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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/2954.txt b/2954.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..324742c --- /dev/null +++ b/2954.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4119 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Venetian Years: Return to Venice +by Jacques Casanova de Seingalt + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Venetian Years: Return to Venice + The Memoirs Of Jacques Casanova De Seingalt 1725-1798 + +Author: Jacques Casanova de Seingalt + +Release Date: October 30, 2006 [EBook #2954] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VENETIAN YEARS: RETURN TO VENICE *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +MEMOIRS OF JACQUES CASANOVA de SEINGALT 1725-1798 + +VENETIAN YEARS, Volume 1d--RETURN TO VENICE + +THE RARE UNABRIDGED LONDON EDITION OF 1894 TRANSLATED BY ARTHUR MACHEN TO +WHICH HAS BEEN ADDED THE CHAPTERS DISCOVERED BY ARTHUR SYMONS. + + + + +RETURN TO VENICE + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +A Fearful Misfortune Befalls Me--Love Cools Down--Leave Corfu and Return +to Venice--Give Up the Army and Become a Fiddler + +The wound was rapidly healing up, and I saw near at hand the moment when +Madame F---- would leave her bed, and resume her usual avocations. + +The governor of the galeasses having issued orders for a general review +at Gouyn, M. F----, left for that place in his galley, telling me to join +him there early on the following day with the felucca. I took supper +alone with Madame F----, and I told her how unhappy it made me to remain +one day away from her. + +"Let us make up to-night for to-morrow's disappointment," she said, "and +let us spend it together in conversation. Here are the keys; when you +know that my maid has left me, come to me through my husband's room." + +I did not fail to follow her instructions to the letter, and we found +ourselves alone with five hours before us. It was the month of June, and +the heat was intense. She had gone to bed; I folded her in my arms, she +pressed me to her bosom, but, condemning herself to the most cruel +torture, she thought I had no right to complain, if I was subjected to +the same privation which she imposed upon herself. My remonstrances, my +prayers, my entreaties were of no avail. + +"Love," she said, "must be kept in check with a tight hand, and we can +laugh at him, since, in spite of the tyranny which we force him to obey, +we succeed all the same in gratifying our desires." + +After the first ecstacy, our eyes and lips unclosed together, and a +little apart from each other we take delight in seeing the mutual +satisfaction beaming on our features. + +Our desires revive; she casts a look upon my state of innocence entirely +exposed to her sight. She seems vexed at my want of excitement, and, +throwing off everything which makes the heat unpleasant and interferes +with our pleasure, she bounds upon me. It is more than amorous fury, it +is desperate lust. I share her frenzy, I hug her with a sort of delirium, +I enjoy a felicity which is on the point of carrying me to the regions of +bliss.... but, at the very moment of completing the offering, she fails +me, moves off, slips away, and comes back to work off my excitement with +a hand which strikes me as cold as ice. + +"Ah, thou cruel, beloved woman! Thou art burning with the fire of love, +and thou deprivest thyself of the only remedy which could bring calm to +thy senses! Thy lovely hand is more humane than thou art, but thou has +not enjoyed the felicity that thy hand has given me. My hand must owe +nothing to thine. Come, darling light of my heart, come! Love doubles my +existence in the hope that I will die again, but only in that charming +retreat from which you have ejected me in the very moment of my greatest +enjoyment." + +While I was speaking thus, her very soul was breathing forth the most +tender sighs of happiness, and as she pressed me tightly in her arms I +felt that she was weltering in an ocean of bliss. + +Silence lasted rather a long time, but that unnatural felicity was +imperfect, and increased my excitement. + +"How canst thou complain," she said tenderly, "when it is to that very +imperfection of our enjoyment that we are indebted for its continuance? I +loved thee a few minutes since, now I love thee a thousand times more, +and perhaps I should love thee less if thou hadst carried my enjoyment to +its highest limit." + +"Oh! how much art thou mistaken, lovely one! How great is thy error! Thou +art feeding upon sophisms, and thou leavest reality aside; I mean nature +which alone can give real felicity. Desires constantly renewed and never +fully satisfied are more terrible than the torments of hell." + +"But are not these desires happiness when they are always accompanied by +hope?" + +"No, if that hope is always disappointed. It becomes hell itself, because +there is no hope, and hope must die when it is killed by constant +deception." + +"Dearest, if hope does not exist in hell, desires cannot be found there +either; for to imagine desires without hopes would be more than madness." + +"Well, answer me. If you desire to be mine entirely, and if you feel the +hope of it, which, according to your way of reasoning, is a natural +consequence, why do you always raise an impediment to your own hope? +Cease, dearest, cease to deceive yourself by absurd sophisms. Let us be +as happy as it is in nature to be, and be quite certain that the reality +of happiness will increase our love, and that love will find a new life +in our very enjoyment." + +"What I see proves the contrary; you are alive with excitement now, but +if your desires had been entirely satisfied, you would be dead, benumbed, +motionless. I know it by experience: if you had breathed the full ecstacy +of enjoyment, as you desired, you would have found a weak ardour only at +long intervals." + +"Ah! charming creature, your experience is but very small; do not trust +to it. I see that you have never known love. That which you call love's +grave is the sanctuary in which it receives life, the abode which makes +it immortal. Give way to my prayers, my lovely friend, and then you shall +know the difference between Love and Hymen. You shall see that, if Hymen +likes to die in order to get rid of life, Love on the contrary expires +only to spring up again into existence, and hastens to revive, so as to +savour new enjoyment. Let me undeceive you, and believe me when I say +that the full gratification of desires can only increase a hundredfold +the mutual ardour of two beings who adore each other." + +"Well, I must believe you; but let us wait. In the meantime let us enjoy +all the trifles, all the sweet preliminaries of love. Devour thy +mistress, dearest, but abandon to me all thy being. If this night is too +short we must console ourselves to-morrow by making arrangements for +another one." + +"And if our intercourse should be discovered?" + +"Do we make a mystery of it? Everybody can see that we love each other, +and those who think that we do not enjoy the happiness of lovers are +precisely the only persons we have to fear. We must only be careful to +guard against being surprised in the very act of proving our love. Heaven +and nature must protect our affection, for there is no crime when two +hearts are blended in true love. Since I have been conscious of my own +existence, Love has always seemed to me the god of my being, for every +time I saw a man I was delighted; I thought that I was looking upon +one-half of myself, because I felt I was made for him and he for me. I +longed to be married. It was that uncertain longing of the heart which +occupies exclusively a young girl of fifteen. I had no conception of +love, but I fancied that it naturally accompanied marriage. You can +therefore imagine my surprise when my husband, in the very act of making +a woman of me, gave me a great deal of pain without giving me the +slightest idea of pleasure! My imagination in the convent was much better +than the reality I had been condemned to by my husband! The result has +naturally been that we have become very good friends, but a very +indifferent husband and wife, without any desires for each other. He has +every reason to be pleased with me, for I always shew myself docile to +his wishes, but enjoyment not being in those cases seasoned by love, he +must find it without flavour, and he seldom comes to me for it. + +"When I found out that you were in love with me, I felt delighted, and +gave you every opportunity of becoming every day more deeply enamoured of +me, thinking myself certain of never loving you myself. As soon as I felt +that love had likewise attacked my heart, I ill-treated you to punish you +for having made my heart sensible. Your patience and constancy have +astonished me, and have caused me to be guilty, for after the first kiss +I gave you I had no longer any control over myself. I was indeed +astounded when I saw the havoc made by one single kiss, and I felt that +my happiness was wrapped up in yours. That discovery flattered and +delighted me, and I have found out, particularly to-night, that I cannot +be happy unless you are so yourself." + +"That is, my beloved, the most refined of all sentiments experienced by +love, but it is impossible for you to render me completely happy without +following in everything the laws and the wishes of nature." + +The night was spent in tender discussions and in exquisite +voluptuousness, and it was not without some grief that at day-break I +tore myself from her arms to go to Gouyn. She wept for joy when she saw +that I left her without having lost a particle of my vigour, for she did +not imagine such a thing possible. + +After that night, so rich in delights, ten or twelve days passed without +giving us any opportunity of quenching even a small particle of the +amorous thirst which devoured us, and it was then that a fearful +misfortune befell me. + +One evening after supper, M. D---- R---- having retired, M. F---- used no +ceremony, and, although I was present, told his wife that he intended to +pay her a visit after writing two letters which he had to dispatch early +the next morning. The moment he had left the room we looked at each +other, and with one accord fell into each other's arms. A torrent of +delights rushed through our souls without restraint, without reserve, but +when the first ardour had been appeased, without giving me time to think +or to enjoy the most complete, the most delicious victory, she drew back, +repulsed me, and threw herself, panting, distracted, upon a chair near +her bed. Rooted to the spot, astonished, almost mad, I tremblingly looked +at her, trying to understand what had caused such an extraordinary +action. She turned round towards me and said, her eyes flashing with the +fire of love, + +"My darling, we were on the brink of the precipice." + +"The precipice! Ah! cruel woman, you have killed me, I feel myself dying, +and perhaps you will never see me again." + +I left her in a state of frenzy, and rushed out, towards the esplanade, +to cool myself, for I was choking. Any man who has not experienced the +cruelty of an action like that of Madame F----, and especially in the +situation I found myself in at that moment, mentally and bodily, can +hardly realize what I suffered, and, although I have felt that suffering, +I could not give an idea of it. + +I was in that fearful state, when I heard my name called from a window, +and unfortunately I condescended to answer. I went near the window, and I +saw, thanks to the moonlight, the famous Melulla standing on her balcony. + +"What are you doing there at this time of night?" I enquired. + +"I am enjoying the cool evening breeze. Come up for a little while." + +This Melulla, of fatal memory, was a courtezan from Zamte, of rare +beauty, who for the last four months had been the delight and the rage of +all the young men in Corfu. Those who had known her agreed in extolling +her charms: she was the talk of all the city. I had seen her often, but, +although she was very beautiful, I was very far from thinking her as +lovely as Madame F----, putting my affection for the latter on one side. +I recollect seeing in Dresden, in the year 1790, a very handsome woman +who was the image of Melulla. + +I went upstairs mechanically, and she took me to a voluptuous boudoir; +she complained of my being the only one who had never paid her a visit, +when I was the man she would have preferred to all others, and I had the +infamy to give way.... I became the most criminal of men. + +It was neither desire, nor imagination, nor the merit of the woman which +caused me to yield, for Melulla was in no way worthy of me; no, it was +weakness, indolence, and the state of bodily and mental irritation in +which I then found myself: it was a sort of spite, because the angel whom +I adored had displeased me by a caprice, which, had I not been unworthy +of her, would only have caused me to be still more attached to her. + +Melulla, highly pleased with her success, refused the gold I wanted to +give her, and allowed me to go after I had spent two hours with her. + +When I recovered my composure, I had but one feeling-hatred for myself +and for the contemptible creature who had allured me to be guilty of so +vile an insult to the loveliest of her sex. I went home the prey to +fearful remorse, and went to bed, but sleep never closed my eyes +throughout that cruel night. + +In the morning, worn out with fatigue and sorrow, I got up, and as soon +as I was dressed I went to M. F----, who had sent for me to give me some +orders. After I had returned, and had given him an account of my mission, +I called upon Madame F----, and finding her at her toilet I wished her +good morning, observing that her lovely face was breathing the +cheerfulness and the calm of happiness; but, suddenly, her eyes meeting +mine, I saw her countenance change, and an expression of sadness replace +her looks of satisfaction. She cast her eyes down as if she was deep in +thought, raised them again as if to read my very soul, and breaking our +painful silence, as soon as she had dismissed her maid, she said to me, +with an accent full of tenderness and of solemnity, + +"Dear one, let there be no concealment either on my part or on yours. I +felt deeply grieved when I saw you leave me last night, and a little +consideration made me understand all the evil which might accrue to you +in consequence of what I had done. With a nature like yours, such scenes +might cause very dangerous disorders, and I have resolved not to do again +anything by halves. I thought that you went out to breathe the fresh air, +and I hoped it would do you good. I placed myself at my window, where I +remained more than an hour without seeing alight in your room. Sorry for +what I had done, loving you more than ever, I was compelled, when my +husband came to my room, to go to bed with the sad conviction that you +had not come home. This morning, M. F. sent an officer to tell you that +he wanted to see you, and I heard the messenger inform him that you were +not yet up, and that you had come home very late. I felt my heart swell +with sorrow. I am not jealous, dearest, for I know that you cannot love +anyone but me; I only felt afraid of some misfortune. At last, this +morning, when I heard you coming, I was happy, because I was ready to +skew my repentance, but I looked at you, and you seemed a different man. +Now, I am still looking at you, and, in spite of myself, my soul reads +upon your countenance that you are guilty, that you have outraged my +love. Tell me at once, dearest, if I am mistaken; if you have deceived +me, say so openly. Do not be unfaithful to love and to truth. Knowing +that I was the cause of it, I should never forgive my self, but there is +an excuse for you in my heart, in my whole being." + +More than once, in the course of my life, I have found myself under the +painful necessity of telling falsehoods to the woman I loved; but in this +case, after so true, so touching an appeal, how could I be otherwise than +sincere? I felt myself sufficiently debased by my crime, and I could not +degrade myself still more by falsehood. I was so far from being disposed +to such a line of conduct that I could not speak, and I burst out crying. + +"What, my darling! you are weeping! Your tears make me miserable. You +ought not to have shed any with me but tears of happiness and love. +Quick, my beloved, tell me whether you have made me wretched. Tell me +what fearful revenge you have taken on me, who would rather die than +offend you. If I have caused you any sorrow, it has been in the innocence +of a loving and devoted heart." + +"My own darling angel, I never thought of revenge, for my heart, which +can never cease to adore you, could never conceive such a dreadful idea. +It is against my own heart that my cowardly weakness has allured me to +the commission of a crime which, for the remainder of my life, makes me +unworthy of you." + +"Have you, then, given yourself to some wretched woman?" + +"Yes, I have spent two hours in the vilest debauchery, and my soul was +present only to be the witness of my sadness, of my remorse, of my +unworthiness." + +"Sadness and remorse! Oh, my poor friend! I believe it. But it is my +fault; I alone ought to suffer; it is I who must beg you to forgive me." + +Her tears made mine flow again. + +"Divine soul," I said, "the reproaches you are addressing to yourself +increase twofold the gravity of my crime. You would never have been +guilty of any wrong against me if I had been really worthy of your love." + +I felt deeply the truth of my words. + +We spent the remainder of the day apparently quiet and composed, +concealing our sadness in the depths of our hearts. She was curious to +know all the circumstances of my miserable adventure, and, accepting it +as an expiation, I related them to her. Full of kindness, she assured me +that we were bound to ascribe that accident to fate, and that the same +thing might have happened to the best of men. She added that I was more +to be pitied than condemned, and that she did not love me less. We both +were certain that we would seize the first favourable opportunity, she of +obtaining her pardon, I of atoning for my crime, by giving each other new +and complete proofs of our mutual ardour. But Heaven in its justice had +ordered differently, and I was cruelly punished for my disgusting +debauchery. + +On the third day, as I got up in the morning, an awful pricking announced +the horrid state into which the wretched Melulla had thrown me. I was +thunderstruck! And when I came to think of the misery which I might have +caused if, during the last three days, I had obtained some new favour +from my lovely mistress, I was on the point of going mad. What would have +been her feelings if I had made her unhappy for the remainder of her +life! Would anyone, then, knowing the whole case, have condemned me if I +had destroyed my own life in order to deliver myself from everlasting +remorse? No, for the man who kills himself from sheer despair, thus +performing upon himself the execution of the sentence he would have +deserved at the hands of justice cannot be blamed either by a virtuous +philosopher or by a tolerant Christian. But of one thing I am quite +certain: if such a misfortune had happened, I should have committed +suicide. + +Overwhelmed with grief by the discovery I had just made, but thinking +that I should get rid of the inconvenience as I had done three times +before, I prepared myself for a strict diet, which would restore my +health in six weeks without anyone having any suspicion of my illness, +but I soon found out that I had not seen the end of my troubles; Melulla +had communicated to my system all the poisons which corrupt the source of +life. I was acquainted with an elderly doctor of great experience in +those matters; I consulted him, and he promised to set me to rights in +two months; he proved as good as his word. At the beginning of September +I found myself in good health, and it was about that time that I returned +to Venice. + +The first thing I resolved on, as soon as I discovered the state I was +in, was to confess everything to Madame F----. I did not wish to wait for +the time when a compulsory confession would have made her blush for her +weakness, and given her cause to think of the fearful consequences which +might have been the result of her passion for me. Her affection was too +dear to me to run the risk of losing it through a want of confidence in +her. Knowing her heart, her candour, and the generosity which had +prompted her to say that I was more to be pitied than blamed, I thought +myself bound to prove by my sincerity that I deserved her esteem. + +I told her candidly my position and the state I had been thrown in, when +I thought of the dreadful consequences it might have had for her. I saw +her shudder and tremble, and she turned pale with fear when I added that +I would have avenged her by killing myself. + +"Villainous, infamous Melulla!" she exclaimed. + +And I repeated those words, but turning them against myself when I +realized all I had sacrificed through the most disgusting weakness. + +Everyone in Corfu knew of my visit to the wretched Melulla, and everyone +seemed surprised to see the appearance of health on my countenance; for +many were the victims that she had treated like me. + +My illness was not my only sorrow; I had others which, although of a +different nature, were not less serious. It was written in the book of +fate that I should return to Venice a simple ensign as when I left: the +general did not keep his word, and the bastard son of a nobleman was +promoted to the lieutenancy instead of myself. From that moment the +military profession, the one most subject to arbitrary despotism, +inspired me with disgust, and I determined to give it up. But I had +another still more important motive for sorrow in the fickleness of +fortune which had completely turned against me. I remarked that, from the +time of my degradation with Melulla, every kind of misfortune befell me. +The greatest of all--that which I felt most, but which I had the good +sense to try and consider a favour--was that a week before the departure +of the army M. D---- R---- took me again for his adjutant, and M. F---- had +to engage another in my place. On the occasion of that change Madame F +told me, with an appearance of regret, that in Venice we could not, for +many reasons, continue our intimacy. I begged her to spare me the +reasons, as I foresaw that they would only throw humiliation upon me. I +began to discover that the goddess I had worshipped was, after all, a +poor human being like all other women, and to think that I should have +been very foolish to give up my life for her. I probed in one day the +real worth of her heart, for she told me, I cannot recollect in reference +to what, that I excited her pity. I saw clearly that she no longer loved +me; pity is a debasing feeling which cannot find a home in a heart full +of love, for that dreary sentiment is too near a relative of contempt. +Since that time I never found myself alone with Madame F----. I loved her +still; I could easily have made her blush, but I did not do it. + +As soon as we reached Venice she became attached to M. F---- R----, whom +she loved until death took him from her. She was unhappy enough to lose +her sight twenty years after. I believe she is still alive. + +During the last two months of my stay in Corfu, I learned the most bitter +and important lessons. In after years I often derived useful hints from +the experience I acquired at that time. + +Before my adventure with the worthless Melulla, I enjoyed good health, I +was rich, lucky at play, liked by everybody, beloved by the most lovely +woman of Corfu. When I spoke, everybody would listen and admire my wit; +my words were taken for oracles, and everyone coincided with me in +everything. After my fatal meeting with the courtezan I rapidly lost my +health, my money, my credit; cheerfulness, consideration, wit, +everything, even the faculty of eloquence vanished with fortune. I would +talk, but people knew that I was unfortunate, and I no longer interested +or convinced my hearers. The influence I had over Madame F---- faded away +little by little, and, almost without her knowing it, the lovely woman +became completely indifferent to me. + +I left Corfu without money, although I had sold or pledged everything I +had of any value. Twice I had reached Corfu rich and happy, twice I left +it poor and miserable. But this time I had contracted debts which I have +never paid, not through want of will but through carelessness. + +Rich and in good health, everyone received me with open arms; poor and +looking sick, no one shewed me any consideration. With a full purse and +the tone of a conqueror, I was thought witty, amusing; with an empty +purse and a modest air, all I said appeared dull and insipid. If I had +become rich again, how soon I would have been again accounted the eighth +wonder of the world! Oh, men! oh, fortune! Everyone avoided me as if the +ill luck which crushed me down was infectious. + +We left Corfu towards the end of September, with five galleys, two +galeasses, and several smaller vessels, under the command of M. Renier. +We sailed along the shores of the Adriatic, towards the north of the +gulf, where there are a great many harbours, and we put in one of them +every night. I saw Madame F---- every evening; she always came with her +husband to take supper on board our galeass. We had a fortunate voyage, +and cast anchor in the harbour of Venice on the 14th of October, 1745, +and after having performed quarantine on board our ships, we landed on +the 25th of November. Two months afterwards, the galeasses were set aside +altogether. The use of these vessels could be traced very far back in +ancient times; their maintenance was very expensive, and they were +useless. A galeass had the frame of a frigate with the rowing apparatus +of the galley, and when there was no wind, five hundred slaves had to +row. + +Before simple good sense managed to prevail and to enforce the +suppression of these useless carcasses, there were long discussions in +the senate, and those who opposed the measure took their principal ground +of opposition in the necessity of respecting and conserving all the +institutions of olden times. That is the disease of persons who can never +identify themselves with the successive improvements born of reason and +experience; worthy persons who ought to be sent to China, or to the +dominions of the Grand Lama, where they would certainly be more at home +than in Europe. + +That ground of opposition to all improvements, however absurd it may be, +is a very powerful one in a republic, which must tremble at the mere idea +of novelty either in important or in trifling things. Superstition has +likewise a great part to play in these conservative views. + +There is one thing that the Republic of Venice will never alter: I mean +the galleys, because the Venetians truly require such vessels to ply, in +all weathers and in spite of the frequent calms, in a narrow sea, and +because they would not know what to do with the men sentenced to hard +labour. + +I have observed a singular thing in Corfu, where there are often as many +as three thousand galley slaves; it is that the men who row on the +galleys, in consequence of a sentence passed upon them for some crime, +are held in a kind of opprobrium, whilst those who are there voluntarily +are, to some extent, respected. I have always thought it ought to be the +reverse, because misfortune, whatever it may be, ought to inspire some +sort of respect; but the vile fellow who condemns himself voluntarily and +as a trade to the position of a slave seems to me contemptible in the +highest degree. The convicts of the Republic, however, enjoy many +privileges, and are, in every way, better treated than the soldiers. It +very often occurs that soldiers desert and give themselves up to a +'sopracomito' to become galley slaves. In those cases, the captain who +loses a soldier has nothing to do but to submit patiently, for he would +claim the man in vain. The reason of it is that the Republic has always +believed galley slaves more necessary than soldiers. The Venetians may +perhaps now (I am writing these lines in the year 1797) begin to realize +their mistake. + +A galley slave, for instance, has the privilege of stealing with +impunity. It is considered that stealing is the least crime they can be +guilty of, and that they ought to be forgiven for it. + +"Keep on your guard," says the master of the galley slave; "and if you +catch him in the act of stealing, thrash him, but be careful not to +cripple him; otherwise you must pay me the one hundred ducats the man has +cost me." + +A court of justice could not have a galley slave taken from a galley, +without paying the master the amount he has disbursed for the man. + +As soon as I had landed in Venice, I called upon Madame Orio, but I found +the house empty. A neighbour told me that she had married the Procurator +Rosa, and had removed to his house. I went immediately to M. Rosa and was +well received. Madame Orio informed me that Nanette had become Countess +R., and was living in Guastalla with her husband. + +Twenty-four years afterwards, I met her eldest son, then a distinguished +officer in the service of the Infante of Parma. + +As for Marton, the grace of Heaven had touched her, and she had become a +nun in the convent at Muran. Two years afterwards, I received from her a +letter full of unction, in which she adjured me, in the name of Our +Saviour and of the Holy Virgin, never to present myself before her eyes. +She added that she was bound by Christian charity to forgive me for the +crime I had committed in seducing her, and she felt certain of the reward +of the elect, and she assured me that she would ever pray earnestly for +my conversion. + +I never saw her again, but she saw me in 1754, as I will mention when we +reach that year. + +I found Madame Manzoni still the same. She had predicted that I would not +remain in the military profession, and when I told her that I had made up +my mind to give it up, because I could not be reconciled to the injustice +I had experienced, she burst out laughing. She enquired about the +profession I intended to follow after giving up the army, and I answered +that I wished to become an advocate. She laughed again, saying that it +was too late. Yet I was only twenty years old. + +When I called upon M. Grimani I had a friendly welcome from him, but, +having enquired after my brother Francois, he told me that he had had him +confined in Fort Saint Andre, the same to which I had been sent before +the arrival of the Bishop of Martorano. + +"He works for the major there," he said; "he copies Simonetti's +battle-pieces, and the major pays him for them; in that manner he earns +his living, and is becoming a good painter." + +"But he is not a prisoner?" + +"Well, very much like it, for he cannot leave the fort. The major, whose +name is Spiridion, is a friend of Razetta, who could not refuse him the +pleasure of taking care of your brother." + +I felt it a dreadful curse that the fatal Razetta should be the tormentor +of all my family, but I concealed my anger. + +"Is my sister," I enquired, "still with him?" + +"No, she has gone to your mother in Dresden." + +This was good news. + +I took a cordial leave of the Abbe Grimani, and I proceeded to Fort Saint +Andre. I found my brother hard at work, neither pleased nor displeased +with his position, and enjoying good health. After embracing him +affectionately, I enquired what crime he had committed to be thus a +prisoner. + +"Ask the major," he said, "for I have not the faintest idea." + +The major came in just then, so I gave him the military salute, and asked +by what authority he kept my brother under arrest. + +"I am not accountable to you for my actions." + +"That remains to be seen." + +I then told my brother to take his hat, and to come and dine with me. The +major laughed, and said that he had no objection provided the sentinel +allowed him to pass. + +I saw that I should only waste my time in discussion, and I left the fort +fully bent on obtaining justice. + +The next day I went to the war office, where I had the pleasure of +meeting my dear Major Pelodoro, who was then commander of the Fortress of +Chiozza. I informed him of the complaint I wanted to prefer before the +secretary of war respecting my brother's arrest, and of the resolution I +had taken to leave the army. He promised me that, as soon as the consent +of the secretary for war could be obtained, he would find a purchaser for +my commission at the same price I had paid for it. + +I had not long to wait. The war secretary came to the office, and +everything was settled in half an hour. He promised his consent to the +sale of my commission as soon as he ascertained the abilities of the +purchaser, and Major Spiridion happening to make his appearance in the +office while I was still there, the secretary ordered him rather angrily, +to set my brother at liberty immediately, and cautioned him not to be +guilty again of such reprehensible and arbitrary acts. + +I went at once for my brother, and we lived together in furnished +lodgings. + +A few days afterwards, having received my discharge and one hundred +sequins, I threw off my uniform, and found myself once more my own +master. + +I had to earn my living in one way or another, and I decided for the +profession of gamester. But Dame Fortune was not of the same opinion, for +she refused to smile upon me from the very first step I took in the +career, and in less than a week I did not possess a groat. What was to +become of me? One must live, and I turned fiddler. Doctor Gozzi had +taught me well enough to enable me to scrape on the violin in the +orchestra of a theatre, and having mentioned my wishes to M. Grimani he +procured me an engagement at his own theatre of Saint Samuel, where I +earned a crown a day, and supported myself while I awaited better things. + +Fully aware of my real position, I never shewed myself in the fashionable +circles which I used to frequent before my fortune had sunk so low. I +knew that I was considered as a worthless fellow, but I did not care. +People despised me, as a matter of course; but I found comfort in the +consciousness that I was worthy of contempt. I felt humiliated by the +position to which I was reduced after having played so brilliant a part +in society; but as I kept the secret to myself I was not degraded, even +if I felt some shame. I had not exchanged my last word with Dame Fortune, +and was still in hope of reckoning with her some day, because I was +young, and youth is dear to Fortune. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +I Turn Out A Worthless Fellow--My Good Fortune--I Become A Rich Nobleman + +With an education which ought to have ensured me an honourable standing +in the world, with some intelligence, wit, good literary and scientific +knowledge, and endowed with those accidental physical qualities which are +such a good passport into society, I found myself, at the age of twenty, +the mean follower of a sublime art, in which, if great talent is rightly +admired, mediocrity is as rightly despised. I was compelled by poverty to +become a member of a musical band, in which I could expect neither esteem +nor consideration, and I was well aware that I should be the +laughing-stock of the persons who had known me as a doctor in divinity, +as an ecclesiastic, and as an officer in the army, and had welcomed me in +the highest society. + +I knew all that, for I was not blind to my position; but contempt, the +only thing to which I could not have remained indifferent, never shewed +itself anywhere under a form tangible enough for me to have no doubt of +my being despised, and I set it at defiance, because I was satisfied that +contempt is due only to cowardly, mean actions, and I was conscious that +I had never been guilty of any. As to public esteem, which I had ever +been anxious to secure, my ambition was slumbering, and satisfied with +being my own master I enjoyed my independence without puzzling my head +about the future. I felt that in my first profession, as I was not +blessed with the vocation necessary to it, I should have succeeded only +by dint of hypocrisy, and I should have been despicable in my own +estimation, even if I had seen the purple mantle on my shoulders, for the +greatest dignities cannot silence a man's own conscience. If, on the +other hand, I had continued to seek fortune in a military career, which +is surrounded by a halo of glory, but is otherwise the worst of +professions for the constant self-abnegation, for the complete surrender +of one's will which passive obedience demands, I should have required a +patience to which I could not lay any claim, as every kind of injustice +was revolting to me, and as I could not bear to feel myself dependent. +Besides, I was of opinion that a man's profession, whatever it might be, +ought to supply him with enough money to satisfy all his wants; and the +very poor pay of an officer would never have been sufficient to cover my +expenses, because my education had given me greater wants than those of +officers in general. By scraping my violin I earned enough to keep myself +without requiring anybody's assistance, and I have always thought that +the man who can support himself is happy. I grant that my profession was +not a brilliant one, but I did not mind it, and, calling prejudices all +the feelings which rose in my breast against myself, I was not long in +sharing all the habits of my degraded comrades. When the play was over, I +went with them to the drinking-booth, which we often left intoxicated to +spend the night in houses of ill-fame. When we happened to find those +places already tenanted by other men, we forced them by violence to quit +the premises, and defrauded the miserable victims of prostitution of the +mean salary the law allows them, after compelling them to yield to our +brutality. Our scandalous proceedings often exposed us to the greatest +danger. + +We would very often spend the whole night rambling about the city, +inventing and carrying into execution the most impertinent, practical +jokes. One of our favourite pleasures was to unmoor the patricians' +gondolas, and to let them float at random along the canals, enjoying by +anticipation all the curses that gondoliers would not fail to indulge in. +We would rouse up hurriedly, in the middle of the night, an honest +midwife, telling her to hasten to Madame So-and-so, who, not being even +pregnant, was sure to tell her she was a fool when she called at the +house. We did the same with physicians, whom we often sent half dressed +to some nobleman who was enjoying excellent health. The priests fared no +better; we would send them to carry the last sacraments to married men +who were peacefully slumbering near their wives, and not thinking of +extreme unction. + +We were in the habit of cutting the wires of the bells in every house, +and if we chanced to find a gate open we would go up the stairs in the +dark, and frighten the sleeping inmates by telling them very loudly that +the house door was not closed, after which we would go down, making as +much noise as we could, and leave the house with the gate wide open. + +During a very dark night we formed a plot to overturn the large marble +table of St. Angelo's Square, on which it was said that in the days of +the League of Cambray the commissaries of the Republic were in the habit +of paying the bounty to the recruits who engaged to fight under the +standard of St. Mark--a circumstance which secured for the table a sort +of public veneration. + +Whenever we could contrive to get into a church tower we thought it great +fun to frighten all the parish by ringing the alarm bell, as if some fire +had broken out; but that was not all, we always cut the bell ropes, so +that in the morning the churchwardens had no means of summoning the +faithful to early mass. Sometimes we would cross the canal, each of us in +a different gondola, and take to our heels without paying as soon as we +landed on the opposite side, in order to make the gondoliers run after +us. + +The city was alive with complaints, and we laughed at the useless search +made by the police to find out those who disturbed the peace of the +inhabitants. We took good care to be careful, for if we had been +discovered we stood a very fair chance of being sent to practice rowing +at the expense of the Council of Ten. + +We were seven, and sometimes eight, because, being much attached to my +brother Francois, I gave him a share now and then in our nocturnal +orgies. But at last fear put a stop to our criminal jokes, which in those +days I used to call only the frolics of young men. This is the amusing +adventure which closed our exploits. + +In every one of the seventy-two parishes of the city of Venice, there is +a large public-house called 'magazzino'. It remains open all night, and +wine is retailed there at a cheaper price than in all the other drinking +houses. People can likewise eat in the 'magazzino', but they must obtain +what they want from the pork butcher near by, who has the exclusive sale +of eatables, and likewise keeps his shop open throughout the night. The +pork butcher is usually a very poor cook, but as he is cheap, poor people +are willingly satisfied with him, and these resorts are considered very +useful to the lower class. The nobility, the merchants, even workmen in +good circumstances, are never seen in the 'magazzino', for cleanliness is +not exactly worshipped in such places. Yet there are a few private rooms +which contain a table surrounded with benches, in which a respectable +family or a few friends can enjoy themselves in a decent way. + +It was during the Carnival of 1745, after midnight; we were, all the +eight of us, rambling about together with our masks on, in quest of some +new sort of mischief to amuse us, and we went into the magazzino of the +parish of the Holy Cross to get something to drink. We found the public +room empty, but in one of the private chambers we discovered three men +quietly conversing with a young and pretty woman, and enjoying their +wine. + +Our chief, a noble Venetian belonging to the Balbi family, said to us, +"It would be a good joke to carry off those three blockheads, and to keep +the pretty woman in our possession." He immediately explained his plan, +and under cover of our masks we entered their room, Balbi at the head of +us. Our sudden appearance rather surprised the good people, but you may +fancy their astonishment when they heard Balbi say to them: "Under +penalty of death, and by order of the Council of Ten, I command you to +follow us immediately, without making the slightest noise; as to you, my +good woman, you need not be frightened, you will be escorted to your +house." When he had finished his speech, two of us got hold of the woman +to take her where our chief had arranged beforehand, and the others +seized the three poor fellows, who were trembling all over, and had not +the slightest idea of opposing any resistance. + +The waiter of the magazzino came to be paid, and our chief gave him what +was due, enjoining silence under penalty of death. We took our three +prisoners to a large boat. Balbi went to the stern, ordered the boatman +to stand at the bow, and told him that he need not enquire where we were +going, that he would steer himself whichever way he thought fit. Not one +of us knew where Balbi wanted to take the three poor devils. + +He sails all along the canal, gets out of it, takes several turnings, and +in a quarter of an hour, we reach Saint George where Balbi lands our +prisoners, who are delighted to find themselves at liberty. After this, +the boatman is ordered to take us to Saint Genevieve, where we land, +after paying for the boat. + +We proceed at once to Palombo Square, where my brother and another of our +band were waiting for us with our lovely prisoner, who was crying. + +"Do not weep, my beauty," says Balbi to her, "we will not hurt you. We +intend only to take some refreshment at the Rialto, and then we will take +you home in safety." + +"Where is my husband?" + +"Never fear; you shall see him again to-morrow." + +Comforted by that promise, and as gentle as a lamb, she follows us to the +"Two Swords." We ordered a good fire in a private room, and, everything +we wanted to eat and to drink having been brought in, we send the waiter +away, and remain alone. We take off our masks, and the sight of eight +young, healthy faces seems to please the beauty we had so unceremoniously +carried off. We soon manage to reconcile her to her fate by the gallantry +of our proceedings; encouraged by a good supper and by the stimulus of +wine, prepared by our compliments and by a few kisses, she realizes what +is in store for her, and does not seem to have any unconquerable +objection. Our chief, as a matter of right, claims the privilege of +opening the ball; and by dint of sweet words he overcomes the very +natural repugnance she feels at consummating the sacrifice in so numerous +company. She, doubtless, thinks the offering agreeable, for, when I +present myself as the priest appointed to sacrifice a second time to the +god of love, she receives me almost with gratitude, and she cannot +conceal her joy when she finds out that she is destined to make us all +happy. My brother Francois alone exempted himself from paying the +tribute, saying that he was ill, the only excuse which could render his +refusal valid, for we had established as a law that every member of our +society was bound to do whatever was done by the others. + +After that fine exploit, we put on our masks, and, the bill being paid, +escorted the happy victim to Saint Job, where she lived, and did not +leave her till we had seen her safe in her house, and the street door +closed. + +My readers may imagine whether we felt inclined to laugh when the +charming creature bade us good night, thanking us all with perfect good +faith! + +Two days afterwards, our nocturnal orgy began to be talked of. The young +woman's husband was a weaver by trade, and so were his two friends. They +joined together to address a complaint to the Council of Ten. The +complaint was candidly written and contained nothing but the truth, but +the criminal portion of the truth was veiled by a circumstance which must +have brought a smile on the grave countenances of the judges, and highly +amused the public at large: the complaint setting forth that the eight +masked men had not rendered themselves guilty of any act disagreeable to +the wife. It went on to say that the two men who had carried her off had +taken her to such a place, where they had, an hour later, been met by the +other six, and that they had all repaired to the "Two Swords," where they +had spent an hour in drinking. The said lady having been handsomely +entertained by the eight masked men, had been escorted to her house, +where she had been politely requested to excuse the joke perpetrated upon +her husband. The three plaintiffs had not been able to leave the island +of Saint George until day-break, and the husband, on reaching his house, +had found his wife quietly asleep in her bed. She had informed him of all +that had happened; she complained of nothing but of the great fright she +had experienced on account of her husband, and on that count she +entreated justice and the punishment of the guilty parties. + +That complaint was comic throughout, for the three rogues shewed +themselves very brave in writing, stating that they would certainly not +have given way so easily if the dread authority of the council had not +been put forth by the leader of the band. The document produced three +different results; in the first place, it amused the town; in the second, +all the idlers of Venice went to Saint Job to hear the account of the +adventure from the lips of the heroine herself, and she got many presents +from her numerous visitors; in the third place, the Council of Ten +offered a reward of five hundred ducats to any person giving such +information as would lead to the arrest of the perpetrators of the +practical joke, even if the informer belonged to the band, provided he +was not the leader. + +The offer of that reward would have made us tremble if our leader, +precisely the one who alone had no interest in turning informer, had not +been a patrician. The rank of Balbi quieted my anxiety at once, because I +knew that, even supposing one of us were vile enough to betray our secret +for the sake of the reward, the tribunal would have done nothing in order +not to implicate a patrician. There was no cowardly traitor amongst us, +although we were all poor; but fear had its effect, and our nocturnal +pranks were not renewed. + +Three or four months afterwards the chevalier Nicolas Iron, then one of +the inquisitors, astonished me greatly by telling me the whole story, +giving the names of all the actors. He did not tell me whether any one of +the band had betrayed the secret, and I did not care to know; but I could +clearly see the characteristic spirit of the aristocracy, for which the +'solo mihi' is the supreme law. + +Towards the middle of April of the year 1746 M. Girolamo Cornaro, the +eldest son of the family Cornaro de la Reine, married a daughter of the +house of Soranzo de St. Pol, and I had the honour of being present at the +wedding--as a fiddler. I played the violin in one of the numerous bands +engaged for the balls which were given for three consecutive days in the +Soranzo Palace. + +On the third day, towards the end of the dancing, an hour before +day-break, feeling tired, I left the orchestra abruptly; and as I was +going down the stairs I observed a senator, wearing his red robes, on the +point of getting into a gondola. In taking his handkerchief out of his +pocket he let a letter drop on the ground. I picked it up, and coming up +to him just as he was going down the steps I handed it to him. He +received it with many thanks, and enquired where I lived. I told him, and +he insisted upon my coming with him in the gondola saying that he would +leave me at my house. I accepted gratefully, and sat down near him. A few +minutes afterwards he asked me to rub his left arm, which, he said, was +so benumbed that he could not feel it. I rubbed it with all my strength, +but he told me in a sort of indistinct whisper that the numbness was +spreading all along the left side, and that he was dying. + +I was greatly frightened; I opened the curtain, took the lantern, and +found him almost insensible, and the mouth drawn on one side. I +understood that he was seized with an apoplectic stroke, and called out +to the gondoliers to land me at once, in order to procure a surgeon to +bleed the patient. + +I jumped out of the gondola, and found myself on the very spot where +three years before I had taught Razetta such a forcible lesson; I +enquired for a surgeon at the first coffee-house, and ran to the house +that was pointed out to me. I knocked as hard as I could; the door was at +last opened, and I made the surgeon follow me in his dressing-gown as far +as the gondola, which was waiting; he bled the senator while I was +tearing my shirt to make the compress and the bandage. + +The operation being performed, I ordered the gondoliers to row as fast as +possible, and we soon reached St. Marina; the servants were roused up, +and taking the sick man out of the gondola we carried him to his bed +almost dead. + +Taking everything upon myself, I ordered a servant to hurry out for a +physician, who came in a short time, and ordered the patient to be bled +again, thus approving the first bleeding prescribed by me. Thinking I had +a right to watch the sick man, I settled myself near his bed to give him +every care he required. + +An hour later, two noblemen, friends of the senator, came in, one a few +minutes after the other. They were in despair; they had enquired about +the accident from the gondoliers, and having been told that I knew more +than they did, they loaded me with questions which I answered. They did +not know who I was, and did not like to ask me; whilst I thought it +better to preserve a modest silence. + +The patient did not move; his breathing alone shewed that he was still +alive; fomentations were constantly applied, and the priest who had been +sent for, and was of very little use under such circumstances, seemed to +be there only to see him die. All visitors were sent away by my advice, +and the two noblemen and myself were the only persons in the sick man's +room. At noon we partook silently of some dinner which was served in the +sick room. + +In the evening one of the two friends told me that if I had any business +to attend to I could go, because they would both pass the night on a +mattress near the patient. + +"And I, sir," I said, "will remain near his bed in this arm-chair, for if +I went away the patient would die, and he will live as long as I am near +him." + +This sententious answer struck them with astonishment, as I expected it +would, and they looked at each other in great surprise. + +We had supper, and in the little conversation we had I gathered the +information that the senator, their friend, was M. de Bragadin, the only +brother of the procurator of that name. He was celebrated in Venice not +only for his eloquence and his great talents as a statesman, but also for +the gallantries of his youth. He had been very extravagant with women, +and more than one of them had committed many follies for him. He had +gambled and lost a great deal, and his brother was his most bitter enemy, +because he was infatuated with the idea that he had tried to poison him. +He had accused him of that crime before the Council of Ten, which, after +an investigation of eight months, had brought in a verdict of not guilty: +but that just sentence, although given unanimously by that high tribunal, +had not had the effect of destroying his brother's prejudices against +him. + +M. de Bragadin, who was perfectly innocent of such a crime and oppressed +by an unjust brother who deprived him of half of his income, spent his +days like an amiable philosopher, surrounded by his friends, amongst whom +were the two noblemen who were then watching him; one belonged to the +Dandolo family, the other was a Barbaro, and both were excellent men. M. +de Bragadin was handsome, learned, cheerful, and most kindly disposed; he +was then about fifty years old. + +The physician who attended him was named Terro; he thought, by some +peculiar train of reasoning, that he could cure him by applying a +mercurial ointment to the chest, to which no one raised any objection. +The rapid effect of the remedy delighted the two friends, but it +frightened me, for in less than twenty-four hours the patient was +labouring under great excitement of the brain. The physician said that he +had expected that effect, but that on the following day the remedy would +act less on the brain, and diffuse its beneficial action through the +whole of the system, which required to be invigorated by a proper +equilibrium in the circulation of the fluids. + +At midnight the patient was in a state of high fever, and in a fearful +state of irritation. I examined him closely, and found him hardly able to +breathe. I roused up his two friends; and declared that in my opinion the +patient would soon die unless the fatal ointment was at once removed. And +without waiting for their answer, I bared his chest, took off the +plaster, washed the skin carefully with lukewarm water, and in less than +three minutes he breathed freely and fell into a quiet sleep. Delighted +with such a fortunate result, we lay down again. + +The physician came very early in the morning, and was much pleased to see +his patient so much better, but when M. Dandolo informed him of what had +been done, he was angry, said it was enough to kill his patient, and +asked who had been so audacious as to destroy the effect of his +prescription. M. de Bragadin, speaking for the first time, said to him-- + +"Doctor, the person who has delivered me from your mercury, which was +killing me, is a more skilful physician than you;" and, saying these +words, he pointed to me. + +It would be hard to say who was the more astonished: the doctor, when he +saw an unknown young man, whom he must have taken for an impostor, +declared more learned than himself; or I, when I saw myself transformed +into a physician, at a moment's notice. I kept silent, looking very +modest, but hardly able to control my mirth, whilst the doctor was +staring at me with a mixture of astonishment and of spite, evidently +thinking me some bold quack who had tried to supplant him. At last, +turning towards M. de Bragadin, he told him coldly that he would leave +him in my hands; he was taken at his word, he went away, and behold! I +had become the physician of one of the most illustrious members of the +Venetian Senate! I must confess that I was very glad of it, and I told my +patient that a proper diet was all he needed, and that nature, assisted +by the approaching fine season, would do the rest. + +The dismissed physician related the affair through the town, and, as M. +de Bragadin was rapidly improving, one of his relations, who came to see +him, told him that everybody was astonished at his having chosen for his +physician a fiddler from the theatre; but the senator put a stop to his +remarks by answering that a fiddler could know more than all the doctors +in Venice, and that he owed his life to me. + +The worthy nobleman considered me as his oracle, and his two friends +listened to me with the deepest attention. Their infatuation encouraging +me, I spoke like a learned physician, I dogmatized, I quoted authors whom +I had never read. + +M. de Bragadin, who had the weakness to believe in the occult sciences, +told me one day that, for a young man of my age, he thought my learning +too extensive, and that he was certain I was the possessor of some +supernatural endowment. He entreated me to tell him the truth. + +What extraordinary things will sometimes occur from mere chance, or from +the force of circumstances! Unwilling to hurt his vanity by telling him +that he was mistaken, I took the wild resolution of informing him, in the +presence of his two friends, that I possessed a certain numeral calculus +which gave answers (also in numbers), to any questions I liked to put. + +M. de Bragadin said that it was Solomon's key, vulgarly called cabalistic +science, and he asked me from whom I learnt it. + +"From an old hermit," I answered, "who lives on the Carpegna Mountain, +and whose acquaintance I made quite by chance when I was a prisoner in +the Spanish army." + +"The hermit," remarked the senator, "has without informing you of it, +linked an invisible spirit to the calculus he has taught you, for simple +numbers can not have the power of reason. You possess a real treasure, +and you may derive great advantages from it." + +"I do not know," I said, "in what way I could make my science useful, +because the answers given by the numerical figures are often so obscure +that I have felt discouraged, and I very seldom tried to make any use of +my calculus. Yet, it is very true that, if I had not formed my pyramid, I +never should have had the happiness of knowing your excellency." + +"How so?" + +"On the