Page:Henryk Sienkiewicz - Potop - The Deluge (1898 translation by Jeremiah Curtin) - Vol 1.djvu/532

502 barons, streamed as if out of a sleeve. He threw in carelessly from time to time one more. The listeners were astonished; Prince Yanush stroked his long mustaches with delight, and at last Ganhoff said, —

"Even if fortune and birth did not stand in my way, I should not like to stand in the way of your highness, and the only wonder to me is that men of such daring have been found."

"What is to be done, Ganhoff? There are men of iron visage and wild-cat glance, whose appearance alone causes terror; but God has denied me that power, — even a young lady would not be frightened at my face."

"Just as darkness is not afraid of a torch," said Pani Korf, simpering and posing, " until the torch burns in it."

Boguslav laughed, and Pani Korf talked on without ceasing to pose, —

"Duels concern soldiers more, but we ladies would be glad to hear of your love affairs, tidings of which have come to us."

"Untrue ones, my lady benefactress, untrue, — they have all merely grown on the road. Proposals were made for me, of course. Her Grace, the Queen of France was so kind — "

"With the Princess de Rohan," added Yanush.

"With another too, — De la Forse," added Boguslav; "but even a king cannot command his own heart to love, and we do not need, praise be to God, to seek wealth in France, hence there could be no bread out of that flour. Graceful ladies they were, 't is true, and beautiful beyond imagination; but we have still more beautiful, and I need not go out of this hall to find such."

Here he looked long at Olenka, who, feigning not to hear, began to say something to the sword-bearer; and Pani Korf raised her voice again, —

"There is no lack here of beauties; still there are none who in fortune and birth could be the equal of your highness."

"Permit me, my benefactress, to differ," responded Boguslav, with animation; "for first I do not think that a Polish noble lady is inferior in any way to a Kohan or De la Forse; second, it is not a novelty for the Radzivills to marry a noble woman, since history gives many examples of that. I assure you, my benefactress, that that noble lady who