"I hardly know," said Thaddeus, "in what words to express my sense of
your ladyship's generous confidence in me; and that my character is
not undeserving of such distinction, time, I trust, will prove." He
paused for a moment, and then resumed: "For my rank, Lady Tinemouth,
it is now of little consequence to my comfort; rather, perhaps, a
source of mortification; for--" he hesitated, and then proceeded,
with a faint color tinging his cheek: "exiles from their country, if
they would not covet misery, must learn to forget; hence I am no
other than Mr. Constantine; though, in acknowledgment of your
ladyship's goodness, I deem it only just that I should not conceal my
real quality from you.
"My family was one of the first in Poland. Even in banishment, the
remembrance that its virtues were as well known as its name, affords
some alleviation to the conviction that when my country fell, all my
property and all my kindred were involved in the ruin. Soon after the
dreadful sealing of its fate, I quitted it, and by the command of a
dying parent, who expired in my arms, sought a refuge in this island
from degradations which otherwise I could neither repel nor avoid."
Thaddeus stopped; and the countess, struck by the graceful modesty
with which this simple account was related, laid her hand upon his.
"Mr. Constantine, I am not surprised at what you have said.
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