second day, during the festivities at the Soranzo Palace, I +enquired of my oracle whether I would meet at the ball anyone whom I +should not care to see. The answer I obtained was this: 'Leave the +ball-room precisely at four o'clock.' I obeyed implicitly, and met your +excellency." + +The three friends were astounded. M. Dandolo asked me whether I would +answer a question he would ask, the interpretation of which would belong +only to him, as he was the only person acquainted with the subject of the +question. + +I declared myself quite willing, for it was necessary to brazen it out, +after having ventured as far as I had done. He wrote the question, and +gave it to me; I read it, I could not understand either the subject or +the meaning of the words, but it did not matter, I had to give an answer. +If the question was so obscure that I could not make out the sense of it, +it was natural that I should not understand the answer. I therefore +answered, in ordinary figures, four lines of which he alone could be the +interpreter, not caring much, at least in appearance, how they would be +understood. M. Dandolo read them twice over, seemed astonished, said that +it was all very plain to him; it was Divine, it was unique, it was a gift +from Heaven, the numbers being only the vehicle, but the answer emanating +evidently from an immortal spirit. + +M. Dandolo was so well pleased that his two friends very naturally wanted +also to make an experiment. They asked questions on all sorts of +subjects, and my answers, perfectly unintelligible to myself, were all +held as Divine by them. I congratulated them on their success, and +congratulated myself in their presence upon being the possessor of a +thing to which I had until then attached no importance whatever, but +which I promised to cultivate carefully, knowing that I could thus be of +some service to their excellencies. + +They all asked me how long I would require to teach them the rules of my +sublime calculus. "Not very long," I answered, "and I will teach you as +you wish, although the hermit assured me that I would die suddenly within +three days if I communicated my science to anyone, but I have no faith +whatever in that prediction." M. de Bragadin who believed in it more than +I did, told me in a serious tone that I was bound to have faith in it, +and from that day they never asked me again to teach them. They very +likely thought that, if they could attach me to them, it would answer the +purpose as well as if they possessed the science themselves. Thus I +became the hierophant of those three worthy and talented men, who, in +spite of their literary accomplishments, were not wise, since they were +infatuated with occult and fabulous sciences, and believed in the +existence of phenomena impossible in the moral as well as in the physical +order of things. They believed that through me they possessed the +philosopher's stone, the universal panacea, the intercourse with all the +elementary, heavenly, and infernal spirits; they had no doubt whatever +that, thanks to my sublime science, they could find out the secrets of +every government in Europe. + +After they had assured themselves of the reality of my cabalistic science +by questions respecting the past, they decided to turn it to some use by +consulting it upon the present and upon the future. I had no difficulty +in skewing myself a good guesser, because I always gave answers with a +double meaning, one of the meanings being carefully arranged by me, so as +not to be understood until after the event; in that manner, my cabalistic +science, like the oracle of Delphi, could never be found in fault. I saw +how easy it must have been for the ancient heathen priests to impose upon +ignorant, and therefore credulous mankind. I saw how easy it will always +be for impostors to find dupes, and I realized, even better than the +Roman orator, why two augurs could never look at each other without +laughing; it was because they had both an equal interest in giving +importance to the deceit they perpetrated, and from which they derived +such immense profits. But what I could not, and probably never shall, +understand, was the reason for which the Fathers, who were not so simple +or so ignorant as our Evangelists, did not feel able to deny the divinity +of oracles, and, in order to get out of the difficulty, ascribed them to +the devil. They never would have entertained such a strange idea if they +had been acquainted with cabalistic science. My three worthy friends were +like the holy Fathers; they had intelligence and wit, but they were +superstitious, and no philosophers. But, although believing fully in my +oracles, they were too kind-hearted to think them the work of the devil, +and it suited their natural goodness better to believe my answers +inspired by some heavenly spirit. They were not only good Christians and +faithful to the Church, but even real devotees and full of scruples. They +were not married, and, after having renounced all commerce with women, +they had become the enemies of the female sex; perhaps a strong proof of +the weakness of their minds. They imagined that chastity was the +condition 'sine qua non' exacted by the spirits from those who wished to +have intimate communication or intercourse with them: they fancied that +spirits excluded women, and 'vice versa'. + +With all these oddities, the three friends were truly intelligent and +even witty, and, at the beginning of my acquaintance with them, I could +not reconcile these antagonistic points. But a prejudiced mind cannot +reason well, and the faculty of reasoning is the most important of all. +I often laughed when I heard them talk on religious matters; they would +ridicule those whose intellectual faculties were so limited that they +could not understand the mysteries of religion. The incarnation of the +Word, they would say, was a trifle for God, and therefore easy to +understand, and the resurrection was so comprehensible that it did not +appear to them wonderful, because, as God cannot die, Jesus Christ +was naturally certain to rise again. As for the Eucharist, +transubstantiation, the real presence, it was all no mystery to them, but +palpable evidence, and yet they were not Jesuits. They were in the habit +of going to confession every week, without feeling the slightest trouble +about their confessors, whose ignorance they kindly regretted. They +thought themselves bound to confess only what was a sin in their own +opinion, and in that, at least, they reasoned with good sense. + +With those three extraordinary characters, worthy of esteem and respect +for their moral qualities, their honesty, their reputation, and their +age, as well as for their noble birth, I spent my days in a very pleasant +manner: although, in their thirst for knowledge, they often kept me hard +at work for ten hours running, all four of us being locked up together in +a room, and unapproachable to everybody, even to friends or relatives. + +I completed the conquest of their friendship by relating to them the +whole of my life, only with some proper reserve, so as not to lead them +into any capital sins. I confess candidly that I deceived them, as the +Papa Deldimopulo used to deceive the Greeks who applied to him for the +oracles of the Virgin. I certainly did not act towards them with a true +sense of honesty, but if the reader to whom I confess myself is +acquainted with the world and with the spirit of society, I entreat him +to think before judging me, and perhaps I may meet with some indulgence +at his hands. + +I might be told that if I had wished to follow the rules of pure morality +I ought either to have declined intimate intercourse with them or to have +undeceived them. I cannot deny these premises, but I will answer that I +was only twenty years of age, I was intelligent, talented, and had just +been a poor fiddler. I should have lost my time in trying to cure them of +their weakness; I should not have succeeded, for they would have laughed +in my face, deplored my ignorance, and the result of it all would have +been my dismissal. Besides, I had no mission, no right, to constitute +myself an apostle, and if I had heroically resolved on leaving them as +soon as I knew them to be foolish visionaries, I should have shewn myself +a misanthrope, the enemy of those worthy men for whom I could procure +innocent pleasures, and my own enemy at the same time; because, as a +young man, I liked to live well, to enjoy all the pleasures natural to +youth and to a good constitution. + +By acting in that manner I should have failed in common politeness, I +should perhaps have caused or allowed M. de Bragadin's death, and I +should have exposed those three honest men to becoming the victims of the +first bold cheat who, ministering to their monomania, might have won +their favour, and would have ruined them by inducing them to undertake +the chemical operations of the Great Work. There is also another +consideration, dear reader, and as I love you I will tell you what it is. +An invincible self-love would have prevented me from declaring myself +unworthy of their friendship either by my ignorance or by my pride; and I +should have been guilty of great rudeness if I had ceased to visit them. + +I took, at least it seems to me so, the best, the most natural, and the +noblest decision, if we consider the disposition of their mind, when I +decided upon the plan of conduct which insured me the necessaries of life +and of those necessaries who could be a better judge than your very +humble servant? + +Through the friendship of those three men, I was certain of obtaining +consideration and influence in my own country. Besides, I found it very +flattering to my vanity to become the subject of the speculative +chattering of empty fools who, having nothing else to do, are always +trying to find out the cause of every moral phenomenon they meet with, +which their narrow intellect cannot understand. + +People racked their brain in Venice to find out how my intimacy with +three men of that high character could possibly exist; they were wrapped +up in heavenly aspirations, I was a world's devotee; they were very +strict in their morals, I was thirsty of all pleasures! At the beginning +of summer, M. de Bragadin was once, more able to take his seat in the +senate, and, the day before he went out for the first time, he spoke to +me thus: + +"Whoever you may be, I am indebted to you for my life. Your first +protectors wanted to make you a priest, a doctor, an advocate, a soldier, +and ended by making a fiddler of you; those persons did not know you. God +had evidently instructed your guardian angel to bring you to me. I know +you and appreciate you. If you will be my son, you have only to +acknowledge me for your father, and, for the future, until my death, I +will treat you as my own child. Your apartment is ready, you may send +your clothes: you shall have a servant, a gondola at your orders, my own +table, and ten sequins a month. It is the sum I used to receive from my +father when I was your age. You need not think of the future; think only +of enjoying yourself, and take me as your adviser in everything that may +happen to you, in everything you may wish to undertake, and you may be +certain of always finding me your friend." + +I threw myself at his feet to assure him of my gratitude, and embraced +him calling him my father. He folded me in his arms, called me his dear +son; I promised to love and to obey him; his two friends, who lived in +the same palace, embraced me affectionately, and we swore eternal +fraternity. + +Such is the history of my metamorphosis, and of the lucky stroke which, +taking me from the vile profession of a fiddler, raised me to the rank of +a grandee. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +I lead a dissolute life--Zawoiski--Rinaldi--L'Abbadie--the young +countess--the Capuchin friar Z. Steffani--Ancilla--La Ramor--I take a +gondola at St. Job to go to Mestra. + +Fortune, which had taken pleasure in giving me a specimen of its despotic +caprice, and had insured my happiness through means which sages would +disavow, had not the power to make me adopt a system of moderation and +prudence which alone could establish my future welfare on a firm basis. + +My ardent nature, my irresistible love of pleasure, my unconquerable +independence, would not allow me to submit to the reserve which my new +position in life demanded from me. I began to lead a life of complete +freedom, caring for nothing but what ministered to my tastes, and I +thought that, as long as I respected the laws, I could trample all +prejudices under my feet. I fancied that I could live free and +independent in a country ruled entirely by an aristocratic government, +but this was not the case, and would not have been so even if fortune had +raised me to a seat in that same government, for the Republic of Venice, +considering that its primary duty is to preserve its own integrity, finds +itself the slave of its own policy, and is bound to sacrifice everything +to self-preservation, before which the laws themselves cease to be +inviolable. + +But let us abandon the discussion of a principle now too trite, for +humankind, at least in Europe, is satisfied that unlimited liberty is +nowhere consistent with a properly-regulated state of society. I have +touched lightly on the matter, only to give to my readers some idea of my +conduct in my own country, where I began to tread a path which was to +lead me to a state prison as inscrutable as it was unconstitutional. + +With enough money, endowed by nature with a pleasing and commanding +physical appearance, a confirmed gambler, a true spendthrift, a great +talker, very far from modest, intrepid, always running after pretty +women, supplanting my rivals, and acknowledging no good company but that +which ministered to my enjoyment, I was certain to be disliked; but, ever +ready to expose myself to any danger, and to take the responsibility of +all my actions, I thought I had a right to do anything I pleased, for I +always broke down abruptly every obstacle I found in my way. + +Such conduct could not but be disagreeable to the three worthy men whose +oracle I had become, but they did not like to complain. The excellent M. +de Bragadin would only tell me that I was giving him a repetition of the +foolish life he had himself led at my age, but that I must prepare to pay +the penalty of my follies, and to feel the punishment when I should reach +his time of life. Without wanting in the respect I owed him, I would turn +his terrible forebodings into jest, and continue my course of +extravagance. However, I must mention here the first proof he gave me of +his true wisdom. + +At the house of Madame Avogadro, a woman full of wit in spite of her +sixty years, I had made the acquaintance of a young Polish nobleman +called Zawoiski. He was expecting money from Poland, but in the mean time +the Venetian ladies did not let him want for any, being all very much in +love with his handsome face and his Polish manners. We soon became good +friends, my purse was his, but, twenty years later, he assisted me to a +far greater extent in Munich. Zawoiski was honest, he had only a small +dose of intelligence, but it was enough for his happiness. He died in +Trieste five or six years ago, the ambassador of the Elector of Treves. I +will speak of him in another part of these Memoirs. + +This amiable young man, who was a favourite with everybody and was +thought a free-thinker because he frequented the society of Angelo +Querini and Lunardo Venier, presented me one day, as we were out walking, +to an unknown countess who took my fancy very strongly. We called on her +in the evening, and, after introducing me to her husband, Count Rinaldi, +she invited us to remain and have supper. + +The count made a faro bank in the course of the evening, I punted with +his wife as a partner, and won some fifty ducats. + +Very much pleased with my new acquaintance, I called alone on the +countess the next morning. The count, apologizing for his wife who was +not up yet, took me to her room. She received me with graceful ease, and, +her husband having left us alone, she had the art to let me hope for +every favour, yet without committing herself; when I took leave of her, +she invited me to supper for the evening. After supper I played, still in +partnership with her, won again, and went away very much in love. I did +not fail to pay her another visit the next morning, but when I presented +myself at the house I was told that she had gone out. + +I called again in the evening, and, after she had excused herself for not +having been at home in the morning, the faro bank began, and I lost all +my money, still having the countess for my partner. After supper, and +when the other guests had retired, I remained with Zawoiski, Count +Rinaldi having offered to give us our revenge. As I had no more money, I +played upon trust, and the count threw down the cards after I had lost +five hundred sequins. I went away in great sorrow. I was bound in honour +to pay the next morning, and I did not possess a groat. Love increased my +despair, for I saw myself on the point of losing the esteem of a woman by +whom I was smitten, and the anxiety I felt did not escape M. de Bragadin +when we met in the morning. He kindly encouraged me to confess my +troubles to him. I was conscious that it was my only chance, and candidly +related the whole affair, and I ended by saying that I should not survive +my disgrace. He consoled me by promising that my debt would be cancelled +in the course of the day, if I would swear never to play again upon +trust. I took an oath to that effect, and kissing his hand, I went out +for a walk, relieved from a great load. I had no doubt that my excellent +father would give me five hundred sequins during the day, and I enjoyed +my anticipation the honour I would derive, in the opinion of the lovely +countess, by my exactitude and prompt discharge of my debt. I felt that +it gave new strength to my hopes, and that feeling prevented me from +regretting my heavy loss, but grateful for the great generosity of my +benefactor I was fully determined on keeping my promise. + +I dined with the three friends, and the matter was not even alluded to; +but, as we were rising from the table, a servant brought M. de Bragadin a +letter and a parcel. + +He read the letter, asked me to follow him into his study, and the moment +we were alone, he said; + +"Here is a parcel for you." + +I opened it, and found some forty sequins. Seeing my surprise, M. de +Bragadin laughed merrily and handed me the letter, the contents of which +ran thus: + +"M. de Casanova may be sure that our playing last night was only a joke: +he owes me nothing. My wife begs to send him half of the gold which he +has lost in cash. +"COUNT RINALDI." + +I looked at M. de Bragadin, perfectly amazed, and he burst out laughing. +I guessed the truth, thanked him, and embracing him tenderly I promised +to be wiser for the future. The mist I had before my eyes was dispelled, +I felt that my love was defunct, and I remained rather ashamed, when I +realized that I had been the dupe of the wife as well as of the husband. + +"This evening," said my clever physician, "you can have a gay supper with +the charming countess." + +"This evening, my dear, respected benefactor, I will have supper with +you. You have given me a masterly lesson." + +"The next time you lose money upon trust, you had better not pay it." + +"But I should be dishonoured." + +"Never mind. The sooner you dishonour yourself, the more you will save, +for you will always be compelled to accept your dishonour whenever you +find yourself utterly unable to pay your losses. It is therefore more +prudent not to wait until then." + +"It is much better still to avoid that fatal impossibility by never +playing otherwise than with money in hand." + +"No doubt of it, for then you will save both your honour and your purse. +But, as you are fond of games of chance, I advise you never to punt. Make +the bank, and the advantage must be on your side." + +"Yes, but only a slight advantage." + +"As slight as you please, but it will be on your side, and when the game +is over you will find yourself a winner and not a loser. The punter is +excited, the banker is calm. The last says, 'I bet you do not guess,' +while the first says, 'I bet I can guess.' Which is the fool, and which +is the wise man? The question is easily answered. I adjure you to be +prudent, but if you should punt and win, recollect that you are only an +idiot if at the end you lose." + +"Why an idiot? Fortune is very fickle." + +"It must necessarily be so; it is a natural consequence. Leave off +playing, believe me, the very moment you see luck turning, even if you +should, at that moment, win but one groat." + +I had read Plato, and I was astonished at finding a man who could reason +like Socrates. + +The next day, Zawoiski called on me very early to tell me that I had been +expected to supper, and that Count Rinaldi had praised my promptness in +paying my debts of honour. I did not think it necessary to undeceive him, +but I did not go again to Count Rinaldi's, whom I saw sixteen years +afterwards in Milan. As to Zawoiski, I did not tell him the story till I +met him in Carlsbad, old and deaf, forty years later. + +Three or four months later, M. de Bragadin taught me another of his +masterly lessons. I had become acquainted, through Zawoiski, with a +Frenchman called L'Abbadie, who was then soliciting from the Venetian +Government the appointment of inspector of the armies of the Republic. +The senate appointed, and I presented him to my protector, who promised +him his vote; but the circumstance I am going to relate prevented him +from fulfilling his promise. + +I was in need of one hundred sequins to discharge a few debts, and I +begged M. de Bragadin to give them to me. + +"Why, my dear son, do you not ask M. de l'Abbadie to render you that +service?" + +"I should not dare to do so, dear father." + +"Try him; I am certain that he will be glad to lend you that sum." + +"I doubt it, but I will try." + +I called upon L'Abbadie on the following day, and after a short exchange +of compliments I told him the service I expected from his friendship. He +excused himself in a very polite manner, drowning his refusal in that sea +of commonplaces which people are sure to repeat when they cannot or will +not oblige a friend. Zawoiski came in as he was still apologizing, and I +left them together. I hurried at once to M. de Bragadin, and told him my +want of success. He merely remarked that the Frenchman was deficient in +intelligence. + +It just happened that it was the very day on which the appointment of the +inspectorship was to be brought before the senate. I went out to attend +to my business (I ought to say to my pleasure), and as I did not return +home till after midnight I went to bed without seeing my father. In the +morning I said in his presence that I intended to call upon L'Abbadie to +congratulate him upon his appointment. + +"You may spare yourself that trouble; the senate has rejected his +nomination." + +"How so? Three days ago L'Abbadie felt sure of his success." + +"He was right then, for he would have been appointed if I had not made up +my mind to speak against him. I have proved to the senate that a right +policy forbade the government to trust such an important post to a +foreigner." + +"I am much surprised, for your excellency was not of that opinion the day +before yesterday." + +"Very true, but then I did not know M. de l'Abbadie. I found out only +yesterday that the man was not sufficiently intelligent to fill the +position he was soliciting. Is he likely to possess a sane judgment when +he refuses to lend you one hundred sequins? That refusal has cost him an +important appointment and an income of three thousand crowns, which would +now be his." + +When I was taking my walk on the same day I met Zawoiski with L'Abbadie, +and did not try to avoid them. L'Abbadie was furious, and he had some +reason to be so. + +"If you had told me," he said angrily, "that the one hundred sequins were +intended as a gag to stop M. de Bragadin's mouth, I would have contrived +to procure them for you." + +"If you had had an inspector's brains you would have easily guessed it." + +The Frenchman's resentment proved very useful to me, because he related +the circumstance to everybody. The result was that from that time those +who wanted the patronage of the senator applied to me. Comment is +needless; this sort of thing has long been in existence, and will long +remain so, because very often, to obtain the highest of favours, all that +is necessary is to obtain the good-will of a minister's favourite or even +of his valet. My debts were soon paid. + +It was about that time that my brother Jean came to Venice with +Guarienti, a converted Jew, a great judge of paintings, who was +travelling at the expense of His Majesty the King of Poland, and Elector +of Saxony. It was the converted Jew who had purchased for His Majesty the +gallery of the Duke of Modena for one hundred thousand sequins. Guarienti +and my brother left Venice for Rome, where Jean remained in the studio of +the celebrated painter Raphael Mengs, whom we shall meet again hereafter. + +Now, as a faithful historian, I must give my readers the story of a +certain adventure in which were involved the honour and happiness of one +of the most charming women in Italy, who would have been unhappy if I had +not been a thoughtless fellow. + +In the early part of October, 1746, the theatres being opened, I was +walking about with my mask on when I perceived a woman, whose head was +well enveloped in the hood of her mantle, getting out of the Ferrara +barge which had just arrived. Seeing her alone, and observing her +uncertain walk, I felt myself drawn towards her as if an unseen hand had +guided me. + +I come up to her, and offer my services if I can be of any use to her. +She answers timidly that she only wants to make some enquiries. + +"We are not here in the right place for conversation," I say to her; "but +if you would be kind enough to come with me to a cafe, you would be able +to speak and to explain your wishes." + +She hesitates, I insist, and she gives way. The tavern was close at hand; +we go in, and are alone in a private room. I take off my mask, and out of +politeness she must put down the hood of her mantle. A large muslin +head-dress conceals half of her face, but her eyes, her nose, and her +pretty mouth are enough to let me see on her features beauty, nobleness, +sorrow, and that candour which gives youth such an undefinable charm. I +need not say that, with such a good letter of introduction, the unknown +at once captivated my warmest interest. After wiping away a few tears +which are flowing, in spite of all her efforts, she tells me that she +belongs to a noble family, that she has run away from her father's house, +alone, trusting in God, to meet a Venetian nobleman who had seduced her +and then deceived her, thus sealing her everlasting misery. + +"You have then some hope of recalling him to the path of duty? I suppose +he has promised you marriage?" + +"He has engaged his faith to me in writing. The only favour I claim from +your kindness is to take me to his house, to leave me there, and to keep +my secret." + +"You may trust, madam, to the feelings of a man of honour. I am worthy of +your trust. Have entire confidence in me, for I already take a deep +interest in all your concerns. Tell me his name." + +"Alas! sir, I give way to fate." + +With these words, she takes out of her bosom a paper which she gives me; +I recognize the handwriting of Zanetto Steffani. It was a promise of +marriage by which he engaged his word of honour to marry within a week, +in Venice, the young countess A---- S----. When I have read the paper, I +return it to her, saying that I knew the writer quite well, that he was +connected with the chancellor's office, known as a great libertine, and +deeply in debt, but that he would be rich after his mother's death. + +"For God's sake take me to his house." + +"I will do anything you wish; but have entire confidence in me, and be +good enough to hear me. I advise you not to go to his house. He has +already done you great injury, and, even supposing that you should happen +to find him at home, he might be capable of receiving you badly; if he +should not be at home, it is most likely that his mother would not +exactly welcome you, if you should tell her who you are and what is your +errand. Trust to me, and be quite certain that God has sent me on your +way to assist you. I promise you that to-morrow at the latest you shall +know whether Steffani is in Venice, what he intends to do with you, and +what we may compel him to do. Until then my advice is not to let him know +your arrival in Venice." + +"Good God! where shall I go to-night?" + +"To a respectable house, of course." + +"I will go to yours, if you are married." + +"I am a bachelor." + +I knew an honest widow who resided in a lane, and who had two furnished +rooms. I persuade the young countess to follow me, and we take a gondola. +As we are gliding along, she tells me that, one month before, Steffani +had stopped in her neighbourhood for necessary repairs to his +travelling-carriage, and that, on the same day he had made her +acquaintance at a house where she had gone with her mother for the +purpose of offering their congratulations to a newly-married lady. + +"I was unfortunate enough," she continued, "to inspire him with love, and +he postponed his departure. He remained one month in C----, never going +out but in the evening, and spending every night under my windows +conversing with me. He swore a thousand times that he adored me, that his +intentions were honourable. I entreated him to present himself to my +parents to ask me in marriage, but he always excused himself by alleging +some reason, good or bad, assuring me that he could not be happy unless I +shewed him entire confidence. He would beg of me to make up my mind to +run away with him, unknown to everybody, promising that my honour should +not suffer from such a step, because, three days after my departure, +everybody should receive notice of my being his wife, and he assured me +that he would bring me back on a visit to my native place shortly after +our marriage. Alas, sir! what shall I say now? Love blinded me; I fell +into the abyss; I believed him; I agreed to everything. He gave me the +paper which you have read, and the following night I allowed him to come +into my room through the window under which he was in the habit of +conversing with me. + +"I consented to be guilty of a crime which I believed would be atoned for +within three days, and he left me, promising that the next night he would +be again under my window, ready to receive me in his arms. Could I +possibly entertain any doubt after the fearful crime I had committed for +him? I prepared a small parcel, and waited for his coming, but in vain. +Oh! what a cruel long night it was! In the morning I heard that the +monster had gone away with his servant one hour after sealing my shame. +You may imagine my despair! I adopted the only plan that despair could +suggest, and that, of course, was not the right one. One hour before +midnight I left my father's roof, alone, thus completing my dishonour, +but resolved on death, if the man who has cruelly robbed me of my most +precious treasure, and whom a natural instinct told me I could find here, +does not restore me the honour which he alone can give me back. I walked +all night and nearly the whole day, without taking any food, until I got +into the barge, which brought me here in twenty-four hours. I travelled +in the boat with five men and two women, but no one saw my face or heard +my voice, I kept constantly sitting down in a corner, holding my head +down, half asleep, and with this prayer-book in my hands. I was left +alone, no one spoke to me, and I thanked God for it. When I landed on the +wharf, you did not give me time to think how I could find out the +dwelling of my perfidious seducer, but you may imagine the impression +produced upon me by the sudden apparition of a masked man who, abruptly, +and as if placed there purposely by Providence, offered me his services; +it seemed to me that you had guessed my distress, and, far from +experiencing any repugnance, I felt that I was acting rightly in trusting +myself in your hands, in spite of all prudence which, perhaps, ought to +have made me turn a deaf ear to your words, and refuse the invitation to +enter alone with you the house to which you took me. + +"You know all now, sir; but I entreat you not to judge me too severely; I +have been virtuous all through my life; one month ago I had never +committed a fault which could call a blush upon my face, and the bitter +tears which I shed every day will, I hope, wash out my crime in the eyes +of God. I have been carefully brought up, but love and the want of +experience have thrown me into the abyss. I am in your hands, and I feel +certain that I shall have no cause to repent it." + +I needed all she had just told' me to confirm me in the interest which I +had felt in her from the first moment. I told her unsparingly that +Steffani had seduced and abandoned her of malice aforethought, and that +she ought to think of him only to be revenged of his perfidy. My words +made her shudder, and she buried her beautiful face in her hands. + +We reached the widow's house. I established her in a pretty, comfortable +room, and ordered some supper for her, desiring the good landlady to skew +her every attention and to let her want for nothing. I then took an +affectionate leave of her, promising to see her early in the morning. + +On leaving this interesting but hapless girl, I proceeded to the house of +Steffani. I heard from one of his mother's gondoliers that he had +returned to Venice three days before, but that, twenty-four hours after +his return, he had gone away again without any servant, and nobody knew +his whereabouts, not even his mother. The same evening, happening to be +seated next to an abbe from Bologna at the theatre, I asked him several +questions respecting the family of my unfortunate protegee. + +The abbe being intimately acquainted with them, I gathered from him all +the information I required, and, amongst other things, I heard that the +young countess had a brother, then an officer in the papal service. + +Very early the next morning I called upon her. She was still asleep. The +widow told me that she had made a pretty good supper, but without +speaking a single word, and that she had locked herself up in her room +immediately afterwards. As soon as she had opened her door, I entered her +room, and, cutting short her apologies for having kept me waiting, I +informed her of all I had heard. + +Her features bore the stamp of deep sorrow, but she looked calmer, and +her complexion was no longer pale. She thought it unlikely that Steffani +would have left for any other place but for C----. Admitting the +possibility that she might be right, I immediately offered to go to +C---- myself, and to return without loss of time to fetch her, in case +Steffani should be there. Without giving her time to answer I told her +all the particulars I had learned concerning her honourable family, which +caused her real satisfaction. + +"I have no objection," she said, "to your going to C----, and I thank you +for the generosity of your offer, but I beg you will postpone your +journey. I still hope that Steffani will return, and then I can take a +decision." + +"I think you are quite right," I said. "Will you allow me to have some +breakfast with you?" + +"Do you suppose I could refuse you?" + +"I should be very sorry to disturb you in any way. How did you use to +amuse yourself at home?" + +"I am very fond of books and music; my harpsichord was my delight." + +I left her after breakfast, and in the evening I came back with a basket +full of good books and music, and I sent her an excellent harpsichord. My +kindness confused her, but I surprised her much more when I took out of +my pocket three pairs of slippers. She blushed, and thanked me with great +feeling. She had walked a long distance, her shoes were evidently worn +out, her feet sore, and she appreciated the delicacy of my present. As I +had no improper design with regard to her, I enjoyed her gratitude, and +felt pleased at the idea she evidently entertained of my kind attentions. +I had no other purpose in view but to restore calm to her mind, and to +obliterate the bad opinion which the unworthy Steffani had given her of +men in general. I never thought of inspiring her with love for me, and I +had not the slightest idea that I could fall in love with her. She was +unhappy, and her unhappiness--a sacred thing in my eyes--called all the +more for my most honourable sympathy, because, without knowing me, she +had given me her entire confidence. Situated as she was, I could not +suppose her heart susceptible of harbouring a new affection, and I would +have despised myself if I had tried to seduce her by any means in my +power. + +I remained with her only a quarter of an hour, being unwilling that my +presence should trouble her at such a moment, as she seemed to be at a +loss how to thank me and to express all her gratitude. + +I was thus engaged in a rather delicate adventure, the end of which I +could not possibly foresee, but my warmth for my protegee did not cool +down, and having no difficulty in procuring the means to keep her I had +no wish to see the last scene of the romance. That singular meeting, +which gave me the useful opportunity of finding myself endowed with +generous dispositions, stronger even than my love for pleasure, flattered +my self-love more than I could express. I was then trying a great +experiment, and conscious that I wanted sadly to study myself, I gave up +all my energies to acquire the great science of the 'xxxxxxxxxxxx'. + +On the third day, in the midst of expressions of gratitude which I could +not succeed in stopping she told me that she could not conceive why I +shewed her so much sympathy, because I ought to have formed but a poor +opinion of her in consequence of the readiness with which she had +followed me into the cafe. She smiled when I answered that I could not +understand how I had succeeded in giving her so great a confidence in my +virtue, when I appeared before her with a mask on my face, in a costume +which did not indicate a very virtuous character. + +"It was easy for me, madam," I continued, "to guess that you were a +beauty in distress, when I observed your youth, the nobleness of your +countenance, and, more than all, your candour. The stamp of truth was so +well affixed to the first words you uttered that I could not have the +shadow of a doubt left in me as to your being the unhappy victim of the +most natural of all feelings, and as to your having abandoned your home +through a sentiment of honour. Your fault was that of a warm heart +seduced by love, over which reason could have no sway, and your +flight--the action of a soul crying for reparation or for revenge-fully +justifies you. Your cowardly seducer must pay with his life the penalty +due to his crime, and he ought never to receive, by marrying you, an +unjust reward, for he is not worthy of possessing you after degrading +himself by the vilest conduct." + +"Everything you say is true. My brother, I hope, will avenge me." + +"You are greatly mistaken if you imagine that Steffani will fight your +brother; Steffani is a coward who will never expose himself to an +honourable death." + +As I was speaking, she put her hand in her pocket and drew forth, after a +few moments' consideration, a stiletto six inches long, which she placed +on the table. + +"What is this?" I exclaimed. + +"It is a weapon upon which I reckoned until now to use against myself in +case I should not succeed in obtaining reparation for the crime I have +committed. But you have opened my eyes. Take away, I entreat you, this +stiletto, which henceforth is useless to me. I trust in your friendship, +and I have an inward certainty that I shall be indebted to you for my +honour as well as for my life." + +I was struck by the words she had just uttered, and I felt that those +words, as well as her looks, had found their way to my heart, besides +enlisting my generous sympathy. I took the stiletto, and left her with so +much agitation that I had to acknowledge the weakness of my heroism, +which I was very near turning into ridicule; yet I had the wonderful +strength to perform, at least by halves, the character of a Cato until +the seventh day. + +I must explain how a certain suspicion of the young lady arose in my +mind. That doubt was heavy on my heart, for, if it had proved true, I +should have been a dupe, and the idea was humiliating. She had told me +that she was a musician; I had immediately sent her a harpsichord, and, +yet, although the instrument had been at her disposal for three days, she +had not opened it once, for the widow had told me so. It seemed to me +that the best way to thank me for my attentive kindness would have been +to give me a specimen of her musical talent. Had she deceived me? If so, +she would lose my esteem. But, unwilling to form a hasty judgment, I kept +on my guard, with a firm determination to make good use of the first +opportunity that might present itself to clear up my doubts. + +I called upon her the next day after dinner, which was not my usual time, +having resolved on creating the opportunity myself. I caught her seated +before a toilet-glass, while the widow dressed the most beautiful auburn +hair I had ever seen. I tendered my apologies for my sudden appearance at +an unusual hour; she excused herself for not having completed her toilet, +and the widow went on with her work. It was the first time I had seen the +whole of her face, her neck, and half of her arms, which the graces +themselves had moulded. I remained in silent contemplation. I praised, +quite by chance, the perfume of the pomatum, and the widow took the +opportunity of telling her that she had spent in combs, powder, and +pomatum the three livres she had received from her. I recollected then +that she had told me the first day that she had left C---- with ten +paoli. + +I blushed for very shame, for I ought to have thought of that. + +As soon as the widow had dressed her hair, she left the room to prepare +some coffee for us. I took up a ring which had been laid by her on the +toilet-table, and I saw that it contained a portrait exactly like her; I +was amused at the singular fancy she had had of having her likeness taken +in a man's costume, with black hair. "You are mistaken," she said, "it is +a portrait of my brother. He is two years older than I, and is an officer +in the papal army." + +I begged her permission to put the ring on her finger; she consented, and +when I tried, out of mere gallantry, to kiss her hand, she drew it back, +blushing. I feared she might be offended, and I assured her of my +respect. + +"Ah, sir!" she answered, "in the situation in which I am placed, I must +think of defending myself against my own self much more than against +you." + +The compliment struck me as so fine, and so complimentary to me, that I +thought it better not to take it up, but she could easily read in my eyes +that she would never find me ungrateful for whatever feelings she might +entertain in my favour. Yet I felt my love taking such proportions that I +did not know how to keep it a mystery any longer. + +Soon after that, as she was again thanking me for the books--I had given +her, saying that I had guessed her taste exactly, because she did not +like novels, she added, "I owe you an apology for not having sung to you +yet, knowing that you are fond of music." These words made me breathe +freely; without waiting for any answer, she sat down before the +instrument and played several pieces with a facility, with a precision, +with an expression of which no words could convey any idea. I was in +ecstacy. I entreated her to sing; after some little ceremony, she took +one of the music books I had given her, and she sang at sight in a manner +which fairly ravished me. I begged that she would allow me to kiss her +hand, and she did not say yes, but when I took it and pressed my lips on +it, she did not oppose any resistance; I had the courage to smother my +ardent desires, and the kiss I imprinted on her lovely hand was a mixture +of tenderness, respect, and admiration. + +I took leave of her, smitten, full of love, and almost determined on +declaring my passion. Reserve becomes silliness when we know that our +affection is returned by the woman we love, but as yet I was not quite +sure. + +The disappearance of Steffani was the talk of Venice, but I did not +inform the charming countess of that circumstance. It was generally +supposed that his mother had refused to pay his debts, and that he had +run away to avoid his creditors. It was very possible. But, whether he +returned or not, I could not make up my mind to lose the precious +treasure I had in my hands. Yet I did not see in what manner, in what +quality, I could enjoy that treasure, and I found myself in a regular +maze. Sometimes I had an idea of consulting my kind father, but I would +soon abandon it with fear, for I had made a trial of his empiric +treatment in the Rinaldi affair, and still more in the case of l'Abbadie. +His remedies frightened me to that extent that I would rather remain ill +than be cured by their means. + +One morning I was foolish enough to enquire from the widow whether the +lady had asked her who I was. What an egregious blunder! I saw it when +the good woman, instead of answering me, said, + +"Does she not know who you are?" + +"Answer me, and do not ask questions," I said, in order to hide my +confusion. + +The worthy woman was right; through my stupidity she would now feel +curious; the tittle-tattle of the neighbourhood would of course take up +the affair and discuss it; and all through my thoughtlessness! It was an +unpardonable blunder. One ought never to be more careful than in +addressing questions to half-educated persons. During the fortnight that +she had passed under my protection, the countess had shewn me no +curiosity whatever to know anything about me, but it did not prove that +she was not curious on the subject. If I had been wise, I should have +told her the very first day who I was, but I made up for my mistake that +evening better than anybody else could have done it, and, after having +told her all about myself, I entreated her forgiveness for not having +done so sooner. Thanking me for my confidence, she confessed how curious +she had been to know me better, and she assured me that she would never +have been imprudent enough to ask any questions about me from her +landlady. Women have a more delicate, a surer tact than men, and her last +words were a home-thrust for me. + +Our conversation having turned to the extraordinary absence of Steffani, +she said that her father must necessarily believe her to be hiding with +him somewhere. "He must have found out," she added, "that I was in the +habit of conversing with him every night from my window, and he must have +heard of my having embarked for Venice on board the Ferrara barge. I feel +certain that my father is now in Venice, making secretly every effort to +discover me. When he visits this city he always puts up at Boncousin; +will you ascertain whether he is there?" + +She never pronounced Steffani's name without disgust and hatred, and she +said she would bury herself in a convent, far away from her native place, +where no one could be acquainted with her shameful history. + +I intended to make some enquiries the next day, but it was not necessary +for me to do so, for in the evening, at supper-time, M. Barbaro said to +us, + +"A nobleman, a subject of the Pope, has been recommended to me, and +wishes me to assist him with my influence in a rather delicate and +intricate matter. One of our citizens has, it appears, carried off his +daughter, and has been hiding somewhere with her for the last fortnight, +but nobody knows where. The affair ought to be brought before the Council +of Ten, but the mother of the ravisher claims to be a relative of mine, +and I do not intend to interfere." + +I pretended to take no interest in M. Barbaro's words, and early the next +morning I went to the young countess to tell her the interesting news. +She was still asleep; but, being in a hurry, I sent the widow to say that +I wanted to see her only for two minutes in order to communicate +something of great importance. She received me, covering herself up to +the chin with the bed-clothes. + +As soon as I had informed her of all I knew, she entreated me to enlist +M. Barbaro as a mediator between herself and her father, assuring me that +she would rather die than become the wife of the monster who had +dishonoured her. I undertook to do it, and she gave me the promise of +marriage used by the deceiver to seduce her, so that it could be shewn to +her father. + +In order to obtain M. Barbaro's mediation in favour of the young +countess, it would have been necessary to tell him that she was under my +protection, and I felt it would injure my protegee. I took no +determination at first, and most likely one of the reasons for my +hesitation was that I saw myself on the point of losing her, which was +particularly repugnant to my feelings. + +After dinner Count A---- S---- was announced as wishing to see M. Barbaro. +He came in with his son, the living portrait of his sister. M. Barbaro +took them to his study to talk the matter over, and within an hour they +had taken leave. As soon as they had gone, the excellent M. Barbaro asked +me, as I had expected, to consult my heavenly spirit, and to ascertain +whether he would be right in interfering in favour of Count A---S---. He +wrote the question himself, and I gave the following answer with the +utmost coolness: + +"You ought to interfere, but only to advise the father to forgive his +daughter and to give up all idea of compelling her to marry her ravisher, +for Steffani has been sentenced to death by the will of God." + +The answer seemed wonderful to the three friends, and I was myself +surprised at my boldness, but I had a foreboding that Steffani was to +meet his death at the hands of somebody; love might have given birth to +that presentiment. M. de Bragadin, who believed my oracle infallible, +observed that it had never given such a clear answer, and that Steffani +was certainly dead. He said to M. de Barbaro, + +"You had better invite the count and his son to dinner hereto-morrow. You +must act slowly and prudently; it would be necessary to know where the +daughter is before you endeavour to make the father forgive her." + +M. Barbaro very nearly made me drop my serious countenance by telling me +that if I would try my oracle I could let them know at once where the +girl was. I answered that I would certainly ask my spirit on the morrow, +thus gaining time in order to ascertain before hand the disposition of +the father and of his son. But I could not help laughing, for I had +placed myself under the necessity of sending Steffani to the next world, +if the reputation of my oracle was to be maintained. + +I spent the evening with the young countess, who entertained no doubt +either of her father's indulgence or of the entire confidence she could +repose in me. + +What delight the charming girl experienced when she heard that I would +dine the next day with her father and brother, and that I would tell her +every word that would be said about her! But what happiness it was for me +to see her convinced that she was right in loving me, and that, without +me, she would certainly have been lost in a town where the policy of the +government tolerates debauchery as a solitary species of individual +freedom. We congratulated each other upon our fortuitous meeting and upon +the conformity in our tastes, which we thought truly wonderful. We were +greatly pleased that her easy acceptance of my invitation, or my +promptness in persuading her to follow and to trust me, could not be +ascribed to the mutual attraction of our features, for I was masked, and +her hood was then as good as a mask. We entertained no doubt that +everything had been arranged by Heaven to get us acquainted, and to fire +us both, even unknown to ourselves, with love for each other. + +"Confess," I said to her, in a moment of enthusiasm, and as I was +covering her hand with kisses, "confess that if you found me to be in +love with you you would fear me." + +"Alas! my only fear is to lose you." + +That confession, the truth of which was made evident by her voice and by +her looks, proved the electric spark which ignited the latent fire. +Folding her rapidly in my arms, pressing my mouth on her lips, reading in +her beautiful eyes neither a proud indignation nor the cold compliance +which might have been the result of a fear of losing me, I gave way +entirely to the sweet inclination of love, and swimming already in a sea +of delights I felt my enjoyment increased a hundredfold when I saw, on +the countenance of the beloved creature who shared it, the expression of +happiness, of love, of modesty, and of sensibility, which enhances the +charm of the greatest triumph. + +She had scarcely recovered her composure when she cast her eyes down and +sighed deeply. Thinking that I knew the cause of it, I threw myself on my +knees before her, and speaking to her words of the warmest affection I +begged, I entreated her, to forgive me. + +"What offence have I to forgive you for, dear friend? You have not +rightly interpreted my thoughts. Your love caused me to think of my +happiness, and in that moment a cruel recollection drew that sigh from +me. Pray rise from your knees." + +Midnight had struck already; I told her that her good fame made it +necessary for me to go away; I put my mask on and left the house. I was +so surprised, so amazed at having obtained a felicity of which I did not +think myself worthy, that my departure must have appeared rather abrupt +to her. I could not sleep. I passed one of those disturbed nights during +which the imagination of an amorous young man is unceasingly running +after the shadows of reality. I had tasted, but not savoured, that happy +reality, and all my being was longing for her who alone could make my +enjoyment complete. In that nocturnal drama love and imagination were the +two principal actors; hope, in the background, performed only a dumb +part. People may say what they please on that subject but hope is in fact +nothing but a deceitful flatterer accepted by reason only because it is +often in need of palliatives. Happy are those men who, to enjoy life to +the fullest extent, require neither hope nor foresight. + +In the morning, recollecting the sentence of death which I had passed on +Steffani, I felt somewhat embarrassed about it. I wished I could have +recalled it, as well for the honour of my oracle, which was seriously +implicated by it, as for the sake of Steffani himself, whom I did not +hate half so much since I was indebted to him for the treasure in my +possession. + +The count and his son came to dinner. The father was simple, artless, and +unceremonious. It was easy to read on his countenance the grief he felt +at the unpleasant adventure of his daughter, and his anxiety to settle +the affair honourably, but no anger could be traced on his features or in +his manners. The son, as handsome as the god of love, had wit and great +nobility of manner. His easy, unaffected carriage pleased me, and wishing +to win his friendship I shewed him every attention. + +After the dessert, M. Barbaro contrived to persuade the count that we +were four persons with but one head and one heart, and the worthy +nobleman spoke to us without any reserve. He praised his daughter very +highly. He assured us that Steffani had never entered his house, and +therefore he could not conceive by what spell, speaking to his daughter +only at night and from the street under the window, he had succeeded in +seducing her to such an extent as to make her leave her home alone, on +foot, two days after he had left himself in his post-chaise. + +"Then," observed M. Barbaro, "it is impossible to be certain that he +actually seduced her, or to prove that she went off with him." + +"Very true, sir, but although it cannot be proved, there is no doubt of +it, and now that no one knows where Steffani is, he can be nowhere but +with her. I only want him to marry her." + +"It strikes me that it would be better not to insist upon a compulsory +marriage which would seal your daughter's misery, for Steffani is, in +every respect, one of the most worthless young men we have amongst our +government clerks." + +"Were I in your place," said M. de Bragadin, "I would let my daughter's +repentance disarm my anger, and I would forgive her." + +"Where is she? I am ready to fold her in my arms, but how can I believe +in her repentance when it is evident that she is still with him." + +"Is it quite certain that in leaving C---- she proceeded to this city?" + +"I have it from the master of the barge himself, and she landed within +twenty yards of the Roman gate. An individual wearing a mask was waiting +for her, joined her at once, and they both disappeared without leaving +any trace of their whereabouts." + +"Very likely it was Steffani waiting there for her." + +"No, for he is short, and the man with the mask was tall. Besides, I have +heard that Steffani had left Venice two days before the arrival of my +daughter. The man must have been some friend of Steffani, and he has +taken her to him." + +"But, my dear count, all this is mere supposition." + +"There are four persons who have seen the man with the mask, and pretend +to know him, only they do not agree. Here is a list of four names, and I +will accuse these four persons before the Council of Ten, if Steffani +should deny having my daughter in his possession." + +The list, which he handed to M. Barbaro, gave not only the names of the +four accused persons, but likewise those of their accusers. The last +name, which M. Barbaro read, was mine. When I heard it, I shrugged my +shoulders in a manner which caused the three friends to laugh heartily. + +M. de Bragadin, seeing the surprise of the count at such uncalled-for +mirth, said to him, + +"This is Casanova my son, and I give you my word of honour that, if your +daughter is in his hands, she is perfectly safe, although he may not look +exactly the sort of man to whom young girls should be trusted." + +The surprise, the amazement, and the perplexity of the count and his son +were an amusing picture. The loving father begged me to excuse him, with +tears in his eyes, telling me to place myself in his position. My only +answer was to embrace him most affectionately. + +The man who had recognized me was a noted pimp whom I had thrashed some +time before for having deceived me. If I had not been there just in time +to take care of the young countess, she would not have escaped him, and +he would have ruined her for ever by taking her to some house of +ill-fame. + +The result of the meeting was that the count agreed to postpone his +application to the Council of Ten until Steffani's place of refuge should +be discovered. + +"I have not seen Steffani for six months, sir," I said to the count, "but +I promise you