Countenance and laughing merrily at his taciturnity. She tried to cheer him up by her caresses and the perpetual joyousness of her spirits, but it was a thankless task, for he remained unmoved, as though turned to stone.
It was necessary to come to a final understanding, but it was difficult to bring it about. Any other woman would have elicited one by complaining of his neglect, and as one word brings on another, that would have caused a total rupture. However, Mariana was always kind and affectionate.
Finally Simon determined to end it all by writing to her and after several attempts he composed the following letter:
"Mariana:—There are some impenetrable secrets on earth. Everybody has a destiny of his own. Mine is fatal to me. I am pursued by misfortune. Wherever I go, I carry bad luck and disaster. Let us forget each other, for it cannot be otherwise. Any further explanation would be useless."Your unfortunate
"Simon."
He sent off the letter, and received this answer:
"I have read your letter and felt inclined to cry. Yes, the tears came to my eyes. But afterward I reflected deeply, for your letter seemed like an enigma, and I was resolved to decipher it. But how stupid! It is evident that we ought to forget each other, for it could not be otherwise. Therefore I wiped away my tears and burst out laughing. I had read your
