then, she must be young and pretty; then she must be intellectual, prudent, and well educated; and, finally, she must have a kind heart and a sweet disposition; if she is merry and bright also, I shall like her the better. Yes, there is something else: I should like my future wife to be always elegant and stylish, and I should like to give her a splendid home and keep her in luxury; but, as my own little Slav kingdom is not sufficient for my notion of the term, therefore she must also have a fortune of her own. Yet, if a woman, or let me rather say a young girl, should possess all these qualities at once, which I think unlikely, I would not take her if I were not fully convinced that she married me for love. So, you see, with these pretensions I am likely to live and die a bachelor."
"Not necessarily. I, for instance, know a lady who answers to your description as if you had drawn her portrait."
"Indeed? You seem bent on proving that the four-leaved clover was a true prophet of marriage. You want to make the match?"
"Why not? But, indeed, I am speaking in good faith. Why don't you marry Aunt Diodora?"
"Because I have more sense than those poor birds who shatter their heads and beaks in flying against the reflected rays of the lighthouse."