to kill him in a duel as soon as he returns." + +"You shall not do it," answered the young count, very coolly, "unless he +kills me first." + +"Gentlemen," exclaimed M. de Bragadin, "I can assure you that you will +neither of you fight a duel with him, for Steffani is dead." + +"Dead!" said the count. + +"We must not," observed the prudent Barbaro, "take that word in its +literal sense, but the wretched man is dead to all honour and +self-respect." + +After that truly dramatic scene, during which I could guess that the +denouement of the play was near at hand, I went to my charming countess, +taking care to change my gondola three times--a necessary precaution to +baffle spies. + +I gave my anxious mistress an exact account of all the conversation. She +was very impatient for my coming, and wept tears of joy when I repeated +her father's words of forgiveness; but when I told her that nobody knew +of Steffani having entered her chamber, she fell on her knees and thanked +God. I then repeated her brother's words, imitating his coolness: "You +shall not kill him, unless he kills me first." She kissed me tenderly, +calling me her guardian angel, her saviour, and weeping in my arms. I +promised to bring her brother on the following day, or the day after that +at the latest. We had our supper, but we did not talk of Steffani, or of +revenge, and after that pleasant meal we devoted two hours to the worship +of the god of love. + +I left her at midnight, promising to return early in the morning--my +reason for not remaining all night with her was that the landlady might, +if necessary, swear without scruple that I had never spent a night with +the young girl. It proved a very lucky inspiration of mine, for, when I +arrived home, I found the three friends waiting impatiently for me in +order to impart to me wonderful news which M. de Bragadin had heard at +the sitting of the senate. + +"Steffani," said M. de Bragadin to me, "is dead, as our angel Paralis +revealed it to us; he is dead to the world, for he has become a Capuchin +friar. The senate, as a matter of course, has been informed of it. We +alone are aware that it is a punishment which God has visited upon him. +Let us worship the Author of all things, and the heavenly hierarchy which +renders us worthy of knowing what remains a mystery to all men. Now we +must achieve our undertaking, and console the poor father. We must +enquire from Paralis where the girl is. She cannot now be with Steffani. +Of course, God has not condemned her to become a Capuchin nun." + +"I need not consult my angel, dearest father, for it is by his express +orders that I have been compelled until now to make a mystery of the +refuge found by the young countess." + +I related the whole story, except what they had no business to know, for, +in the opinion of the worthy men, who had paid heavy tribute to Love, all +intrigues were fearful crimes. M. Dandolo and M. Barbaro expressed their +surprise when they heard that the young girl had been under my protection +for a fortnight, but M. de Bragadin said that he was not astonished, that +it was according to cabalistic science, and that he knew it. + +"We must only," he added, "keep up the mystery of his daughter's place of +refuge for the count, until we know for a certainty that he will forgive +her, and that he will take her with him to C----, or to any other place +where he may wish to live hereafter." + +"He cannot refuse to forgive her," I said, "when he finds that the +amiable girl would never have left C---- if her seducer had not given her +this promise of marriage in his own handwriting. She walked as far as the +barge, and she landed at the very moment I was passing the Roman gate. An +inspiration from above told me to accost her and to invite her to follow +me. She obeyed, as if she was fulfilling the decree of Heaven, I took her +to a refuge impossible to discover, and placed her under the care of a +God-fearing woman." + +My three friends listened to me so attentively that they looked like +three statues. I advised them to invite the count to dinner for the day +after next, because I needed some time to consult 'Paralis de modo +tenendi'. I then told M. Barbaro to let the count know in what sense he +was to understand Steffani's death. He undertook to do it, and we retired +to rest. + +I slept only four or five hours, and, dressing myself quickly, hurried to +my beloved mistress. I told the widow not to serve the coffee until we +called for it, because we wanted to remain quiet and undisturbed for some +hours, having several important letters to write. + +I found the lovely countess in bed, but awake, and her eyes beaming with +happiness and contentment. For a fortnight I had only seen her sad, +melancholy, and thoughtful. Her pleased countenance, which I naturally +ascribed to my influence, filled me with joy. We commenced as all happy +lovers always do, and we were both unsparing of the mutual proofs of our +love, tenderness, and gratitude. + +After our delightful amorous sport, I told her the news, but love had so +completely taken possession of her pure and sensitive soul, that what had +been important was now only an accessory. But the news of her seducer +having turned a Capuchin friar filled her with amazement, and, passing +very sensible remarks on the extraordinary event, she pitied Steffani. +When we can feel pity, we love no longer, but a feeling of pity +succeeding love is the characteristic only of a great and generous mind. +She was much pleased with me for having informed my three friends of her +being under my protection, and she left to my care all the necessary +arrangements for obtaining a reconciliation with her father. + +Now and then we recollected that the time of our separation was near at +hand, our grief was bitter, but we contrived to forget it in the ecstacy +of our amorous enjoyment. + +"Ah! why can we not belong for ever to each other?" the charming girl +would exclaim. "It is not my acquaintance with Steffani, it is your loss +which will seal my eternal misery." + +But it was necessary to bring our delightful interview to a close, for +the hours were flying with fearful rapidity. I left her happy, her eyes +wet with tears of intense felicity. + +At the dinner-table M. Barbaro told me that he had paid a visit to his +relative, Steffani's mother, and that she had not appeared sorry at the +decision taken by her son, although he was her only child. + +"He had the choice," she said, "between killing himself and turning +friar, and he took the wiser course." + +The woman spoke like a good Christian, and she professed to be one; but +she spoke like an unfeeling mother, and she was truly one, for she was +wealthy, and if she had not been cruelly avaricious her son would not +have been reduced to the fearful alternative of committing suicide or of +becoming a Capuchin friar. + +The last and most serious motive which caused the despair of Steffani, +who is still alive, remained a mystery for everybody. My Memoirs will +raise the veil when no one will care anything about it. + +The count and his son were, of course, greatly surprised, and the event +made them still more desirous of discovering the young lady. In order to +obtain a clue to her place of refuge, the count had resolved on summoning +before the Council of Ten all the parties, accused and accusing, whose +names he had on his list, with the exception of myself. His determination +made it necessary for us to inform him that his daughter was in my hands, +and M. de Bragadin undertook to let him know the truth. + +We were all invited to supper by the count, and we went to his hostelry, +with the exception of M. de Bragadin, who had declined the invitation. I +was thus prevented from seeing my divinity that evening, but early the +next morning I made up for lost time, and as it had been decided that her +father would on that very day be informed of her being under my care, we +remained together until noon. We had no hope of contriving another +meeting, for I had promised to bring her brother in the afternoon. + +The count and his son dined with us, and after dinner M. de Bragadin +said, + +"I have joyful news for you, count; your beloved daughter has been +found!" + +What an agreeable surprise for the father and son! M. de Bragadin handed +them the promise of marriage written by Steffani, and said, + +"This, gentlemen, evidently brought your lovely young lady to the verge +of madness when she found that he had gone from C---- without her. She +left your house alone on foot, and as she landed in Venice Providence +threw her in the way of this young man, who induced her to follow him, +and has placed her under the care of an honest woman, whom she has not +left since, whom she will leave only to fall in your arms as soon as she +is certain of your forgiveness for the folly she has committed." + +"Oh! let her have no doubt of my forgiving her," exclaimed the father, in +the ecstacy of joy, and turning to me, "Dear sir, I beg of you not to +delay the fortunate moment on which the whole happiness of my life +depends." + +I embraced him warmly, saying that his daughter would be restored to him +on the following day, and that I would let his son see her that very +afternoon, so as to give him an opportunity of preparing her by degrees +for that happy reconciliation. M. Barbaro desired to accompany us, and +the young man, approving all my arrangements, embraced me, swearing +everlasting friendship and gratitude. + +We went out all three together, and a gondola carried us in a few minutes +to the place where I was guarding a treasure more precious than the +golden apples of the Hesperides. But, alas! I was on the point of losing +that treasure, the remembrance of which causes me, even now, a delicious +trembling. + +I preceded my two companions in order to prepare my lovely young friend +for the visit, and when I told her that, according to my arrangements, +her father would not see her till on the following day: + +"Ah!" she exclaimed with the accent of true happiness, "then we can spend +a few more hours together! Go, dearest, go and bring my brother." + +I returned with my companions, but how can I paint that truly dramatic +situation? Oh! how inferior art must ever be to nature! The fraternal +love, the delight beaming upon those two beautiful faces, with a slight +shade of confusion on that of the sister, the pure joy shining in the +midst of their tender caresses, the most eloquent exclamations followed +by a still more eloquent silence, their loving looks which seem like +flashes of lightning in the midst of a dew of tears, a thought of +politeness which brings blushes on her countenance, when she recollects +that she has forgotten her duty towards a nobleman whom she sees for the +first time, and finally there was my part, not a speaking one, but yet +the most important of all. The whole formed a living picture to which the +most skilful painter could not have rendered full justice. + +We sat down at last, the young countess between her brother and M. +Barbaro, on the sofa, I, opposite to her, on a low foot-stool. + +"To whom, dear sister, are we indebted for the happiness of having found +you again?" + +"To my guardian angel," she answered, giving me her hand, "to this +generous man who was waiting for me, as if Heaven had sent him with the +special mission of watching over your sister; it is he who has saved me, +who has prevented me from falling into the gulf which yawned under my +feet, who has rescued me from the shame threatening me, of which I had +then no conception; it is to him I am indebted for all, to him who, as +you see, kisses my hand now for the first time." + +And she pressed her handkerchief to her beautiful eyes to dry her tears, +but ours were flowing at the same time. + +Such is true virtue, which never loses its nobleness, even when modesty +compels it to utter some innocent falsehood. But the charming girl had no +idea of being guilty of an untruth. It was a pure, virtuous soul which +was then speaking through her lips, and she allowed it to speak. Her +virtue seemed to whisper to her that, in spite of her errors, it had +never deserted her. A young girl who gives way to a real feeling of love +cannot be guilty of a crime, or be exposed to remorse. + +Towards the end of our friendly visit, she said that she longed to throw +herself at her father's feet, but that she wished to see him only in the +evening, so as not to give any opportunity to the gossips of the place, +and it was agreed that the meeting, which was to be the last scene of the +drama, should take place the next day towards the evening. + +We returned to the count's hostelry for supper, and the excellent man, +fully persuaded that he was indebted to me for his honour as well as for +his daughter's, looked at me with admiration, and spoke to me with +gratitude. Yet he was not sorry to have ascertained himself, and before I +had said so, that I had been the first man who had spoken to her after +landing. Before parting in the evening, M. Barbaro invited them to dinner +for the next day. + +I went to my charming mistress very early the following morning, and, +although there was some danger in protracting our interview, we did not +give it a thought, or, if we did, it only caused us to make good use of +the short time that we could still devote to love. + +After having enjoyed, until our strength was almost expiring, the most +delightful, the most intense voluptuousness in which mutual ardour can +enfold two young, vigorous, and passionate lovers, the young countess +dressed herself, and, kissing her slippers, said she would never part +with them as long as she lived. I asked her to give me a lock of her +hair, which she did at once. I meant to have it made into a chain like +the one woven with the hair of Madame F----, which I still wore round my +neck. + +Towards dusk, the count and his son, M. Dandolo, M. Barbaro, and myself, +proceeded together to the abode of the young countess. The moment she saw +her father, she threw herself on her knees before him, but the count, +bursting into tears, took her in his arms, covered her with kisses, and +breathed over her words of forgiveness, of love and blessing. What a +scene for a man of sensibility! An hour later we escorted the family to +the inn, and, after wishing them a pleasant journey, I went back with my +two friends to M. de Bragadin, to whom I gave a faithful account of what +had taken place. + +We thought that they had left Venice, but the next morning they called at +the place in a peotta with six rowers. The count said that they could not +leave the city without seeing us once more; without thanking us again, +and me particularly, for all we had done for them. M. de Bragadin, who +had not seen the young countess before, was struck by her extraordinary +likeness to her brother. + +They partook of some refreshments, and embarked in their peotta, which +was to carry them, in twenty-four hours, to Ponte di Lago Oscuro, on the +River Po, near the frontiers of the papal states. It was only with my +eyes that I could express to the lovely girl all the feelings which +filled my heart, but she understood the language, and I had no difficulty +in interpreting the meaning of her looks. + +Never did an introduction occur in better season than that of the count +to M. Barbaro. It saved the honour of a respectable family; and it saved +me from the unpleasant consequences of an interrogatory in the presence +of the Council of Ten, during which I should have been convicted of +having taken the young girl with me, and compelled to say what I had done +with her. + +A few days afterwards we all proceeded to Padua to remain in that city +until the end of autumn. I was grieved not to find Doctor Gozzi in Padua; +he had been appointed to a benefice in the country, and he was living +there with Bettina; she had not been able to remain with the scoundrel +who had married her only for the sake of her small dowry, and had treated +her very ill. + +I did not like the quiet life of Padua, and to avoid dying from ennui I +fell in love with a celebrated Venetian courtesan. Her name was Ancilla; +sometime after, the well-known dancer, Campioni, married her and took her +to London, where she caused the death of a very worthy Englishman. I +shall have to mention her again in four years; now I have only to speak +of a certain circumstance which brought my love adventure with her to a +close after three or four weeks. + +Count Medini, a young, thoughtless fellow like myself, and with +inclinations of much the same cast, had introduced me to Ancilla. The +count was a confirmed gambler and a thorough enemy of fortune. There was +a good deal of gambling going on at Ancilla's, whose favourite lover he +was, and the fellow had presented me to his mistress only to give her the +opportunity of making a dupe of me at the card-table. + +And, to tell the truth, I was a dupe at first; not thinking of any foul +play, I accepted ill luck without complaining; but one day I caught them +cheating. I took a pistol out of my pocket, and, aiming at Medini's +breast, I threatened to kill him on the spot unless he refunded at once +all the gold they had won from me. Ancilla fainted away, and the count, +after refunding the money, challenged me to follow him out and measure +swords. I placed my pistols on the table, and we went out. Reaching a +convenient spot, we fought by the bright light of the moon, and I was +fortunate enough to give him a gash across the shoulder. He could not +move his arm, and he had to cry for mercy. + +After that meeting, I went to bed and slept quietly, but in the morning I +related the whole affair to my father, and he advised me to leave Padua +immediately, which I did. + +Count Medini remained my enemy through all his life. I shall have +occasion to speak of him again when I reach Naples. + +The remainder of the year 1746 passed off quietly, without any events of +importance. Fortune was now favourable to me and now adverse. + +Towards the end of January, 1747, I received a letter from the young +countess A---- S----, who had married the Marquis of----. She entreated me +not to appear to know her, if by chance I visited the town in which she +resided, for she had the happiness of having linked her destiny to that +of a man who had won her heart after he had obtained her hand. + +I had already heard from her brother that, after their return to C----, +her mother had taken her to the city from which her letter was written, +and there, in the house of a relative with whom she was residing, she had +made the acquaintance of the man who had taken upon himself the charge of +her future welfare and happiness. I saw her one year afterwards, and if +it had not been for her letter, I should certainly have solicited an +introduction to her husband. Yet, peace of mind has greater charms even +than love; but, when love is in the way, we do not think so. + +For a fortnight I was the lover of a young Venetian girl, very handsome, +whom her father, a certain Ramon, exposed to public admiration as a +dancer at the theatre. I might have remained longer her captive, if +marriage had not forcibly broken my chains. Her protectress, Madame +Cecilia Valmarano, found her a very proper husband in the person of a +French dancer, called Binet, who had assumed the name of Binetti, and +thus his young wife had not to become a French woman; she soon won great +fame in more ways than one. She was strangely privileged; time with its +heavy hand seemed to have no power over her. She always appeared young, +even in the eyes of the best judges of faded, bygone female beauty. Men, +as a general rule, do not ask for anything more, and they are right in +not racking their brain for the sake of being convinced that they are the +dupes of external appearance. The last lover that the wonderful Binetti +killed by excess of amorous enjoyment was a certain Mosciuski, a Pole, +whom fate brought to Venice seven or eight years ago; she had then +reached her sixty-third year! + +My life in Venice would have been pleasant and happy, if I could have +abstained from punting at basset. The ridotti were only open to noblemen +who had to appear without masks, in their patrician robes, and wearing +the immense wig which had become indispensable since the beginning of the +century. I would play, and I was wrong, for I had neither prudence enough +to leave off when fortune was adverse, nor sufficient control over myself +to stop when I had won. I was then gambling through a feeling of avarice. +I was extravagant by taste, and I always regretted the money I had spent, +unless it had been won at the gaming-table, for it was only in that case +that the money had, in my opinion, cost me nothing. + +At the end of January, finding myself under the necessity of procuring +two hundred sequins, Madame Manzoni contrived to obtain for me from +another woman the loan of a diamond ring worth five hundred. I made up my +mind to go to Treviso, fifteen miles distant from Venice, to pawn the +ring at the Mont-de-piete, which there lends money upon valuables at the +rate of five per cent. That useful establishment does not exist in +Venice, where the Jews have always managed to keep the monopoly in their +hands. + +I got up early one morning, and walked to the end of the canale regio, +intending to engage a gondola to take me as far as Mestra, where I could +take post horses, reach Treviso in less than two hours, pledge my diamond +ring, and return to Venice the same evening. + +As I passed along St. Job's Quay, I saw in a two-oared gondola a country +girl beautifully dressed. I stopped to look at her; the gondoliers, +supposing that I wanted an opportunity of reaching Mestra at a cheap +rate, rowed back to the shore. + +Observing the lovely face of the young girl, I do not hesitate, but jump +into the gondola, and pay double fare, on condition that no more +passengers are taken. An elderly priest was seated near the young girl, +he rises to let me take his place, but I politely insist upon his keeping +it. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +I Fall in Love with Christine, and Find a Husband Worthy of +Her--Christine's Wedding + +"Those gondoliers," said the elderly priest, ad dressing me in order to +begin the conversation, "are very fortunate. They took us up at the +Rialto for thirty soldi, on condition that they would be allowed to +embark other passengers, and here is one already; they will certainly +find more." + +"When I am in a gondola, reverend sir, there is no room left for any more +passengers." + +So saying, I give forty more soldi to the gondoliers, who, highly pleased +with my generosity, thank me and call me excellency. The good priest, +accepting that title as truly belonging to me, entreats my pardon for not +having addressed me as such. + +"I am not a Venetian nobleman, reverend sir, and I have no right to the +title of Excellenza." + +"Ah!" says the young lady, "I am very glad of it." + +"Why so, signora?" + +"Because when I find myself near a nobleman I am afraid. But I suppose +that you are an illustrissimo." + +"Not even that, signora; I am only an advocate's clerk." + +"So much the better, for I like to be in the company of persons who do +not think themselves above me. My father was a farmer, brother of my +uncle here, rector of P----, where I was born and bred. As I am an only +daughter I inherited my father's property after his death, and I shall +likewise be heiress to my mother, who has been ill a long time and cannot +live much longer, which causes me a great deal of sorrow; but it is the +doctor who says it. Now, to return to my subject, I do not suppose that +there is much difference between an advocate's clerk and the daughter of +a rich farmer. I only say so for the sake of saying something, for I know +very well that, in travelling, one must accept all sorts of companions: +is it not so, uncle?" + +"Yes, my dear Christine, and as a proof you see that this gentleman has +accepted our company without knowing who or what we are." + +"But do you think I would have come if I had not been attracted by the +beauty of your lovely niece?" + +At these words the good people burst out laughing. As I did not think +that there was anything very comic in what I had said, I judged that my +travelling companions were rather simple, and I was not sorry to find +them so. + +"Why do you laugh so heartily, beautiful 'demigella'? Is it to shew me +your fine teeth? I confess that I have never seen such a splendid set in +Venice." + +"Oh! it is not for that, sir, although everyone in Venice has paid me the +same compliment. I can assure you that in P---- all the 'girls have teeth +as fine as mine. Is it not a fact, uncle?" + +"Yes, my dear niece." + +"I was laughing, sir, at a thing which I will never tell you." + +"Oh! tell me, I entreat you." + +"Oh! certainly not, never." + +"I will tell you myself," says the curate. + +"You will not," she exclaims, knitting her beautiful eyebrows. "If you do +I will go away." + +"I defy you to do it, my dear. Do you know what she said, sir, when she +saw you on the wharf? 'Here is a very handsome young man who is looking +at me, and would not be sorry to be with us.' And when she saw that the +gondoliers were putting back for you to embark she was delighted." + +While the uncle was speaking to me, the indignant niece was slapping him +on the shoulder. + +"Why are you angry, lovely Christine, at my hearing that you liked my +appearance, when I am so glad to let you know how truly charming I think +you?" + +"You are glad for a moment. Oh! I know the Venetians thoroughly now. They +have all told me that they were charmed with me, and not one of those I +would have liked ever made a declaration to me." + +"What sort of declaration did you want?" + +"There's only one sort for me, sir; the declaration leading to a good +marriage in church, in the sight of all men. Yet we remained a fortnight +in Venice; did we not, uncle?" + +"This girl," said the uncle, "is a good match, for she possesses three +thousand crowns. She has always said that she would marry only a +Venetian, and I have accompanied her to Venice to give her an opportunity +of being known. A worthy woman gave us hospitality for a fortnight, and +has presented my niece in several houses where she made the acquaintance +of marriageable young men, but those who pleased her would not hear of +marriage, and those who would have been glad to marry her did not take +her fancy." + +"But do you imagine, reverend sir, that marriages can be made like +omelets? A fortnight in Venice, that is nothing; you ought to live there +at least six months. Now, for instance, I think your niece sweetly +pretty, and I should consider myself fortunate if the wife whom God +intends for me were like her, but, even if she offered me now a dowry of +fifty thousand crowns on condition that our wedding takes place +immediately, I would refuse her. A prudent young man wants to know the +character of a girl before he marries her, for it is neither money nor +beauty which can ensure happiness in married life." + +"What do you mean by character?" asked Christine; "is it a beautiful +hand-writing?" + +"No, my dear. I mean the qualities of the mind and the heart. I shall +most likely get married sometime, and I have been looking for a wife for +the last three years, but I am still looking in vain. I have known +several young girls almost as lovely as you are, and all with a good +marriage portion, but after an acquaintance of two or three months I +found out that they could not make me happy." + +"In what were they deficient?" + +"Well, I will tell you, because you are not acquainted with them, and +there can be no indiscretion on my part. One whom I certainly would have +married, for I loved her dearly, was extremely vain. She would have +ruined me in fashionable clothes and by her love for luxuries. Fancy! she +was in the habit of paying one sequin every month to the hair-dresser, +and as much at least for pomatum and perfumes." + +"She was a giddy, foolish girl. Now, I spend only ten soldi in one year +on wax which I mix with goat's grease, and there I have an excellent +pomatum." + +"Another, whom I would have married two years ago, laboured under a +disease which would have made me unhappy; as soon as I knew of it, I +ceased my visits." + +"What disease was it?" + +"A disease which would have prevented her from being a mother, and, if I +get married, I wish to have children." + +"All that is in God's hands, but I know that my health is excellent. Is +it not, uncle?" + +"Another was too devout, and that does not suit me. She was so +over-scrupulous that she was in the habit of going to her confessor twice +a week, and every time her confession lasted at least one hour. I want my +wife to be a good Christian, but not bigoted." + +"She must have been a great sinner, or else she was very foolish. I +confess only once a month, and get through everything in two minutes. Is +it not true, uncle? and if you were to ask me any questions, uncle, I +should not know what more to say." + +"One young lady thought herself more learned than I, although she would, +every minute, utter some absurdity. Another was always low-spirited, and +my wife must be cheerful." + +"Hark to that, uncle! You and my mother are always chiding me for my +cheerfulness." + +"Another, whom I did not court long, was always afraid of being alone +with me, and if I gave her a kiss she would run and tell her mother." + +"How silly she must have been! I have never yet listened to a lover, for +we have only rude peasants in P----, but I know very well that there are +some things which I would not tell my mother." + +"One had a rank breath; another painted her face, and, indeed, almost +every young girl is guilty of that fault. I am afraid marriage is out of +the question for me, because I want, for instance, my wife to have black +eyes, and in our days almost every woman colours them by art; but I +cannot be deceived, for I am a good judge." + +"Are mine black?" + +"You are laughing?" + +"I laugh because your eyes certainly appear to be black, but they are not +so in reality. Never mind, you are very charming in spite of that." + +"Now, that is amusing. You pretend to be a good judge, yet you say that +my eyes are dyed black. My eyes, sir, whether beautiful or ugly, are now +the same as God made them. Is it not so, uncle?" + +"I never had any doubt of it, my dear niece." + +"And you do not believe me, sir?" + +"No, they are too beautiful for me to believe them natural." + +"Oh, dear me! I cannot bear it." + +"Excuse me, my lovely damigella, I am afraid I have been too sincere." + +After that quarrel we remained silent. The good curate smiled now and +then, but his niece found it very hard to keep down her sorrow. + +At intervals I stole a look at her face, and could see that she was very +near crying. I felt sorry, for she was a charming girl. In her hair, +dressed in the fashion of wealthy countrywomen, she had more than one +hundred sequins' worth of gold pins and arrows which fastened the plaits +of her long locks as dark as ebony. Heavy gold ear-rings, and a long +chain, which was wound twenty times round her snowy neck, made a fine +contrast to her complexion, on which the lilies and the roses were +admirably blended. It was the first time that I had seen a country beauty +in such splendid apparel. Six years before, Lucie at Pasean had +captivated me, but in a different manner. + +Christine did not utter a single word, she was in despair, for her eyes +were truly of the greatest beauty, and I was cruel enough to attack them. +She evidently hated me, and her anger alone kept back her tears. Yet I +would not undeceive her, for I wanted her to bring matters to a climax. + +When the gondola had entered the long canal of Marghera, I asked the +clergyman whether he had a carriage to go to Treviso, through which place +he had to pass to reach P----. + +"I intended to walk," said the worthy man, "for my parish is poor and I +am the same, but I will try to obtain a place for Christine in some +carriage travelling that way." + +"You would confer a real kindness on me if you would both accept a seat +in my chaise; it holds four persons, and there is plenty of room." + +"It is a good fortune which we were far from expecting" + +"Not at all, uncle; I will not go with this gentleman." + +"Why not, my dear niece?" + +"Because I will not." + +"Such is the way," I remarked, without looking at her, "that sincerity is +generally rewarded." + +"Sincerity, sir! nothing of the sort," she exclaimed, angrily, "it is +sheer wickedness. There can be no true black eyes now for you in the +world, but, as you like them, I am very glad of it." + +"You are mistaken, lovely Christine, for I have the means of ascertaining +the truth." + +"What means?" + +"Only to wash the eyes with a little lukewarm rose-water; or if the lady +cries, the artificial colour is certain to be washed off." + +At those words, the scene changed as if by the wand of a conjuror. The +face of the charming girl, which had expressed nothing but indignation, +spite and disdain, took an air of contentment and of placidity delightful +to witness. She smiled at her uncle who was much pleased with the change +in her countenance, for the offer of the carriage had gone to his heart. + +"Now you had better cry a little, my dear niece, and 'il signore' will +render full justice to your eyes." + +Christine cried in reality, but it was immoderate laughter that made her +tears flow. + +That species of natural originality pleased me greatly, and as we were +going up the steps at the landing-place, I offered her my full apologies; +she accepted the carriage. I ordered breakfast, and told a 'vetturino' to +get a very handsome chaise ready while we had our meal, but the curate +said that he must first of all go and say his mass. + +"Very well, reverend sir, we will hear it, and you must say it for my +intention." + +I put a silver ducat in his hand. + +"It is what I am in the habit of giving," I observed. + +My generosity surprised him so much that he wanted to kiss my hand. We +proceeded towards the church, and I offered my arm to the niece who, not +knowing whether she ought to accept it or not, said to me, + +"Do you suppose that I cannot walk alone?" + +"I have no such idea, but if I do not give you my arm, people will think +me wanting in politeness." + +"Well, I will take it. But now that I have your arm, what will people +think?" + +"Perhaps that we love each other and that we make a very nice couple." + +"And if anyone should inform your mistress that we are in love with each +other, or even that you have given your arm to a young girl?" + +"I have no mistress, and I shall have none in future, because I could not +find a girl as pretty as you in all Venice." + +"I am very sorry for you, for we cannot go again to Venice; and even if +we could, how could we remain there six months? You said that six months +were necessary to know a girl well." + +"I would willingly defray all your expenses." + +"Indeed? Then say so to my uncle, and he will think it over, for I could +not go alone." + +"In six months you would know me likewise." + +"Oh! I know-you very well already." + +"Could you accept a man like me?" + +"Why not?" + +"And will you love me?" + +"Yes, very much, when you are my husband." + +I looked at the young girl with astonishment. She seemed to me a princess +in the disguise of a peasant girl. Her dress, made of 'gros de Tours' and +all embroidered in gold, was very handsome, and cost certainly twice as +much as the finest dress of a Venetian lady. Her bracelets, matching the +neckchain, completed her rich toilet. She had the figure of a nymph, and +the new fashion of wearing a mantle not having yet reached her village, I +could see the most magnificent bosom, although her dress was fastened up +to the neck. The end of the richly-embroidered skirt did not go lower +than the ankles, which allowed me to admire the neatest little foot and +the lower part of an exquisitely moulded leg. Her firm and easy walk, the +natural freedom of all her movements, a charming look which seemed to +say, "I am very glad that you think me pretty," everything, in short, +caused the ardent fire of amorous desires to circulate through my veins. +I could not conceive how such a lovely girl could have spent a fortnight +in Venice without finding a man to marry or to deceive her. I was +particularly delighted with her simple, artless way of talking, which in +the city might have been taken for silliness. + +Absorbed in my thoughts, and having resolved in my own mind on rendering +brilliant homage to her charms, I waited impatiently for the end of the +mass. + +After breakfast I had great difficulty in convincing the curate that my +seat in the carriage was the last one, but I found it easier to persuade +him on our arrival in Treviso to remain for dinner and for supper at a +small, unfrequented inn, as I took all the expense upon myself. He +accepted very willingly when I added that immediately after supper a +carriage would be in readiness to convey him to P----, where he would +arrive in an hour after a peasant journey by moonlight. He had nothing to +hurry him on, except his wish to say mass in his own church the next +morning. + +I ordered a fire and a good dinner, and the idea struck me that the +curate himself might pledge the ring for me, and thus give me the +opportunity of a short interview with his niece. I proposed it to him, +saying that I could not very well go myself, as I did not wish to be +known. He undertook the commission at once, expressing his pleasure at +doing something to oblige me. + +He left us, and I remained alone with Christine. I spent an hour with her +without trying to give her even a kiss, although I was dying to do so, +but I prepared her heart to burn with the same desires which were already +burning in me by those words which so easily inflame the imagination of a +young 'girl. + +The curate came back and returned me the ring, saying that it could not +be pledged until the day after the morrow, in consequence of the Festival +of the Holy Virgin. He had spoken to the cashier, who had stated that if +I liked the bank would lend double the sum I had asked. + +"My dear sir," I said, "you would greatly oblige me if you would come +back here from P---- to pledge the ring yourself. Now that it has been +offered once by you, it might look very strange if it were brought by +another person. Of course I will pay all your expenses." + +"I promise you to come back." + +I hoped he would bring his niece with him. + +I was seated opposite to Christine during the dinner, and discovered +fresh charms in her every minute, but, fearing I might lose her +confidence if I tried to obtain some slight favour, I made up my mind not +to go to work too quickly, and to contrive that the curate should take +her again to Venice. I thought that there only I could manage to bring +love into play and to give it the food it requires. + +"Reverend sir," I said, "let me advise you to take your niece again to +Venice. I undertake to defray all expenses, and to find an honest woman +with whom your Christine will be as safe as with her own mother. I want +to know her well in order to make her my wife, and if she comes to Venice +our marriage is certain." + +"Sir, I will bring my niece myself to Venice as soon as you inform me +that you have found a worthy woman with whom I can leave her in safety." + +While we were talking I kept looking at Christine, and I could see her +smile with contentment. + +"My dear Christine," I said, "within a week I shall have arranged the +affair. In the meantime, I will write to you. I hope that you have no +objection to correspond with me." + +"My uncle will write for me, for I have never been taught writing." + +"What, my dear child! you wish to become the wife of a Venetian, and you +cannot write." + +"Is it then necessary to know how to write in order to become a wife? I +can read well." + +"That is not enough, and although a girl can be a wife and a mother +without knowing how to trace one letter, it is generally admitted that a +young girl ought to be able to write. I wonder you never learned." + +"There is no wonder in that, for not one girl in our village can do it. +Ask my uncle." + +"It is perfectly true, but there is not one who thinks of getting married +in Venice, and as you wish for a Venetian husband you must learn." + +"Certainly," I said, "and before you come to Venice, for everybody would +laugh at you, if you could not write. I see that it makes you sad, my +dear, but it cannot be helped." + +"I am sad, because I cannot learn writing in a week." + +"I undertake," said her uncle, "to teach you in a fortnight, if you will +only practice diligently. You will then know enough to be able to improve +by your own exertions." + +"It is a great undertaking, but I accept it; I promise you to work night +and day, and to begin to-morrow." + +After dinner, I advised the priest not to leave that evening, to rest +during the night, and I observed that, by going away before day-break, he +would reach P---- in good time, and feel all the better for it. I made the +same proposal to him in the evening, and when he saw that his niece was +sleepy, he was easily persuaded to remain. I called for the innkeeper, +ordered a carriage for the clergyman, and desired that a fire might be +lit for me in the next room where I would sleep, but the good priest said +that it was unnecessary, because there were two large beds in our room, +that one would be for me and the other for him and his niece. + +"We need not undress," he added, "as we mean to leave very early, but you +can take off your clothes, sir, because you are not going with us, and +you will like to remain in bed to-morrow morning." + +"Oh!" remarked Christine, "I must undress myself, otherwise I could not +sleep, but I only want a few minutes to get ready in the morning." + +I said nothing, but I was amazed. Christine then, lovely and charming +enough to wreck the chastity of a Xenocrates, would sleep naked with her +uncle! True, he was old, devout, and without any of the ideas which might +render such a position dangerous, yet the priest was a man, he had +evidently felt like all men, and he ought to have known the danger he was +exposing himself to. My carnal-mindedness could not realize such a state +of innocence. But it was truly innocent, so much so that he did it +openly, and did not suppose that anyone could see anything wrong in it. I +saw it all plainly, but I was not accustomed to such things, and felt +lost in wonderment. As I advanced in age and in experience, I have seen +the same custom established in many countries amongst honest people whose +good morals were in no way debased by it, but it was amongst good people, +and I do not pretend to belong to that worthy class. + +We had had no meat for dinner, and my delicate palate was not +over-satisfied. I went down to the kitchen myself, and I told the +landlady that I wanted the best that could be procured in Treviso for +supper, particularly in wines. + +"If you do not mind the expense, sir, trust to me, and I undertake to +please you. I will give you some Gatta wine." + +"All right, but let us have supper early." + +When I returned to our room, I found Christine caressing the cheeks of +her old uncle, who was laughing; the good man was seventy-five years old. + +"Do you know what is the matter?" he said to me; "my niece is caressing +me because she wants me to leave her here until my return. She tells me +that you were like brother and sister during the hour you have spent +alone together this morning, and I believe it, but she does not consider +that she would be a great trouble to you." + +"Not at all, quite the reverse, she will afford me great pleasure, for I +think her very charming. As to our mutual behaviour, I believe you can +trust us both to do our duty." + +"I have no doubt of it. Well, I will leave her under your care until the +day after to-morrow. I will come back early in the morning so as to +attend to your business." + +This extraordinary and unexpected arrangement caused the blood to rush to +my head with such violence that my nose bled profusely for a quarter of +an hour. It did not frighten me, because I was used to such accidents, +but the good priest was in a great fright, thinking that it was a serious +haemorrhage. + +When I had allayed his anxiety, he left us on some business of his own, +saying that he would return at night-fall. I remained alone with the +charming, artless Christine, and lost no time in thanking her for the +confidence she placed in me. + +"I can assure you," she said, "that I wish you to have a thorough +knowledge of me; you will see that I have none of the faults which have +displeased you so much in the young ladies you have known in Venice, and +I promise to learn writing immediately." + +"You are charming and true; but you must be discreet in P----, and +confide to no one that we have entered into an agreement with each other. +You must act according to your uncle's instructions, for it is to him +that I intend to write to make all arrangements." + +"You may rely upon my discretion. I will not say anything even to my +mother, until you give me permission to do so." + +I passed the afternoon, in denying myself even the slightest liberties +with my lovely companion, but falling every minute deeper in love with +her. I told her a few love stories which I veiled sufficiently not to +shock her modesty. She felt interested, and I could see that, although +she did not always understand, she pretended to do so, in order not to +appear ignorant. + +When her uncle returned, I had arranged everything in my mind to make her +my wife, and I resolved on placing her, during her stay in Venice, in the +house of the same honest widow with whom I had found a lodging for my +beautiful Countess A---- S----. + +We had a delicious supper. I had to teach Christine how to eat oysters +and truffles, which she then saw for the first time. Gatta wine is like +champagne, it causes merriment without intoxicating, but it cannot be +kept for more than one year. We went to bed before midnight, and it was +broad daylight when I awoke. The curate had left the room so quietly that +I had not heard him. + +I looked towards the other bed, Christine was asleep. I wished her good +morning, she opened her eyes, and leaning on her elbow, she smiled +sweetly. + +"My uncle has gone. I did not hear him." + +"Dearest Christine, you are as lovely as one of God's angels. I have a +great longing to give you a kiss." + +"If you long for a kiss, my dear friend, come and give me one." + +I jump out of my bed, decency makes her hide her face. It was cold, and I +was in love. I find myself in her arms by one of those spontaneous +movements which sentiment alone can cause, and we belong to each other +without having thought of it, she happy and rather confused, I delighted, +yet unable to realize the truth of a victory won without any contest. + +An hour passed in the midst of happiness, during which we forgot the +whole world. Calm followed the stormy gusts of passionate love, and we +gazed at each other without speaking. + +Christine was the first to break the silence + +"What have we done?" she said, softly and lovingly. + +"We have become husband and wife." + +"What will my uncle say to-morrow?" + +"He need not know anything about it until he gives us the nuptial +benediction in his own church." + +"And when will he do so?" + +"As soon as we have completed all the arrangements necessary for a +public marriage." + +"How long will that be?" + +"About a month." + +"We cannot be married during Lent." + +"I will obtain permission." + +"You are not deceiving me?" + +"No, for I adore you." + +"Then, you no longer want to know me better?" + +"No; I know you thoroughly now, and I feel certain that you will make me +happy." + +"And will you make me happy, too?" + +"I hope so." + +"Let us get up and go to church. Who could have believed that, to get a +husband, it was necessary not to go to Venice, but to come back from that +city!" + +We got up, and, after partaking of some breakfast, we went to hear mass. +The morning passed off quickly, but towards dinner-time I thought that +Christine looked different to what she did the day before, and I asked +her the reason of that change. + +"It must be," she said, "the same reason which causes you to be +thoughtful." + +"An air of thoughtfulness, my dear, is proper to love when it finds +itself in consultation with honour. This affair has become serious, and +love is now compelled to think and consider. We want to be married in the +church, and we cannot do it before Lent, now that we are in the last days +of carnival; yet we cannot wait until Easter, it would be too long. We +must therefore obtain a dispensation in order to be married. Have I not +reason to be thoughtful?" + +Her only answer was to come and kiss me tenderly. I had spoken the truth, +yet I had not told her all my reasons for being so pensive. I found +myself drawn into an engagement which was not disagreeable to me, but I +wished it had not been so very pressing. I could not conceal from myself +that repentance was beginning to creep into my amorous and well-disposed +mind, and I was grieved at it. I felt certain, however, that the charming +girl would never have any cause to reproach me for her misery. + +We had the whole evening before us, and as she had told me that she had +never gone to a theatre, I resolved on affording her that pleasure. I +sent for a Jew from whom I procured everything necessary to disguise her, +and we went to the theatre. A man in love enjoys no pleasure but that +which he gives to the woman he loves. After the performance was over, I +took her to the Casino, and her astonishment made me laugh when she saw +for the first time a faro bank. I had not money enough to play myself, +but I had more than enough to amuse her and to let her play a reasonable +game. I gave her ten sequins, and explained what she had to do. She did +not even know the cards, yet in less than an hour she had won one hundred +sequins. I made her leave off playing, and we returned to the inn. When +we were in our room, I told her to see how much money she had, and when I +assured her that all that gold belonged to her, she thought it was a +dream. + +"Oh! what will my uncle say?" she exclaimed. + +We had a light supper, and spent a delightful night, taking good care to +part by day-break, so as not to be caught in the same bed by the worthy +ecclesiastic. He arrived early and found us sleeping soundly in our +respective beds. He woke me, and I gave him the ring which he went to +pledge immediately. When he returned two hours later, he saw us dressed +and talking quietly near the fire. As soon as he came in, Christine +rushed to embrace him, and she shewed him all the gold she had in her +possession. What a pleasant surprise for the good old priest! He did not +know how to express his wonder! He thanked God for what he called a +miracle, and he concluded by saying that we were made to insure each +other's happiness. + +The time to part had come. I promised to pay them a visit in the first +days of Lent, but on condition that on my arrival in P---- I would not +find anyone informed of my name or of my concerns. The curate gave me the +certificate of birth of his niece and the account of her possessions. As +soon as they had gone I took my departure for Venice, full of love for +the charming girl, and determined on keeping my engagement with her. I +knew how easy it would be for me to convince my three friends that my +marriage had been irrevocably written in the great book of fate. + +My return caused the greatest joy to the three excellent men, because, +not being accustomed to see me three days absent, M. Dandolo and M. +Barbaro were afraid of some accident having befallen me; but M. de +Bragadin's faith was stronger, and he allayed their fears, saying to them +that, with Paralis watching over me, I could not be in any danger. + +The very next day I resolved on insuring Christine's happiness without +making her my wife. I had thought of marrying her when I loved her better +than myself, but after obtaining possession the balance was so much on my +side that my self-love proved stronger than my love for Christine. I +could not make up my mind to renounce the advantages, the hopes which I +thought were attached to my happy independence. Yet I was the slave of +sentiment. To abandon the artless, innocent girl seemed to me an awful +crime of which I could not be guilty, and the mere idea of it made me +shudder. I was aware that she was, perhaps, bearing in her womb a living +token of our mutual love, and I shivered at the bare possibility that her +confidence in me might be repaid by shame and everlasting misery. + +I bethought myself of finding her a husband in every way better than +myself; a husband so good that she would not only forgive me for the +insult I should thus be guilty of towards her, but also thank me at the +end, and like me all the better for my deceit. + +To find such a husband could not be very difficult, for Christine was not +only blessed with wonderful beauty, and with a well-established +reputation for virtue, but she was also the possessor of a fortune +amounting to four thousand Venetian ducats. + +Shut up in a room with the three worshippers of my oracle, I consulted +Paralis upon the affair which I had so much at heart. The answer was: + +"Serenus must attend to it." + +Serenus was the cabalistic name of M. de Bragadin, and the excellent man +immediately expressed himself ready to execute all the orders of Paralis. +It was my duty to inform him of those orders. + +"You must," I said to him, "obtain from the Holy Father a dispensation +for a worthy and virtuous girl, so as to give her the privilege of +marrying during Lent in the church of her village; she is a young country +girl. Here is her certificate of birth. The husband is not yet known; but +it does not matter, Paralis undertakes to find one." + +"Trust to me," said my father, "I will write at once to our ambassador in +Rome, and I will contrive to have my letter sent by special express. You +need not be anxious, leave it all to me, I will make it a business of +state, and I must obey Paralis all the more readily that I foresee that +the intended husband is one of us four. Indeed, we must prepare ourselves +to obey." + +I had some trouble in keeping my laughter down, for it was in my power to +metamorphose Christine into a grand Venetian lady, the wife of a senator; +but that was not my intention. I again consulted the oracle in order to +ascertain who would be the husband of the young girl, and the answer was +that M. Dandolo was entrusted with the care of finding one, young, +handsome, virtuous, and able to serve the Republic, either at home or +abroad. M. Dandolo was to consult me before concluding any arrangements. +I gave him courage for his task by informing him that the girl had a +dowry of four thousand ducats, but I added that his choice was to be made +within a fortnight. M. de Bragadin, delighted at not being entrusted with +the commission, laughed heartily. + +Those arrangements made me feel at peace with myself. I was certain that +the husband I wanted would be found, and I only thought of finishing the +carnival gaily, and of contriving to find my purse ready for a case of +emergency. + +Fortune soon rendered me possessor of a thousand sequins. I paid my +debts, and the licence for the marriage having arrived from Rome ten days +after M. de Bragadin had applied for it, I gave him one hundred ducats, +that being the sum it had cost. The dispensation gave Christine the right +of being married in any church in Christendom, she would only have to +obtain the seal of the episcopal court of the diocese in which the +marriage was to take place, and no publication of banns was required. We +wanted, therefore, but one thing--a trifling one, namely, the husband. M. +Dandolo had already proposed three or four to me, but I had refused them +for excellent reasons. At last he offered one who suited me exactly. + +I had to take the diamond ring out of pledge, and not wishing to do it +myself, I wrote to the priest making an appointment in Treviso. I was +not, of course, surprised when I found that he was accompanied by his +lovely niece, who, thinking that I had come to complete all arrangements +for our marriage, embraced me without ceremony, and I did the same. If +the uncle had not been present, I am afraid that those kisses would have +caused all my heroism to vanish. I gave the curate the dispensation, and +the handsome features of Christine shone with joy. She certainly could +not imagine that I had been working so actively for others, and, as I was +not yet certain of anything, I did not undeceive her then. I promised to +be in P---- within eight or ten days, when we would complete all necessary +arrangements. After dinner, I gave the curate the ticket for the ring and +the money to take it out of pledge, and we retired to rest. This time, +very fortunately, there was but one bed in the room, and I had to take +another chamber for myself. + +The next morning, I went into Christine's room, and found her in bed. Her +uncle had gone out for my diamond ring, and alone with that lovely girl, +I found that I had, when necessary, complete control over my passions. +Thinking that she was not to be my wife, and that she would belong to +another, I considered it my duty to silence my desires. I kissed her, but +nothing more. + +I spent one hour with her, fighting like Saint Anthony against the carnal +desires of my nature. I could see the charming girl full of love and of +wonder at my reserve, and I admired her virtue in the natural modesty +which prevented her from making the first advances. She got out of bed +and dressed herself without shewing any disappointment. She would, of +course, have felt mortified if she had had the slightest idea that I +despised her, or that I did not value her charms. + +Her uncle returned, gave me the ring, and we had dinner, after which he +treated me to a wonderful exhibition. Christine had learned how to write, +and, to give me a proof of her talent, she wrote very fluently and very +prettily in my presence. + +We parted, after my promising to come back again within ten days, and I +returned to Venice. + +On the second Sunday in Lent, M. Dandolo told me with an air of triumph +that the fortunate husband had been found, and that there was no doubt of +my approval of the new candidate. He named Charles---- whom I knew by +sight--very handsome young man, of irreproachable conduct, and about +twenty-two years of age. He was clerk to M. Ragionato and god-son of +Count Algarotti, a sister of whom had married M. Dandolo's brother. + +"Charles," said M. Dandolo to me, "has lost his father and his mother, +and I feel satisfied that his godfather will guarantee the dowry brought +by his wife. I have spoken to him, and I believe him disposed to marry an +honest girl whose dowry would enable him to purchase M. Ragionato's +office." + +"It seems to promise very well, but I cannot decide until I have seen +him." + +"I have invited him to dine with us to-morrow." + +The young man came, and I found him worthy of all M. Dandolo's praise. We +became friends at once; he had some taste for poetry, I read some of my +productions to him, and having paid him a visit the following day, he +shewed me several