L E T T E R S

699Letter Nr. 178[To extern Sisters]Paris, August 9, 1839 975The most gracious and wholly undeserved kindness with which you ladiescontinue to mention me and your sympathy for our endeavors in your letters to Fr.Froment 976 encourages me, despite the great delay... to consent to the request ofmy esteemed, supporters and patronesses by adding these few words to theirletters.(My confidence in your graciousness, dear ladies, is so much greater...).With particular confidence in your singular kindness, dear ladies... Although, Irepeat, I feel myself wholly underserving of your uncommon goodness to me, I donot wish to be so underserving. Ladies, please forgive the delay in my response.True, I do have good excuses for my delay – first, I continue to fear that Imight lose much, perhaps all, of my acceptance by you ladies through this changein the mode of our relations, from mediate to immediate; secondly, I have spentthe last few months in seclusion outside of Paris, and during this time I cut off al1relations and correspondence.Nevertheless, in spite of the great sense of guilt that I feel as a result of thisdelay, I am. overcome by such a feeling of shame and weakness that I do notknow whether I would venture to write to you, dear ladies, did I not possess thisgenuine confidence in your singular kindness.Yet I do have a sacred and urgent obligation - first, to apologize to youladies; secondly, at least to say, ―may God reward you!‖1. I owe you thanks for all of the feelings and holy resolutions that havemade us one, for all of your good intentions toward God. One thing is certain: allof our relations are pleasing to God; but it is also certain that, even when theyconcern most just causes, if we expect some reward from our work etc. - these975 The date is established on the basis of Jański’s Diary.976 The new director of College Stanislaus.