"A young lady whose acquaintance I had the honour to make at Wilno, at the house of Princess Katazyna Paç."
"What is her name?"
"The panna Iwinska."
"Mlle. Ioulka!"[6] exclaimed the Count. "The little madcap! I might have guessed it. My dear Professor, you know Jmoude and all the learned tongues; you have read every old book, but you have let yourself be taken in by a young girl who has only read novels. She has translated to you, more or less correctly, in Jmoudic, one of Miçkiewicz's dainty ballads, which you have not read because it is no older than I am. If you wish it I will show it to you in Polish, or, if you prefer, in an excellent Russian translation by Pouchkine."
I confess I was quite dumbfounded. How the Dorpat professor would have chuckled if I had published as original the daïna of the "Sons of Boudrys"!
Instead of being amused at my confusion, the Count, with exquisite politeness, hastened to turn the conversation.
"So you have met Mlle. Ioulka?" said he.
"I have had the honour of being presented to her."
"What do you think of her? Speak quite frankly."
"She is a most agreeable young lady."