pieces of his own composition which were well written. +He introduced me to his aunt, in whose house he lived with his sister, +and I was much pleased with their friendly welcome. Being alone with him +in his room, I asked him what he thought of love. + +"I do not care for love," he answered: "but I should like to get married +in order to have a house of my own." + +When I returned to the palace, I told M. Dandolo that he might open the +affair with Count Algarotti, and the count mentioned it to Charles, who +said that he could not give any answer, either one way or the other, +until he should have seen the young girl, talked with her, and enquired +about her reputation. As for Count Algarotti, he was ready to be +answerable for his god-son, that is to guarantee four thousand ducats to +the wife, provided her dowry was worth that amount. Those were only the +preliminaries; the rest belonged to my province. + +Dandolo having informed Charles that the matter was entirely in my hands, +he called on me and enquired when I would be kind enough to introduce him +to the young person. I named the day, adding that it was necessary to +devote a whole day to the visit, as she resided at a distance of twenty +miles from Venice, that we would dine with her and return the same +evening. He promised to be ready for me by day-break. I immediately sent +an express to the curate to inform him of the day on which I would call +with a friend of mine whom I wished to introduce to his niece. + +On the appointed day, Charles was punctual. I took care to let him know +along the road that I had made the acquaintance of the young girl and of +her uncle as travelling companions from Venice to Mestra about one month +before, and that I would have offered myself as a husband, if I had been +in a position to guarantee the dowry of four thousand ducats. I did not +think it necessary to go any further in my confidences. + +We arrived at the good priest's house two hours before mid-day, and soon +after our arrival, Christine came in with an air of great ease, +expressing all her pleasure at seeing me. She only bowed to Charles, +enquiring from me whether he was likewise a clerk. + +Charles answered that he was clerk at Ragionato. + +She pretended to understand, in order not to appear ignorant. + +"I want you to look at my writing," she said to me, "and afterwards we +will go and see my mother." + +Delighted at the praise bestowed upon her writing by Charles, when he +heard that she had learned only one month, she invited us to follow her. +Charles asked her why she had waited until the age of nineteen to study +writing. + +"Well, sir, what does it matter to you? Besides, I must tell you that I +am seventeen, and not nineteen years of age." + +Charles entreated her to excuse him, smiling at the quickness of her +answer. + +She was dressed like a simple country girl, yet very neatly, and she wore +her handsome gold chains round her neck and on her arms. I told her to +take my arm and that of Charles, which she did, casting towards me a look +of loving obedience. We went to her mother's house; the good woman was +compelled to keep her bed owing to sciatica. As we entered the room, a +respectable-looking man, who was seated near the patient, rose at the +sight of Charles, and embraced him affectionately. I heard that he was +the family physician, and the circumstance pleased me much. + +After we had paid our compliments to the good woman, the doctor enquired +after Charles's aunt and sister; and alluding to the sister who was +suffering from a secret disease, Charles desired to say a few words to +him in private; they left the room together. Being alone with the mother +and Christine, I praised Charles, his excellent conduct, his high +character, his business abilities, and extolled the happiness of the +woman who would be his wife. They both confirmed my praises by saying +that everything I said of him could be read on his features. I had no +time to lose, so I told Christine to be on her guard during dinner, as +Charles might possibly be the husband whom God had intended for her. + +"For me?" + +"Yes, for you. Charles is one of a thousand; you would be much happier +with him than you could be with me; the doctor knows him, and you could +ascertain from him everything which I cannot find time to tell you now +about my friend." + +The reader can imagine all I suffered in making this declaration, and my +surprise when I saw the young girl calm and perfectly composed! Her +composure dried the tears already gathering in my eyes. After a short +silence, she asked me whether I was certain that such a handsome young +man would have her. That question gave me an insight into Christine's +heart and feelings, and quieted all my sorrow, for I saw that I had not +known her well. I answered that, beautiful as she was, there was no doubt +of her being loved by everybody. + +"It will be at dinner, my dear Christine, that my friend will examine and +study you; do not fail to shew all the charms and qualities with which +God has endowed you, but do not let him suspect our intimacy." + +"It is all very strange. Is my uncle informed of this wonderful change?" + +"No." + +"If your friend should feel pleased with me, when would he marry me?" + +"Within ten days. I will take care of everything, and you will see me +again in the course of the week:" + +Charles came back with the doctor, and Christine, leaving her mother's +bedside, took a chair opposite to us. She answered very sensibly all the +questions addressed to her by Charles, often exciting his mirth by her +artlessness, but not shewing any silliness. + +Oh! charming simplicity! offspring of wit and of ignorance! thy charm is +delightful, and thou alone hast the privilege of saying anything without +ever giving offence! But how unpleasant thou art when thou art not +natural! and thou art the masterpiece of art when thou art imitated with +perfection! + +We dined rather late, and I took care not to speak to Christine, not even +to look at her, so as not to engross her attention, which she devoted +entirely to Charles, and I was delighted to see with what ease and +interest she kept up the conversation. After dinner, and as we were +taking leave, I heard the following words uttered by Charles, which went +to my very heart: + +"You are made, lovely Christine, to minister to the happiness of a +prince." + +And Christine? This was her answer: + +"I should esteem myself fortunate, sir, if you should judge me worthy of +ministering to yours." + +These words excited Charles so much that he embraced me! + +Christine was simple, but her artlessness did not come from her mind, +only from her heart. The simplicity of mind is nothing but silliness, +that of the heart is only ignorance and innocence; it is a quality which +subsists even when the cause has ceased to be. This young girl, almost a +child of nature, was simple in her manners, but graceful in a thousand +trifling ways which cannot be described. She was sincere, because she did +not know that to conceal some of our impressions is one of the precepts +of propriety, and as her intentions were pure, she was a stranger to that +false shame and mock modesty which cause pretended innocence to blush at +a word, or at a movement said or made very often without any wicked +purpose. + +During our journey back to Venice Charles spoke of nothing but of his +happiness. He had decidedly fallen in love. + +"I will call to-morrow morning upon Count Algarotti," he said to me, "and +you may write to the priest to come with all the necessary documents to +make the contract of marriage which I long to sign." + +His delight and his surprise were intense when I told him that my wedding +present to Christine was a dispensation from the Pope for her to be +married in Lent. + +"Then," he exclaimed, "we must go full speed ahead!" + +In the conference which was held the next day between my young +substitute, his god-father, and M. Dandolo, it was decided that the +parson should be invited to come with his niece. I undertook to carry the +message, and leaving Venice two hours before morning I reached +P---- early. The priest said he would be ready to start immediately after +mass. I then called on Christine, and I treated her to a fatherly and +sentimental sermon, every word of which was intended to point out to her +the true road to happiness in the new condition which she was on the +point of adopting. I told her how she ought to behave towards her +husband, towards his aunt and his sister, in order to captivate their +esteem and their love. The last part of my discourse was pathetic and +rather disparaging to myself, for, as I enforced upon her the necessity +of being faithful to her husband, I was necessarily led to entreat her +pardon for having seduced her. "When you promised to marry me, after we +had both been weak enough to give way to our love, did you intend to +deceive me?" + +"Certainly not." + +"Then you have not deceived me. On the contrary, I owe you some gratitude +for having thought that, if our union should prove unhappy, it was better +to find another husband for me, and I thank God that you have succeeded +so well. Tell me, now, what I can answer to your friend in case he should +ask me, during the first night, why I am so different to what a virgin +ought to be?" + +"It is not likely that Charles, who is full of reserve and propriety, +would ask you such a thing, but if he should, tell him positively that +you never had a lover, and that you do not suppose yourself to be +different to any other girl." + +"Will he believe me?" + +"He would deserve your contempt, and entail punishment on himself if he +did not. But dismiss all anxiety; that will not occur. A sensible man, my +dear Christine, when he has been rightly brought up, never ventures upon +such a question, because he is not only certain to displease, but also +sure that he will never know the truth, for if the truth is likely to +injure a woman in the opinion of her husband, she would be very foolish, +indeed, to confess it." + +"I understand your meaning perfectly, my dear friend; let us, then, +embrace each other for the last time." + +"No, for we are alone and I am very weak. I adore thee as much as ever." + +"Do not cry, dear friend, for, truly speaking, I have no wish for it." + +That simple and candid answer changed my disposition suddenly, and, +instead of crying, I began to laugh. Christine dressed herself +splendidly, and after breakfast we left P----. We reached Venice in four +hours. I lodged them at a good inn, and going to the palace, I told M. +Dandolo that our people had arrived, that it would be his province to +bring them and Charles together on the following day, and to attend to +the matter altogether, because the honour of the future husband and wife, +the respect due to their parents and to propriety, forbade any further +interference on my part. + +He understood my reasons, and acted accordingly. He brought Charles to +me, I presented both of them to the curate and his niece, and then left +them to complete their business. + +I heard afterwards from M. Dandolo that they all called upon Count +Algarotti, and at the office of a notary, where the contract of marriage +was signed, and that, after fixing a day for the wedding, Charles had +escorted his intended back to P----. + +On his return, Charles paid me a visit. He told me that Christine had won +by her beauty and pleasing manners the affection of his aunt, of his +sister, and of his god-father, and that they had taken upon themselves +all the expense of the wedding. + +"We intend to be married," he added, "on such a day at P----, and I trust +that you will crown your work of kindness by being present at the +ceremony." + +I tried to excuse myself, but he insisted with such a feeling of +gratitude, and with so much earnestness, that I was compelled to accept. +I listened with real pleasure to the account he gave me of the impression +produced upon all his family and upon Count Algarotti by the beauty, the +artlessness, the rich toilet, and especially by the simple talk of the +lovely country girl. + +"I am deeply in love with her," Charles said to me, "and I feel that it +is to you that I shall be indebted for the happiness I am sure to enjoy +with my charming wife. She will soon get rid of her country way of +talking in Venice, because here envy and slander will but too easily shew +her the absurdity of it." + +His enthusiasm and happiness delighted me, and I congratulated myself +upon my own work. Yet I felt inwardly some jealousy, and I could not help +envying a lot which I might have kept for myself. + +M. Daridolo and M. Barbaro having been also invited by Charles, I went +with them to P----. We found the dinner-table laid out in the rector's +house by the servants of Count Algarotti, who was acting as Charles's +father, and having taken upon himself all the expense of the wedding, had +sent his cook and his major-domo to P----. + +When I saw Christine, the tears filled my eyes, and I had to leave the +room. She was dressed as a country girl, but looked as lovely as a nymph. +Her husband, her uncle, and Count Algarotti had vainly tried to make her +adopt the Venetian costume, but she had very wisely refused. + +"As soon as I am your wife," she had said to Charles, "I will dress as +you please, but here I will not appear before my young companions in any +other costume than the one in which they have always seen me. I shall +thus avoid being laughed at, and accused of pride, by the girls among +whom I have been brought up." + +There was in these words something so noble, so just, and so generous, +that Charles thought his sweetheart a supernatural being. He told me that +he had enquired, from the woman with whom Christine had spent a +fortnight, about the offers of marriage she had refused at that time, and +that he had been much surprised, for two of those offers were excellent +ones. + +"Christine," he added, "was evidently destined by Heaven for my +happiness, and to you I am indebted for the precious possession of that +treasure." + +His gratitude pleased me, and I must render myself the justice of saying +that I entertained no thought of abusing it. I felt happy in the +happiness I had thus given. + +We repaired to the church towards eleven o'clock, and were very much +astonished at the difficulty we experienced in getting in. A large number +of the nobility of Treviso, curious to ascertain whether it was true that +the marriage ceremony of a country girl would be publicly performed +during Lent when, by waiting only one month, a dispensation would have +been useless, had come to P----. Everyone wondered at the permission +having been obtained from the Pope, everyone imagined that there was some +extraordinary reason for it, and was in despair because it was impossible +to guess that reason. In spite of all feelings of envy, every face beamed +with pleasure and satisfaction when the young couple made their +appearance, and no one could deny that they deserved that extraordinary +distinction, that exception to all established rules. + +A certain Countess of Tos,... from Treviso, Christine's god-mother, went +up to her after the ceremony, and embraced her most tenderly, complaining +that the happy event had not been communicated to her in Treviso. +Christine, in her artless way, answered with as much modesty as +sweetness, that the countess ought to forgive her if she had failed in +her duty towards her, on account of the marriage having been decided on +so hastily. She presented her husband, and begged Count Algarotti to +atone for her error towards her god-mother by inviting her to join the +wedding repast, an invitation which the countess accepted with great +pleasure. That behaviour, which is usually the result of a good education +and a long experience of society, was in the lovely peasant-girl due only +to a candid and well-balanced mind which shone all the more because it +was all nature and not art. + +As they returned from the church, Charles and Christine knelt down before +the young wife's mother, who gave them her blessing with tears of joy. + +Dinner was served, and, of course, Christine and her happy spouse took +the seats of honour. Mine was the last, and I was very glad of it, but +although everything was delicious, I ate very little, and scarcely opened +my lips. + +Christine was constantly busy, saying pretty things to every one of her +guests, and looking at her husband to make sure that he was pleased with +her. + +Once or twice she addressed his aunt and sister in such a gracious manner +that they could not help leaving their places and kissing her tenderly, +congratulating Charles upon his good fortune. I was seated not very far +from Count Algarotti, and I heard him say several times to Christine's +god-mother that he had never felt so delighted in his life. + +When four o'clock struck, Charles whispered a few words to his lovely +wife, she bowed to her god-mother, and everybody rose from the table. +After the usual compliments--and in this case they bore the stamp of +sincerity--the bride distributed among all the girls of the village, who +were in the adjoining room, packets full of sugar-plums which had been +prepared before hand, and she took leave of them, kissing them all +without any pride. Count Algarotti invited all the guests to sleep at a +house he had in Treviso, and to partake there of the dinner usually given +the day after the wedding. The uncle alone excused himself, and the +mother could not come, owing to her disease which prevented her from +moving. The good woman died three months after Christine's marriage. + +Christine therefore left her village to follow her husband, and for the +remainder of their lives they lived together in mutual happiness. + +Count Algarotti, Christine's god-mother and my two noble friends, went +away together. The bride and bridegroom had, of course, a carriage to +themselves, and I kept the aunt and the sister of Charles company in +another. I could not help envying the happy man somewhat, although in my +inmost heart I felt pleased with his happiness. + +The sister was not without merit. She was a young widow of twenty-five, +and still deserved the homage of men, but I gave the preference to the +aunt, who told me that her new niece was a treasure, a jewel which was +worthy of everybody's admiration, but that she would not let her go into +society until she could speak the Venetian dialect well. + +"Her cheerful spirits," she added, "her artless simplicity, her natural +wit, are like her beauty, they must be dressed in the Venetian fashion. +We are highly pleased with my nephew's choice, and he has incurred +everlasting obligations towards you. I hope that for the future you will +consider our house as your own." + +The invitation was polite, perhaps it was sincere, yet I did not avail +myself of it, and they were glad of it. At the end of one year Christine +presented her husband with a living token of their mutual love, and that +circumstance increased their conjugal felicity. + +We all found comfortable quarters in the count's house in Treviso, where, +after partaking of some refreshments, the guests retired to rest. + +The next morning I was with Count Algarotti and my two friends when +Charles came in, handsome, bright, and radiant. While he was answering +with much wit some jokes of the count, I kept looking at him with some +anxiety, but he came up to me and embraced me warmly. I confess that a +kiss never made me happier. + +People wonder at the devout scoundrels who call upon their saint when +they think themselves in need of heavenly assistance, or who thank him +when they imagine that they have obtained some favour from him, but +people are wrong, for it is a good and right feeling, which preaches +against Atheism. + +At the invitation of Charles, his aunt and his sister had gone to pay a +morning visit to the young wife, and they returned with her. Happiness +never shone on a more lovely face! + +M. Algarotti, going towards her, enquired from her affectionately whether +she had had a good night. Her only answer was to rush to her husband's +arms. It was the most artless, and at the same time the most eloquent, +answer she could possible give. Then turning her beautiful eyes towards +me, and offering me her hand, she said, + +"M. Casanova, I am happy, and I love to be indebted to you for my +happiness." + +The tears which were flowing from my eyes, as I kissed her hand, told her +better than words how truly happy I was myself. + +The dinner passed off delightfully. We then left for Mestra and Venice. +We escorted the married couple to their house, and returned home to amuse +M. Bragadin with the relation of our expedition. This worthy and +particularly learned man said a thousand things about the marriage, some +of great profundity and others of great absurdity. + +I laughed inwardly. I was the only one who had the key to the mystery, +and could realize the secret of the comedy. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Venetian Years: Return to Venice +by Jacques Casanova de Seingalt + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VENETIAN YEARS: RETURN TO VENICE *** + +***** This file should be named 2954.txt or 2954.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/5/2954/ + +Produced by David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.07.00*END* + + + + + +This etext was prepared by David Widger, <widger@cecomet.net> + + + + + +MEMOIRS OF JACQUES CASANOVA de SEINGALT 1725-1798 +VENETIAN YEARS, Volume 1d--RETURN TO VENICE + + +THE RARE UNABRIDGED LONDON EDITION OF 1894 TRANSLATED BY ARTHUR +MACHEN TO WHICH HAS BEEN ADDED THE CHAPTERS DISCOVERED +BY ARTHUR SYMONS. + + + + +RETURN TO VENICE + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +A Fearful Misfortune Befalls Me--Love Cools Down--Leave Corfu and +Return to Venice--Give Up the Army and Become a Fiddler + + +The wound was rapidly healing up, and I saw near at hand the moment +when Madame F---- would leave her bed, and resume her usual +avocations. + +The governor of the galeasses having issued orders for a general +review at Gouyn, M. F----, left for that place in his galley, telling +me to join him there early on the following day with the felucca. I +took supper alone with Madame F----, and I told her how unhappy it +made me to remain one day away from her. + +"Let us make up to-night for to-morrow's disappointment," she said, +"and let us spend it together in conversation. Here are the keys; +when you know that my maid has left me, come to me through my +husband's room." + +I did not fail to follow her instructions to the letter, and we found +ourselves alone with five hours before us. It was the month of June, +and the heat was intense. She had gone to bed; I folded her in my +arms, she pressed me to her bosom, but, condemning herself to the +most cruel torture, she thought I had no right to complain, if I was +subjected to the same privation which she imposed upon herself. My +remonstrances, my prayers, my entreaties were of no avail. + +"Love," she said, "must be kept in check with a tight hand, and we +can laugh at him, since, in spite of the tyranny which we force him +to obey, we succeed all the same in gratifying our desires." + +After the first ecstacy, our eyes and lips unclosed together, and a +little apart from each other we take delight in seeing the mutual +satisfaction beaming on our features. + +Our desires revive; she casts a look upon my state of innocence +entirely exposed to her sight. She seems vexed at my want of +excitement, and, throwing off everything which makes the heat +unpleasant and interferes with our pleasure, she bounds upon me. It +is more than amorous fury, it is desperate lust. I share her frenzy, +I hug her with a sort of delirium, I enjoy a felicity which is on the +point of carrying me to the regions of bliss.... but, at the very +moment of completing the offering, she fails me, moves off, slips +away, and comes back to work off my excitement with a hand which +strikes me as cold as ice. + +"Ah, thou cruel, beloved woman! Thou art burning with the fire of +love, and thou deprivest thyself of the only remedy which could bring +calm to thy senses! Thy lovely hand is more humane than thou art, +but thou has not enjoyed the felicity that thy hand has given me. My +hand must owe nothing to thine. Come, darling light of my heart, +come! Love doubles my existence in the hope that I will die again, +but only in that charming retreat from which you have ejected me in +the very moment of my greatest enjoyment." + +While I was speaking thus, her very soul was breathing forth the most +tender sighs of happiness, and as she pressed me tightly in her arms +I felt that she was weltering in an ocean of bliss. + +Silence lasted rather a long time, but that unnatural felicity was +imperfect, and increased my excitement. + +"How canst thou complain," she said tenderly, "when it is to that +very imperfection of our enjoyment that we are indebted for its +continuance? I loved thee a few minutes since, now I love thee a +thousand times more, and perhaps I should love thee less if thou +hadst carried my enjoyment to its highest limit." + +"Oh! how much art thou mistaken, lovely one! How great is thy error! +Thou art feeding upon sophisms, and thou leavest reality aside; I +mean nature which alone can give real felicity. Desires constantly +renewed and never fully satisfied are more terrible than the torments +of hell." + +"But are not these desires happiness when they are always accompanied +by hope?" + +"No, if that hope is always disappointed. It becomes hell itself, +because there is no hope, and hope must die when it is killed by +constant deception." + +"Dearest, if hope does not exist in hell, desires cannot be found +there either; for to imagine desires without hopes would be more than +madness." + +"Well, answer me. If you desire to be mine entirely, and if you feel +the hope of it, which, according to your way of reasoning, is a +natural consequence, why do you always raise an impediment to your +own hope? Cease, dearest, cease to deceive yourself by absurd +sophisms. Let us be as happy as it is in nature to be, and be quite +certain that the reality of happiness will increase our love, and +that love will find a new life in our very enjoyment." + +"What I see proves the contrary; you are alive with excitement now, +but if your desires had been entirely satisfied, you would be dead, +benumbed, motionless. I know it by experience: if you had breathed +the full ecstacy of enjoyment, as you desired, you would have found a +weak ardour only at long intervals." + +"Ah! charming creature, your experience is but very small; do not +trust to it. I see that you have never known love. That which you +call love's grave is the sanctuary in which it receives life, the +abode which makes it immortal. Give way to my prayers, my lovely +friend, and then you shall know the difference between Love and +Hymen. You shall see that, if Hymen likes to die in order to get rid +of life, Love on the contrary expires only to spring up again into +existence, and hastens to revive, so as to savour new enjoyment. Let +me undeceive you, and believe me when I say that the full +gratification of desires can only increase a hundredfold the mutual +ardour of two beings who adore each other." + +"Well, I must believe you; but let us wait. In the meantime let us +enjoy all the trifles, all the sweet preliminaries of love. Devour +thy mistress, dearest, but abandon to me all thy being. If this +night is too short we must console ourselves to-morrow by making +arrangements for another one." + +"And if our intercourse should be discovered?" + +"Do we make a mystery of it? Everybody can see that we love each +other, and those who think that we do not enjoy the happiness of +lovers are precisely the only persons we have to fear. We must only +be careful to guard against being surprised in the very act of +proving our love. Heaven and nature must protect our affection, for +there is no crime when two hearts are blended in true love. Since I +have been conscious of my own existence, Love has always seemed to me +the god of my being, for every time I saw a man I was delighted; I +thought that I was looking upon one-half of myself, because I felt I +was made for him and he for me. I longed to be married. It was that +uncertain longing of the heart which occupies exclusively a young +girl of fifteen. I had no conception of love, but I fancied that it +naturally accompanied marriage. You can therefore imagine my +surprise when my husband, in the very act of making a woman of me, +gave me a great deal of pain without giving me the slightest idea of +pleasure! My imagination in the convent was much better than the +reality I had been condemned to by my husband! The result has +naturally been that we have become very good friends, but a very +indifferent husband and wife, without any desires for each other. He +has every reason to be pleased with me, for I always shew myself +docile to his wishes, but enjoyment not being in those cases seasoned +by love, he must find it without flavour, and he seldom comes to me +for it. + +"When I found out that you were in love with me, I felt delighted, +and gave you every opportunity of becoming every day more deeply +enamoured of me, thinking myself certain of never loving you myself. +As soon as I felt that love had likewise attacked my heart, I ill- +treated you to punish you for having made my heart sensible. Your +patience and constancy have astonished me, and have caused me to be +guilty, for after the first kiss I gave you I had no longer any +control over myself. I was indeed astounded when I saw the havoc +made by one single kiss, and I felt that my happiness was wrapped up +in yours. That discovery flattered and delighted me, and I have +found out, particularly to-night, that I cannot be happy unless you +are so yourself." + +"That is, my beloved, the most refined of all sentiments experienced +by love, but it is impossible for you to render me completely happy +without following in everything the laws and the wishes of nature." + +The night was spent in tender discussions and in exquisite +voluptuousness, and it was not without some grief that at day-break I +tore myself from her arms to go to Gouyn. She wept for joy when she +saw that I left her without having lost a particle of my vigour, for +she did not imagine such a thing possible. + +After that night, so rich in delights, ten or twelve days passed +without giving us any opportunity of quenching even a small particle +of the amorous thirst which devoured us, and it was then that a +fearful misfortune befell me. + +One evening after supper, M. D---- R----- having retired, M. F---- +used no ceremony, and, although I was present, told his wife that he +intended to pay her a visit after writing two letters which he had to +dispatch early the next morning. The moment he had left the room we +looked at each other, and with one accord fell into each other's +arms. A torrent of delights rushed through our souls without +restraint, without reserve, but when the first ardour had been +appeased, without giving me time to think or to enjoy the most +complete, the most delicious victory, she drew back, repulsed me, and +threw herself, panting, distracted, upon a chair near her bed. +Rooted to the spot, astonished, almost mad, I tremblingly looked at +her, trying to understand what had caused such an extraordinary +action. She turned round towards me and said, her eyes flashing with +the fire of love, + +"My darling, we were on the brink of the precipice." + +"The precipice! Ah! cruel woman, you have killed me, I feel myself +dying, and perhaps you will never see me again." + +I left her in a state of frenzy, and rushed out, towards the +esplanade, to cool myself, for I was choking. Any man who has not +experienced the cruelty of an action like that of Madame F----, and +especially in the situation I found myself in at that moment, +mentally and bodily, can hardly realize what I suffered, and, +although I have felt that suffering, I could not give an idea of it. + +I was in that fearful state, when I heard my name called from a +window, and unfortunately I condescended to answer. I went near the +window, and I saw, thanks to the moonlight, the famous Melulla +standing on her balcony. + +"What are you doing there at this time of night?" I enquired. + +"I am enjoying the cool evening breeze. Come up for a little while." + +This Melulla, of fatal memory, was a courtezan from Zamte, of rare +beauty, who for the last four months had been the delight and the +rage of all the young men in Corfu. Those who had known her agreed +in extolling her charms: she was the talk of all the city. I had +seen her often, but, although she was very beautiful, I was very far +from thinking her as lovely as Madame F----, putting my affection for +the latter on one side. I recollect seeing in Dresden, in the year +1790, a very handsome woman who was the image of Melulla. + +I went upstairs mechanically, and she took me to a voluptuous +boudoir; she complained of my being the only one who had never paid +her a visit, when I was the man she would have preferred to all +others, and I had the infamy to give way.... I became the most +criminal of men. + +It was neither desire, nor imagination, nor the merit of the woman +which caused me to yield, for Melulla was in no way worthy of me; no, +it was weakness, indolence, and the state of bodily and mental +irritation in which I then found myself: it was a sort of spite, +because the angel whom I adored had displeased me by a caprice, +which, had I not been unworthy of her, would only have caused me to +be still more attached to her. + +Melulla, highly pleased with her success, refused the gold I wanted +to give her, and allowed me to go after I had spent two hours with +her. + +When I recovered my composure, I had but one feeling-hatred for +myself and for the contemptible creature who had allured me to be +guilty of so vile an insult to the loveliest of her sex. I went home +the prey to fearful remorse, and went to bed, but sleep never closed +my eyes throughout that cruel night. + +In the morning, worn out with fatigue and sorrow, I got up, and as +soon as I was dressed I went to M. F----, who had sent for me to give +me some orders. After I had returned, and had given him an account +of my mission, I called upon Madame F----, and finding her at her +toilet I wished her good morning, observing that her lovely face was +breathing the cheerfulness and the calm of happiness; but, suddenly, +her eyes meeting mine, I saw her countenance change, and an +expression of sadness replace her looks of satisfaction. She cast +her eyes down as if she was deep in thought, raised them again as if +to read my very soul, and breaking our painful silence, as soon as +she had dismissed her maid, she said to me, with an accent full of +tenderness and of solemnity, + +"Dear one, let there be no concealment either on my part or on yours. +I felt deeply grieved when I saw you leave me last night, and a +little consideration made me understand all the evil which might +accrue to you in consequence of what I had done. With a nature like +yours, such scenes might cause very dangerous disorders, and I have +resolved not to do again anything by halves. I thought that you went +out to breathe the fresh air, and I hoped it would do you good. I +placed myself at my window, where I remained more than an hour +without seeing alight in your room. Sorry for what I had done, +loving you more than ever, I was compelled, when my husband came to +my room, to go to bed with the sad conviction that you had not come +home. This morning, M. F. sent an officer to tell you that he wanted +to see you, and I heard the messenger inform him that you were not +yet up, and that you had come home very late. I felt my heart swell +with sorrow. I am not jealous, dearest, for I know that you cannot +love anyone but me; I only felt afraid of some misfortune. At last, +this morning, when I heard you coming, I was happy, because I was +ready to skew my repentance, but I looked at you, and you seemed a +different man. Now, I am still looking at you, and, in spite of +myself, my soul reads upon your countenance that you are guilty, that +you have outraged my love. Tell me at once, dearest, if I am +mistaken; if you have deceived me, say so openly. Do not be +unfaithful to love and to truth. Knowing that I was the cause of it, +I should never forgive my self, but there is an excuse for you in my +heart, in my whole being." + +More than once, in the course of my life, I have found myself under +the painful necessity of telling falsehoods to the woman I loved; but +in this case, after so true, so touching an appeal, how could I be +otherwise than sincere? I felt myself sufficiently debased by my +crime, and I could not degrade myself still more by falsehood. I was +so far from being disposed to such a line of conduct that I could not +speak, and I burst out crying. + +"What, my darling! you are weeping! Your tears make me miserable. +You ought not to have shed any with me but tears of happiness and +love. Quick, my beloved, tell me whether you have made me wretched. +Tell me what fearful revenge you have taken on me, who would rather +die than offend you. If I have caused you any sorrow, it has been in +the innocence of a loving and devoted heart." + +"My own darling angel, I never thought of revenge, for my heart, +which can never cease to adore you, could never conceive such a +dreadful idea. It is against my own heart that my cowardly weakness +has allured me to the commission of a crime which, for the remainder +of my life, makes me unworthy of you." + +"Have you, then, given yourself to some wretched woman?" + +"Yes, I have spent two hours in the vilest debauchery, and my soul +was present only to be the witness of my sadness, of my remorse, of +my unworthiness." + +"Sadness and remorse! Oh, my poor friend! I believe it. But it is +my fault; I alone ought to suffer; it is I who must beg you to +forgive me." + +Her tears made mine flow again. + +"Divine soul," I said, "the reproaches you are addressing to yourself +increase twofold the gravity of my crime. You would never have been +guilty of any wrong against me if I had been really worthy of your +love." + +I felt deeply the truth of my words. + +We spent the remainder of the day apparently quiet and composed, +concealing our sadness in the depths of our hearts. She was curious +to know all the circumstances of my miserable adventure, and, +accepting it as an expiation, I related them to her. Full of +kindness, she assured me that we were bound to ascribe that accident +to fate, and that the same thing might have happened to the best of +men. She added that I was more to be pitied than condemned, and that +she did not love me less. We both were certain that we would seize +the first favourable opportunity, she of obtaining her pardon, I of +atoning for my crime, by giving each other new and complete proofs of +our mutual ardour. But Heaven in its justice had ordered +differently, and I was cruelly punished for my disgusting debauchery. + +On the third day, as I got up in the morning, an awful pricking +announced the horrid state into which the wretched Melulla had thrown +me. I was thunderstruck! And when I came to think of the misery +which I might have caused if, during the last three days, I had +obtained some new favour from my lovely mistress, I was on the point +of going mad. What would have been her feelings if I had made her +unhappy for the remainder of her life! Would anyone, then, knowing +the whole case, have condemned me if I had destroyed my own life in +order to deliver myself from everlasting remorse? No, for the man +who kills himself from sheer despair, thus performing upon himself +the execution of the sentence he would have deserved at the hands of +justice cannot be blamed either by a virtuous philosopher or by a +tolerant Christian. But of one thing I am quite certain: if such a +misfortune had happened, I should have committed suicide. + +Overwhelmed with grief by the discovery I had just made, but thinking +that I should get rid of the inconvenience as I had done three times +before, I prepared myself for a strict diet, which would restore my +health in six weeks without anyone having any suspicion of my +illness, but I soon found out that I had not seen the end of my +troubles; Melulla had communicated to my system all the poisons which +corrupt the source of life. I was acquainted with an elderly doctor +of great experience in those matters; I consulted him, and he +promised to set me to rights in two months; he proved as good as his +word. At the beginning of September I found myself in good health, +and it was about that time that I returned to Venice. + +The first thing I resolved on, as soon as I discovered the state I +was in, was to confess everything to Madame F----. I did not wish to +wait for the time when a compulsory confession would have made her +blush for her weakness, and given her cause to think of the fearful +consequences which might have been the result of her passion for me. +Her affection was too dear to me to run the risk of losing it through +a want of confidence in her. Knowing her heart, her candour, and the +generosity which had prompted her to say that I was more to be pitied +than blamed, I thought myself bound to prove by my sincerity that I +deserved her esteem. + +I told her candidly my position and the state I had been thrown in, +when I thought of the dreadful consequences it might have had for +her. I saw her shudder and tremble, and she turned pale with fear +when I added that I would have avenged her by killing myself. + +"Villainous, infamous Melulla!" she exclaimed. + +And I repeated those words, but turning them against myself when I +realized all I had sacrificed through the most disgusting weakness. + +Everyone in Corfu knew of my visit to the wretched Melulla, and +everyone seemed surprised to see the appearance of health on my +countenance; for many were the victims that she had treated like me. + +My illness was not my only sorrow; I had others which, although of a +different nature, were not less serious. It was written in the book +of fate that I should return to Venice a simple ensign as when I +left: the general did not keep his word, and the bastard son of a +nobleman was promoted to the lieutenancy instead of myself. From +that moment the military profession, the one most subject to +arbitrary despotism, inspired me with disgust, and I determined to +give it up. But I had another still more important motive for sorrow +in the fickleness of fortune which had completely turned against me. +I remarked that, from the time of my degradation with Melulla, every +kind of misfortune befell me. The greatest of all--that which I felt +most, but which I had the good sense to try and consider a favour-- +was that a week before the departure of the army M. D---- R----- took +me again for his adjutant, and M. F---- had to engage another in my +place. On the occasion of that change Madame F told me, with an +appearance of regret, that in Venice we could not, for many reasons, +continue our intimacy. I begged her to spare me the reasons, as I +foresaw that they would only throw humiliation upon me. I began to +discover that the goddess I had worshipped was, after all, a poor +human being like all other women, and to think that I should have +been very foolish to give up my life for her. I probed in one day +the real worth of her heart, for she told me, I cannot recollect in +reference to what, that I excited her pity. I saw clearly that she +no longer loved me; pity is a debasing feeling which cannot find a +home in a heart full of love, for that dreary sentiment is too near a +relative of contempt. Since that time I never found myself alone +with Madame F----. I loved her still; I could easily have made her +blush, but I did not do it. + +As soon as we reached Venice she became attached to M. F---- R-----, +whom she loved until death took him from her. She was unhappy enough +to lose her sight twenty years after. I believe she is still alive. + +During the last two months of my stay in Corfu, I learned the most +bitter and important lessons. In after years I often derived useful +hints from the experience I acquired at that time. + +Before my adventure with the worthless Melulla, I enjoyed good +health, I was rich, lucky at play, liked by everybody, beloved by the +most lovely woman of Corfu. When I spoke, everybody would listen and +admire my wit; my words were taken for oracles, and everyone +coincided with me in everything. After my fatal meeting with the +courtezan I rapidly lost my health, my money, my credit; +cheerfulness, consideration, wit, everything, even the faculty of +eloquence vanished with fortune. I would talk, but people knew that +I was unfortunate, and I no longer interested or convinced my +hearers. The influence I had over Madame F---- faded away little by +little, and, almost without her knowing it, the lovely woman became +completely indifferent to me. + +I left Corfu without money, although I had sold or pledged everything +I had of any value. Twice I had reached Corfu rich and happy, twice +I left it poor and miserable. But this time I had contracted debts +which I have never paid, not through want of will but through +carelessness. + +Rich and in good health, everyone received me with open arms; poor +and looking sick, no one shewed me any consideration. With a full +purse and the tone of a conqueror, I was thought witty, amusing; with +an empty purse and a modest air, all I said appeared dull and +insipid. If I had become rich again, how soon I would have been +again accounted the eighth wonder of the world! Oh, men! oh, +fortune! Everyone avoided me as if the ill luck which crushed me +down was infectious. + +We left Corfu towards the end of September, with five galleys, two +galeasses, and several smaller vessels, under the command of M. +Renier. We sailed along the shores of the Adriatic, towards the +north of the gulf, where there are a great many harbours, and we put +in one of them every night. I saw Madame F---- every evening; she +always came with her husband to take supper on board our galeass. We +had a fortunate voyage, and cast anchor in the harbour of Venice on +the 14th of October, 1745, and after having performed quarantine on +board our ships, we landed on the 25th of November. Two months +afterwards, the galeasses were set aside altogether. The use of +these vessels could be traced very far back in ancient times; their +maintenance was very expensive, and they were useless. A galeass had +the frame of a frigate with the rowing apparatus of the galley, and +when there was no wind, five hundred slaves had to row. + +Before simple good sense managed to prevail and to enforce the +suppression of these useless carcasses, there were long discussions +in the senate, and those who opposed the measure took their principal +ground of opposition in the necessity of respecting and conserving +all the institutions of olden times. That is the disease of persons +who can never identify themselves with the successive improvements +born of reason and experience; worthy persons who ought to be sent to +China, or to the dominions of the Grand Lama, where they would +certainly be more at home than in Europe. + +That ground of opposition to all improvements, however absurd it may +be, is a very powerful one in a republic, which must tremble at the +mere idea of novelty either in important or in trifling things. +Superstition has likewise a great part to play in these conservative +views. + +There is one thing that the Republic of Venice will never alter: I +mean the galleys, because the Venetians truly require such vessels to +ply, in all weathers and in spite of the frequent calms, in a narrow +sea, and because they would not know what to do with the men +sentenced to hard labour. + +I have observed a singular thing in Corfu, where there are often as +many as three thousand galley slaves; it is that the men who row on +the galleys, in consequence of a sentence passed upon them for some +crime, are held in a kind of opprobrium, whilst those who are there +voluntarily are, to some extent, respected. I have always thought it +ought to be the reverse, because misfortune, whatever it may be, +ought to inspire some sort of respect; but the vile fellow who +condemns himself voluntarily and as a trade to the position of a +slave seems to me contemptible in the highest degree. The convicts +of the Republic, however, enjoy many privileges, and are, in every +way, better treated than the soldiers. It very often occurs that +soldiers desert and give themselves up to a 'sopracomito' to become +galley slaves. In those cases, the captain who loses a soldier has +nothing to do but to submit patiently, for he would claim the man in +vain. The reason of it is that the Republic has always believed +galley slaves more necessary than soldiers. The Venetians may +perhaps now (I am writing these lines in the year 1797) begin to +realize their mistake. + +A galley slave, for instance, has the privilege of stealing with +impunity. It is considered that stealing is the least crime they can +be guilty of, and that they ought to be forgiven for it. + +"Keep on your guard," says the master of the galley slave; "and if +you catch him in the act of stealing, thrash him, but be careful not +to cripple him; otherwise you must pay me the one hundred ducats the +man has cost me." + +A court of justice could not have a galley slave taken from a galley, +without paying the master the amount he has disbursed for the man. + +As soon as I had landed in Venice, I called upon Madame Orio, but I +found the house empty. A neighbour told me that she had married the +Procurator Rosa, and had removed to his house. I went immediately to +M. Rosa and was well received. Madame Orio informed me that Nanette +had become Countess R., and was living in Guastalla with her husband. + +Twenty-four years afterwards, I met her eldest son, then a +distinguished officer in the service of the Infante of Parma. + +As for Marton, the grace of Heaven had touched her, and she had +become a nun in the convent at Muran. Two years afterwards, I +received from her a letter full of unction, in which she adjured me, +in the name of Our Saviour and of the Holy Virgin, never to present +myself before her eyes. She added that she was bound by Christian +charity to forgive me for the crime I had committed in seducing her, +and she felt certain of the reward of the elect, and she assured me +that she would ever pray earnestly for my conversion. + +I never saw her again, but she saw me in 1754, as I will mention when +we reach that year. + +I found Madame Manzoni still the same. She had predicted that I +would not remain in the military profession, and when I told her that +I had made up my mind to give it up, because I could not be +reconciled to the injustice I had experienced, she burst out +laughing. She enquired about the profession I intended to follow +after giving up the army, and I answered that I wished to become an +advocate. She laughed again, saying that it was too late. Yet I was +only twenty years old. + +When I called upon M. Grimani I had a friendly welcome from him, but, +having enquired after my brother Francois, he told me that he had had +him confined in Fort Saint Andre, the same to which I had been sent +before the arrival of the Bishop of Martorano. + +"He works for the major there," he said; "he copies Simonetti's +battle-pieces, and the major pays him for them; in that manner he +earns his living, and is becoming a good painter." + +"But he is not a prisoner?" + +"Well, very much like it, for he cannot leave the fort. The major, +whose name is Spiridion, is a friend of Razetta, who could not refuse +him the pleasure of taking care of your brother." + +I felt it a dreadful curse that the fatal Razetta should be the +tormentor of all my family, but I concealed my anger. + +"Is my sister," I enquired, "still with him?" + +"No, she has gone to your mother in Dresden." + +This was good news. + +I took a cordial leave of the Abbe Grimani, and I proceeded to Fort +Saint Andre. I found my brother hard at work, neither pleased nor +displeased with his position, and enjoying good health. After +embracing him affectionately, I enquired what crime he had committed +to be thus a prisoner. + +"Ask the major," he said, "for I have not the faintest idea." + +The major came in just then, so I gave him the military salute, and +asked by what authority he kept my brother under arrest. + +"I am not accountable to you for my actions." + +"That remains to be seen." + +I then told my brother to take his hat, and to come and dine with me. +The major laughed, and said that he had no objection provided the +sentinel allowed him to pass. + +I saw that I should only waste my time in discussion, and I left the +fort fully bent on obtaining justice. + +The next day I went to the war office, where I had the pleasure of +meeting my dear Major Pelodoro, who was then commander of the +Fortress of Chiozza. I informed him of the complaint I wanted to +prefer before the secretary of war respecting my brother's arrest, +and of the resolution I had taken to leave the army. He promised me +that, as soon as the consent of the secretary for war could be +obtained, he would find a purchaser for my commission at the same +price I had paid for it. + +I had not long to wait. The war secretary came to the office, and +everything was settled in half an hour. He promised his consent to +the sale of my commission as soon as he ascertained the abilities of +the purchaser, and Major Spiridion happening to make his appearance +in the office while I was still there, the secretary ordered him +rather angrily, to set my brother at liberty immediately, and +cautioned him not to be guilty again of such reprehensible and +arbitrary acts. + +I went at once for my brother, and we lived together in furnished +lodgings. + +A few days afterwards, having received my discharge and one hundred +sequins, I threw off my uniform, and found myself once more my own +master. + +I had to earn my living in one way or another, and I decided for the +profession of gamester. But Dame Fortune was not of the same +opinion, for she refused to smile upon me from the very first step I +took in the career, and in less than a week I did not possess a +groat. What was to become of me? One must live, and I turned +fiddler. Doctor Gozzi had taught me well enough to enable me to +scrape on the violin in the orchestra of a theatre, and having +mentioned my wishes to M. Grimani he procured me an engagement at +his own theatre of Saint Samuel, where I earned a crown a day, and +supported myself while I awaited better things. + +Fully aware of my real position, I never shewed myself in the +fashionable circles which I used to frequent before my fortune had +sunk so low. I knew that I was considered as a worthless fellow, but +I did not care. People despised me, as a matter of course; but I +found comfort in the consciousness that I was worthy of contempt. +I felt humiliated by the position to which I was reduced after having +played so brilliant a part in society; but as I kept the secret to +myself I was not degraded, even if I felt some shame. I had not +exchanged my last word with Dame Fortune, and was still in hope of +reckoning with her some day, because I was young, and youth is dear +to Fortune. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +I Turn Out A Worthless Fellow--My Good Fortune--I Become A Rich +Nobleman + + +With an education which ought to have ensured me an honourable +standing in the world, with some intelligence, wit, good literary and +scientific knowledge, and endowed with those accidental physical +qualities which are such a good passport into society, I found +myself, at the age of twenty, the mean follower of a sublime art, in +which, if great talent is rightly admired, mediocrity is as rightly +despised. I was compelled by poverty to become a member of a musical +band, in which I could expect neither esteem nor consideration, and I +was well aware that I should be the laughing-stock of the persons who +had known me as a doctor in divinity, as an ecclesiastic, and as an +officer in the army, and had welcomed me in the highest society. + +I knew all that, for I was not blind to my position; but contempt, +the only thing to which I could not have remained indifferent, never +shewed itself anywhere under a form tangible enough for me to have no +doubt of my being despised, and I set it at defiance, because I was +satisfied that contempt is due only to cowardly, mean actions, and I +was conscious that I had never been guilty of any. As to public +esteem, which I had ever been anxious to secure, my ambition was +slumbering, and satisfied with being my own master I enjoyed my +independence without puzzling my head about the future. I felt that +in my first profession, as I was not blessed with the vocation +necessary to it, I should have succeeded only by dint of hypocrisy, +and I should have been despicable in my own estimation, even if I had +seen the purple mantle on my shoulders, for the greatest dignities +cannot silence a man's own conscience. If, on the other hand, I had +continued to seek fortune in a military career, which is surrounded +by a halo of glory, but is otherwise the worst of professions for the +constant self-abnegation, for the complete surrender of one's will +which passive obedience demands, I should have required a patience to +which I could not lay any claim, as every kind of injustice was +revolting to me, and as I could not bear to feel myself dependent. +Besides, I was of opinion that a man's profession, whatever it might +be, ought to supply him with enough money to satisfy all his wants; +and the very poor pay of an officer would never have been sufficient +to cover my expenses, because my education had given me greater wants +than those of officers in general. By scraping my violin I earned +enough to keep myself without requiring anybody's assistance, and I +have always thought that the man who can support himself is happy. I +grant that my profession was not a brilliant one, but I did not mind +it, and, calling prejudices all the feelings which rose in my breast +against myself, I was not long in sharing all the habits of my +degraded comrades. When the play was over, I went with them to the +drinking-booth, which we often left intoxicated to spend the night in +houses of ill-fame. When we happened to find those places already +tenanted by other men, we forced them by violence to quit the +premises, and defrauded the miserable victims of prostitution of the +mean salary the law allows them, after compelling them to yield to +our brutality. Our scandalous proceedings often exposed us to the +greatest danger. + +We would very often spend the whole night rambling about the city, +inventing and carrying into execution the most impertinent, practical +jokes. One of our favourite pleasures was to unmoor the patricians' +gondolas, and to let them float at random along the canals, enjoying +by anticipation all the curses that gondoliers would not fail to +indulge in. We would rouse up hurriedly, in the middle of the night, +an honest midwife, telling her to hasten to Madame So-and-so, who, +not being even pregnant, was sure to tell her she was a fool when she +called at the house. We did the same with physicians, whom we often +sent half dressed to some nobleman who was enjoying excellent health. +The priests fared no better; we would send them to carry the last +sacraments to married men who were peacefully slumbering near their +wives, and not thinking of extreme unction. + +We were in the habit of cutting the wires of the bells in every +house, and if we chanced to find a gate open we would go up the +stairs in the dark, and frighten the sleeping inmates by telling them +very loudly that the house door was not closed, after which we would +go down, making as much noise as we could, and leave the house with +the gate wide open. + +During a very dark night we formed a plot to overturn the large +marble table of St. Angelo's Square, on which it was said that in the +days of the League of Cambray the commissaries of the Republic were +in the habit of paying the bounty to the recruits who engaged to +fight under the standard of St. Mark--a circumstance which secured +for the table a sort of public veneration. + +Whenever we could contrive to get into a church tower we thought it +great fun to frighten all the parish by ringing the alarm bell, as if +some fire had broken out; but that was not all, we always cut the +bell ropes, so that in the morning the churchwardens had no means of +summoning the faithful to early mass. Sometimes we would cross the +canal, each of us in a different gondola, and take to our heels +without paying as soon as we landed on the opposite side, in order to +make the gondoliers run after us. + +The city was alive with complaints, and we laughed at the useless +search made by the police to find out those who disturbed the peace +of the inhabitants. We took good care to be careful, for if we had +been discovered we stood a very fair chance of being sent to practice +rowing at the expense of the Council of Ten. + +We were seven, and sometimes eight, because, being much attached to +my brother Francois, I gave him a share now and then in our nocturnal +orgies. But at last fear put a stop to our criminal jokes, which in +those days I used to call only the frolics of young men. This is the +amusing adventure which closed our exploits. + +In every one of the seventy-two parishes of the city of Venice, there +is a large public-house called 'magazzino'. It remains open all +night, and wine is retailed there at a cheaper price than in all the +other drinking houses. People can likewise eat in the 'magazzino', +but they must obtain what they want from the pork butcher near by, +who has the exclusive sale of eatables, and likewise keeps his shop +open throughout the night. The pork butcher is usually a very poor +cook, but as he is cheap, poor people are willingly satisfied with +him, and these resorts are considered very useful to the lower class. +The nobility, the merchants, even workmen in good circumstances, are +never seen in the 'magazzino', for cleanliness is not exactly +worshipped in such places. Yet there are a few private rooms which +contain a table surrounded with benches, in which a respectable +family or a few friends can enjoy themselves in a decent way. + +It was during the Carnival of 1745, after midnight; we were, all the +eight of us, rambling about together with our masks on, in quest of +some new sort of mischief to amuse us, and we went into the magazzino +of the parish of the Holy Cross to get something to drink. We found +the public room empty, but in one of the private chambers we +discovered three men quietly conversing with a young and pretty +woman, and enjoying their wine. + +Our chief, a noble Venetian belonging to the Balbi family, said to +us, "It would be a good joke to carry off those three blockheads, and +to keep the pretty woman in our possession." He immediately +explained his plan, and under cover of our masks we entered their +room, Balbi at the head of us. Our sudden appearance rather +surprised the good people, but you may fancy their astonishment when +they heard Balbi say to them: "Under penalty of death, and by order +of the Council of Ten, I command you to follow us immediately, +without making the slightest noise; as to you, my good woman, you +need not be frightened, you will be escorted to your house." When he +had finished his speech, two of us got hold of the woman to take her +where our chief had arranged beforehand, and the others seized the +three poor fellows, who were trembling all over, and had not the +slightest idea of opposing any resistance. + +The waiter of the magazzino came to be paid, and our chief gave him +what was due, enjoining silence under penalty of death. We took our +three prisoners to a large boat. Balbi went to the stern, ordered +the boatman to stand at the bow, and told him that he need not +enquire where we were going, that he would steer himself whichever +way he thought fit. Not one of us knew where Balbi wanted to take +the three poor devils. + +He sails all along the canal, gets out of it, takes several turnings, +and in a quarter of an hour, we reach Saint George where Balbi lands +our prisoners, who are delighted to find themselves at liberty. +After this, the boatman is ordered to take us to Saint Genevieve, +where we land, after paying for the boat. + +We proceed at once to Palombo Square, where my brother and another of +our band were waiting for us with our lovely prisoner, who was +crying. + +"Do not weep, my beauty," says Balbi to her, "we will not hurt you. +We intend only to take some refreshment at the Rialto, and then we +will take you home in safety." + +"Where is my husband?" + +"Never fear; you shall see him again to-morrow." + +Comforted by that promise, and as gentle as a lamb, she follows us to +the "Two Swords." We ordered a good fire in a private room, and, +everything we wanted to eat and to drink having been brought in, we +send the waiter away, and remain alone. We take off our masks, and +the sight of eight young, healthy faces seems to please the beauty we +had so unceremoniously carried off. We soon manage to reconcile her +to her fate by the gallantry of our proceedings; encouraged by a good +supper and by the stimulus of wine, prepared by our compliments and +by a few kisses, she realizes what is in store for her, and does not +seem to have any unconquerable objection. Our chief, as a matter of +right, claims the privilege of opening the ball; and by dint of sweet +words he overcomes the very natural repugnance she feels at +consummating the sacrifice in so numerous company. She, doubtless, +thinks the offering agreeable, for, when I present myself as the +priest appointed to sacrifice a second time to the god of love, she +receives me almost with gratitude, and she cannot conceal her joy +when she finds out that she is destined to make us all happy. My +brother Francois alone exempted himself from paying the tribute, +saying that he was ill, the only excuse which could render his +refusal valid, for we had established as a law that every member of +our society was bound to do whatever was done by the others. + +After that fine exploit, we put on our masks, and, the bill being +paid, escorted the happy victim to Saint Job, where she lived, and +did not leave her till we had seen her safe in her house, and the +street door closed. + +My readers may imagine whether we felt inclined to laugh when the +charming creature bade us good night, thanking us all with perfect +good faith! + +Two days afterwards, our nocturnal orgy began to be talked of. The +young woman's husband was a weaver by trade, and so were his two +friends. They joined together to address a complaint to the Council +of Ten. The complaint was candidly written and contained nothing but +the truth, but the criminal portion of the truth was veiled by a +circumstance which must have brought a smile on the grave +countenances of the judges, and highly amused the public at large: +the complaint setting forth that the eight masked men had not +rendered themselves guilty of any act disagreeable to the wife. It +went on to say that the two men who had carried her off had taken her +to such a place, where they had, an hour later, been met by the other +six, and that they had all repaired to the "Two Swords," where they +had spent an hour in drinking. The said lady having been handsomely +entertained by the eight masked men, had been escorted to her house, +where she had been politely requested to excuse the joke perpetrated +upon her husband. The three plaintiffs had not been able to leave +the island of Saint George until day-break, and the husband, on +reaching his house, had found his wife quietly asleep in her bed. +She had informed him of all that had happened; she complained of +nothing but of the great fright she had experienced on account of her +husband, and on that count she entreated justice and the punishment +of the guilty parties. + +That complaint was comic throughout, for the three rogues shewed +themselves very brave in writing, stating that they would certainly +not have given way so easily if the dread authority of the council +had not been put forth by the leader of the band. The document +produced three different results; in the first place, it amused the +town; in the second, all the idlers of Venice went to Saint Job to +hear the account of the adventure from the lips of the heroine +herself, and she got many presents from her numerous visitors; in the +third place, the Council of Ten offered a reward of five hundred +ducats to any person giving such information as would lead to the +arrest of the perpetrators of the practical joke, even if the +informer belonged to the band, provided he was not the leader. + +The offer of that reward would have made us tremble if our leader, +precisely the one who alone had no interest in turning informer, had +not been a patrician. The rank of Balbi quieted my anxiety at once, +because I knew that, even supposing one of us were vile enough to +betray our secret for the sake of the reward, the tribunal would have +done nothing in order not to implicate a patrician. There was no +cowardly traitor amongst us, although we were all poor; but fear had +its effect, and our nocturnal pranks were not renewed. + +Three or four months afterwards the chevalier Nicolas Iron, then one +of the inquisitors, astonished me greatly by telling me the whole +story, giving the names of all the actors. He did not tell me +whether any one of the band had betrayed the secret, and I did not +care to know; but I could clearly see the characteristic spirit of +the aristocracy, for which the 'solo mihi' is the supreme law. + +Towards the middle of April of the year 1746 M. Girolamo Cornaro, the +eldest son of the family Cornaro de la Reine, married a daughter of +the house of Soranzo de St. Pol, and I had the honour of being +present at the wedding--as a fiddler. I played the violin in one of +the numerous bands engaged for the balls which were given for three +consecutive days in the Soranzo Palace. + +On the third day, towards the end of the dancing, an hour before day- +break, feeling tired, I left the orchestra abruptly; and as I was +going down the stairs I observed a senator, wearing his red robes, on +the point of getting into a gondola. In taking his handkerchief out +of his pocket he let a letter drop on the ground. I picked it up, +and coming up to him just as he was going down the steps I handed it +to him. He received it with many thanks, and enquired where I lived. +I told him, and he insisted upon my coming with him in the gondola +saying that he would leave me at my house. I accepted gratefully, +and sat down near him. A few minutes afterwards he asked me to rub +his left arm, which, he said, was so benumbed that he could not feel +it. I rubbed it with all my strength, but he told me in a sort of +indistinct whisper that the numbness was spreading all along the left +side, and that he was dying. + +I was greatly frightened; I opened the curtain, took the lantern, and +found him almost insensible, and the mouth drawn on one side. I +understood that he was seized with an apoplectic stroke, and called +out to the gondoliers to land me at once, in order to procure a +surgeon to bleed the patient. + +I jumped out of the gondola, and found myself on the very spot where +three years before I had taught Razetta such a forcible lesson; I +enquired for a surgeon at the first coffee-house, and ran to the +house that was pointed out to me. I knocked as hard as I could; the +door was at last opened, and I made the surgeon follow me in his +dressing-gown as far as the gondola, which was waiting; he bled the +senator while I was tearing my shirt to make the compress and the +bandage. + +The operation being performed, I ordered the gondoliers to row as +fast as possible, and we soon reached St. Marina; the servants were +roused up, and taking the sick man out of the gondola we carried him +to his bed almost dead. + +Taking everything upon myself, I ordered a servant to hurry out for a +physician, who came in a short time, and ordered the patient to be +bled again, thus approving the first bleeding prescribed by me. +Thinking I had a right to watch the sick man, I settled myself near +his bed to give him every care he required. + +An hour later, two noblemen, friends of the senator, came in, one a +few minutes after the other. They were in despair; they had enquired +about the accident from the gondoliers, and having been told that I +knew more than they did, they loaded me with questions which I +answered. They did not know who I was, and did not like to ask me; +whilst I thought it better to preserve a modest silence. + +The patient did not move; his breathing alone shewed that he was +still alive; fomentations were constantly applied, and the priest who +had been sent for, and was of very little use under such +circumstances, seemed to be there only to see him die. All visitors +were sent away by my advice, and the two noblemen and myself were the +only persons in the sick man's room. At noon we partook silently of +some dinner which was served in the sick room. + +In the evening one of the two friends told me that if I had any +business to attend to I could go, because they would both pass the +night on a mattress near the patient. + +"And I, sir," I said, "will remain near his bed in this arm-chair, +for if I went away the patient would die, and he will live as long as +I am near him." + +This sententious answer struck them with astonishment, as I expected +it would, and they looked at each other in great surprise. + +We had supper, and in the little conversation we had I gathered the +information that the senator, their friend, was M. de Bragadin, the +only brother of the procurator of that name. He was celebrated in +Venice not only for his eloquence and his great talents as a +statesman, but also for the gallantries of his youth. He had been +very extravagant with women, and more than one of them had committed +many follies for him. He had gambled and lost a great deal, and his +brother was his most bitter enemy, because he was infatuated with the +idea that he had tried to poison him. He had accused him of that +crime before the Council of Ten, which, after an investigation of +eight months, had brought in a verdict of not guilty: but that just +sentence, although given unanimously by that high tribunal, had not +had the effect of destroying his brother's prejudices against him. + +M. de Bragadin, who was perfectly innocent of such a crime and +oppressed by an unjust brother who deprived him of half of his +income, spent his days like an amiable philosopher, surrounded by his +friends, amongst whom were the two noblemen who were then watching +him; one belonged to the Dandolo family, the other was a Barbaro, and +both were excellent men. M. de Bragadin was handsome, learned, +cheerful, and most kindly disposed; he was then about fifty years +old. + +The physician who attended him was named Terro; he thought, by some +peculiar train of reasoning, that he could cure him by applying a +mercurial ointment to the chest, to which no one raised any +objection. The rapid effect of the remedy delighted the two friends, +but it frightened me, for in less than twenty-four hours the patient +was labouring under great excitement of the brain. The physician +said that he had expected that effect, but that on the following day +the remedy would act less on the brain, and diffuse its beneficial +action through the whole of the system, which required to be +invigorated by a proper equilibrium in the circulation of the fluids. + +At midnight the patient was in a state of high fever, and in a +fearful state of irritation. I examined him closely, and found him +hardly able to breathe. I roused up his two friends; and declared +that in my opinion the patient would soon die unless the fatal +ointment was at once removed. And without waiting for their answer, +I bared his chest, took off the plaster, washed the skin carefully +with lukewarm water, and in less than three minutes he breathed +freely and fell into a quiet sleep. Delighted with such a fortunate +result, we lay down again. + +The physician came very early in the morning, and was much pleased to +see his patient so much better, but when M. Dandolo informed him of +what had been done, he was angry, said it was enough to kill his +patient, and asked who had been so audacious as to destroy the effect +of his prescription. M. de Bragadin, speaking for the first time, +said to him-- + +"Doctor, the person who has delivered me from your mercury, which was +killing me, is a more skilful physician than you;" and, saying these +words, he pointed to me. + +It would be hard to say who was the more astonished: the doctor, when +he saw an unknown young man, whom he must have taken for an impostor, +declared more learned than himself; or I, when I saw myself +transformed into a physician, at a moment's notice. I kept silent, +looking very modest, but hardly able to control my mirth, whilst the +doctor was staring at me with a mixture of astonishment and of spite, +evidently thinking me some bold quack who had tried to supplant him. +At last, turning towards M. de Bragadin, he told him coldly that he +would leave him in my hands; he was taken at his word, he went away, +and behold! I had become the physician of one of the most +illustrious members of the Venetian Senate! I must confess that I +was very glad of it, and I told my patient that a proper diet was all +he needed, and that nature, assisted by the approaching fine season, +would do the rest. + +The dismissed physician related the affair through the town, and, as +M. de Bragadin was rapidly improving, one of his relations, who came +to see him, told him that everybody was astonished at his having +chosen for his physician a fiddler from the theatre; but the senator +put a stop to his remarks by answering that a fiddler could know more +than all the doctors in Venice, and that he owed his life to me. + +The worthy nobleman considered me as his oracle, and his two friends +listened to me with the deepest attention. Their infatuation +encouraging me, I spoke like a learned physician, I dogmatized, I +quoted authors whom I had never read. + +M. de Bragadin, who had the weakness to believe in the occult +sciences, told me one day that, for a young man of my age, he thought +my learning too extensive, and that he was certain I was the +possessor of some supernatural endowment. He entreated me to tell +him the truth. + +What extraordinary things will sometimes occur from mere chance, or +from the force of circumstances! Unwilling to hurt his vanity by +telling him that he was mistaken, I took the wild resolution of +informing him, in the presence of his two friends, that I possessed a +certain numeral calculus which gave answers (also in numbers), to any +questions I liked to put. + +M. de Bragadin said that it was Solomon's key, vulgarly called +cabalistic science, and he asked me from whom I learnt it. + +"From an old hermit," I answered," "who lives on the Carpegna +Mountain, and whose acquaintance I made quite by chance when I was a +prisoner in the Spanish army." + +"The hermit," remarked the senator, "has without informing you of it, +linked an invisible spirit to the calculus he has taught you, for +simple numbers can not have the power of reason. You possess a real +treasure, and you may derive great advantages from it." + +"I do not know," I said, "in what way I could make my science useful, +because the answers given by the numerical figures are often so +obscure that I have felt discouraged, and I very seldom tried to make +any use of my calculus. Yet, it is very true that, if I had not +formed my pyramid, I never should have had the happiness of knowing +your excellency." + +"How so?" + +"On the second day, during the festivities at the Soranzo Palace, I +enquired of my oracle whether I would meet at the ball anyone whom I +should not care to see. The answer I obtained was this: 'Leave the +ball-room precisely at four o'clock.' I obeyed implicitly, and met +your excellency." + +The three friends were astounded. M. Dandolo asked me whether I +would answer a question he would ask, the interpretation of which +would belong only to him, as he was the only person acquainted with +the subject of the question. + +I declared myself quite willing, for it was necessary to brazen it +out, after having ventured as far as I had done. He wrote the +question, and gave it to me; I read it, I could not understand either +the subject or the meaning of the words, but it did not matter, I had +to give an answer. If the question was so obscure that I could not +make out the sense of it, it was natural that I should not understand +the answer. I therefore answered, in ordinary figures, four lines of +which he alone could be the interpreter, not caring much, at least in +appearance, how they would be understood. M. Dandolo read them twice +over, seemed astonished, said that it was all very plain to him; it +was Divine, it was unique, it was a gift from Heaven, the numbers +being only the vehicle, but the answer emanating evidently from an +immortal spirit. + +M. Dandolo was so well pleased that his two friends very naturally +wanted also to make an experiment. They asked questions on all sorts +of subjects, and my answers, perfectly unintelligible to myself, were +all held as Divine by them. I congratulated them on their success, +and congratulated myself in their presence upon being the possessor +of a thing to which I had until then attached no importance whatever, +but which I promised to cultivate carefully, knowing that I could +thus be of some service to their excellencies. + +They all asked me how long I would require to teach them the rules of +my sublime calculus. "Not very long," I answered, "and I will teach +you as you wish, although the hermit assured me that I would die +suddenly within three days if I communicated my science to anyone, +but I have no faith whatever in that prediction." M. de Bragadin who +believed in it more than I did, told me in a serious tone that I was +bound to have faith in it, and from that day they never asked me +again to teach them. They very likely thought that, if they could +attach me to them, it would answer the purpose as well as if they +possessed the science themselves. Thus I became the hierophant of +those three worthy and talented men, who, in spite of their literary +accomplishments, were not wise, since they were infatuated with +occult and fabulous sciences, and believed in the existence of +phenomena impossible in the moral as well as in the physical order of +things. They believed that through me they possessed the +philosopher's stone, the universal panacea, the intercourse with all +the elementary, heavenly, and infernal spirits; they had no doubt +whatever that, thanks to my sublime science, they could find out the +secrets of every government in Europe. + +After they had assured themselves of the reality of my cabalistic +science by questions respecting the past, they decided to turn it to +some use by consulting it upon the present and upon the future. I +had no difficulty in skewing myself a good guesser, because I always +gave answers with a double meaning, one of the meanings being +carefully arranged by me, so as not to be understood until after the +event; in that manner, my cabalistic science, like the oracle of +Delphi, could never be found in fault. I saw how easy it must have +been for the ancient heathen priests to impose upon ignorant, and +therefore credulous mankind. I saw how easy it will always be for +impostors to find dupes, and I realized, even better than the Roman +orator, why two augurs could never look at each other without +laughing; it was because they had both an equal interest in giving +importance to the deceit they perpetrated, and from which they +derived such immense profits. But what I could not, and probably +never shall, understand, was the reason for which the Fathers, who +were not so simple or so ignorant as our Evangelists, did not feel +able to deny the divinity of oracles, and, in order to get out of the +difficulty, ascribed them to the devil. They never would have +entertained such a strange idea if they had been acquainted with +cabalistic science. My three worthy friends were like the holy +Fathers; they had intelligence and wit, but they were superstitious, +and no philosophers. But, although believing fully in my oracles, +they were too kind-hearted to think them the work of the devil, and +it suited their natural goodness better to believe my answers +inspired by some heavenly spirit. They were not only good Christians +and faithful to the Church, but even real devotees and full of +scruples. They were not married, and, after having renounced all +commerce with women, they had become the enemies of the female sex; +perhaps a strong proof of the weakness of their minds. They imagined +that chastity was the condition 'sine qua non' exacted by the spirits +from those who wished to have intimate communication or intercourse +with them: they fancied that spirits excluded women, and 'vice +versa'. + +With all these oddities, the three friends were truly intelligent and +even witty, and, at the beginning of my acquaintance with them, I +could not reconcile these antagonistic points. But a prejudiced mind +cannot reason well, and the faculty of reasoning is the most +important of all. I often laughed when I heard them talk on +religious matters; they would ridicule those whose intellectual +faculties were so limited that they could not understand the +mysteries of religion. The incarnation of the Word, they would say, +was a trifle for God, and therefore easy to understand, and the +resurrection was so comprehensible that it did not appear to them +wonderful, because, as God cannot die, Jesus Christ was naturally +certain to rise again. As for the Eucharist, transubstantiation, the +real presence, it was all no mystery to them, but palpable evidence, +and yet they were not Jesuits. They were in the habit of going to +confession every week, without feeling the slightest trouble about +their confessors, whose ignorance they kindly regretted. They +thought themselves bound to confess only what was a sin in their own +opinion, and in that, at least, they reasoned with good sense. + +With those three extraordinary characters, worthy of esteem and +respect for their moral qualities, their honesty, their reputation, +and their age, as well as for their noble birth, I spent my days in a +very pleasant manner: although, in their thirst for knowledge, they +often kept me hard at work for ten hours running, all four of us +being locked up together in a room, and unapproachable to everybody, +even to friends or relatives. + +I completed the conquest of their friendship by relating to them the +whole of my life, only with some proper reserve, so as not to lead +them into any capital sins. I confess candidly that I deceived them, +as the Papa Deldimopulo used to deceive the Greeks who applied to him +for the oracles of the Virgin. I certainly did not act towards them +with a true sense of honesty, but if the reader to whom I confess +myself is acquainted with the world and with the spirit of society, I +entreat him to think before judging me, and perhaps I may meet with +some indulgence at his hands. + +I might be told that if I had wished to follow the rules of pure +morality I ought either to have declined intimate intercourse with +them or to have undeceived them. I cannot deny these premises, but I +will answer that I was only twenty years of age, I was intelligent, +talented, and had just been a poor fiddler. I should have lost my +time in trying to cure them of their weakness; I should not have +succeeded, for they would have laughed in my face, deplored my +ignorance, and the result of it all would have been my dismissal. +Besides, I had no mission, no right, to constitute myself an apostle, +and if I had heroically resolved on leaving them as soon as I knew +them to be foolish visionaries, I should have shewn myself a +misanthrope, the enemy of those worthy men for whom I could procure +innocent pleasures, and my own enemy at the same time; because, as a +young man, I liked to live well, to enjoy all the pleasures natural +to youth and to a good constitution. + +By acting in that manner I should have failed in common politeness, I +should perhaps have caused or allowed M. de Bragadin's death, and I +should have exposed those three honest men to becoming the victims of +the first bold cheat who, ministering to their monomania, might have +won their favour, and would have ruined them by inducing them to +undertake the chemical operations of the Great Work. There is also +another consideration, dear reader, and as I love you I will tell you +what it is. An invincible self-love would have prevented me from +declaring myself unworthy of their friendship either by my ignorance +or by my pride; and I should have been guilty of great rudeness if I +had ceased to visit them. + +I took, at least it seems to me so, the best, the most natural, and +the noblest decision, if we consider the disposition of their mind, +when I decided upon the plan of conduct which insured me the +necessaries of life and of those necessaries who could be a better +judge than your very humble servant? + +Through the friendship of those three men, I was certain of obtaining +consideration and influence in my own country. Besides, I found it +very flattering to my vanity to become the subject of the speculative +chattering of empty fools who, having nothing else to do, are always +trying to find out the cause of every moral phenomenon they meet +with, which their narrow intellect cannot understand. + +People racked their brain in Venice to find out how my intimacy with +three men of that high character could possibly exist; they were +wrapped up in heavenly aspirations, I was a world's devotee; they +were very strict in their morals, I was thirsty of all pleasures! +At the beginning of summer, M. de Bragadin was once, more able to +take his seat in the senate, and, the day before he went out for the +first time, he spoke to me thus: + +"Whoever you may be, I am indebted to you for my life. Your first +protectors wanted to make you a priest, a doctor, an advocate, a +soldier, and ended by making a fiddler of you; those persons did not +know you. God had evidently instructed your guardian angel to bring +you to me. I know you and appreciate you. If you will be my son, +you have only to acknowledge me for your father, and, for the future, +until my death, I will treat you as my own child. Your apartment is +ready, you may send your clothes: you shall have a servant, a gondola +at your orders, my own table, and ten sequins a month. It is the sum +I used to receive from my father when I was your age. You need not +think of the future; think only of enjoying yourself, and take me as +your adviser in everything that may happen to you, in everything you +may wish to undertake, and you may be certain of always finding me +your friend." + +I threw myself at his feet to assure him of my gratitude, and +embraced him calling him my father. He folded me in his arms, called +me his dear son; I promised to love and to obey him; his two friends, +who lived in the same palace, embraced me affectionately, and we +swore eternal fraternity. + +Such is the history of my metamorphosis, and of the lucky stroke +which, taking me from the vile profession of a fiddler, raised me to +the rank of a grandee. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +I lead a dissolute life--Zawoiski--Rinaldi--L'Abbadie--the young +countess--the Capuchin friar Z. Steffani--Ancilla--La Ramor--I take a +gondola at St. Job to go to Mestra. + + +Fortune, which had taken pleasure in giving me a specimen of its +despotic caprice, and had insured my happiness through means which +sages would disavow, had not the power to make me adopt a system of +moderation and prudence which alone could establish my future welfare +on a firm basis. + +My ardent nature, my irresistible love of pleasure, my unconquerable +independence, would not allow me to submit to the reserve which my +new position in life demanded from me. I began to lead a life of +complete freedom, caring for nothing but what ministered to my +tastes, and I thought that, as long as I respected the laws, I could +trample all prejudices under my feet. I fancied that I could live +free and independent in a country ruled entirely by an aristocratic +government, but this was not the case, and would not have been so +even if fortune had raised me to a seat in that same government, for +the Republic of Venice, considering that its primary duty is to +preserve its own integrity, finds itself the slave of its own policy, +and is bound to sacrifice everything to self-preservation, before +which the laws themselves cease to be inviolable. + +But let us abandon the discussion of a principle now too trite, for +humankind, at least in Europe, is satisfied that unlimited liberty is +nowhere consistent with a properly-regulated state of society. I +have touched lightly on the matter, only to give to my readers some +idea of my conduct in my own country, where I began to tread a path +which was to lead me to a state prison as inscrutable as it was +unconstitutional. + +With enough money, endowed by nature with a pleasing and commanding +physical appearance, a confirmed gambler, a true spendthrift, a great +talker, very far from modest, intrepid, always running after pretty +women, supplanting my rivals, and acknowledging no good company but +that which ministered to my enjoyment, I was certain to be disliked; +but, ever ready to expose myself to any danger, and to take the +responsibility of all my actions, I thought I had a right to do +anything I pleased, for I always broke down abruptly every obstacle I +found in my way. + +Such conduct could not but be disagreeable to the three worthy men +whose oracle I had become, but they did not like to complain. The +excellent M. de Bragadin would only tell me that I was giving him a +repetition of the foolish life he had himself led at my age, but that +I must prepare to pay the penalty of my follies, and to feel the +punishment when I should reach his time of life. Without wanting in +the respect I owed him, I would turn his terrible forebodings into +jest, and continue my course of extravagance. However, I must +mention here the first proof he gave me of his true wisdom. + +At the house of Madame Avogadro, a woman full of wit in spite of her +sixty years, I had made the acquaintance of a young Polish nobleman +called Zawoiski. He was expecting money from Poland, but in the mean +time the Venetian ladies did not let him want for any, being all very +much in love with his handsome face and his Polish manners. We soon +became good friends, my purse was his, but, twenty years later, he +assisted me to a far greater extent in Munich. Zawoiski was honest, +he had only a small dose of intelligence, but it was enough for his +happiness. He died in Trieste five or six years ago, the ambassador +of the Elector of Treves. I will speak of him in another part of +these Memoirs. + +This amiable young man, who was a favourite with everybody and was +thought a free-thinker because he frequented the society of Angelo +Querini and Lunardo Venier, presented me one day, as we were out +walking, to an unknown countess who took my fancy very strongly. +We called on her in the evening, and, after introducing me to her +husband, Count Rinaldi, she invited us to remain and have supper. + +The count made a faro bank in the course of the evening, I punted +with his wife as a partner, and won some fifty ducats. + +Very much pleased with my new acquaintance, I called alone on the +countess the next morning. The count, apologizing for his wife who +was not up yet, took me to her room. She received me with graceful +ease, and, her husband having left us alone, she had the art to let +me hope for every favour, yet without committing herself; when I took +leave of her, she invited me to supper for the evening. After supper +I played, still in partnership with her, won again, and went away +very much in love. I did not fail to pay her another visit the next +morning, but when I presented myself at the house I was told that she +had gone out. + +I called again in the evening, and, after she had excused herself for +not having been at home in the morning, the faro bank began, and I +lost all my money, still having the countess for my partner. After +supper, and when the other guests had retired, I remained with +Zawoiski, Count Rinaldi having offered to give us our revenge. As I +had no more money, I played upon trust, and the count threw down the +cards after I had lost five hundred sequins. I went away in great +sorrow. I was bound in honour to pay the next morning, and I did not +possess a groat. Love increased my despair, for I saw myself on the +point of losing the esteem of a woman by whom I was smitten, and the +anxiety I felt did not escape M. de Bragadin when we met in the +morning. He kindly encouraged me to confess my troubles to him. +I was conscious that it was my only chance, and candidly related the +whole affair, and I ended by saying that I should not survive my +disgrace. He consoled me by promising that my debt would be +cancelled in the course of the day, if I would swear never to play +again upon trust. I took an oath to that effect, and kissing his +hand, I went out for a walk, relieved from a great load. I had no +doubt that my excellent father would give me five hundred sequins +during the day, and I enjoyed my anticipation the honour I would +derive, in the opinion of the lovely countess, by my exactitude and +prompt discharge of my debt. I felt that it gave new strength to my +hopes, and that feeling prevented me from regretting my heavy loss, +but grateful for the great generosity of my benefactor I was fully +determined on keeping my promise. + +I dined with the three friends, and the matter was not even alluded +to; but, as we were rising from the table, a servant brought M. de +Bragadin a letter and a parcel. + +He read the letter, asked me to follow him into his study, and the +moment we were alone, he said; + +"Here is a parcel for you." + +I opened it, and found some forty sequins. Seeing my surprise, M. +de Bragadin laughed merrily and handed me the letter, the contents of +which ran thus: + +"M. de Casanova may be sure that our playing last night was only a +joke: he owes me nothing. My wife begs to send him half of the gold +which he has lost in cash. + +"COUNT RINALDI." + +I looked at M. de Bragadin, perfectly amazed, and he burst out +laughing. I guessed the truth, thanked him, and embracing him +tenderly I promised to be wiser for the future. The mist I had +before my eyes was dispelled, I felt that my love was defunct, and I +remained rather ashamed, when I realized that I had been the dupe of +the wife as well as of the husband. + +"This evening," said my clever physician, "you can have a gay supper +with the charming countess." + +"This evening, my dear, respected benefactor, I will have supper with +you. You have given me a masterly lesson." + +"The next time you lose money upon trust, you had better not pay it." + +"But I should be dishonoured." + +"Never mind. The sooner you dishonour yourself, the more you will +save, for you will always be compelled to accept your dishonour +whenever you find yourself utterly unable to pay your losses. It is +therefore more prudent not to wait until then." + +"It is much better still to avoid that fatal impossibility by never +playing otherwise than with money in hand." + + +"No doubt of it, for then you will save both your honour and your +purse. But, as you are fond of games of chance, I advise you never +to punt. Make the bank, and the advantage must be on your side." + +"Yes, but only a slight advantage." + +"As slight as you please, but it will be on your side, and when the +game is over you will find yourself a winner and not a loser. The +punter is excited, the banker is calm. The last says, 'I bet you do +not guess,' while the first says, 'I bet I can guess.' Which is the +fool, and which is the wise man? The question is easily answered. I +adjure you to be prudent, but if you should punt and win, recollect +that you are only an idiot if at the end you lose." + +"Why an idiot? Fortune is very fickle." + +"It must necessarily be so; it is a natural consequence. Leave off +playing, believe me, the very moment you see luck turning, even if +you should, at that moment, win but one groat." + +I had read Plato, and I was astonished at finding a man who could +reason like Socrates. + +The next day, Zawoiski called on me very early to tell me that I had +been expected to supper, and that Count Rinaldi had praised my +promptness in paying my debts of honour. I did not think it +necessary to undeceive him, but I did not go again to Count +Rinaldi's, whom I saw sixteen years afterwards in Milan. As to +Zawoiski, I did not tell him the story till I met him in Carlsbad, +old and deaf, forty years later. + +Three or four months later, M. de Bragadin taught me another of his +masterly lessons. I had become acquainted, through Zawoiski, with a +Frenchman called L'Abbadie, who was then soliciting from the Venetian +Government the appointment of inspector of the armies of the +Republic. The senate appointed, and I presented him to my protector, +who promised him his vote; but the circumstance I am going to relate +prevented him from fulfilling his promise. + +I was in need of one hundred sequins to discharge a few debts, and I +begged M. de Bragadin to give them to me. + +"Why, my dear son, do you not ask M. de l'Abbadie to render you that +service?" + +"I should not dare to do so, dear father." + +"Try him; I am certain that he will be glad to lend you that sum." + +"I doubt it, but I will try." + +I called upon L'Abbadie on the following day, and after a short +exchange of compliments I told him the service I expected from his +friendship. He excused himself in a very polite manner, drowning his +refusal in that sea of commonplaces which people are sure to repeat +when they cannot or will not oblige a friend. Zawoiski came in as he +was still apologizing, and I left them together. I hurried at once +to M. de Bragadin, and told him my want of success. He merely +remarked that the Frenchman was deficient in intelligence. + +It just happened that it was the very day on which the appointment of +the inspectorship was to be brought before the senate. I went out to +attend to my business (I ought to say to my pleasure), and as I did +not return home till after midnight I went to bed without seeing my +father. In the morning I said in his presence that I intended to +call upon L'Abbadie to congratulate him upon his appointment. + +"You may spare yourself that trouble; the senate has rejected his +nomination." + +"How so? Three days ago L'Abbadie felt sure of his success." + +"He was right then, for he would have been appointed if I had not +made up my mind to speak against him. I have proved to the senate +that a right policy forbade the government to trust such an important +post to a foreigner." + +"I am much surprised, for your excellency was not of that opinion the +day before yesterday." + +"Very true, but then I did not know M. de l'Abbadie. I found out +only yesterday that the man was not sufficiently intelligent to fill +the position he was soliciting. Is he likely to possess a sane +judgment when he refuses to lend you one hundred sequins? That +refusal has cost him an important appointment and an income of three +thousand crowns, which would now be his." + +When I was taking my walk on the same day I met Zawoiski with +L'Abbadie, and did not try to avoid them. L'Abbadie was furious, and +he had some reason to be so. + +"If you had told me," he said angrily, "that the one hundred sequins +were intended as a gag to stop M. de Bragadin's mouth, I would have +contrived to procure them for you." + +"If you had had an inspector's brains you would have easily guessed +it." + +The Frenchman's resentment proved very useful to me, because he +related the circumstance to everybody. The result was that from that +time those who wanted the patronage of the senator applied to me. +Comment is needless; this sort of thing has long been in existence, +and will long remain so, because very often, to obtain the highest of +favours, all that is necessary is to obtain the good-will of a +minister's favourite or even of his valet. My debts were soon paid. + +It was about that time that my brother Jean came to Venice with +Guarienti, a converted Jew, a great judge of paintings, who was +travelling at the expense of His Majesty the King of Poland, and +Elector of Saxony. It was the converted Jew who had purchased for +His Majesty the gallery of the Duke of Modena for one hundred +thousand sequins. Guarienti and my brother left Venice for Rome, +where Jean remained in the studio of the celebrated painter Raphael +Mengs, whom we shall meet again hereafter. + +Now, as a faithful historian, I must give my readers the story of a +certain adventure in which were involved the honour and happiness of +one of the most charming women in Italy, who would have been unhappy +if I had not been a thoughtless fellow. + +In the early part of October, 1746, the theatres being opened, I was +walking about with my mask on when I perceived a woman, whose head +was well enveloped in the hood of her mantle, getting out of the +Ferrara barge which had just arrived. Seeing her alone, and +observing her uncertain walk, I felt myself drawn towards her as if +an unseen hand had guided me. + +I come up to her, and offer my services if I can be of any use to +her. She answers timidly that she only wants to make some enquiries. + +"We are not here in the right place for conversation," I say to her; +"but if you would be kind enough to come with me to a caf‚, you would +be able to speak and to explain your wishes." + +She hesitates, I insist, and she gives way. The tavern was close at +hand; we go in, and are alone in a private room. I take off my mask, +and out of politeness she must put down the hood of her mantle. A +large muslin head-dress conceals half of her face, but her eyes, her +nose, and her pretty mouth are enough to let me see on her features +beauty, nobleness, sorrow, and that candour which gives youth such an +undefinable charm. I need not say that, with such a good letter of +introduction, the unknown at once captivated my warmest interest. +After wiping away a few tears which are flowing, in spite of all her +efforts, she tells me that she belongs to a noble family, that she +has run away from her father's house, alone, trusting in God, to meet +a Venetian nobleman who had seduced her and then deceived her, thus +sealing her everlasting misery. + +"You have then some hope of recalling him to the path of duty? I +suppose he has promised you marriage?" + +"He has engaged his faith to me in writing. The only favour I claim +from your kindness is to take me to his house, to leave me there, and +to keep my secret." + +"You may trust, madam, to the feelings of a man of honour. I am +worthy of your trust. Have entire confidence in me, for I already +take a deep interest in all your concerns. Tell me his name." + +"Alas! sir, I give way to fate." + +With these words, she takes out of her bosom a paper which she gives +me; I recognize the handwriting of Zanetto Steffani. It was a +promise of marriage by which he engaged his word of honour to marry +within a week, in Venice, the young countess A---- S----. When I +have read the paper, I return it to her, saying that I knew the +writer quite well, that he was connected with the chancellor's +office, known as a great libertine, and deeply in debt, but that he +would be rich after his mother's death. + +"For God's sake take me to his house." + +"I will do anything you wish; but have entire confidence in me, and +be good enough to hear me. I advise you not to go to his house. He +has already done you great injury, and, even supposing that you +should happen to find him at home, he might be capable of receiving +you badly; if he should not be at home, it is most likely that his +mother would not exactly welcome you, if you should tell her who you +are and what is your errand. Trust to me, and be quite certain that +God has sent me on your way to assist you. I promise you that +to-morrow at the latest you shall know whether Steffani is in Venice, +what he intends to do with you, and what we may compel him to do. +Until then my advice is not to let him know your arrival in Venice." + +"Good God! where shall I go to-night?" + +"To a respectable house, of course." + +"I will go to yours, if you are married." + +"I am a bachelor." + +I knew an honest widow who resided in a lane, and who had two +furnished rooms. I persuade the young countess to follow me, and we +take a gondola. As we are gliding along, she tells me that, one +month before, Steffani had stopped in her neighbourhood for necessary +repairs to his travelling-carriage, and that, on the same day he had +made her acquaintance at a house where she had gone with her mother +for the purpose of offering their congratulations to a newly-married +lady. + +"I was unfortunate enough," she continued, "to inspire him with love, +and he postponed his departure. He remained one month in C----, never +going out but in the evening, and spending every night under my +windows conversing with me. He swore a thousand times that he adored +me, that his intentions were honourable. I entreated him to present +himself to my parents to ask me in marriage, but he always excused +himself by alleging some reason, good or bad, assuring me that he +could not be happy unless I shewed him entire confidence. He would +beg of me to make up my mind to run away with him, unknown to +everybody, promising that my honour should not suffer from such a +step, because, three days after my departure, everybody should +receive notice of my being his wife, and he assured me that he would +bring me back on a visit to my native place shortly after our +marriage. Alas, sir! what shall I say now? Love blinded me; I fell +into the abyss; I believed him; I agreed to everything. He gave me +the paper which you have read, and the following night I allowed him +to come into my room through the window under which he was in the +habit of conversing with me. + +I consented to be guilty of a crime which I believed would be atoned +for within three days, and he left me, promising that the next night +he would be again under my window, ready to receive me in his arms. +Could I possibly entertain any doubt after the fearful crime I had +committed for him? I prepared a small parcel, and waited for his +coming, but in vain. Oh! what a cruel long night it was! In the +morning I heard that the monster had gone away with his servant one +hour after sealing my shame. You may imagine my despair! I adopted +the only plan that despair could suggest, and that, of course, was +not the right one. One hour before midnight I left my father's roof, +alone, thus completing my dishonour, but resolved on death, if the +man who has cruelly robbed me of my most precious treasure, and whom +a natural instinct told me I could find here, does not restore me the +honour which he alone can give me back. I walked all night and +nearly the whole day, without taking any food, until I got into the +barge, which brought me here in twenty-four hours. I travelled in +the boat with five men and two women, but no one saw my face or heard +my voice, I kept constantly sitting down in a corner, holding my head +down, half asleep, and with this prayer-book in my hands. I was left +alone, no one spoke to me, and I thanked God for it. When I landed +on the wharf, you did not give me time to think how I could find out +the dwelling of my perfidious seducer, but you may imagine the +impression produced upon me by the sudden apparition of a masked man +who, abruptly, and as if placed there purposely by Providence, +offered me his services; it seemed to me that you had guessed my +distress, and, far from experiencing any repugnance, I felt that I +was acting rightly in trusting myself in your hands, in spite of all +prudence which, perhaps, ought to have made me turn a deaf ear to +your words, and refuse the invitation to enter alone with you the +house to which you took me. + +"You know all now, sir; but I entreat you not to judge me too +severely; I have been virtuous all through my life; one month ago I +had never committed a fault which could call a blush upon my face, +and the bitter tears which I shed every day will, I hope, wash out my +crime in the eyes of God. I have been carefully brought up, but love +and the want of experience have thrown me into the abyss. I am in +your hands, and I feel certain that I shall have no cause to repent +it." + +I needed all she had just told' me to confirm me in the interest +which I had felt in her from the first moment. I told her +unsparingly that Steffani had seduced and abandoned her of malice +aforethought, and that she ought to think of him only to be revenged +of his perfidy. My words made her shudder, and she buried her +beautiful face in her hands. + +We reached the widow's house. I established her in a pretty, +comfortable room, and ordered some supper for her, desiring the good +landlady to skew her every attention and to let her want for nothing. +I then took an affectionate leave of her, promising to see her early +in the morning. + +On leaving this interesting but hapless girl, I proceeded to the +house of Steffani. I heard from one of his mother's gondoliers that +he had returned to Venice three days before, but that, twenty-four +hours after his return, he had gone away again without any servant, +and nobody knew his whereabouts, not even his mother. The same +evening, happening to be seated next to an abbe from Bologna at the +theatre, I asked him several questions respecting the family of my +unfortunate protegee. + +The abbe being intimately acquainted with them, I gathered from him +all the information I required, and, amongst other things, I heard +that the young countess had a brother, then an officer in the papal +service. + +Very early the next morning I called upon her. She was still asleep. +The widow told me that she had made a pretty good supper, but without +speaking a single word, and that she had locked herself up in her +room immediately afterwards. As soon as she had opened her door, I +entered her room, and, cutting short her apologies for having kept me +waiting, I informed her of all I had heard. + +Her features bore the stamp of deep sorrow, but she looked calmer, +and her complexion was no longer pale. She thought it unlikely that +Steffani would have left for any other place but for C-----. +Admitting the possibility that she might be right, I immediately +offered to go to C----- myself, and to return without loss of time to +fetch her, in case Steffani should be there. Without giving her time +to answer I told her all the particulars I had learned concerning her +honourable family, which caused her real satisfaction. + +"I have no objection," she said, "to your going to C----, and I thank +you for the generosity of your offer, but I beg you will postpone +your journey. I still hope that Steffani will return, and then I can +take a decision." + +"I think you are quite right," I said. "Will you allow me to have +some breakfast with you?" + +"Do you suppose I could refuse you?" + +"I should be very sorry to disturb you in any way. How did you use +to amuse yourself at home?" + +"I am very fond of books and music; my harpsichord was my delight." + +I left her after breakfast, and in the evening I came back with a +basket full of good books and music, and I sent her an excellent +harpsichord. My kindness confused her, but I surprised her much more +when I took out of my pocket three pairs of slippers. She blushed, +and thanked me with great feeling. She had walked a long distance, +her shoes were evidently worn out, her feet sore, and she appreciated +the delicacy of my present. As I had no improper design with regard +to her, I enjoyed her gratitude, and felt pleased at the idea she +evidently entertained of my kind attentions. I had no other purpose +in view but to restore calm to her mind, and to obliterate the bad +opinion which the unworthy Steffani had given her of men in general. +I never thought of inspiring her with love for me, and I had not the +slightest idea that I could fall in love with her. She was unhappy, +and her unhappiness--a sacred thing in my eyes--called all the more +for my most honourable sympathy, because, without knowing me, she had +given me her entire confidence. Situated as she was, I could not +suppose her heart susceptible of harbouring a new affection, and I +would have despised myself if I had tried to seduce her by any means +in my power. + +I remained with her only a quarter of an hour, being unwilling that +my presence should trouble her at such a moment, as she seemed to be +at a loss how to thank me and to express all her gratitude. + +I was thus engaged in a rather delicate adventure, the end of which I +could not possibly foresee, but my warmth for my prot1gee did not +cool down, and having no difficulty in procuring the means to keep +her I had no wish to see the last scene of the romance. That +singular meeting, which gave me the useful opportunity of finding +myself endowed with generous dispositions, stronger even than my love +for pleasure, flattered my self-love more than I could express. I +was then trying a great experiment, and conscious that I wanted sadly +to study myself, I gave up all my energies to acquire the great +science of the 'xxxxxxxxxxxx'. + +On the third day, in the midst of expressions of gratitude which I +could not succeed in stopping she told me that she could not conceive +why I shewed her so much sympathy, because I ought to have formed but +a poor opinion of her in consequence of the readiness with which she +had followed me into the caf‚. She smiled when I answered that I +could not understand how I had succeeded in giving her so great a +confidence in my virtue, when I appeared before her with a mask on my +face, in a costume which did not indicate a very virtuous character. + +"It was easy for me, madam," I continued, "to guess that you were a +beauty in distress, when I observed your youth, the nobleness of your +countenance, and, more than all, your candour. The stamp of truth +was so well affixed to the first words you uttered that I could not +have the shadow of a doubt left in me as to your being the unhappy +victim of the most natural of all feelings, and as to your having +abandoned your home through a sentiment of honour. Your fault was +that of a warm heart seduced by love, over which reason could have no +sway, and your flight--the action of a soul crying for reparation or +for revenge-fully justifies you. Your cowardly seducer must pay with +his life the penalty due to his crime, and he ought never to receive, +by marrying you, an unjust reward, for he is not worthy of possessing +you after degrading himself by the vilest conduct." + +"Everything you say is true. My brother, I hope, will avenge me." + +"You are greatly mistaken if you imagine that Steffani will fight +your brother; Steffani is a coward who will never expose himself to +an honourable death." + +As I was speaking, she put her hand in her pocket and drew forth, +after a few moments' consideration, a stiletto six inches long, which +she placed on the table. + +"What is this?" I exclaimed. + +"It is a weapon upon which I reckoned until now to use against myself +in case I should not succeed in obtaining reparation for the crime I +have committed. But you have opened my eyes. Take away, I entreat +you, this stiletto, which henceforth is useless to me. I trust in +your friendship, and I have an inward certainty that I shall be +indebted to you for my honour as well as for my life." + +I was struck by the words she had just uttered, and I felt that those +words, as well as her looks, had found their way to my heart, besides +enlisting my generous sympathy. I took the stiletto, and left her +with so much agitation that I had to acknowledge the weakness of my +heroism, which I was very near turning into ridicule; yet I had the +wonderful strength to perform, at least by halves, the character of a +Cato until the seventh day. + +I must explain how a certain suspicion of the young lady arose in my +mind. That doubt was heavy on my heart, for, if it had proved true, +I should have been a dupe, and the idea was humiliating. She had +told me that she was a musician; I had immediately sent her a +harpsichord, and, yet, although the instrument had been at her +disposal for three days, she had not opened it once, for the widow +had told me so. It seemed to me that the best way to thank me for my +attentive kindness would have been to give me a specimen of her +musical talent. Had she deceived me? If so, she would lose my +esteem. But, unwilling to form a hasty judgment, I kept on my guard, +with a firm determination to make good use of the first opportunity +that might present itself to clear up my doubts. + +I called upon her the next day after dinner, which was not my usual +time, having resolved on creating the opportunity myself. I caught +her seated before a toilet-glass, while the widow dressed the most +beautiful auburn hair I had ever seen. I tendered my apologies for +my sudden appearance at an unusual hour; she excused herself for not +having completed her toilet, and the widow went on with her work. It +was the first time I had seen the whole of her face, her neck, and +half of her arms, which the graces themselves had moulded. I +remained in silent contemplation. I praised, quite by chance, the +perfume of the pomatum, and the widow took the opportunity of telling +her that she had spent in combs, powder, and pomatum the three livres +she had received from her. I recollected then that she had told me +the first day that she had left C----- with ten paoli. + +I blushed for very shame, for I ought to have thought of that. + +As soon as the widow had dressed her hair, she left the room to +prepare some coffee for us. I took up a ring which had been laid by +her on the toilet-table, and I saw that it contained a portrait +exactly like her; I was amused at the singular fancy she had had of +having her likeness taken in a man's costume, with black hair. "You +are mistaken," she said, "it is a portrait of my brother. He is two +years older than I, and is an officer in the papal army." + +I begged her permission to put the ring on her finger; she consented, +and when I tried, out of mere gallantry, to kiss her hand, she drew +it back, blushing. I feared she might be offended, and I assured her +of my respect. + +"Ah, sir!" she answered, "in the situation in which I am placed, I +must think of defending myself against my own self much more than +against you." + +The compliment struck me as so fine, and so complimentary to me, that +I thought it better not to take it up, but she could easily read in +my eyes that she would never find me ungrateful for whatever feelings +she might entertain in my favour. Yet I felt my love taking such +proportions that I did not know how to keep it a mystery any longer. + +Soon after that, as she was again thanking me for the books--I had +given her, saying that I had guessed her taste exactly, because she +did not like novels, she added, "I owe you an apology for not having +sung to you yet, knowing that you are fond of music." These words +made me breathe freely; without waiting for any answer, she sat down +before the instrument and played several pieces with a facility, with +a precision, with an expression of which no words could convey any +idea. I was in ecstacy. I entreated her to sing; after some little +ceremony, she took one of the music books I had given her, and she +sang at sight in a manner which fairly ravished me. I begged that +she would allow me to kiss her hand, and she did not say yes, but +when I took it and pressed my lips on it, she did not oppose any +resistance; I had the courage to smother my ardent desires, and the +kiss I imprinted on her lovely hand was a mixture of tenderness, +respect, and admiration. + +I took leave of her, smitten, full of love, and almost determined on +declaring my passion. Reserve becomes silliness when we know that +our affection is returned by the woman we love, but as yet I was not +quite sure. + +The disappearance of Steffani was the talk of Venice, but I did not +inform the charming countess of that circumstance. It was generally +supposed that his mother had refused to pay his debts, and that he +had run away to avoid his creditors. It was very possible. But, +whether he returned or not, I could not make up my mind to lose the +precious treasure I had in my hands. Yet I did not see in what +manner, in what quality, I could enjoy that treasure, and I found +myself in a regular maze. Sometimes I had an idea of consulting my +kind father, but I would soon abandon it with fear, for I had made a +trial of his empiric treatment in the Rinaldi affair, and still more +in the case of l'Abbadie. His remedies frightened me to that extent +that I would rather remain ill than be cured by their means. + +One morning I was foolish enough to enquire from the widow whether +the lady had asked her who I was. What an egregious blunder! I saw +it when the good woman, instead of answering me, said, + +"Does she not know who you are?" + +"Answer me, and do not ask questions," I said, in order to hide my +confusion. + +The worthy woman was right; through my stupidity she would now feel +curious; the tittle-tattle of the neighbourhood would of course take +up the affair and discuss it; and all through my thoughtlessness! It +was an unpardonable blunder. One ought never to be more careful than +in addressing questions to half-educated persons. During the +fortnight that she had passed under my protection, the countess had +shewn me no curiosity whatever to know anything about me, but it did +not prove that she was not curious on the subject. If I had been +wise, I should have told her the very first day who I was, but I made +up for my mistake that evening better than anybody else could have +done it, and, after having told her all about myself, I entreated her +forgiveness for not having done so sooner. Thanking me for my +confidence, she confessed how curious she had been to know me better, +and she assured me that she would never have been imprudent enough to +ask any questions about me from her landlady. Women have a more +delicate, a surer tact than men, and her last words were a home- +thrust for me. + +Our conversation having turned to the extraordinary absence of +Steffani, she said that her father must necessarily believe her to be +hiding with him somewhere. "He must have found out," she added, +"that I was in the habit of conversing with him every night from my +window, and he must have heard of my having embarked for Venice on +board the Ferrara barge. I feel certain that my father is now in +Venice, making secretly every effort to discover me. When he visits +this city he always puts up at Boncousin; will you ascertain whether +he is there?" + +She never pronounced Steffani's name without disgust and hatred, and +she said she would bury herself in a convent, far away from her +native place, where no one could be acquainted with her shameful +history. + +I intended to make some enquiries the next day, but it was not +necessary for me to do so, for in the evening, at supper-time, M. +Barbaro said to us, + +"A nobleman, a subject of the Pope, has been recommended to me, and +wishes me to assist him with my influence in a rather delicate and +intricate matter. One of our citizens has, it appears, carried off +his daughter, and has been hiding somewhere with her for the last +fortnight, but nobody knows where. The affair ought to be brought +before the Council of Ten, but the mother of the ravisher claims to +be a relative of mine, and I do not intend to interfere." + +I pretended to take no interest in M. Barbaro's words, and early the +next morning I went to the young countess to tell her the interesting +news. She was still asleep; but, being in a hurry, I sent the widow +to say that I wanted to see her only for two minutes in order to +communicate something of great importance. She received me, covering +herself up to the chin with the bed-clothes. + +As soon as I had informed her of all I knew, she entreated me to +enlist M. Barbaro as a mediator between herself and her father, +assuring me that she would rather die than become the wife of the +monster who had dishonoured her. I undertook to do it, and she gave +me the promise of marriage used by the deceiver to seduce her, so +that it could be shewn to her father. + +In order to obtain M. Barbaro's mediation in favour of the young +countess, it would have been necessary to tell him that she was under +my protection, and I felt it would injure my protegee. I took no +determination at first, and most likely one of the reasons for my +hesitation was that I saw myself on the point of losing her, which +was particularly repugnant to my feelings. + +After dinner Count A--- S---- was announced as wishing to see M. +Barbaro. He came in with his son, the living portrait of his sister. +M. Barbaro took them to his study to talk the matter over, and within +an hour they had taken leave. As soon as they had gone, the +excellent M. Barbaro asked me, as I had expected, to consult my +heavenly spirit, and to ascertain whether he would be right in +interfering in favour of Count A---S---. He wrote the question +himself, and I gave the following answer with the utmost coolness: + +"You ought to interfere, but only to advise the father to forgive his +daughter and to give up all idea of compelling her to marry her +ravisher, for Steffani has been sentenced to death by the will of +God." + +The answer seemed wonderful to the three friends, and I was myself +surprised at my boldness, but I had a foreboding that Steffani was to +meet his death at the hands of somebody; love might have given birth +to that presentiment. M. de Bragadin, who believed my oracle +infallible, observed that it had never given such a clear answer, and +that Steffani was certainly dead. He said to M. de Barbaro, + +"You had better invite the count and his son to dinner hereto-morrow. +You must act slowly and prudently; it would be necessary to know +where the daughter is before you endeavour to make the father forgive +her." + +M. Barbaro very nearly made me drop my serious countenance by telling +me that if I would try my oracle I could let them know at once where +the girl was. I answered that I would certainly ask my spirit on the +morrow, thus gaining time in order to ascertain before hand the +disposition of the father and of his son. But I could not help +laughing, for I had placed myself under the necessity of sending +Steffani to the next world, if the reputation of my oracle was to be +maintained. + +I spent the evening with the young countess, who entertained no doubt +either of her father's indulgence or of the entire confidence she +could repose in me. + +What delight the charming girl experienced when she heard that I +would dine the next day with her father and brother, and that I would +tell her every word that would be said about her! But what happiness +it was for me to see her convinced that she was right in loving me, +and that, without me, she would certainly have been lost in a town +where the policy of the government tolerates debauchery as a solitary +species of individual freedom. We congratulated each other upon our +fortuitous meeting and upon the conformity in our tastes, which we +thought truly wonderful. We were greatly pleased that her easy +acceptance of my invitation, or my promptness in persuading her to +follow and to trust me, could not be ascribed to the mutual +attraction of our features, for I was masked, and her hood was then +as good as a mask. We entertained no doubt that everything had been +arranged by Heaven to get us acquainted, and to fire us both, even +unknown to ourselves, with love for each other. + +"Confess," I said to her, in a moment of enthusiasm, and as I was +covering her hand with kisses, "confess that if you found me to be in +love with you you would fear me." + +"Alas! my only fear is to lose you." + +That confession, the truth of which was made evident by her voice and +by her looks, proved the electric spark which ignited the latent +fire. Folding her rapidly in my arms, pressing my mouth on her lips, +reading in her beautiful eyes neither a proud indignation nor the +cold compliance which might have been the result of a fear of losing +me, I gave way entirely to the sweet inclination of love, and +swimming already in a sea of delights I felt my enjoyment increased a +hundredfold when I saw, on the countenance of the beloved creature +who shared it, the expression of happiness, of love, of modesty, and +of sensibility, which enhances the charm of the greatest triumph. + +She had scarcely recovered her composure when she cast her eyes down +and sighed deeply. Thinking that I knew the cause of it, I threw +myself on my knees before her, and speaking to her words of the +warmest affection I begged, I entreated her, to forgive me. + +"What offence have I to forgive you for, dear friend? You have not +rightly interpreted my thoughts. Your love caused me to think of my +happiness, and in that moment a cruel recollection drew that sigh +from me. Pray rise from your knees." + +Midnight had struck already; I told her that her good fame made it +necessary for me to go away; I put my mask on and left the house. I +was so surprised, so amazed at having obtained a felicity of which I +did not think myself worthy, that my departure must have appeared +rather abrupt to her. I could not sleep. I passed one of those +disturbed nights during which the imagination of an amorous young man +is unceasingly running after the shadows of reality. I had tasted, +but not savoured, that happy reality, and all my being was longing +for her who alone could make my enjoyment complete. In that +nocturnal drama love and imagination were the two principal actors; +hope, in the background, performed only a dumb part. People may say +what they please on that subject but hope is in fact nothing but a +deceitful flatterer accepted by reason only because it is often in +need of palliatives. Happy are those men who, to enjoy life to the +fullest extent, require neither hope nor foresight. + +In the morning, recollecting the sentence of death which I had passed +on Steffani, I felt somewhat embarrassed about it. I wished I could +have recalled it, as well for the honour of my oracle, which was +seriously implicated by it, as for the sake of Steffani himself, whom +I did not hate half so much since I was indebted to him for the +treasure in my possession. + +The count and his son came to dinner. The father was simple, +artless, and unceremonious. It was easy to read on his countenance +the grief he felt at the unpleasant adventure of his daughter, and +his anxiety to settle the affair honourably, but no anger could be +traced on his features or in his manners. The son, as handsome as +the god of love, had wit and great nobility of manner. His easy, +unaffected carriage pleased me, and wishing to win his friendship I +shewed him every attention. + +After the dessert, M. Barbaro contrived to persuade the count that we +were four persons with but one head and one heart, and the worthy +nobleman spoke to us without any reserve. He praised his daughter +very highly. He assured us that Steffani had never entered his +house, and therefore he could not conceive by what spell, speaking to +his daughter only at night and from the street under the window, he +had succeeded in seducing her to such an extent as to make her leave +her home alone, on foot, two days after he had left himself in his +post-chaise. + +"Then," observed M. Barbaro, "it is impossible to be certain that he +actually seduced her, or to prove that she went off with him." + +"Very true, sir, but although it cannot be proved, there is no doubt +of it, and now that no one knows where Steffani is, he can be nowhere +but with her. I only want him to marry her." + +"It strikes me that it would be better not to insist upon a +compulsory marriage which would seal your daughter's misery, for +Steffani is, in every respect, one of the most worthless young men we +have amongst our government clerks." + +"Were I in your place," said M. de Bragadin, "I would let my +daughter's repentance disarm my anger, and I would forgive her." + +"Where is she? I am ready to fold her in my arms, but how can I +believe in her repentance when it is evident that she is still with +him." + +"Is it quite certain that in leaving C---- she proceeded to this +city?" + +"I have it from the master of the barge himself, and she landed +within twenty yards of the Roman gate. An individual wearing a mask +was waiting for her, joined her at once, and they both disappeared +without leaving any trace of their whereabouts." + +"Very likely it was Steffani waiting there for her." + +"No, for he is short, and the man with the mask was tall. Besides, I +have heard that Steffani had left Venice two days before the arrival +of my daughter. The man must have been some friend of Steffani, and +he has taken her to him." + +"But, my dear count, all this is mere supposition." + +"There are four persons who have seen the man with the mask, and +pretend to know him, only they do not agree. Here is a list of four +names, and I will accuse these four persons before the Council of +Ten, if Steffani should deny having my daughter in his possession." + +The list, which he handed to M. Barbaro, gave not only the names of +the four accused persons, but likewise those of their accusers. The +last name, which M. Barbaro read, was mine. When I heard it, I +shrugged my shoulders in a manner which caused the three friends to +laugh heartily. + +M. de Bragadin, seeing the surprise of the count at such uncalled- +for mirth, said to him, + +"This is Casanova my son, and I give you my word of honour that, if +your daughter is in his hands, she is perfectly safe, although he may +not look exactly the sort of man to whom young girls should be +trusted." + +The surprise, the amazement, and the perplexity of the count and his +son were an amusing picture. The loving father begged me to excuse +him, with tears in his eyes, telling me to place myself in his +position. My only answer was to embrace him most affectionately. + +The man who had recognized me was a noted pimp whom I had thrashed +some time before for having deceived me. If I had not been there +just in time to take care of the young countess, she would not have +escaped him, and he would have ruined her for ever by taking her to +some house of ill-fame. + +The result of the meeting was that the count agreed to postpone his +application to the Council of Ten until Steffani's place of refuge +should be discovered. + +"I have not seen Steffani for six months, sir," I said to the count, +"but I promise you to kill him in a duel as soon as he returns." + +"You shall not do it," answered the young count, very coolly, "unless +he kills me first." + +"Gentlemen," exclaimed M. de Bragadin, "I can assure you that you +will neither of you fight a duel with him, for Steffani is dead." + +"Dead!" said the count. + +"We must not," observed the prudent Barbaro, "take that word in its +literal sense, but the wretched man is dead to all honour and self- +respect." + +After that truly dramatic scene, during which I could guess that the +denouement of the play was near at hand, I went to my charming +countess, taking care to change my gondola three times--a necessary +precaution to baffle spies. + +I gave my anxious mistress an exact account of all the conversation. +She was very impatient for my coming, and wept tears of joy when I +repeated her father's words of forgiveness; but when I told her that +nobody knew of Steffani having entered her chamber, she fell on her +knees and thanked God. I then repeated her brother's words, +imitating his coolness: "You shall not kill him, unless he kills me +first." She kissed me tenderly, calling me her guardian angel, her +saviour, and weeping in my arms. I promised to bring her brother on +the following day, or the day after that at the latest. We had our +supper, but we did not talk of Steffani, or of revenge, and after +that pleasant meal we devoted two hours to the worship of the god of +love. + +I left her at midnight, promising to return early in the morning--my +reason for not remaining all night with her was that the landlady +might, if necessary, swear without scruple that I had never spent a +night with the young girl. It proved a very lucky inspiration of +mine, for, when I arrived home, I found the three friends waiting +impatiently for me in order to impart to me wonderful news which M. +de Bragadin had heard at the sitting of the senate. + +"Steffani," said M. de Bragadin to me, "is dead, as our angel +Paralis revealed it to us; he is dead to the world, for he has become +a Capuchin friar. The senate, as a matter of course, has been +informed of it. We alone are aware that it is a punishment which God +has visited upon him. Let us worship the Author of all things, and +the heavenly hierarchy which renders us worthy of knowing what +remains a mystery to all men. Now we must achieve our undertaking, +and console the poor father. We must enquire from Paralis where the +girl is. She cannot now be with Steffani. Of course, God has not +condemned her to become a Capuchin nun." + +"I need not consult my angel, dearest father, for it is by his +express orders that I have been compelled until now to make a mystery +of the refuge found by the young countess." + +I related the whole story, except what they had no business to know, +for, in the opinion of the worthy men, who had paid heavy tribute to +Love, all intrigues were fearful crimes. M. Dandolo and M. Barbaro +expressed their surprise when they heard that the young girl had been +under my protection for a fortnight, but M. de Bragadin said that he +was not astonished, that it was according to cabalistic science, and +that he knew it. + +"We must only," he added, "keep up the mystery of his daughter's +place of refuge for the count, until we know for a certainty that he +will forgive her, and that he will take her with him to C----, or to +any other place where he may wish to live hereafter." + +"He cannot refuse to forgive her," I said, "when he finds that the +amiable girl would never have left C---- if her seducer had not given +her this promise of marriage in his own handwriting. She walked as +far as the barge, and she landed at the very moment I was passing the +Roman gate. An inspiration from above told me to accost her and to +invite her to follow me. She obeyed, as if she was fulfilling the +decree of Heaven, I took her to a refuge impossible to discover, and +placed her under the care of a God-fearing woman." + +My three friends listened to me so attentively that they looked like +three statues. I advised them to invite the count to dinner for the +day after next, because I needed some time to consult 'Paralis de +modo tenendi'. I then told M. Barbaro to let the count know in what +sense he was to understand Steffani's death. He undertook to do it, +and we retired to rest. + +I slept only four or five hours, and, dressing myself quickly, +hurried to my beloved mistress. I told the widow not to serve the +coffee until we called for it, because we wanted to remain quiet and +undisturbed for some hours, having several important letters to +write. + +I found the lovely countess in bed, but awake, and her eyes beaming +with happiness and contentment. For a fortnight I had only seen her +sad, melancholy, and thoughtful. Her pleased countenance, which I +naturally ascribed to my influence, filled me with joy. We commenced +as all happy lovers always do, and we were both unsparing of the +mutual proofs of our love, tenderness, and gratitude. + +After our delightful amorous sport, I told her the news, but love had +so completely taken possession of her pure and sensitive soul, that +what had been important was now only an accessory. But the news of +her seducer having turned a Capuchin friar filled her with amazement, +and, passing very sensible remarks on the extraordinary event, she +pitied Steffani. When we can feel pity, we love no longer, but a +feeling of pity succeeding love is the characteristic only of a great +and generous mind. She was much pleased with me for having informed +my three friends of her being under my protection, and she left to my +care all the necessary arrangements for obtaining a reconciliation +with her father. + +Now and then we recollected that the time of our separation was near +at hand, our grief was bitter, but we contrived to forget it in the +ecstacy of our amorous enjoyment. + +"Ah! why can we not belong for ever to each other?" the charming girl +would exclaim. "It is not my acquaintance with Steffani, it is your +loss which will seal my eternal misery." + +But it was necessary to bring our delightful interview to a close, +for the hours were flying with fearful rapidity. I left her happy, +her eyes wet with tears of intense felicity. + +At the dinner-table M. Barbaro told me that he had paid a visit to +his relative, Steffani's mother, and that she had not appeared sorry +at the decision taken by her son, although he was her only child. + +"He had the choice," she said, "between killing himself and turning +friar, and he took the wiser course." + +The woman spoke like a good Christian, and she professed to be one; +but she spoke like an unfeeling mother, and she was truly one, for +she was wealthy, and if she had not been cruelly avaricious her son +would not have been reduced to the fearful alternative of committing +suicide or of becoming a Capuchin friar. + +The last and most serious motive which caused the despair of +Steffani, who is still alive, remained a mystery for everybody. My +Memoirs will raise the veil when no one will care anything about it. + +The count and his son were, of course, greatly surprised, and the +event made them still more desirous of discovering the young lady. +In order to obtain a clue to her place of refuge, the count had +resolved on summoning before the Council of Ten all the parties, +accused and accusing, whose names he had on his list, with the +exception of myself. His determination made it necessary for us to +inform him that his daughter was in my hands, and M. de Bragadin +undertook to let him know the truth. + +We were all invited to supper by the count, and we went to his +hostelry, with the exception of M. de Bragadin, who had declined the +invitation. I was thus prevented from seeing my divinity that +evening, but early the next morning I made up for lost time, and as +it had been decided that her father would on that very day be +informed of her being under my care, we remained together until noon. +We had no hope of contriving another meeting, for I had promised to +bring her brother in the afternoon. + +The count and his son dined with us, and after dinner M. de Bragadin +said, + +"I have joyful news for you, count; your beloved daughter has been +found!" + +What an agreeable surprise for the father and son! M. de Bragadin +handed them the promise of marriage written by Steffani, and said, + +"This, gentlemen, evidently brought your lovely young lady to the +verge of madness when she found that he had gone from C---- without +her. She left your house alone on foot, and as she landed in Venice +Providence threw her in the way of this young man, who induced her to +follow him, and has placed her under the care of an honest woman, +whom she has not left since, whom she will leave only to fall in your +arms as soon as she is certain of your forgiveness for the folly she +has committed." + +"Oh! let her have no doubt of my forgiving her," exclaimed the +father, in the ecstacy of joy, and turning to me, "Dear sir, I beg of +you not to delay the fortunate moment on which the whole happiness of +my life depends." + +I embraced him warmly, saying that his daughter would be restored to +him on the following day, and that I would let his son see her that +very afternoon, so as to give him an opportunity of preparing her by +degrees for that happy reconciliation. M. Barbaro desired to +accompany us, and the young man, approving all my arrangements, +embraced me, swearing everlasting friendship and gratitude. + +We went out all three together, and a gondola carried us in a few +minutes to the place where I was guarding a treasure more precious +than the golden apples of the Hesperides. But, alas! I was on the +point of losing that treasure, the remembrance of which causes me, +even now, a delicious trembling. + +I preceded my two companions in order to prepare my lovely young +friend for the visit, and when I told her that, according to my +arrangements, her father would not see her till on the following day: + +"Ah!" she exclaimed with the accent of true happiness, "then we can +spend a few more hours together! Go, dearest, go and bring my +brother." + +I returned with my companions, but how can I paint that truly +dramatic situation? Oh! how inferior art must ever be to nature! +The fraternal love, the delight beaming upon those two beautiful +faces, with a slight shade of confusion on that of the sister, the +pure joy shining in the midst of their tender caresses, the most +eloquent exclamations followed by a still more eloquent silence, +their loving looks which seem like flashes of lightning in the midst +of a dew of tears, a thought of politeness which brings blushes on +her countenance, when she recollects that she has forgotten her duty +towards a nobleman whom she sees for the first time, and finally +there was my part, not a speaking one, but yet the most important of +all. The whole formed a living picture to which the most skilful +painter could not have rendered full justice. + +We sat down at last, the young countess between her brother and M. +Barbaro, on the sofa, I, opposite to her, on a low foot-stool. + +"To whom, dear sister, are we indebted for the happiness of having +found you again?" + +"To my guardian angel," she answered, giving me her hand, "to this +generous man who was waiting for me, as if Heaven had sent him with +the special mission of watching over your sister; it is he who has +saved me, who has prevented me from falling into the gulf which +yawned under my feet, who has rescued me from the shame threatening +me, of which I had then no conception; it is to him I am indebted for +all, to him who, as you see, kisses my hand now for the first time." + +And she pressed her handkerchief to her beautiful eyes to dry her +tears, but ours were flowing at the same time. + +Such is true virtue, which never loses its nobleness, even when +modesty compels it to utter some innocent falsehood. But the +charming girl had no idea of being guilty of an untruth. It was a +pure, virtuous soul which was then speaking through her lips, and she +allowed it to speak. Her virtue seemed to whisper to her that, in +spite of her errors, it had never deserted her. A young girl who +gives way to a real feeling of love cannot be guilty of a crime, or +be exposed to remorse. + +Towards the end of our friendly visit, she said that she longed to +throw herself at her father's feet, but that she wished to see him +only in the evening, so as not to give any opportunity to the gossips +of the place, and it was agreed that the meeting, which was to be the +last scene of the drama, should take place the next day towards the +evening. + +We returned to the count's hostelry for supper, and the excellent +man, fully persuaded that he was indebted to me for his honour as +well as for his daughter's, looked at me with admiration, and spoke +to me with gratitude. Yet he was not sorry to have ascertained +himself, and before I had said so, that I had been the first man who +had spoken to her after landing. Before parting in the evening, M. +Barbaro invited them to dinner for the next day. + +I went to my charming mistress very early the following morning, and, +although there was some danger in protracting our interview, we did +not give it a thought, or, if we did, it only caused us to make good +use of the short time that we could still devote to love. + +After having enjoyed, until our strength was almost expiring, the +most delightful, the most intense voluptuousness in which mutual +ardour can enfold two young, vigorous, and passionate lovers, the +young countess dressed herself, and, kissing her slippers, said she +would never part with them as long as she lived. I asked her to give +me a lock of her hair, which she did at once. I meant to have it +made into a chain like the one woven with the hair of Madame F----, +which I still wore round my neck. + +Towards dusk, the count and his son, M. Dandolo, M. Barbaro, and +myself, proceeded together to the abode of the young countess. The +moment she saw her father, she threw herself on her knees before him, +but the count, bursting into tears, took her in his arms, covered her +with kisses, and breathed over her words of forgiveness, of love and +blessing. What a scene for a man of sensibility! An hour later we +escorted the family to the inn, and, after wishing them a pleasant +journey, I went back with my two friends to M. de Bragadin, to whom I +gave a faithful account of what had taken place. + +We thought that they had left Venice, but the next morning they +called at the place in a peotta with six rowers. The count said that +they could not leave the city without seeing us once more; without +thanking us again, and me particularly, for all we had done for them. +M. de Bragadin, who had not seen the young countess before, was +struck by her extraordinary likeness to her brother. + +They partook of some refreshments, and embarked in their peotta, +which was to carry them, in twenty-four hours, to Ponte di Lago +Oscuro, on the River Po, near the frontiers of the papal states. It +was only with my eyes that I could express to the lovely girl all the +feelings which filled my heart, but she understood the language, and +I had no difficulty in interpreting the meaning of her looks. + +Never did an introduction occur in better season than that of the +count to M. Barbaro. It saved the honour of a respectable family; +and it saved me from the unpleasant consequences of an interrogatory +in the presence of the Council of Ten, during which I should have +been convicted of having taken the young girl with me, and compelled +to say what I had done with her. + +A few days afterwards we all proceeded to Padua to remain in that +city until the end of autumn. I was grieved not to find Doctor Gozzi +in Padua; he had been appointed to a benefice in the country, and he +was living there with Bettina; she had not been able to remain with +the scoundrel who had married her only for the sake of her small +dowry, and had treated her very ill. + +I did not like the quiet life of Padua, and to avoid dying from ennui +I fell in love with a celebrated Venetian courtesan. Her name was +Ancilla; sometime after, the well-known dancer, Campioni, married her +and took her to London, where she caused the death of a very worthy +Englishman. I shall have to mention her again in four years; now I +have only to speak of a certain circumstance which brought my love +adventure with her to a close after three or four weeks. + +Count Medini, a young, thoughtless fellow like myself, and with +inclinations of much the same cast, had introduced me to Ancilla. +The count was a confirmed gambler and a thorough enemy of fortune. +There was a good deal of gambling going on at Ancilla's, whose +favourite lover he was, and the fellow had presented me to his +mistress only to give her the opportunity of making a dupe of me at +the card-table. + +And, to tell the truth, I was a dupe at first; not thinking of any +foul play, I accepted ill luck without complaining; but one day I +caught them cheating. I took a pistol out of my pocket, and, aiming +at Medini's breast, I threatened to kill him on the spot unless he +refunded at once all the gold they had won from me. Ancilla fainted +away, and the count, after refunding the money, challenged me to +follow him out and measure swords. I placed my pistols on the table, +and we went out. Reaching a convenient spot, we fought by the bright +light of the moon, and I was fortunate enough to give him a gash +across the shoulder. He could not move his arm, and he had to cry +for mercy. + +After that meeting, I went to bed and slept quietly, but in the +morning I related the whole affair to my father, and he advised me to +leave Padua immediately, which I did. + +Count Medini remained my enemy through all his life. I shall have +occasion to speak of him again when I reach Naples. + +The remainder of the year 1746 passed off quietly, without any events +of importance. Fortune was now favourable to me and now adverse. + +Towards the end of January, 1747, I received a letter from the young +countess A---- S----, who had married the Marquis of ---- . She +entreated me not to appear to know her, if by chance I visited the +town in which she resided, for she had the happiness of having linked +her destiny to that of a man who had won her heart after he had +obtained her hand. + +I had already heard from her brother that, after their return to +C----, her mother had taken her to the city from which her letter was +written, and there, in the house of a relative with whom she was +residing, she had made the acquaintance of the man who had taken upon +himself the charge of her future welfare and happiness. I saw her +one year afterwards, and if it had not been for her letter, I should +certainly have solicited an introduction to her husband. Yet, peace +of mind has greater charms even than love; but, when love is in the +way, we do not think so. + +For a fortnight I was the lover of a young Venetian girl, very +handsome, whom her father, a certain Ramon, exposed to public +admiration as a dancer at the theatre. I might have remained longer +her captive, if marriage had not forcibly broken my chains. Her +protectress, Madame Cecilia Valmarano, found her a very proper +husband in the person of a French dancer, called Binet, who had +assumed the name of Binetti, and thus his young wife had not to +become a French woman; she soon won great fame in more ways than one. +She was strangely privileged; time with its heavy hand seemed to have +no power over her. She always appeared young, even in the eyes of +the best judges of faded, bygone female beauty. Men, as a general +rule, do not ask for anything more, and they are right in not racking +their brain for the sake of being convinced that they are the dupes +of external appearance. The last lover that the wonderful Binetti +killed by excess of amorous enjoyment was a certain Mosciuski, a +Pole, whom fate brought to Venice seven or eight years ago; she had +then reached her sixty-third year! + +My life in Venice would have been pleasant and happy, if I could have +abstained from punting at basset. The ridotti were only open to +noblemen who had to appear without masks, in their patrician robes, +and wearing the immense wig which had become indispensable since the +beginning of the century. I would play, and I was wrong, for I had +neither prudence enough to leave off when fortune was adverse, nor +sufficient control over myself to stop when I had won. I was then +gambling through a feeling of avarice. I was extravagant by taste, +and I always regretted the money I had spent, unless it had been won +at the gaming-table, for it was only in that case that the money had, +in my opinion, cost me nothing. + +At the end of January, finding myself under the necessity of +procuring two hundred sequins, Madame Manzoni contrived to obtain for +me from another woman the loan of a diamond ring worth five hundred. +I made up my mind to go to Treviso, fifteen miles distant from +Venice, to pawn the ring at the Mont-de-piete, which there lends +money upon valuables at the rate of five per cent. That useful +establishment does not exist in Venice, where the Jews have always +managed to keep the monopoly in their hands. + +I got up early one morning, and walked to the end of the canale +regio, intending to engage a gondola to take me as far as Mestra, +where I could take post horses, reach Treviso in less than two hours, +pledge my diamond ring, and return to Venice the same evening. + +As I passed along St. Job's Quay, I saw in a two-oared gondola a +country girl beautifully dressed. I stopped to look at her; the +gondoliers, supposing that I wanted an opportunity of reaching Mestra +at a cheap rate, rowed back to the shore. + +Observing the lovely face of the young girl, I do not hesitate, but +jump into the gondola, and pay double fare, on condition that no more +passengers are taken. An elderly priest was seated near the young +girl, he rises to let me take his place, but I politely insist upon +his keeping it. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +I Fall in Love with Christine, and Find a Husband Worthy of Her-- +Christine's Wedding + + +"Those gondoliers," said the elderly priest, ad dressing me in order +to begin the conversation, "are very fortunate. They took us up at +the Rialto for thirty soldi, on condition that they would be allowed +to embark other passengers, and here is one already; they will +certainly find more." + +"When I am in a gondola, reverend sir, there is no room left for any +more passengers." + +So saying, I give forty more soldi to the gondoliers, who, highly +pleased with my generosity, thank me and call me excellency. The +good priest, accepting that title as truly belonging to me, entreats +my pardon for not having addressed me as such. + +"I am not a Venetian nobleman, reverend sir, and I have no right to +the title of Excellenza." + +"Ah!" says the young lady, "I am very glad of it." + +"Why so, signora?" + +"Because when I find myself near a nobleman I am afraid. But I +suppose that you are an illustrissimo." + +"Not even that, signora; I am only an advocate's clerk." + +"So much the better, for I like to be in the company of persons who +do not think themselves above me. My father was a farmer, brother of +my uncle here, rector of P----, where I was born and bred. As I am +an only daughter I inherited my father's property after his death, +and I shall likewise be heiress to my mother, who has been ill a long +time and cannot live much longer, which causes me a great deal of +sorrow; but it is the doctor who says it. Now, to return to my +subject, I do not suppose that there is much difference between an +advocate's clerk and the daughter of a rich farmer. I only say so +for the sake of saying something, for I know very well that, in +travelling, one must accept all sorts of companions: is it not so, +uncle?" + +"Yes, my dear Christine, and as a proof you see that this gentleman +has accepted our company without knowing who or what we are." + +"But do you think I would have come if I had not been attracted by +the beauty of your lovely niece?" + +At these words the good people burst out laughing. As I did not +think that there was anything very comic in what I had said, I judged +that my travelling companions were rather simple, and I was not sorry +to find them so. + +"Why do you laugh so heartily, beautiful 'demigella'? Is it to shew +me your fine teeth? I confess that I have never seen such a splendid +set in Venice." + +"Oh! it is not for that, sir, although everyone in Venice has paid me +the same compliment. I can assure you that in P---- all the 'girls +have teeth as fine as mine. Is it not a fact, uncle?" + +"Yes, my dear niece." + +"I was laughing, sir, at a thing which I will never tell you." + +"Oh! tell me, I entreat you." + +"Oh! certainly not, never." + +"I will tell you myself," says the curate. + +"You will not," she exclaims, knitting her beautiful eyebrows. "If +you do I will go away." + +"I defy you to do it, my dear. Do you know what she said, sir, when +she saw you on the wharf? 'Here is a very handsome young man who is +looking at me, and would not be sorry to be with us.' And when she +saw that the gondoliers were putting back for you to embark she was +delighted." + +While the uncle was speaking to me, the indignant niece was slapping +him on the shoulder. + +"Why are you angry, lovely Christine, at my hearing that you liked my +appearance, when I am so glad to let you know how truly charming I +think you?" + +"You are glad for a moment. Oh! I know the Venetians thoroughly now. +They have all told me that they were charmed with me, and not one of +those I would have liked ever made a declaration to me." + +"What sort of declaration did you want?" + +"There's only one sort for me, sir; the declaration leading to a good +marriage in church, in the sight of all men. Yet we remained a +fortnight in Venice; did we not, uncle?" + +"This girl," said the uncle, "is a good match, for she possesses +three thousand crowns. She has always said that she would marry only +a Venetian, and I have accompanied her to Venice to give her an +opportunity of being known. A worthy woman gave us hospitality for a +fortnight, and has presented my niece in several houses where she +made the acquaintance of marriageable young men, but those who +pleased her would not hear of marriage, and those who would have been +glad to marry her did not take her fancy." + +"But do you imagine, reverend sir, that marriages can be made like +omelets? A fortnight in Venice, that is nothing; you ought to live +there at least six months. Now, for instance, I think your niece +sweetly pretty, and I should consider myself fortunate if the wife +whom God intends for me were like her, but, even if she offered me +now a dowry of fifty thousand crowns on condition that our wedding +takes place immediately, I would refuse her. A prudent young man +wants to know the character of a girl before he marries her, for it +is neither money nor beauty which can ensure happiness in married +life." + +"What do you mean by character?" asked Christine; "is it a beautiful +hand-writing?" + +"No, my dear. I mean the qualities of the mind and the heart. I +shall most likely get married sometime, and I have been looking for a +wife for the last three years, but I am still looking in vain. I +have known several young girls almost as lovely as you are, and all +with a good marriage portion, but after an acquaintance of two or +three months I found out that they could not make me happy." + +"In what were they deficient?" + +"Well, I will tell you, because you are not acquainted with them, and +there can be no indiscretion on my part. One whom I certainly would +have married, for I loved her dearly, was extremely vain. She would +have ruined me in fashionable clothes and by her love for luxuries. +Fancy! she was in the habit of paying one sequin every month to the +hair-dresser, and as much at least for pomatum and perfumes." + +"She was a giddy, foolish girl. Now, I spend only ten soldi in one +year on wax which I mix with goat's grease, and there I have an +excellent pomatum." + +"Another, whom I would have married two years ago, laboured under a +disease which would have made me unhappy; as soon as I knew of it, I +ceased my visits." + +"What disease was it?" + +"A disease which would have prevented her from being a mother, and, +if I get married, I wish to have children." + +"All that is in God's hands, but I know that my health is excellent. +Is it not, uncle?" + +"Another was too devout, and that does not suit me. She was so over- +scrupulous that she was in the habit of going to her confessor twice +a week, and every time her confession lasted at least one hour. I +want my wife to be a good Christian, but not bigoted." + +"She must have been a great sinner, or else she was very foolish. I +confess only once a month, and get through everything in two minutes. +Is it not true, uncle? and if you were to ask me any questions, +uncle, I should not know what more to say." + +"One young lady thought herself more learned than I, although she +would, every minute, utter some absurdity. Another was always low- +spirited, and my wife must be cheerful." + +"Hark to that, uncle! You and my mother are always chiding me for my +cheerfulness." + +"Another, whom I did not court long, was always afraid of being alone +with me, and if I gave her a kiss she would run and tell her mother." + +"How silly she must have been! I have never yet listened to a lover, +for we have only rude peasants in P----, but I know very well that +there are some things which I would not tell my mother." + +"One had a rank breath; another painted her face, and, indeed, almost +every young girl is guilty of that fault. I am afraid marriage is +out of the question for me, because I want, for instance, my wife to +have black eyes, and in our days almost every woman colours them by +art; but I cannot be deceived, for I am a good judge." + +"Are mine black?" + +"You are laughing?" + +"I laugh because your eyes certainly appear to be black, but they are +not so in reality. Never mind, you are very charming in spite of +that." + +"Now, that is amusing. You pretend to be a good judge, yet you say +that my eyes are dyed black. My eyes, sir, whether beautiful or +ugly, are now the same as God made them. Is it not so, uncle?" + +"I never had any doubt of it, my dear niece." + +"And you do not believe me, sir?" + +"No, they are too beautiful for me to believe them natural." + +"Oh, dear me! I cannot bear it." + +"Excuse me, my lovely damigella, I am afraid I have been too +sincere." + +After that quarrel we remained silent. The good curate smiled now +and then, but his niece found it very hard to keep down her sorrow. + +At intervals I stole a look at her face, and could see that she was +very near crying. I felt sorry, for she was a charming girl. In her +hair, dressed in the fashion of wealthy countrywomen, she had more +than one hundred sequins' worth of gold pins and arrows which +fastened the plaits of her long locks as dark as ebony. Heavy gold +ear-rings, and a long chain, which was wound twenty times round her +snowy neck, made a fine contrast to her complexion, on which the +lilies and the roses were admirably blended. It was the first time +that I had seen a country beauty in such splendid apparel. Six years +before, Lucie at Pasean had captivated me, but in a different manner. + +Christine did not utter a single word, she was in despair, for her +eyes were truly of the greatest beauty, and I was cruel enough to +attack them. She evidently hated me, and her anger alone kept back +her tears. Yet I would not undeceive her, for I wanted her to bring +matters to a climax. + +When the gondola had entered the long canal of Marghera, I asked the +clergyman whether he had a carriage to go to Treviso, through which +place he had to pass to reach P----. + +"I intended to walk," said the worthy man, "for my parish is poor and +I am the same, but I will try to obtain a place for Christine in some +carriage travelling that way." + +"You would confer a real kindness on me if you would both accept a +seat in my chaise; it holds four persons, and there is plenty of +room." + +"It is a good fortune which we were far from expecting" + +"Not at all, uncle; I will not go with this gentleman." + +"Why not, my dear niece?" + +"Because I will not." + +"Such is the way," I remarked, without looking at her, "that +sincerity is generally rewarded." + +"Sincerity, sir! nothing of the sort," she exclaimed, angrily, "it is +sheer wickedness. There can be no true black eyes now for you in the +world, but, as you like them, I am very glad of it." + +"You are mistaken, lovely Christine, for I have the means of +ascertaining the truth." + +"What means?" + +"Only to wash the eyes with a little lukewarm rose-water; or if the +lady cries, the artificial colour is certain to be washed off." + +At those words, the scene changed as if by the wand of a conjuror. +The face of the charming girl, which had expressed nothing but +indignation, spite and disdain, took an air of contentment and of +placidity delightful to witness. She smiled at her uncle who was +much pleased with the change in her countenance, for the offer of the +carriage had gone to his heart. + +"Now you had better cry a little, my dear niece, and 'il signore' +will render full justice to your eyes." + +Christine cried in reality, but it was immoderate laughter that made +her tears flow. + +That species of natural originality pleased me greatly, and as we +were going up the steps at the landing-place, I offered her my full +apologies; she accepted the carriage. I ordered breakfast, and told +a 'vetturino' to get a very handsome chaise ready while we had our +meal, but the curate said that he must first of all go and say his +mass. + +"Very well, reverend sir, we will hear it, and you must say it for my +intention." + +I put a silver ducat in his hand. + +"It is what I am in the habit of giving," I observed. + +My generosity surprised him so much that he wanted to kiss my hand. +We proceeded towards the church, and I offered my arm to the niece +who, not knowing whether she ought to accept it or not, said to me, + +"Do you suppose that I cannot walk alone?" + +"I have no such idea, but if I do not give you my arm, people will +think me wanting in politeness." + +"Well, I will take it. But now that I have your arm, what will +people think?" + +"Perhaps that we love each other and that we make a very nice +couple." + +"And if anyone should inform your mistress that we are in love with +each other, or even that you have given your arm to a young girl?" + +"I have no mistress, and I shall have none in future, because I could +not find a girl as pretty as you in all Venice." + +"I am very sorry for you, for we cannot go again to Venice; and even +if we could, how could we remain there six months? You said that six +months were necessary to know a girl well." + +"I would willingly defray all your expenses." + +"Indeed? Then say so to my uncle, and he will think it over, for I +could not go alone." + +"In six months you would know me likewise." + +"Oh! I know-you very well already." + +"Could you accept a man like me?" + +"Why not?" + +"And will you love me?" + +"Yes, very much, when you are my husband." + +I looked at the young girl with astonishment. She seemed to me a +princess in the disguise of a peasant girl. Her dress, made of 'gros +de Tours' and all embroidered in gold, was very handsome, and cost +certainly twice as much as the finest dress of a Venetian lady. Her +bracelets, matching the neckchain, completed her rich toilet. She +had the figure of a nymph, and the new fashion of wearing a mantle +not having yet reached her village, I could see the most magnificent +bosom, although her dress was fastened up to the neck. The end of +the richly-embroidered skirt did not go lower than the ankles, which +allowed me to admire the neatest little foot and the lower part of an +exquisitely moulded leg. Her firm and easy walk, the natural freedom +of all her movements, a charming look which seemed to say, "I am very +glad that you think me pretty," everything, in short, caused the +ardent fire of amorous desires to circulate through my veins. I +could not conceive how such a lovely girl could have spent a +fortnight in Venice without finding a man to marry or to deceive her. +I was particularly delighted with her simple, artless way of talking, +which in the city might have been taken for silliness. + +Absorbed in my thoughts, and having resolved in my own mind on +rendering brilliant homage to her charms, I waited impatiently for +the end of the mass. + +After breakfast I had great difficulty in convincing the curate that +my seat in the carriage was the last one, but I found it easier to +persuade him on our arrival in Treviso to remain for dinner and for +supper at a small, unfrequented inn, as I took all the expense upon +myself. He accepted very willingly when I added that immediately +after supper a carriage would be in readiness to convey him to P----, +where he would arrive in an hour after a peasant journey by +moonlight. He had nothing to hurry him on, except his wish to say +mass in his own church the next morning. + +I ordered a fire and a good dinner, and the idea struck me that the +curate himself might pledge the ring for me, and thus give me the +opportunity of a short interview with his niece. I proposed it to +him, saying that I could not very well go myself, as I did not wish +to be known. He undertook the commission at once, expressing his +pleasure at doing something to oblige me. + +He left us, and I remained alone with Christine. I spent an hour +with her without trying to give her even a kiss, although I was dying +to do so, but I prepared her heart to burn with the same desires +which were already burning in me by those words which so easily +inflame the imagination of a young 'girl. + +The curate came back and returned me the ring, saying that it could +not be pledged until the day after the morrow, in consequence of the +Festival of the Holy Virgin. He had spoken to the cashier, who had +stated that if I liked the bank would lend double the sum I had +asked. + +"My dear sir," I said, "you would greatly oblige me if you would come +back here from P---- to pledge the ring yourself. Now that it has +been offered once by you, it might look very strange if it were +brought by another person. Of course I will pay all your expenses." + +"I promise you to come back." + +I hoped he would bring his niece with him. + +I was seated opposite to Christine during the dinner, and discovered +fresh charms in her every minute, but, fearing I might lose her +confidence if I tried to obtain some slight favour, I made up my mind +not to go to work too quickly, and to contrive that the curate should +take her again to Venice. I thought that there only I could manage +to bring love into play and to give it the food it requires. + +"Reverend sir," I said, "let me advise you to take your niece again +to Venice. I undertake to defray all expenses, and to find an honest +woman with whom your Christine will be as safe as with her own +mother. I want to know her well in order to make her my wife, and if +she comes to Venice our marriage is certain." + +"Sir, I will bring my niece myself to Venice as soon as you inform me +that you have found a worthy woman with whom I can leave her in +safety." + +While we were talking I kept looking at Christine, and I could see +her smile with contentment. + +"My dear Christine," I said, "within a week I shall have arranged the +affair. In the meantime, I will write to you. I hope that you have +no objection to correspond with me." + +"My uncle will write for me, for I have never been taught writing." + +"What, my dear child! you wish to become the wife of a Venetian, and +you cannot write." + +"Is it then necessary to know how to write in order to become a wife? +I can read well." + +"That is not enough, and although a girl can be a wife and a mother +without knowing how to trace one letter, it is generally admitted +that a young girl ought to be able to write. I wonder you never +learned." + +"There is no wonder in that, for not one girl in our village can do +it. Ask my uncle." + +"It is perfectly true, but there is not one who thinks of getting +married in Venice, and as you wish for a Venetian husband you must +learn." + +"Certainly," I said, "and before you come to Venice, for everybody +would laugh at you, if you could not write. I see that it makes you +sad, my dear, but it cannot be helped." + +"I am sad, because I cannot learn writing in a week." + +"I undertake," said her uncle, "to teach you in a fortnight, if you +will only practice diligently. You will then know enough to be able +to improve by your own exertions." + +"It is a great undertaking, but I accept it; I promise you to work +night and day, and to begin to-morrow." + +After dinner, I advised the priest not to leave that evening, to rest +during the night, and I observed that, by going away before day- +break, he would reach P---- in good time, and feel all the better for +it. I made the same proposal to him in the evening, and when he saw +that his niece was sleepy, he was easily persuaded to remain. I +called for the innkeeper, ordered a carriage for the clergyman, and +desired that a fire might be lit for me in the next room where I +would sleep, but the good priest said that it was unnecessary, +because there were two large beds in our room, that one would be for +me and the other for him and his niece. + +"We need not undress," he added, "as we mean to leave very early, but +you can take off your clothes, sir, because you are not going with +us, and you will like to remain in bed to-morrow morning." + +"Oh!" remarked Christine, "I must undress myself, otherwise I could +not sleep, but I only want a few minutes to get ready in the +morning." + +I said nothing, but I was amazed. Christine then, lovely and +charming enough to wreck the chastity of a Xenocrates, would sleep +naked with her uncle! True, he was old, devout, and without any of +the ideas which might render such a position dangerous, yet the +priest was a man, he had evidently felt like all men, and he ought to +have known the danger he was exposing himself to. My carnal- +mindedness could not realize such a state of innocence. But it was +truly innocent, so much so that he did it openly, and did not suppose +that anyone could see anything wrong in it. I saw it all plainly, +but I was not accustomed to such things, and felt lost in wonderment. +As I advanced in age and in experience, I have seen the same custom +established in many countries amongst honest people whose good morals +were in no way debased by it, but it was amongst good people, and I +do not pretend to belong to that worthy class. + +We had had no meat for dinner, and my delicate palate was not over- +satisfied. I went down to the kitchen myself, and I told the +landlady that I wanted the best that could be procured in Treviso for +supper, particularly in wines. + +"If you do not mind the expense, sir, trust to me, and I undertake to +please you. I will give you some Gatta wine." + +"All right, but let us have supper early." + +When I returned to our room, I found Christine caressing the cheeks +of her old uncle, who was laughing; the good man was seventy-five +years old. + +"Do you know what is the matter?" he said to me; "my niece is +caressing me because she wants me to leave her here until my return. +She tells me that you were like brother and sister during the hour +you have spent alone together this morning, and I believe it, but she +does not consider that she would be a great trouble to you." + +"Not at all, quite the reverse, she will afford me great pleasure, +for I think her very charming. As to our mutual behaviour, I believe +you can trust us both to do our duty." + +"I have no doubt of it. Well, I will leave her under your care until +the day after to-morrow. I will come back early in the morning so as +to attend to your business." + +This extraordinary and unexpected arrangement caused the blood to +rush to my head with such violence that my nose bled profusely for a +quarter of an hour. It did not frighten me, because I was used to +such accidents, but the good priest was in a great fright, thinking +that it was a serious haemorrhage. + +When I had allayed his anxiety, he left us on some business of his +own, saying that he would return at night-fall. I remained alone +with the charming, artless Christine, and lost no time in thanking +her for the confidence she placed in me. + +"I can assure you," she said, "that I wish you to have a thorough +knowledge of me; you will see that I have none of the faults which +have displeased you so much in the young ladies you have known in +Venice, and I promise to learn writing immediately." + +"You are charming and true; but you must be discreet in P----, and +confide to no one that we have entered into an agreement with each +other. You must act according to your uncle's instructions, for it +is to him that I intend to write to make all arrangements." + +"You may rely upon my discretion. I will not say anything even to my +mother, until you give me permission to do so." + +I passed the afternoon, in denying myself even the slightest +liberties with my lovely companion, but falling every minute deeper +in love with her. I told her a few love stories which I veiled +sufficiently not to shock her modesty. She felt interested, and I +could see that, although she did not always understand, she pretended +to do so, in order not to appear ignorant. + +When her uncle returned, I had arranged everything in my mind to make +her my wife, and I resolved on placing her, during her stay in +Venice, in the house of the same honest widow with whom I had found a +lodging for my beautiful Countess A---- S----. + +We had a delicious supper. I had to teach Christine how to eat +oysters and truffles, which she then saw for the first time. Gatta +wine is like champagne, it causes merriment without intoxicating, but +it cannot be kept for more than one year. We went to bed before +midnight, and it was broad daylight when I awoke. The curate had +left the room so quietly that I had not heard him. + +I looked towards the other bed, Christine was asleep. I wished her +good morning, she opened her eyes, and leaning on her elbow, she +smiled sweetly. + +"My uncle has gone. I did not hear him." + +"Dearest Christine, you are as lovely as one of God's angels. I have +a great longing to give you a kiss." + +"If you long for a kiss, my dear friend, come and give me one." + +I jump out of my bed, decency makes her hide her face. It was cold, +and I was in love. I find myself in her arms by one of those +spontaneous movements which sentiment alone can cause, and we belong +to each other without having thought of it, she happy and rather +confused, I delighted, yet unable to realize the truth of a victory +won without any contest. + +An hour passed in the midst of happiness, during which we forgot the +whole world. Calm followed the stormy gusts of passionate love, and +we gazed at each other without speaking. + +Christine was the first to break the silence + +"What have we done?" she said, softly and lovingly. + +"We have become husband and wife." + +"What will my uncle say to-morrow?" + +"He need not know anything about it until he gives us the nuptial +benediction in his own church." + +"And when will he do so?" + +"As soon as we have completed all the arrangements. necessary for a +public marriage." + +"How long will that be?" + +"About a month." + +"We cannot be married during Lent." + +"I will obtain permission." + +"You are not deceiving me?" + +"No, for I adore you." + +"Then, you no longer want to know me better?" + +"No; I know you thoroughly now, and I feel certain that you will make +me happy." + +"And will you make me happy, too?" + +"I hope so." + +"Let us get up and go to church. Who could have believed that, to +get a husband, it was necessary not to go to Venice, but to come back +from that city!" + +We got up, and, after partaking of some breakfast, we went to hear +mass. The morning passed off quickly, but towards dinner-time I +thought that Christine looked different to what she did the day +before, and I asked her the reason of that change. + +"It must be," she said, "the same reason which causes you to be +thoughtful." + +"An air of thoughtfulness, my dear, is proper to love when it finds +itself in consultation with honour. This affair has become serious, +and love is now compelled to think and consider. We want to be +married in the church, and we cannot do it before Lent, now that we +are in the last days of carnival; yet we cannot wait until Easter, it +would be too long. We must therefore obtain a dispensation in order +to be married. Have I not reason to be thoughtful?" + +Her only answer was to come and kiss me tenderly. I had spoken the +truth, yet I had not told her all my reasons for being so pensive. I +found myself drawn into an engagement which was not disagreeable to +me, but I wished it had not been so very pressing. I could not +conceal from myself that repentance was beginning to creep into my +amorous and well-disposed mind, and I was grieved at it. I felt +certain, however, that the charming girl would never have any cause +to reproach me for her misery. + +We had the whole evening before us, and as she had told me that she +had never gone to a theatre, I resolved on affording her that +pleasure. I sent for a Jew from whom I procured everything necessary +to disguise her, and we went to the theatre. A man in love enjoys no +pleasure but that which he gives to the woman he loves. After the +performance was over, I took her to the Casino, and her astonishment +made me laugh when she saw for the first time a faro bank. I had not +money enough to play myself, but I had more than enough to amuse her +and to let her play a reasonable game. I gave her ten sequins, and +explained what she had to do. She did not even know the cards, yet +in less than an hour she had won one hundred sequins. I made her +leave off playing, and we returned to the inn. When we were in our +room, I told her to see how much money she had, and when I assured +her that all that gold belonged to her, she thought it was a dream. + +"Oh! what will my uncle say?" she exclaimed. + +We had a light supper, and spent a delightful night, taking good care +to part by day-break, so as not to be caught in the same bed by the +worthy ecclesiastic. He arrived early and found us sleeping soundly +in our respective beds. He woke me, and I gave him the ring which he +went to pledge immediately. When he returned two hours later, he saw +us dressed and talking quietly near the fire. As soon as he came in, +Christine rushed to embrace him, and she shewed him all the gold she +had in her possession. What a pleasant surprise for the good old +priest! He did not know how to express his wonder! He thanked God +for what he called a miracle, and he concluded by saying that we were +made to insure each other's happiness. + +The time to part had come. I promised to pay them a visit in the +first days of Lent, but on condition that on my arrival in P---- I +would not find anyone informed of my name or of my concerns. The +curate gave me the certificate of birth of his niece and the account +of her possessions. As soon as they had gone I took my departure for +Venice, full of love for the charming girl, and determined on keeping +my engagement with her. I knew how easy it would be for me to +convince my three friends that my marriage had been irrevocably +written in the great book of fate. + +My return caused the greatest joy to the three excellent men, +because, not being accustomed to see me three days absent, M. +Dandolo and M. Barbaro were afraid of some accident having befallen +me; but M. de Bragadin's faith was stronger, and he allayed their +fears, saying to them that, with Paralis watching over me, I could +not be in any danger. + +The very next day I resolved on insuring Christine's happiness +without making her my wife. I had thought of marrying her when I +loved her better than myself, but after obtaining possession the +balance was so much on my side that my self-love proved stronger than +my love for Christine. I could not make up my mind to renounce the +advantages, the hopes which I thought were attached to my happy +independence. Yet I was the slave of sentiment. To abandon the +artless, innocent girl seemed to me an awful crime of which I could +not be guilty, and the mere idea of it made me shudder. I was aware +that she was, perhaps, bearing in her womb a living token of our +mutual love, and I shivered at the bare possibility that her +confidence in me might be repaid by shame and everlasting misery. + +I bethought myself of finding her a husband in every way better than +myself; a husband so good that she would not only forgive me for the +insult I should thus be guilty of towards her, but also thank me at +the end, and like me all the better for my deceit. + +To find such a husband could not be very difficult, for Christine was +not only blessed with wonderful beauty, and with a well-established +reputation for virtue, but she was also the possessor of a fortune +amounting to four thousand Venetian ducats. + +Shut up in a room with the three worshippers of my oracle, I +consulted Paralis upon the affair which I had so much at heart. The +answer was: + +"Serenus must attend to it." + +Serenus was the cabalistic name of M. de Bragadin, and the excellent +man immediately expressed himself ready to execute all the orders of +Paralis. It was my duty to inform him of those orders. + +"You must," I said to him, "obtain from the Holy Father a +dispensation for a worthy and virtuous girl, so as to give her the +privilege of marrying during Lent in the church of her village; she +is a young country girl. Here is her certificate of birth. The +husband is not yet known; but it does not matter, Paralis undertakes +to find one." + +"Trust to me," said my father, "I will write at once to our +ambassador in Rome, and I will contrive to have my letter sent by +special express. You need not be anxious, leave it all to me, I will +make it a business of state, and I must obey Paralis all the more +readily that I foresee that the intended husband is one of us four. +Indeed, we must prepare ourselves to obey." + +I had some trouble in keeping my laughter down, for it was in my +power to metamorphose Christine into a grand Venetian lady, the wife +of a senator; but that was not my intention. I again consulted the +oracle in order to ascertain who would be the husband of the young +girl, and the answer was that M. Dandolo was entrusted with the care +of finding one, young, handsome, virtuous, and able to serve the +Republic, either at home or abroad. M. Dandolo was to consult me +before concluding any arrangements. I gave him courage for his task +by informing him that the girl had a dowry of four thousand ducats, +but I added that his choice was to be made within a fortnight. M. +de Bragadin, delighted at not being entrusted with the commission, +laughed heartily. + +Those arrangements made me feel at peace with myself. I was certain +that the husband I wanted would be found, and I only thought of +finishing the carnival gaily, and of contriving to find my purse +ready for a case of emergency. + +Fortune soon rendered me possessor of a thousand sequins. I paid my +debts, and the licence for the marriage having arrived from Rome ten +days after M. de Bragadin had applied for it, I gave him one hundred +ducats, that being the sum it had cost. The dispensation gave +Christine the right of being married in any church in Christendom, +she would only have to obtain the seal of the episcopal court of the +diocese in which the marriage was to take place, and no publication +of banns was required. We wanted, therefore, but one thing--a +trifling one, namely, the husband. M. Dandolo had already proposed +three or four to me, but I had refused them for excellent reasons. +At last he offered one who suited me exactly. + +I had to take the diamond ring out of pledge, and not wishing to do +it myself, I wrote to the priest making an appointment in Treviso. I +was not, of course, surprised when I found that he was accompanied by +his lovely niece, who, thinking that I had come to complete all +arrangements for our marriage, embraced me without ceremony, and I +did the same. If the uncle had not been present, I am afraid that +those kisses would have caused all my heroism to vanish. I gave the +curate the dispensation, and the handsome features of Christine shone +with joy. She certainly could not imagine that I had been working so +actively for others, and, as I was not yet certain of anything, I did +not undeceive her then. I promised to be in P---- within eight or +ten days, when we would complete all necessary arrangements. After +dinner, I gave the curate the ticket for the ring and the money to +take it out of pledge, and we retired to rest. This time, very +fortunately, there was but one bed in the room, and I had to take +another chamber for myself. + +The next morning, I went into Christine's room, and found her in bed. +Her uncle had gone out for my diamond ring, and alone with that +lovely girl, I found that I had, when necessary, complete control +over my passions. Thinking that she was not to be my wife, and that +she would belong to another, I considered it my duty to silence my +desires. I kissed her, but nothing more. + +I spent one hour with her, fighting like Saint Anthony against the +carnal desires of my nature. I could see the charming girl full of +love and of wonder at my reserve, and I admired her virtue in the +natural modesty which prevented her from making the first advances. +She got out of bed and dressed herself without shewing any +disappointment. She would, of course, have felt mortified if she bad +had the slightest idea that I despised her, or that I did not value +her charms. + +Her uncle returned, gave me the ring, and we had dinner, after which +he treated me to a wonderful exhibition. Christine had learned how +to write, and, to give me a proof of her talent, she wrote very +fluently and very prettily in my presence. + +We parted, after my promising to come back again within ten days, and +I returned to Venice. + +On the second Sunday in Lent, M. Dandolo told me with an air of +triumph that the fortunate husband had been found, and that there was +no doubt of my approval of the new candidate. He named Charles ---- +whom I knew by sight--very handsome young man, of irreproachable +conduct, and about twenty-two years of age. He was clerk to M. +Ragionato and god-son of Count Algarotti, a sister of whom had +married M. Dandolo's brother. + +"Charles," said M. Dandolo to me, "has lost his father and his +mother, and I feel satisfied that his godfather will guarantee the +dowry brought by his wife. I have spoken to him, and I believe him +disposed to marry an honest girl whose dowry would enable him to +purchase M. Ragionato's office." + +"It seems to promise very well, but I cannot decide until I have seen +him." + +"I have invited him to dine with us to-morrow." + +The young man came, and I found him worthy of all M. Dandolo's +praise. We became friends at once; he had some taste for poetry, I +read some of my productions to him, and having paid him a visit the +following day, he shewed me several pieces of his own composition +which were well written. He introduced me to his aunt, in whose +house he lived with his sister, and I was much pleased with their +friendly welcome. Being alone with him in his room, I asked him what +he thought of love. + +"I do not care for love," he answered: "but I should like to get +married in order to have a house of my own." + +When I returned to the palace, I told M. Dandolo that he might open +the affair with Count Algarotti, and the count mentioned it to +Charles, who said that he could not give any answer, either one way +or the other, until he should have seen the young girl, talked with +her, and enquired about her reputation. As for Count Algarotti, he +was ready to be answerable for his god-son, that is to guarantee four +thousand ducats to the wife, provided her dowry was worth that +amount. Those were only the preliminaries; the rest belonged to my +province. + +Dandolo having informed Charles that the matter was entirely in my +hands, he called on me and enquired when I would be kind enough to +introduce him to the young person. I named the day, adding that it +was necessary to devote a whole day to the visit, as she resided at a +distance of twenty miles from Venice, that we would dine with her and +return the same evening. He promised to be ready for me by day- +break. I immediately sent an express to the curate to inform him of +the day on which I would call with a friend of mine whom I wished to +introduce to his niece. + +On the appointed day, Charles was punctual. I took care to let him +know along the road that I had made the acquaintance of the young +girl and of her uncle as travelling companions from Venice to Mestra +about one month before, and that I would have offered myself as a +husband, if I had been in a position to guarantee the dowry of four +thousand ducats. I did not think it necessary to go any further in +my confidences. + +We arrived at the good priest's house two hours before mid-day, and +soon after our arrival, Christine came in with an air of great ease, +expressing all her pleasure at seeing me. She only bowed to Charles, +enquiring from me whether he was likewise a clerk. + +Charles answered that he was clerk at Ragionato. + +She pretended to understand, in order not to appear ignorant. + +"I want you to look at my writing," she said to me, "and afterwards +we will go and see my mother." + +Delighted at the praise bestowed upon her writing by Charles, when he +heard that she had learned only one month, she invited us to follow +her. Charles asked her why she had waited until the age of nineteen +to study writing. + +"Well, sir, what does it matter to you? Besides, I must tell you +that I am seventeen, and not nineteen years of age." + +Charles entreated her to excuse him, smiling at the quickness of her +answer. + +She was dressed like a simple country girl, yet very neatly, and she +wore her handsome gold chains round her neck and on her arms. I told +her to take my arm and that of Charles, which she did, casting +towards me a look of loving obedience. We went to her mother's +house; the good woman was compelled to keep her bed owing to +sciatica. As we entered the room, a respectable-looking man, who was +seated near the patient, rose at the sight of Charles, and embraced +him affectionately. I heard that he was the family physician, and +the circumstance pleased me much. + +After we had paid our compliments to the good woman, the doctor +enquired after Charles's aunt and sister; and alluding to the sister +who was suffering from a secret disease, Charles desired to say a few +words to him in private; they left the room together. Being alone +with the mother and Christine, I praised Charles, his excellent +conduct, his high character, his business abilities, and extolled the +happiness of the woman who would be his wife. They both confirmed my +praises by saying that everything I said of him could be read on his +features. I had no time to lose, so I told Christine to be on her +guard during dinner, as Charles might possibly be the husband whom +God had intended for her. + +"For me?" + +"Yes, for you. Charles is one of a thousand; you would be much +happier with him than you could be with me; the doctor knows him, and +you could ascertain from him everything which I cannot find time to +tell you now about my friend." + +The reader can imagine all I suffered in making this declaration, and +my surprise when I saw the young girl calm and perfectly composed! +Her composure dried the tears already gathering in my eyes. After a +short silence, she asked me whether I was certain that such a +handsome young man would have her. That question gave me an insight +into Christine's heart and feelings, and quieted all my sorrow, for I +saw that I had not known her well. I answered that, beautiful as she +was, there was no doubt of her being loved by everybody. + +"It will be at dinner, my dear Christine, that my friend will examine +and study you; do not fail to shew all the charms and qualities with +which God has endowed you, but do not let him suspect our intimacy." + +"It is all very strange. Is my uncle informed of this wonderful +change?" + +"No." + +"If your friend should feel pleased with me, when would he marry me?" + +"Within ten days. I will take care of everything, and you will see +me again in the course of the week:" + +Charles came back with the doctor, and Christine, leaving her +mother's bedside, took a chair opposite to us. She answered very +sensibly all the questions addressed to her by Charles, often +exciting his mirth by her artlessness, but not shewing any silliness. + +Oh! charming simplicity! offspring of wit and of ignorance! thy charm +is delightful, and thou alone hast the privilege of saying anything +without ever giving offence! But how unpleasant thou art when thou +art not natural! and thou art the masterpiece of art when thou art +imitated with perfection! + +We dined rather late, and I took care not to speak to Christine, not +even to look at her, so as not to engross her attention, which she +devoted entirely to Charles, and I was delighted to see with what +ease and interest she kept up the conversation. After dinner, and as +we were taking leave, I heard the following words uttered by Charles, +which went to my very heart: + +"You are made, lovely Christine, to minister to the happiness of a +prince." + +And Christine? This was her answer: + +"I should esteem myself fortunate, sir, if you should judge me worthy +of ministering to yours." + +These words excited Charles so much that he embraced me! + +Christine was simple, but her artlessness did not come from her mind, +only from her heart. The simplicity of mind is nothing but +silliness, that of the heart is only ignorance and innocence; it is a +quality which subsists even when the cause has ceased to be. This +young girl, almost a child of nature, was simple in her manners, but +graceful in a thousand trifling ways which cannot be described. She +was sincere, because she did not know that to conceal some of our +impressions is one of the precepts of propriety, and as her +intentions were pure, she was a stranger to that false shame and mock +modesty which cause pretended innocence to blush at a word, or at a +movement said or made very often without any wicked purpose. + +During our journey back to Venice Crarles spoke of nothing but of his +happiness. He had decidedly fallen in love. + +"I will call to-morrow morning upon Count Algarotti," he said to me, +"and you may write to the priest to come with all the necessary +documents to make the contract of marriage which I long to sign." + +His delight and his surprise were intense when I told him that my +wedding present to Christine was a dispensation from the Pope for her +to be married in Lent. + +"Then," he exclaimed, "we must go full speed ahead!" + +In the conference which was held the next day between my young +substitute, his god-father, and M. Dandolo, it was decided that the +parson should be invited to come with his niece. I undertook to +carry the message, and leaving Venice two hours before morning I +reached P---- early. The priest said he would be ready to start +immediately after mass. I then called on Christine, and I treated +her to a fatherly and sentimental sermon, every word of which was +intended to point out to her the true road to happiness in the new +condition which she was on the point of adopting. I told her how she +ought to behave towards her husband, towards his aunt and his sister, +in order to captivate their esteem and their love. The last part of +my discourse was pathetic and rather disparaging to myself, for, as I +enforced upon her the necessity of being faithful to her husband, I +was necessarily led to entreat her pardon for having seduced her. +"When you promised to marry me, after we had both been weak enough to +give way to our love, did you intend to deceive me?" + +"Certainly not." + +"Then you have not deceived me. On the contrary, I owe you some +gratitude for having thought that, if our union should prove unhappy, +it was better to find another husband for me, and I thank God that +you have succeeded so well. Tell me, now, what I can answer to your +friend in case he should ask me, during the first night, why I am so +different to what a virgin ought to be?" + +"It is not likely that Charles, who is full of reserve and propriety, +would ask you such a thing, but if he should, tell him positively +that you never had a lover, and that you do not suppose yourself to +be different to any other girl." + +"Will he believe me?" + +"He would deserve your contempt, and entail punishment on himself if +he did not. But dismiss all anxiety; that will not occur. A +sensible man, my dear Christine, when he has been rightly brought up, +never ventures upon such a question, because he is not only certain +to displease, but also sure that he will never know the truth, for if +the truth is likely to injure a woman in the opinion of her husband, +she would be very foolish, indeed, to confess it." + +"I understand your meaning perfectly, my dear friend; let us, then, +embrace each other for the last time." + +"No, for we are alone and I am very weak. I adore thee as much as +ever." + +"Do not cry, dear friend, for, truly speaking, I have no wish for +it." + +That simple and candid answer changed my disposition suddenly, and, +instead of crying, I began to laugh. Christine dressed herself +splendidly, and after breakfast we left P----. We reached Venice in +four hours. I lodged them at a good inn, and going to the palace, I +told M. Dandolo that our people had arrived, that it would be his +province to bring them and Charles together on the following day, and +to attend to the matter altogether, because the honour of the future +husband and wife, the respect due to their parents and to propriety, +forbade any further interference on my part. + +He understood my reasons, and acted accordingly. He brought Charles +to me, I presented both of them to the curate and his niece, and then +left them to complete their business. + +I heard afterwards from M. Dandolo that they all called upon Count +Algarotti, and at the office of a notary, where the contract of +marriage was signed, and that, after fixing a day for the wedding, +Charles had escorted his intended back to P----. + +On his return, Charles paid me a visit. He told me that Christine +had won by her beauty and pleasing manners the affection of his aunt, +of his sister, and of his god-father, and that they had taken upon +themselves all the expense of the wedding. + +"We intend to be married," he added, "on such a day at P----, and I +trust that you will crown your work of kindness by being present at +the ceremony." + +I tried to excuse myself, but he insisted with such a feeling of +gratitude, and with so much earnestness, that I was compelled to +accept. I listened with real pleasure to the account he gave me of +the impression produced upon all his family and upon Count Algarotti +by the beauty, the artlessness, the rich toilet, and especially by +the simple talk of the lovely country girl. + +"I am deeply in love with her," Charles said to me, "and I feel that +it is to you that I shall be indebted for the happiness I am sure to +enjoy with my charming wife. She will soon get rid of her country +way of talking in Venice, because here envy and slander will but too +easily shew her the absurdity of it." + +His enthusiasm and happiness delighted me, and I congratulated myself +upon my own work. Yet I felt inwardly some jealousy, and I could not +help envying a lot which I might have kept for myself. + +M. Daridolo and M. Barbaro having been also invited by Charles, I +went with them to P----. We found the dinner-table laid out in the +rector's house by the servants of Count Algarotti, who was acting as +Charles's father, and having taken upon himself all the expense of +the wedding, had sent his cook and his major-domo to P----. + +When I saw Christine, the tears filled my eyes, and I had to leave +the room. She was dressed as a country girl, but looked as lovely as +a nymph. Her husband, her uncle, and Count Algarotti had vainly +tried to make her adopt the Venetian costume, but she had very wisely +refused. + +"As soon as I am your wife," she had said to Charles, "I will dress +as you please, but here I will not appear before my young companions +in any other costume than the one in which they have always seen me. +I shall thus avoid being laughed at, and accused of pride, by the +girls among whom I have been brought up." + +There was in these words something so noble, so just, and so +generous, that Charles thought his sweetheart a supernatural being. +He told me that he had enquired, from the woman with whom Christine +had spent a fortnight, about the offers of marriage she had refused +at that time, and that he had been much surprised, for two of those +offers were excellent ones. + +"Christine," he added, "was evidently destined by Heaven for my +happiness, and to you I am indebted for the precious possession of +that treasure." + +His gratitude pleased me, and I must render myself the justice of +saying that I entertained no thought of abusing it. I felt happy in +the happiness I had thus given. + +We repaired to the church towards eleven o'clock, and were very much +astonished at the difficulty we experienced in getting in. A large +number of the nobility of Treviso, curious to ascertain whether it +was true that the marriage ceremony of a country girl would be +publicly performed during Lent when, by waiting only one month, a +dispensation would have been useless, had come to P----. Everyone +wondered at the permission having been obtained from the Pope, +everyone imagined that there was some extraordinary reason for it, +and was in despair because it was impossible to guess that reason. +In spite of all feelings of envy, every face beamed with pleasure and +satisfaction when the young couple made their appearance, and no one +could deny that they deserved that extraordinary distinction, that +exception to all established rules. + +A certain Countess of Tos...., from Treviso, Christine's god-mother, +went up to her after the ceremony, and embraced her most tenderly, +complaining that the happy event had not been communicated to her in +Treviso. Christine, in her artless way, answered with as much +modesty as sweetness, that the countess ought to forgive her if she +had failed in her duty towards her, on account of the marriage having +been decided on so hastily. She presented her husband, and begged +Count Algarotti to atone for her error towards her god-mother by +inviting her to join the wedding repast, an invitation which the +countess accepted with great pleasure. That behaviour, which is +usually the result of a good education and a long experience of +society, was in the lovely peasant-girl due only to a candid and +well-balanced mind which shone all the more because it was all nature +and not art. + +As they returned from the church, Charles and Christine knelt down +before the young wife's mother, who gave them her blessing with tears +of joy. + +Dinner was served, and, of course, Christine and her happy spouse +took the seats of honour. Mine was the last, and I was very glad of +it, but although everything was delicious, I ate very little, and +scarcely opened my lips. + +Christine was constantly busy, saying pretty things to every one of +her guests, and looking at her husband to make sure that he was +pleased with her. + +Once or twice she addressed his aunt and sister in such a gracious +manner that they could not help leaving their places and kissing her +tenderly, congratulating Charles upon his good fortune. I was seated +not very far from Count Algarotti, and I heard him say several times +to Christine's god-mother that he had never felt so delighted in his +life. + +When four o'clock struck, Charles whispered a few words to his lovely +wife, she bowed to her god-mother, and everybody rose from the table. +After the usual compliments--and in this case they bore the stamp of +sincerity--the bride distributed among all the girls of the village, +who were in the adjoining room, packets full of sugar-plums which had +been prepared before hand, and she took leave of them, kissing them +all without any pride. Count Algarotti invited all the guests to +sleep at a house he had in Treviso, and to partake there of the +dinner usually given the day after the wedding. The uncle alone +excused himself, and the mother could not come, owing to her disease +which prevented her from moving. The good woman died three months +after Christine's marriage. + +Christine therefore left her village to follow her husband, and for +the remainder of their lives they lived together in mutual happiness. + +Count Algarotti, Christine's god-mother and my two noble friends, +went away together. The bride and bridegroom had, of course, a +carriage to themselves, and I kept the aunt and the sister of Charles +company in another. I could not help envying the happy man somewhat, +although in my inmost heart I felt pleased with his happiness. + +The sister was not without merit. She was a young widow of twenty- +five, and still deserved the homage of men, but I gave the preference +to the aunt, who told me that her new niece was a treasure, a jewel +which was worthy of everybody's admiration, but that she would not +let her go into society until she could speak the Venetian dialect +well. + +"Her cheerful spirits," she added, "her artless simplicity, her +natural wit, are like her beauty, they must be dressed in the +Venetian fashion. We are highly pleased with my nephew's choice, and +he has incurred everlasting obligations towards you. I hope that for +the future you will consider our house as your own." + +The invitation was polite, perhaps it was sincere, yet I did not +avail myself of it, and they were glad of it. At the end of one year +Christine presented her husband with a living token of their mutual +love, and that circumstance increased their conjugal felicity. + +We all found comfortable quarters in the count's house in Treviso, +where, after partaking of some refreshments, the guests retired to +rest. + +The next morning I was with Count Algarotti and my two friends when +Charles came in, handsome, bright, and radiant. While he was +answering with much wit some jokes of the count, I kept looking at +him with some anxiety, but he came up to me and embraced me warmly. +I confess that a kiss never made me happier. + +People wonder at the devout scoundrels who call upon their saint when +they think themselves in need of heavenly assistance, or who thank +him when they imagine that they have obtained some favour from him, +but people are wrong, for it is a good and right feeling, which +preaches against Atheism. + +At the invitation of Charles, his aunt and his sister had gone to pay +a morning visit to the young wife, and they returned with her. +Happiness never shone on a more lovely face! + +M. Algarotti, going towards her, enquired from her affectionately +whether she had had a good night. Her only answer was to rush to her +husband's arms. It was the most artless, and at the same time the +most eloquent, answer she could possible give. Then turning her +beautiful eyes towards me, and offering me her hand, she said, + +"M. Casanova, I am happy, and I love to be indebted to you for my +happiness." + +The tears which were flowing from my eyes, as I kissed her hand, told +her better than words how truly happy I was myself. + +The dinner passed off delightfully. We then left for Mestra and +Venice. We escorted the married couple to their house, and returned +home to amuse M. Bragadin with the relation of our expedition. This +worthy and particularly learned man said a thousand things about the +marriage, some of great profundity and others of great absurdity. + +I laughed inwardly. I was the only one who had the key to the +mystery, and could realize the secret of the comedy. + + + + + +End of this Project Gutenberg Etext of MEMOIRES OF JACQUES CASANOVA +VENETION YEARS, Vol. 1d, RETURN TO VENICE +by Jacques Casanova de Seingalt + diff --git a/old/jcrvn10.zip b/old/jcrvn10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..fac9c17 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/jcrvn10.zip diff --git a/old/jcrvn11.txt b/old/jcrvn11.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..40193cb --- /dev/null +++ b/old/jcrvn11.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4267 @@ +The Project Gutenberg Etext of Return to Venice, by Jacques Casanova +#4 in our series by Jacques Casanova de Seingalt + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before distributing this or any other +Project Gutenberg file. + +We encourage you to keep this file, exactly as it is, on your +own disk, thereby keeping an electronic path open for future +readers. 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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.10/04/01*END* + + + + + +This etext was produced by David Widger <widger@cecomet.net> + + + + + +MEMOIRS OF JACQUES CASANOVA de SEINGALT 1725-1798 +VENETIAN YEARS, Volume 1d--RETURN TO VENICE + + +THE RARE UNABRIDGED LONDON EDITION OF 1894 TRANSLATED BY ARTHUR +MACHEN TO WHICH HAS BEEN ADDED THE CHAPTERS DISCOVERED +BY ARTHUR SYMONS. + + + + +RETURN TO VENICE + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +A Fearful Misfortune Befalls Me--Love Cools Down--Leave Corfu and +Return to Venice--Give Up the Army and Become a Fiddler + + +The wound was rapidly healing up, and I saw near at hand the moment +when Madame F---- would leave her bed, and resume her usual +avocations. + +The governor of the galeasses having issued orders for a general +review at Gouyn, M. F----, left for that place in his galley, telling +me to join him there early on the following day with the felucca. I +took supper alone with Madame F----, and I told her how unhappy it +made me to remain one day away from her. + +"Let us make up to-night for to-morrow's disappointment," she said, +"and let us spend it together in conversation. Here are the keys; +when you know that my maid has left me, come to me through my +husband's room." + +I did not fail to follow her instructions to the letter, and we found +ourselves alone with five hours before us. It was the month of June, +and the heat was intense. She had gone to bed; I folded her in my +arms, she pressed me to her bosom, but, condemning herself to the +most cruel torture, she thought I had no right to complain, if I was +subjected to the same privation which she imposed upon herself. My +remonstrances, my prayers, my entreaties were of no avail. + +"Love," she said, "must be kept in check with a tight hand, and we +can laugh at him, since, in spite of the tyranny which we force him +to obey, we succeed all the same in gratifying our desires." + +After the first ecstacy, our eyes and lips unclosed together, and a +little apart from each other we take delight in seeing the mutual +satisfaction beaming on our features. + +Our desires revive; she casts a look upon my state of innocence +entirely exposed to her sight. She seems vexed at my want of +excitement, and, throwing off everything which makes the heat +unpleasant and interferes with our pleasure, she bounds upon me. It +is more than amorous fury, it is desperate lust. I share her frenzy, +I hug her with a sort of delirium, I enjoy a felicity which is on the +point of carrying me to the regions of bliss.... but, at the very +moment of completing the offering, she fails me, moves off, slips +away, and comes back to work off my excitement with a hand which +strikes me as cold as ice. + +"Ah, thou cruel, beloved woman! Thou art burning with the fire of +love, and thou deprivest thyself of the only remedy which could bring +calm to thy senses! Thy lovely hand is more humane than thou art, +but thou has not enjoyed the felicity that thy hand has given me. My +hand must owe nothing to thine. Come, darling light of my heart, +come! Love doubles my existence in the hope that I will die again, +but only in that charming retreat from which you have ejected me in +the very moment of my greatest enjoyment." + +While I was speaking thus, her very soul was breathing forth the most +tender sighs of happiness, and as she pressed me tightly in her arms +I felt that she was weltering in an ocean of bliss. + +Silence lasted rather a long time, but that unnatural felicity was +imperfect, and increased my excitement. + +"How canst thou complain," she said tenderly, "when it is to that +very imperfection of our enjoyment that we are indebted for its +continuance? I loved thee a few minutes since, now I love thee a +thousand times more, and perhaps I should love thee less if thou +hadst carried my enjoyment to its highest limit." + +"Oh! how much art thou mistaken, lovely one! How great is thy error! +Thou art feeding upon sophisms, and thou leavest reality aside; I +mean nature which alone can give real felicity. Desires constantly +renewed and never fully satisfied are more terrible than the torments +of hell." + +"But are not these desires happiness when they are always accompanied +by hope?" + +"No, if that hope is always disappointed. It becomes hell itself, +because there is no hope, and hope must die when it is killed by +constant deception." + +"Dearest, if hope does not exist in hell, desires cannot be found +there either; for to imagine desires without hopes would be more than +madness." + +"Well, answer me. If you desire to be mine entirely, and if you feel +the hope of it, which, according to your way of reasoning, is a +natural consequence, why do you always raise an impediment to your +own hope? Cease, dearest, cease to deceive yourself by absurd +sophisms. Let us be as happy as it is in nature to be, and be quite +certain that the reality of happiness will increase our love, and +that love will find a new life in our very enjoyment." + +"What I see proves the contrary; you are alive with excitement now, +but if your desires had been entirely satisfied, you would be dead, +benumbed, motionless. I know it by experience: if you had breathed +the full ecstacy of enjoyment, as you desired, you would have found a +weak ardour only at long intervals." + +"Ah! charming creature, your experience is but very small; do not +trust to it. I see that you have never known love. That which you +call love's grave is the sanctuary in which it receives life, the +abode which makes it immortal. Give way to my prayers, my lovely +friend, and then you shall know the difference between Love and +Hymen. You shall see that, if Hymen likes to die in order to get rid +of life, Love on the contrary expires only to spring up again into +existence, and hastens to revive, so as to savour new enjoyment. Let +me undeceive you, and believe me when I say that the full +gratification of desires can only increase a hundredfold the mutual +ardour of two beings who adore each other." + +"Well, I must believe you; but let us wait. In the meantime let us +enjoy all the trifles, all the sweet preliminaries of love. Devour +thy mistress, dearest, but abandon to me all thy being. If this +night is too short we must console ourselves to-morrow by making +arrangements for another one." + +"And if our intercourse should be discovered?" + +"Do we make a mystery of it? Everybody can see that we love each +other, and those who think that we do not enjoy the happiness of +lovers are precisely the only persons we have to fear. We must only +be careful to guard against being surprised in the very act of +proving our love. Heaven and nature must protect our affection, for +there is no crime when two hearts are blended in true love. Since I +have been conscious of my own existence, Love has always seemed to me +the god of my being, for every time I saw a man I was delighted; I +thought that I was looking upon one-half of myself, because I felt I +was made for him and he for me. I longed to be married. It was that +uncertain longing of the heart which occupies exclusively a young +girl of fifteen. I had no conception of love, but I fancied that it +naturally accompanied marriage. You can therefore imagine my +surprise when my husband, in the very act of making a woman of me, +gave me a great deal of pain without giving me the slightest idea of +pleasure! My imagination in the convent was much better than the +reality I had been condemned to by my husband! The result has +naturally been that we have become very good friends, but a very +indifferent husband and wife, without any desires for each other. He +has every reason to be pleased with me, for I always shew myself +docile to his wishes, but enjoyment not being in those cases seasoned +by love, he must find it without flavour, and he seldom comes to me +for it. + +"When I found out that you were in love with me, I felt delighted, +and gave you every opportunity of becoming every day more deeply +enamoured of me, thinking myself certain of never loving you myself. +As soon as I felt that love had likewise attacked my heart, I ill- +treated you to punish you for having made my heart sensible. Your +patience and constancy have astonished me, and have caused me to be +guilty, for after the first kiss I gave you I had no longer any +control over myself. I was indeed astounded when I saw the havoc +made by one single kiss, and I felt that my happiness was wrapped up +in yours. That discovery flattered and delighted me, and I have +found out, particularly to-night, that I cannot be happy unless you +are so yourself." + +"That is, my beloved, the most refined of all sentiments experienced +by love, but it is impossible for you to render me completely happy +without following in everything the laws and the wishes of nature." + +The night was spent in tender discussions and in exquisite +voluptuousness, and it was not without some grief that at day-break I +tore myself from her arms to go to Gouyn. She wept for joy when she +saw that I left her without having lost a particle of my vigour, for +she did not imagine such a thing possible. + +After that night, so rich in delights, ten or twelve days passed +without giving us any opportunity of quenching even a small particle +of the amorous thirst which devoured us, and it was then that a +fearful misfortune befell me. + +One evening after supper, M. D---- R----- having retired, M. F---- +used no ceremony, and, although I was present, told his wife that he +intended to pay her a visit after writing two letters which he had to +dispatch early the next morning. The moment he had left the room we +looked at each other, and with one accord fell into each other's +arms. A torrent of delights rushed through our souls without +restraint, without reserve, but when the first ardour had been +appeased, without giving me time to think or to enjoy the most +complete, the most delicious victory, she drew back, repulsed me, and +threw herself, panting, distracted, upon a chair near her bed. +Rooted to the spot, astonished, almost mad, I tremblingly looked at +her, trying to understand what had caused such an extraordinary +action. She turned round towards me and said, her eyes flashing with +the fire of love, + +"My darling, we were on the brink of the precipice." + +"The precipice! Ah! cruel woman, you have killed me, I feel myself +dying, and perhaps you will never see me again." + +I left her in a state of frenzy, and rushed out, towards the +esplanade, to cool myself, for I was choking. Any man who has not +experienced the cruelty of an action like that of Madame F----, and +especially in the situation I found myself in at that moment, +mentally and bodily, can hardly realize what I suffered, and, +although I have felt that suffering, I could not give an idea of it. + +I was in that fearful state, when I heard my name called from a +window, and unfortunately I condescended to answer. I went near the +window, and I saw, thanks to the moonlight, the famous Melulla +standing on her balcony. + +"What are you doing there at this time of night?" I enquired. + +"I am enjoying the cool evening breeze. Come up for a little while." + +This Melulla, of fatal memory, was a courtezan from Zamte, of rare +beauty, who for the last four months had been the delight and the +rage of all the young men in Corfu. Those who had known her agreed +in extolling her charms: she was the talk of all the city. I had +seen her often, but, although she was very beautiful, I was very far +from thinking her as lovely as Madame F----, putting my affection for +the latter on one side. I recollect seeing in Dresden, in the year +1790, a very handsome woman who was the image of Melulla. + +I went upstairs mechanically, and she took me to a voluptuous +boudoir; she complained of my being the only one who had never paid +her a visit, when I was the man she would have preferred to all +others, and I had the infamy to give way.... I became the most +criminal of men. + +It was neither desire, nor imagination, nor the merit of the woman +which caused me to yield, for Melulla was in no way worthy of me; no, +it was weakness, indolence, and the state of bodily and mental +irritation in which I then found myself: it was a sort of spite, +because the angel whom I adored had displeased me by a caprice, +which, had I not been unworthy of her, would only have caused me to +be still more attached to her. + +Melulla, highly pleased with her success, refused the gold I wanted +to give her, and allowed me to go after I had spent two hours with +her. + +When I recovered my composure, I had but one feeling-hatred for +myself and for the contemptible creature who had allured me to be +guilty of so vile an insult to the loveliest of her sex. I went home +the prey to fearful remorse, and went to bed, but sleep never closed +my eyes throughout that cruel night. + +In the morning, worn out with fatigue and sorrow, I got up, and as +soon as I was dressed I went to M. F----, who had sent for me to give +me some orders. After I had returned, and had given him an account +of my mission, I called upon Madame F----, and finding her at her +toilet I wished her good morning, observing that her lovely face was +breathing the cheerfulness and the calm of happiness; but, suddenly, +her eyes meeting mine, I saw her countenance change, and an +expression of sadness replace her looks of satisfaction. She cast +her eyes down as if she was deep in thought, raised them again as if +to read my very soul, and breaking our painful silence, as soon as +she had dismissed her maid, she said to me, with an accent full of +tenderness and of solemnity, + +"Dear one, let there be no concealment either on my part or on yours. +I felt deeply grieved when I saw you leave me last night, and a +little consideration made me understand all the evil which might +accrue to you in consequence of what I had done. With a nature like +yours, such scenes might cause very dangerous disorders, and I have +resolved not to do again anything by halves. I thought that you went +out to breathe the fresh air, and I hoped it would do you good. I +placed myself at my window, where I remained more than an hour +without seeing alight in your room. Sorry for what I had done, +loving you more than ever, I was compelled, when my husband came to +my room, to go to bed with the sad conviction that you had not come +home. This morning, M. F. sent an officer to tell you that he wanted +to see you, and I heard the messenger inform him that you were not +yet up, and that you had come home very late. I felt my heart swell +with sorrow. I am not jealous, dearest, for I know that you cannot +love anyone but me; I only felt afraid of some misfortune. At last, +this morning, when I heard you coming, I was happy, because I was +ready to skew my repentance, but I looked at you, and you seemed a +different man. Now, I am still looking at you, and, in spite of +myself, my soul reads upon your countenance that you are guilty, that +you have outraged my love. Tell me at once, dearest, if I am +mistaken; if you have deceived me, say so openly. Do not be +unfaithful to love and to truth. Knowing that I was the cause of it, +I should never forgive my self, but there is an excuse for you in my +heart, in my whole being." + +More than once, in the course of my life, I have found myself under +the painful necessity of telling falsehoods to the woman I loved; but +in this case, after so true, so touching an appeal, how could I be +otherwise than sincere? I felt myself sufficiently debased by my +crime, and I could not degrade myself still more by falsehood. I was +so far from being disposed to such a line of conduct that I could not +speak, and I burst out crying. + +"What, my darling! you are weeping! Your tears make me miserable. +You ought not to have shed any with me but tears of happiness and +love. Quick, my beloved, tell me whether you have made me wretched. +Tell me what fearful revenge you have taken on me, who would rather +die than offend you. If I have caused you any sorrow, it has been in +the innocence of a loving and devoted heart." + +"My own darling angel, I never thought of revenge, for my heart, +which can never cease to adore you, could never conceive such a +dreadful idea. It is against my own heart that my cowardly weakness +has allured me to the commission of a crime which, for the remainder +of my life, makes me unworthy of you." + +"Have you, then, given yourself to some wretched woman?" + +"Yes, I have spent two hours in the vilest debauchery, and my soul +was present only to be the witness of my sadness, of my remorse, of +my unworthiness." + +"Sadness and remorse! Oh, my poor friend! I believe it. But it is +my fault; I alone ought to suffer; it is I who must beg you to +forgive me." + +Her tears made mine flow again. + +"Divine soul," I said, "the reproaches you are addressing to yourself +increase twofold the gravity of my crime. You would never have been +guilty of any wrong against me if I had been really worthy of your +love." + +I felt deeply the truth of my words. + +We spent the remainder of the day apparently quiet and composed, +concealing our sadness in the depths of our hearts. She was curious +to know all the circumstances of my miserable adventure, and, +accepting it as an expiation, I related them to her. Full of +kindness, she assured me that we were bound to ascribe that accident +to fate, and that the same thing might have happened to the best of +men. She added that I was more to be pitied than condemned, and that +she did not love me less. We both were certain that we would seize +the first favourable opportunity, she of obtaining her pardon, I of +atoning for my crime, by giving each other new and complete proofs of +our mutual ardour. But Heaven in its justice had ordered +differently, and I was cruelly punished for my disgusting debauchery. + +On the third day, as I got up in the morning, an awful pricking +announced the horrid state into which the wretched Melulla had thrown +me. I was thunderstruck! And when I came to think of the misery +which I might have caused if, during the last three days, I had +obtained some new favour from my lovely mistress, I was on the point +of going mad. What would have been her feelings if I had made her +unhappy for the remainder of her life! Would anyone, then, knowing +the whole case, have condemned me if I had destroyed my own life in +order to deliver myself from everlasting remorse? No, for the man +who kills himself from sheer despair, thus performing upon himself +the execution of the sentence he would have deserved at the hands of +justice cannot be blamed either by a virtuous philosopher or by a +tolerant Christian. But of one thing I am quite certain: if such a +misfortune had happened, I should have committed suicide. + +Overwhelmed with grief by the discovery I had just made, but thinking +that I should get rid of the inconvenience as I had done three times +before, I prepared myself for a strict diet, which would restore my +health in six weeks without anyone having any suspicion of my +illness, but I soon found out that I had not seen the end of my +troubles; Melulla had communicated to my system all the poisons which +corrupt the source of life. I was acquainted with an elderly doctor +of great experience in those matters; I consulted him, and he +promised to set me to rights in two months; he proved as good as his +word. At the beginning of September I found myself in good health, +and it was about that time that I returned to Venice. + +The first thing I resolved on, as soon as I discovered the state I +was in, was to confess everything to Madame F----. I did not wish to +wait for the time when a compulsory confession would have made her +blush for her weakness, and given her cause to think of the fearful +consequences which might have been the result of her passion for me. +Her affection was too dear to me to run the risk of losing it through +a want of confidence in her. Knowing her heart, her candour, and the +generosity which had prompted her to say that I was more to be pitied +than blamed, I thought myself bound to prove by my sincerity that I +deserved her esteem. + +I told her candidly my position and the state I had been thrown in, +when I thought of the dreadful consequences it might have had for +her. I saw her shudder and tremble, and she turned pale with fear +when I added that I would have avenged her by killing myself. + +"Villainous, infamous Melulla!" she exclaimed. + +And I repeated those words, but turning them against myself when I +realized all I had sacrificed through the most disgusting weakness. + +Everyone in Corfu knew of my visit to the wretched Melulla, and +everyone seemed surprised to see the appearance of health on my +countenance; for many were the victims that she had treated like me. + +My illness was not my only sorrow; I had others which, although of a +different nature, were not less serious. It was written in the book +of fate that I should return to Venice a simple ensign as when I +left: the general did not keep his word, and the bastard son of a +nobleman was promoted to the lieutenancy instead of myself. From +that moment the military profession, the one most subject to +arbitrary despotism, inspired me with disgust, and I determined to +give it up. But I had another still more important motive for sorrow +in the fickleness of fortune which had completely turned against me. +I remarked that, from the time of my degradation with Melulla, every +kind of misfortune befell me. The greatest of all--that which I felt +most, but which I had the good sense to try and consider a favour-- +was that a week before the departure of the army M. D---- R----- took +me again for his adjutant, and M. F---- had to engage another in my +place. On the occasion of that change Madame F told me, with an +appearance of regret, that in Venice we could not, for many reasons, +continue our intimacy. I begged her to spare me the reasons, as I +foresaw that they would only throw humiliation upon me. I began to +discover that the goddess I had worshipped was, after all, a poor +human being like all other women, and to think that I should have +been very foolish to give up my life for her. I probed in one day +the real worth of her heart, for she told me, I cannot recollect in +reference to what, that I excited her pity. I saw clearly that she +no longer loved me; pity is a debasing feeling which cannot find a +home in a heart full of love, for that dreary sentiment is too near a +relative of contempt. Since that time I never found myself alone +with Madame F----. I loved her still; I could easily have made her +blush, but I did not do it. + +As soon as we reached Venice she became attached to M. F---- R-----, +whom she loved until death took him from her. She was unhappy enough +to lose her sight twenty years after. I believe she is still alive. + +During the last two months of my stay in Corfu, I learned the most +bitter and important lessons. In after years I often derived useful +hints from the experience I acquired at that time. + +Before my adventure with the worthless Melulla, I enjoyed good +health, I was rich, lucky at play, liked by everybody, beloved by the +most lovely woman of Corfu. When I spoke, everybody would listen and +admire my wit; my words were taken for oracles, and everyone +coincided with me in everything. After my fatal meeting with the +courtezan I rapidly lost my health, my money, my credit; +cheerfulness, consideration, wit, everything, even the faculty of +eloquence vanished with fortune. I would talk, but people knew that +I was unfortunate, and I no longer interested or convinced my +hearers. The influence I had over Madame F---- faded away little by +little, and, almost without her knowing it, the lovely woman became +completely indifferent to me. + +I left Corfu without money, although I had sold or pledged everything +I had of any value. Twice I had reached Corfu rich and happy, twice +I left it poor and miserable. But this time I had contracted debts +which I have never paid, not through want of will but through +carelessness. + +Rich and in good health, everyone received me with open arms; poor +and looking sick, no one shewed me any consideration. With a full +purse and the tone of a conqueror, I was thought witty, amusing; with +an empty purse and a modest air, all I said appeared dull and +insipid. If I had become rich again, how soon I would have been +again accounted the eighth wonder of the world! Oh, men! oh, +fortune! Everyone avoided me as if the ill luck which crushed me +down was infectious. + +We left Corfu towards the end of September, with five galleys, two +galeasses, and several smaller vessels, under the command of M. +Renier. We sailed along the shores of the Adriatic, towards the +north of the gulf, where there are a great many harbours, and we put +in one of them every night. I saw Madame F---- every evening; she +always came with her husband to take supper on board our galeass. We +had a fortunate voyage, and cast anchor in the harbour of Venice on +the 14th of October, 1745, and after having performed quarantine on +board our ships, we landed on the 25th of November. Two months +afterwards, the galeasses were set aside altogether. The use of +these vessels could be traced very far back in ancient times; their +maintenance was very expensive, and they were useless. A galeass had +the frame of a frigate with the rowing apparatus of the galley, and +when there was no wind, five hundred slaves had to row. + +Before simple good sense managed to prevail and to enforce the +suppression of these useless carcasses, there were long discussions +in the senate, and those who opposed the measure took their principal +ground of opposition in the necessity of respecting and conserving +all the institutions of olden times. That is the disease of persons +who can never identify themselves with the successive improvements +born of reason and experience; worthy persons who ought to be sent to +China, or to the dominions of the Grand Lama, where they would +certainly be more at home than in Europe. + +That ground of opposition to all improvements, however absurd it may +be, is a very powerful one in a republic, which must tremble at the +mere idea of novelty either in important or in trifling things. +Superstition has likewise a great part to play in these conservative +views. + +There is one thing that the Republic of Venice will never alter: I +mean the galleys, because the Venetians truly require such vessels to +ply, in all weathers and in spite of the frequent calms, in a narrow +sea, and because they would not know what to do with the men +sentenced to hard labour. + +I have observed a singular thing in Corfu, where there are often as +many as three thousand galley slaves; it is that the men who row on +the galleys, in consequence of a sentence passed upon them for some +crime, are held in a kind of opprobrium, whilst those who are there +voluntarily are, to some extent, respected. I have always thought it +ought to be the reverse, because misfortune, whatever it may be, +ought to inspire some sort of respect; but the vile fellow who +condemns himself voluntarily and as a trade to the position of a +slave seems to me contemptible in the highest degree. The convicts +of the Republic, however, enjoy many privileges, and are, in every +way, better treated than the soldiers. It very often occurs that +soldiers desert and give themselves up to a 'sopracomito' to become +galley slaves. In those cases, the captain who loses a soldier has +nothing to do but to submit patiently, for he would claim the man in +vain. The reason of it is that the Republic has always believed +galley slaves more necessary than soldiers. The Venetians may +perhaps now (I am writing these lines in the year 1797) begin to +realize their mistake. + +A galley slave, for instance, has the privilege of stealing with +impunity. It is considered that stealing is the least crime they can +be guilty of, and that they ought to be forgiven for it. + +"Keep on your guard," says the master of the galley slave; "and if +you catch him in the act of stealing, thrash him, but be careful not +to cripple him; otherwise you must pay me the one hundred ducats the +man has cost me." + +A court of justice could not have a galley slave taken from a galley, +without paying the master the amount he has disbursed for the man. + +As soon as I had landed in Venice, I called upon Madame Orio, but I +found the house empty. A neighbour told me that she had married the +Procurator Rosa, and had removed to his house. I went immediately to +M. Rosa and was well received. Madame Orio informed me that Nanette +had become Countess R., and was living in Guastalla with her husband. + +Twenty-four years afterwards, I met her eldest son, then a +distinguished officer in the service of the Infante of Parma. + +As for Marton, the grace of Heaven had touched her, and she had +become a nun in the convent at Muran. Two years afterwards, I +received from her a letter full of unction, in which she adjured me, +in the name of Our Saviour and of the Holy Virgin, never to present +myself before her eyes. She added that she was bound by Christian +charity to forgive me for the crime I had committed in seducing her, +and she felt certain of the reward of the elect, and she assured me +that she would ever pray earnestly for my conversion. + +I never saw her again, but she saw me in 1754, as I will mention when +we reach that year. + +I found Madame Manzoni still the same. She had predicted that I +would not remain in the military profession, and when I told her that +I had made up my mind to give it up, because I could not be +reconciled to the injustice I had experienced, she burst out +laughing. She enquired about the profession I intended to follow +after giving up the army, and I answered that I wished to become an +advocate. She laughed again, saying that it was too late. Yet I was +only twenty years old. + +When I called upon M. Grimani I had a friendly welcome from him, but, +having enquired after my brother Francois, he told me that he had had +him confined in Fort Saint Andre, the same to which I had been sent +before the arrival of the Bishop of Martorano. + +"He works for the major there," he said; "he copies Simonetti's +battle-pieces, and the major pays him for them; in that manner he +earns his living, and is becoming a good painter." + +"But he is not a prisoner?" + +"Well, very much like it, for he cannot leave the fort. The major, +whose name is Spiridion, is a friend of Razetta, who could not refuse +him the pleasure of taking care of your brother." + +I felt it a dreadful curse that the fatal Razetta should be the +tormentor of all my family, but I concealed my anger. + +"Is my sister," I enquired, "still with him?" + +"No, she has gone to your mother in Dresden." + +This was good news. + +I took a cordial leave of the Abbe Grimani, and I proceeded to Fort +Saint Andre. I found my brother hard at work, neither pleased nor +displeased with his position, and enjoying good health. After +embracing him affectionately, I enquired what crime he had committed +to be thus a prisoner. + +"Ask the major," he said, "for I have not the faintest idea." + +The major came in just then, so I gave him the military salute, and +asked by what authority he kept my brother under arrest. + +"I am not accountable to you for my actions." + +"That remains to be seen." + +I then told my brother to take his hat, and to come and dine with me. +The major laughed, and said that he had no objection provided the +sentinel allowed him to pass. + +I saw that I should only waste my time in discussion, and I left the +fort fully bent on obtaining justice. + +The next day I went to the war office, where I had the pleasure of +meeting my dear Major Pelodoro, who was then commander of the +Fortress of Chiozza. I informed him of the complaint I wanted to +prefer before the secretary of war respecting my brother's arrest, +and of the resolution I had taken to leave the army. He promised me +that, as soon as the consent of the secretary for war could be +obtained, he would find a purchaser for my commission at the same +price I had paid for it. + +I had not long to wait. The war secretary came to the office, and +everything was settled in half an hour. He promised his consent to +the sale of my commission as soon as he ascertained the abilities of +the purchaser, and Major Spiridion happening to make his appearance +in the office while I was still there, the secretary ordered him +rather angrily, to set my brother at liberty immediately, and +cautioned him not to be guilty again of such reprehensible and +arbitrary acts. + +I went at once for my brother, and we lived together in furnished +lodgings. + +A few days afterwards, having received my discharge and one hundred +sequins, I threw off my uniform, and found myself once more my own +master. + +I had to earn my living in one way or another, and I decided for the +profession of gamester. But Dame Fortune was not of the same +opinion, for she refused to smile upon me from the very first step I +took in the career, and in less than a week I did not possess a +groat. What was to become of me? One must live, and I turned +fiddler. Doctor Gozzi had taught me well enough to enable me to +scrape on the violin in the orchestra of a theatre, and having +mentioned my wishes to M. Grimani he procured me an engagement at +his own theatre of Saint Samuel, where I earned a crown a day, and +supported myself while I awaited better things. + +Fully aware of my real position, I never shewed myself in the +fashionable circles which I used to frequent before my fortune had +sunk so low. I knew that I was considered as a worthless fellow, but +I did not care. People despised me, as a matter of course; but I +found comfort in the consciousness that I was worthy of contempt. +I felt humiliated by the position to which I was reduced after having +played so brilliant a part in society; but as I kept the secret to +myself I was not degraded, even if I felt some shame. I had not +exchanged my last word with Dame Fortune, and was still in hope of +reckoning with her some day, because I was young, and youth is dear +to Fortune. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +I Turn Out A Worthless Fellow--My Good Fortune--I Become A Rich +Nobleman + + +With an education which ought to have ensured me an honourable +standing in the world, with some intelligence, wit, good literary and +scientific knowledge, and endowed with those accidental physical +qualities which are such a good passport into society, I found +myself, at the age of twenty, the mean follower of a sublime art, in +which, if great talent is rightly admired, mediocrity is as rightly +despised. I was compelled by poverty to become a member of a musical +band, in which I could expect neither esteem nor consideration, and I +was well aware that I should be the laughing-stock of the persons who +had known me as a doctor in divinity, as an ecclesiastic, and as an +officer in the army, and had welcomed me in the highest society. + +I knew all that, for I was not blind to my position; but contempt, +the only thing to which I could not have remained indifferent, never +shewed itself anywhere under a form tangible enough for me to have no +doubt of my being despised, and I set it at defiance, because I was +satisfied that contempt is due only to cowardly, mean actions, and I +was conscious that I had never been guilty of any. As to public +esteem, which I had ever been anxious to secure, my ambition was +slumbering, and satisfied with being my own master I enjoyed my +independence without puzzling my head about the future. I felt that +in my first profession, as I was not blessed with the vocation +necessary to it, I should have succeeded only by dint of hypocrisy, +and I should have been despicable in my own estimation, even if I had +seen the purple mantle on my shoulders, for the greatest dignities +cannot silence a man's own conscience. If, on the other hand, I had +continued to seek fortune in a military career, which is surrounded +by a halo of glory, but is otherwise the worst of professions for the +constant self-abnegation, for the complete surrender of one's will +which passive obedience demands, I should have required a patience to +which I could not lay any claim, as every kind of injustice was +revolting to me, and as I could not bear to feel myself dependent. +Besides, I was of opinion that a man's profession, whatever it might +be, ought to supply him with enough money to satisfy all his wants; +and the very poor pay of an officer would never have been sufficient +to cover my expenses, because my education had given me greater wants +than those of officers in general. By scraping my violin I earned +enough to keep myself without requiring anybody's assistance, and I +have always thought that the man who can support himself is happy. I +grant that my profession was not a brilliant one, but I did not mind +it, and, calling prejudices all the feelings which rose in my breast +against myself, I was not long in sharing all the habits of my +degraded comrades. When the play was over, I went with them to the +drinking-booth, which we often left intoxicated to spend the night in +houses of ill-fame. When we happened to find those places already +tenanted by other men, we forced them by violence to quit the +premises, and defrauded the miserable victims of prostitution of the +mean salary the law allows them, after compelling them to yield to +our brutality. Our scandalous proceedings often exposed us to the +greatest danger. + +We would very often spend the whole night rambling about the city, +inventing and carrying into execution the most impertinent, practical +jokes. One of our favourite pleasures was to unmoor the patricians' +gondolas, and to let them float at random along the canals, enjoying +by anticipation all the curses that gondoliers would not fail to +indulge in. We would rouse up hurriedly, in the middle of the night, +an honest midwife, telling her to hasten to Madame So-and-so, who, +not being even pregnant, was sure to tell her she was a fool when she +called at the house. We did the same with physicians, whom we often +sent half dressed to some nobleman who was enjoying excellent health. +The priests fared no better; we would send them to carry the last +sacraments to married men who were peacefully slumbering near their +wives, and not thinking of extreme unction. + +We were in the habit of cutting the wires of the bells in every +house, and if we chanced to find a gate open we would go up the +stairs in the dark, and frighten the sleeping inmates by telling them +very loudly that the house door was not closed, after which we would +go down, making as much noise as we could, and leave the house with +the gate wide open. + +During a very dark night we formed a plot to overturn the large +marble table of St. Angelo's Square, on which it was said that in the +days of the League of Cambray the commissaries of the Republic were +in the habit of paying the bounty to the recruits who engaged to +fight under the standard of St. Mark--a circumstance which secured +for the table a sort of public veneration. + +Whenever we could contrive to get into a church tower we thought it +great fun to frighten all the parish by ringing the alarm bell, as if +some fire had broken out; but that was not all, we always cut the +bell ropes, so that in the morning the churchwardens had no means of +summoning the faithful to early mass. Sometimes we would cross the +canal, each of us in a different gondola, and take to our heels +without paying as soon as we landed on the opposite side, in order to +make the gondoliers run after us. + +The city was alive with complaints, and we laughed at the useless +search made by the police to find out those who disturbed the peace +of the inhabitants. We took good care to be careful, for if we had +been discovered we stood a very fair chance of being sent to practice +rowing at the expense of the Council of Ten. + +We were seven, and sometimes eight, because, being much attached to +my brother Francois, I gave him a share now and then in our nocturnal +orgies. But at last fear put a stop to our criminal jokes, which in +those days I used to call only the frolics of young men. This is the +amusing adventure which closed our exploits. + +In every one of the seventy-two parishes of the city of Venice, there +is a large public-house called 'magazzino'. It remains open all +night, and wine is retailed there at a cheaper price than in all the +other drinking houses. People can likewise eat in the 'magazzino', +but they must obtain what they want from the pork butcher near by, +who has the exclusive sale of eatables, and likewise keeps his shop +open throughout the night. The pork butcher is usually a very poor +cook, but as he is cheap, poor people are willingly satisfied with +him, and these resorts are considered very useful to the lower class. +The nobility, the merchants, even workmen in good circumstances, are +never seen in the 'magazzino', for cleanliness is not exactly +worshipped in such places. Yet there are a few private rooms which +contain a table surrounded with benches, in which a respectable +family or a few friends can enjoy themselves in a decent way. + +It was during the Carnival of 1745, after midnight; we were, all the +eight of us, rambling about together with our masks on, in quest of +some new sort of mischief to amuse us, and we went into the magazzino +of the parish of the Holy Cross to get something to drink. We found +the public room empty, but in one of the private chambers we +discovered three men quietly conversing with a young and pretty +woman, and enjoying their wine. + +Our chief, a noble Venetian belonging to the Balbi family, said to +us, "It would be a good joke to carry off those three blockheads, and +to keep the pretty woman in our possession." He immediately +explained his plan, and under cover of our masks we entered their +room, Balbi at the head of us. Our sudden appearance rather +surprised the good people, but you may fancy their astonishment when +they heard Balbi say to them: "Under penalty of death, and by order +of the Council of Ten, I command you to follow us immediately, +without making the slightest noise; as to you, my good woman, you +need not be frightened, you will be escorted to your house." When he +had finished his speech, two of us got hold of the woman to take her +where our chief had arranged beforehand, and the others seized the +three poor fellows, who were trembling all over, and had not the +slightest idea of opposing any resistance. + +The waiter of the magazzino came to be paid, and our chief gave him +what was due, enjoining silence under penalty of death. We took our +three prisoners to a large boat. Balbi went to the stern, ordered +the boatman to stand at the bow, and told him that he need not +enquire where we were going, that he would steer himself whichever +way he thought fit. Not one of us knew where Balbi wanted to take +the three poor devils. + +He sails all along the canal, gets out of it, takes several turnings, +and in a quarter of an hour, we reach Saint George where Balbi lands +our prisoners, who are delighted to find themselves at liberty. +After this, the boatman is ordered to take us to Saint Genevieve, +where we land, after paying for the boat. + +We proceed at once to Palombo Square, where my brother and another of +our band were waiting for us with our lovely prisoner, who was +crying. + +"Do not weep, my beauty," says Balbi to her, "we will not hurt you. +We intend only to take some refreshment at the Rialto, and then we +will take you home in safety." + +"Where is my husband?" + +"Never fear; you shall see him again to-morrow." + +Comforted by that promise, and as gentle as a lamb, she follows us to +the "Two Swords." We ordered a good fire in a private room, and, +everything we wanted to eat and to drink having been brought in, we +send the waiter away, and remain alone. We take off our masks, and +the sight of eight young, healthy faces seems to please the beauty we +had so unceremoniously carried off. We soon manage to reconcile her +to her fate by the gallantry of our proceedings; encouraged by a good +supper and by the stimulus of wine, prepared by our compliments and +by a few kisses, she realizes what is in store for her, and does not +seem to have any unconquerable objection. Our chief, as a matter of +right, claims the privilege of opening the ball; and by dint of sweet +words he overcomes the very natural repugnance she feels at +consummating the sacrifice in so numerous company. She, doubtless, +thinks the offering agreeable, for, when I present myself as the +priest appointed to sacrifice a second time to the god of love, she +receives me almost with gratitude, and she cannot conceal her joy +when she finds out that she is destined to make us all happy. My +brother Francois alone exempted himself from paying the tribute, +saying that he was ill, the only excuse which could render his +refusal valid, for we had established as a law that every member of +our society was bound to do whatever was done by the others. + +After that fine exploit, we put on our masks, and, the bill being +paid, escorted the happy victim to Saint Job, where she lived, and +did not leave her till we had seen her safe in her house, and the +street door closed. + +My readers may imagine whether we felt inclined to laugh when the +charming creature bade us good night, thanking us all with perfect +good faith! + +Two days afterwards, our nocturnal orgy began to be talked of. The +young woman's husband was a weaver by trade, and so were his two +friends. They joined together to address a complaint to the Council +of Ten. The complaint was candidly written and contained nothing but +the truth, but the criminal portion of the truth was veiled by a +circumstance which must have brought a smile on the grave +countenances of the judges, and highly amused the public at large: +the complaint setting forth that the eight masked men had not +rendered themselves guilty of any act disagreeable to the wife. It +went on to say that the two men who had carried her off had taken her +to such a place, where they had, an hour later, been met by the other +six, and that they had all repaired to the "Two Swords," where they +had spent an hour in drinking. The said lady having been handsomely +entertained by the eight masked men, had been escorted to her house, +where she had been politely requested to excuse the joke perpetrated +upon her husband. The three plaintiffs had not been able to leave +the island of Saint George until day-break, and the husband, on +reaching his house, had found his wife quietly asleep in her bed. +She had informed him of all that had happened; she complained of +nothing but of the great fright she had experienced on account of her +husband, and on that count she entreated justice and the punishment +of the guilty parties. + +That complaint was comic throughout, for the three rogues shewed +themselves very brave in writing, stating that they would certainly +not have given way so easily if the dread authority of the council +had not been put forth by the leader of the band. The document +produced three different results; in the first place, it amused the +town; in the second, all the idlers of Venice went to Saint Job to +hear the account of the adventure from the lips of the heroine +herself, and she got many presents from her numerous visitors; in the +third place, the Council of Ten offered a reward of five hundred +ducats to any person giving such information as would lead to the +arrest of the perpetrators of the practical joke, even if the +informer belonged to the band, provided he was not the leader. + +The offer of that reward would have made us tremble if our leader, +precisely the one who alone had no interest in turning informer, had +not been a patrician. The rank of Balbi quieted my anxiety at once, +because I knew that, even supposing one of us were vile enough to +betray our secret for the sake of the reward, the tribunal would have +done nothing in order not to implicate a patrician. There was no +cowardly traitor amongst us, although we were all poor; but fear had +its effect, and our nocturnal pranks were not renewed. + +Three or four months afterwards the chevalier Nicolas Iron, then one +of the inquisitors, astonished me greatly by telling me the whole +story, giving the names of all the actors. He did not tell me +whether any one of the band had betrayed the secret, and I did not +care to know; but I could clearly see the characteristic spirit of +the aristocracy, for which the 'solo mihi' is the supreme law. + +Towards the middle of April of the year 1746 M. Girolamo Cornaro, the +eldest son of the family Cornaro de la Reine, married a daughter of +the house of Soranzo de St. Pol, and I had the honour of being +present at the wedding--as a fiddler. I played the violin in one of +the numerous bands engaged for the balls which were given for three +consecutive days in the Soranzo Palace. + +On the third day, towards the end of the dancing, an hour before day- +break, feeling tired, I left the orchestra abruptly; and as I was +going down the stairs I observed a senator, wearing his red robes, on +the point of getting into a gondola. In taking his handkerchief out +of his pocket he let a letter drop on the ground. I picked it up, +and coming up to him just as he was going down the steps I handed it +to him. He received it with many thanks, and enquired where I lived. +I told him, and he insisted upon my coming with him in the gondola +saying that he would leave me at my house. I accepted gratefully, +and sat down near him. A few minutes afterwards he asked me to rub +his left arm, which, he said, was so benumbed that he could not feel +it. I rubbed it with all my strength, but he told me in a sort of +indistinct whisper that the numbness was spreading all along the left +side, and that he was dying. + +I was greatly frightened; I opened the curtain, took the lantern, and +found him almost insensible, and the mouth drawn on one side. I +understood that he was seized with an apoplectic stroke, and called +out to the gondoliers to land me at once, in order to procure a +surgeon to bleed the patient. + +I jumped out of the gondola, and found myself on the very spot where +three years before I had taught Razetta such a forcible lesson; I +enquired for a surgeon at the first coffee-house, and ran to the +house that was pointed out to me. I knocked as hard as I could; the +door was at last opened, and I made the surgeon follow me in his +dressing-gown as far as the gondola, which was waiting; he bled the +senator while I was tearing my shirt to make the compress and the +bandage. + +The operation being performed, I ordered the gondoliers to row as +fast as possible, and we soon reached St. Marina; the servants were +roused up, and taking the sick man out of the gondola we carried him +to his bed almost dead. + +Taking everything upon myself, I ordered a servant to hurry out for a +physician, who came in a short time, and ordered the patient to be +bled again, thus approving the first bleeding prescribed by me. +Thinking I had a right to watch the sick man, I settled myself near +his bed to give him every care he required. + +An hour later, two noblemen, friends of the senator, came in, one a +few minutes after the other. They were in despair; they had enquired +about the accident from the gondoliers, and having been told that I +knew more than they did, they loaded me with questions which I +answered. They did not know who I was, and did not like to ask me; +whilst I thought it better to preserve a modest silence. + +The patient did not move; his breathing alone shewed that he was +still alive; fomentations were constantly applied, and the priest who +had been sent for, and was of very little use under such +circumstances, seemed to be there only to see him die. All visitors +were sent away by my advice, and the two noblemen and myself were the +only persons in the sick man's room. At noon we partook silently of +some dinner which was served in the sick room. + +In the evening one of the two friends told me that if I had any +business to attend to I could go, because they would both pass the +night on a mattress near the patient. + +"And I, sir," I said, "will remain near his bed in this arm-chair, +for if I went away the patient would die, and he will live as long as +I am near him." + +This sententious answer struck them with astonishment, as I expected +it would, and they looked at each other in great surprise. + +We had supper, and in the little conversation we had I gathered the +information that the senator, their friend, was M. de Bragadin, the +only brother of the procurator of that name. He was celebrated in +Venice not only for his eloquence and his great talents as a +statesman, but also for the gallantries of his youth. He had been +very extravagant with women, and more than one of them had committed +many follies for him. He had gambled and lost a great deal, and his +brother was his most bitter enemy, because he was infatuated with the +idea that he had tried to poison him. He had accused him of that +crime before the Council of Ten, which, after an investigation of +eight months, had brought in a verdict of not guilty: but that just +sentence, although given unanimously by that high tribunal, had not +had the effect of destroying his brother's prejudices against him. + +M. de Bragadin, who was perfectly innocent of such a crime and +oppressed by an unjust brother who deprived him of half of his +income, spent his days like an amiable philosopher, surrounded by his +friends, amongst whom were the two noblemen who were then watching +him; one belonged to the Dandolo family, the other was a Barbaro, and +both were excellent men. M. de Bragadin was handsome, learned, +cheerful, and most kindly disposed; he was then about fifty years +old. + +The physician who attended him was named Terro; he thought, by some +peculiar train of reasoning, that he could cure him by applying a +mercurial ointment to the chest, to which no one raised any +objection. The rapid effect of the remedy delighted the two friends, +but it frightened me, for in less than twenty-four hours the patient +was labouring under great excitement of the brain. The physician +said that he had expected that effect, but that on the following day +the remedy would act less on the brain, and diffuse its beneficial +action through the whole of the system, which required to be +invigorated by a proper equilibrium in the circulation of the fluids. + +At midnight the patient was in a state of high fever, and in a +fearful state of irritation. I examined him closely, and found him +hardly able to breathe. I roused up his two friends; and declared +that in my opinion the patient would soon die unless the fatal +ointment was at once removed. And without waiting for their answer, +I bared his chest, took off the plaster, washed the skin carefully +with lukewarm water, and in less than three minutes he breathed +freely and fell into a quiet sleep. Delighted with such a fortunate +result, we lay down again. + +The physician came very early in the morning, and was much pleased to +see his patient so much better, but when M. Dandolo informed him of +what had been done, he was angry, said it was enough to kill his +patient, and asked who had been so audacious as to destroy the effect +of his prescription. M. de Bragadin, speaking for the first time, +said to him-- + +"Doctor, the person who has delivered me from your mercury, which was +killing me, is a more skilful physician than you;" and, saying these +words, he pointed to me. + +It would be hard to say who was the more astonished: the doctor, when +he saw an unknown young man, whom he must have taken for an impostor, +declared more learned than himself; or I, when I saw myself +transformed into a physician, at a moment's notice. I kept silent, +looking very modest, but hardly able to control my mirth, whilst the +doctor was staring at me with a mixture of astonishment and of spite, +evidently thinking me some bold quack who had tried to supplant him. +At last, turning towards M. de Bragadin, he told him coldly that he +would leave him in my hands; he was taken at his word, he went away, +and behold! I had become the physician of one of the most +illustrious members of the Venetian Senate! I must confess that I +was very glad of it, and I told my patient that a proper diet was all +he needed, and that nature, assisted by the approaching fine season, +would do the rest. + +The dismissed physician related the affair through the town, and, as +M. de Bragadin was rapidly improving, one of his relations, who came +to see him, told him that everybody was astonished at his having +chosen for his physician a fiddler from the theatre; but the senator +put a stop to his remarks by answering that a fiddler could know more +than all the doctors in Venice, and that he owed his life to me. + +The worthy nobleman considered me as his oracle, and his two friends +listened to me with the deepest attention. Their infatuation +encouraging me, I spoke like a learned physician, I dogmatized, I +quoted authors whom I had never read. + +M. de Bragadin, who had the weakness to believe in the occult +sciences, told me one day that, for a young man of my age, he thought +my learning too extensive, and that he was certain I was the +possessor of some supernatural endowment. He entreated me to tell +him the truth. + +What extraordinary things will sometimes occur from mere chance, or +from the force of circumstances! Unwilling to hurt his vanity by +telling him that he was mistaken, I took the wild resolution of +informing him, in the presence of his two friends, that I possessed a +certain numeral calculus which gave answers (also in numbers), to any +questions I liked to put. + +M. de Bragadin said that it was Solomon's key, vulgarly called +cabalistic science, and he asked me from whom I learnt it. + +"From an old hermit," I answered," "who lives on the Carpegna +Mountain, and whose acquaintance I made quite by chance when I was a +prisoner in the Spanish army." + +"The hermit," remarked the senator, "has without informing you of it, +linked an invisible spirit to the calculus he has taught you, for +simple numbers can not have the power of reason. You possess a real +treasure, and you may derive great advantages from it." + +"I do not know," I said, "in what way I could make my science useful, +because the answers given by the numerical figures are often so +obscure that I have felt discouraged, and I very seldom tried to make +any use of my calculus. Yet, it is very true that, if I had not +formed my pyramid, I never should have had the happiness of knowing +your excellency." + +"How so?" + +"On the second day, during the festivities at the Soranzo Palace, I +enquired of my oracle whether I would meet at the ball anyone whom I +should not care to see. The answer I obtained was this: 'Leave the +ball-room precisely at four o'clock.' I obeyed implicitly, and met +your excellency." + +The three friends were astounded. M. Dandolo asked me whether I +would answer a question he would ask, the interpretation of which +would belong only to him, as he was the only person acquainted with +the subject of the question. + +I declared myself quite willing, for it was necessary to brazen it +out, after having ventured as far as I had done. He wrote the +question, and gave it to me; I read it, I could not understand either +the subject or the meaning of the words, but it did not matter, I had +to give an answer. If the question was so obscure that I could not +make out the sense of it, it was natural that I should not understand +the answer. I therefore answered, in ordinary figures, four lines of +which he alone could be the interpreter, not caring much, at least in +appearance, how they would be understood. M. Dandolo read them twice +over, seemed astonished, said that it was all very plain to him; it +was Divine, it was unique, it was a gift from Heaven, the numbers +being only the vehicle, but the answer emanating evidently from an +immortal spirit. + +M. Dandolo was so well pleased that his two friends very naturally +wanted also to make an experiment. They asked questions on all sorts +of subjects, and my answers, perfectly unintelligible to myself, were +all held as Divine by them. I congratulated them on their success, +and congratulated myself in their presence upon being the possessor +of a thing to which I had until then attached no importance whatever, +but which I promised to cultivate carefully, knowing that I could +thus be of some service to their excellencies. + +They all asked me how long I would require to teach them the rules of +my sublime calculus. "Not very long," I answered, "and I will teach +you as you wish, although the hermit assured me that I would die +suddenly within three days if I communicated my science to anyone, +but I have no faith whatever in that prediction." M. de Bragadin who +believed in it more than I did, told me in a serious tone that I was +bound to have faith in it, and from that day they never asked me +again to teach them. They very likely thought that, if they could +attach me to them, it would answer the purpose as well as if they +possessed the science themselves. Thus I became the hierophant of +those three worthy and talented men, who, in spite of their literary +accomplishments, were not wise, since they were infatuated with +occult and fabulous sciences, and believed in the existence of +phenomena impossible in the moral as well as in the physical order of +things. They believed that through me they possessed the +philosopher's stone, the universal panacea, the intercourse with all +the elementary, heavenly, and infernal spirits; they had no doubt +whatever that, thanks to my sublime science, they could find out the +secrets of every government in Europe. + +After they had assured themselves of the reality of my cabalistic +science by questions respecting the past, they decided to turn it to +some use by consulting it upon the present and upon the future. I +had no difficulty in skewing myself a good guesser, because I always +gave answers with a double meaning, one of the meanings being +carefully arranged by me, so as not to be understood until after the +event; in that manner, my cabalistic science, like the oracle of +Delphi, could never be found in fault. I saw how easy it must have +been for the ancient heathen priests to impose upon ignorant, and +therefore credulous mankind. I saw how easy it will always be for +impostors to find dupes, and I realized, even better than the Roman +orator, why two augurs could never look at each other without +laughing; it was because they had both an equal interest in giving +importance to the deceit they perpetrated, and from which they +derived such immense profits. But what I could not, and probably +never shall, understand, was the reason for which the Fathers, who +were not so simple or so ignorant as our Evangelists, did not feel +able to deny the divinity of oracles, and, in order to get out of the +difficulty, ascribed them to the devil. They never would have +entertained such a strange idea if they had been acquainted with +cabalistic science. My three worthy friends were like the holy +Fathers; they had intelligence and wit, but they were superstitious, +and no philosophers. But, although believing fully in my oracles, +they were too kind-hearted to think them the work of the devil, and +it suited their natural goodness better to believe my answers +inspired by some heavenly spirit. They were not only good Christians +and faithful to the Church, but even real devotees and full of +scruples. They were not married, and, after having renounced all +commerce with women, they had become the enemies of the female sex; +perhaps a strong proof of the weakness of their minds. They imagined +that chastity was the condition 'sine qua non' exacted by the spirits +from those who wished to have intimate communication or intercourse +with them: they fancied that spirits excluded women, and 'vice +versa'. + +With all these oddities, the three friends were truly intelligent and +even witty, and, at the beginning of my acquaintance with them, I +could not reconcile these antagonistic points. But a prejudiced mind +cannot reason well, and the faculty of reasoning is the most +important of all. I often laughed when I heard them talk on +religious matters; they would ridicule those whose intellectual +faculties were so limited that they could not understand the +mysteries of religion. The incarnation of the Word, they would say, +was a trifle for God, and therefore easy to understand, and the +resurrection was so comprehensible that it did not appear to them +wonderful, because, as God cannot die, Jesus Christ was naturally +certain to rise again. As for the Eucharist, transubstantiation, the +real presence, it was all no mystery to them, but palpable evidence, +and yet they were not Jesuits. They were in the habit of going to +confession every week, without feeling the slightest trouble about +their confessors, whose ignorance they kindly regretted. They +thought themselves bound to confess only what was a sin in their own +opinion, and in that, at least, they reasoned with good sense. + +With those three extraordinary characters, worthy of esteem and +respect for their moral qualities, their honesty, their reputation, +and their age, as well as for their noble birth, I spent my days in a +very pleasant manner: although, in their thirst for knowledge, they +often kept me hard at work for ten hours running, all four of us +being locked up together in a room, and unapproachable to everybody, +even to friends or relatives. + +I completed the conquest of their friendship by relating to them the +whole of my life, only with some proper reserve, so as not to lead +them into any capital sins. I confess candidly that I deceived them, +as the Papa Deldimopulo used to deceive the Greeks who applied to him +for the oracles of the Virgin. I certainly did not act towards them +with a true sense of honesty, but if the reader to whom I confess +myself is acquainted with the world and with the spirit of society, I +entreat him to think before judging me, and perhaps I may meet with +some indulgence at his hands. + +I might be told that if I had wished to follow the rules of pure +morality I ought either to have declined intimate intercourse with +them or to have undeceived them. I cannot deny these premises, but I +will answer that I was only twenty years of age, I was intelligent, +talented, and had just been a poor fiddler. I should have lost my +time in trying to cure them of their weakness; I should not have +succeeded, for they would have laughed in my face, deplored my +ignorance, and the result of it all would have been my dismissal. +Besides, I had no mission, no right, to constitute myself an apostle, +and if I had heroically resolved on leaving them as soon as I knew +them to be foolish visionaries, I should have shewn myself a +misanthrope, the enemy of those worthy men for whom I could procure +innocent pleasures, and my own enemy at the same time; because, as a +young man, I liked to live well, to enjoy all the pleasures natural +to youth and to a good constitution. + +By acting in that manner I should have failed in common politeness, I +should perhaps have caused or allowed M. de Bragadin's death, and I +should have exposed those three honest men to becoming the victims of +the first bold cheat who, ministering to their monomania, might have +won their favour, and would have ruined them by inducing them to +undertake the chemical operations of the Great Work. There is also +another consideration, dear reader, and as I love you I will tell you +what it is. An invincible self-love would have prevented me from +declaring myself unworthy of their friendship either by my ignorance +or by my pride; and I should have been guilty of great rudeness if I +had ceased to visit them. + +I took, at least it seems to me so, the best, the most natural, and +the noblest decision, if we consider the disposition of their mind, +when I decided upon the plan of conduct which insured me the +necessaries of life and of those necessaries who could be a better +judge than your very humble servant? + +Through the friendship of those three men, I was certain of obtaining +consideration and influence in my own country. Besides, I found it +very flattering to my vanity to become the subject of the speculative +chattering of empty fools who, having nothing else to do, are always +trying to find out the cause of every moral phenomenon they meet +with, which their narrow intellect cannot understand. + +People racked their brain in Venice to find out how my intimacy with +three men of that high character could possibly exist; they were +wrapped up in heavenly aspirations, I was a world's devotee; they +were very strict in their morals, I was thirsty of all pleasures! +At the beginning of summer, M. de Bragadin was once, more able to +take his seat in the senate, and, the day before he went out for the +first time, he spoke to me thus: + +"Whoever you may be, I am indebted to you for my life. Your first +protectors wanted to make you a priest, a doctor, an advocate, a +soldier, and ended by making a fiddler of you; those persons did not +know you. God had evidently instructed your guardian angel to bring +you to me. I know you and appreciate you. If you will be my son, +you have only to acknowledge me for your father, and, for the future, +until my death, I will treat you as my own child. Your apartment is +ready, you may send your clothes: you shall have a servant, a gondola +at your orders, my own table, and ten sequins a month. It is the sum +I used to receive from my father when I was your age. You need not +think of the future; think only of enjoying yourself, and take me as +your adviser in everything that may happen to you, in everything you +may wish to undertake, and you may be certain of always finding me +your friend." + +I threw myself at his feet to assure him of my gratitude, and +embraced him calling him my father. He folded me in his arms, called +me his dear son; I promised to love and to obey him; his two friends, +who lived in the same palace, embraced me affectionately, and we +swore eternal fraternity. + +Such is the history of my metamorphosis, and of the lucky stroke +which, taking me from the vile profession of a fiddler, raised me to +the rank of a grandee. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +I lead a dissolute life--Zawoiski--Rinaldi--L'Abbadie--the young +countess--the Capuchin friar Z. Steffani--Ancilla--La Ramor--I take a +gondola at St. Job to go to Mestra. + + +Fortune, which had taken pleasure in giving me a specimen of its +despotic caprice, and had insured my happiness through means which +sages would disavow, had not the power to make me adopt a system of +moderation and prudence which alone could establish my future welfare +on a firm basis. + +My ardent nature, my irresistible love of pleasure, my unconquerable +independence, would not allow me to submit to the reserve which my +new position in life demanded from me. I began to lead a life of +complete freedom, caring for nothing but what ministered to my +tastes, and I thought that, as long as I respected the laws, I could +trample all prejudices under my feet. I fancied that I could live +free and independent in a country ruled entirely by an aristocratic +government, but this was not the case, and would not have been so +even if fortune had raised me to a seat in that same government, for +the Republic of Venice, considering that its primary duty is to +preserve its own integrity, finds itself the slave of its own policy, +and is bound to sacrifice everything to self-preservation, before +which the laws themselves cease to be inviolable. + +But let us abandon the discussion of a principle now too trite, for +humankind, at least in Europe, is satisfied that unlimited liberty is +nowhere consistent with a properly-regulated state of society. I +have touched lightly on the matter, only to give to my readers some +idea of my conduct in my own country, where I began to tread a path +which was to lead me to a state prison as inscrutable as it was +unconstitutional. + +With enough money, endowed by nature with a pleasing and commanding +physical appearance, a confirmed gambler, a true spendthrift, a great +talker, very far from modest, intrepid, always running after pretty +women, supplanting my rivals, and acknowledging no good company but +that which ministered to my enjoyment, I was certain to be disliked; +but, ever ready to expose myself to any danger, and to take the +responsibility of all my actions, I thought I had a right to do +anything I pleased, for I always broke down abruptly every obstacle I +found in my way. + +Such conduct could not but be disagreeable to the three worthy men +whose oracle I had become, but they did not like to complain. The +excellent M. de Bragadin would only tell me that I was giving him a +repetition of the foolish life he had himself led at my age, but that +I must prepare to pay the penalty of my follies, and to feel the +punishment when I should reach his time of life. Without wanting in +the respect I owed him, I would turn his terrible forebodings into +jest, and continue my course of extravagance. However, I must +mention here the first proof he gave me of his true wisdom. + +At the house of Madame Avogadro, a woman full of wit in spite of her +sixty years, I had made the acquaintance of a young Polish nobleman +called Zawoiski. He was expecting money from Poland, but in the mean +time the Venetian ladies did not let him want for any, being all very +much in love with his handsome face and his Polish manners. We soon +became good friends, my purse was his, but, twenty years later, he +assisted me to a far greater extent in Munich. Zawoiski was honest, +he had only a small dose of intelligence, but it was enough for his +happiness. He died in Trieste five or six years ago, the ambassador +of the Elector of Treves. I will speak of him in another part of +these Memoirs. + +This amiable young man, who was a favourite with everybody and was +thought a free-thinker because he frequented the society of Angelo +Querini and Lunardo Venier, presented me one day, as we were out +walking, to an unknown countess who took my fancy very strongly. +We called on her in the evening, and, after introducing me to her +husband, Count Rinaldi, she invited us to remain and have supper. + +The count made a faro bank in the course of the evening, I punted +with his wife as a partner, and won some fifty ducats. + +Very much pleased with my new acquaintance, I called alone on the +countess the next morning. The count, apologizing for his wife who +was not up yet, took me to her room. She received me with graceful +ease, and, her husband having left us alone, she had the art to let +me hope for every favour, yet without committing herself; when I took +leave of her, she invited me to supper for the evening. After supper +I played, still in partnership with her, won again, and went away +very much in love. I did not fail to pay her another visit the next +morning, but when I presented myself at the house I was told that she +had gone out. + +I called again in the evening, and, after she had excused herself for +not having been at home in the morning, the faro bank began, and I +lost all my money, still having the countess for my partner. After +supper, and when the other guests had retired, I remained with +Zawoiski, Count Rinaldi having offered to give us our revenge. As I +had no more money, I played upon trust, and the count threw down the +cards after I had lost five hundred sequins. I went away in great +sorrow. I was bound in honour to pay the next morning, and I did not +possess a groat. Love increased my despair, for I saw myself on the +point of losing the esteem of a woman by whom I was smitten, and the +anxiety I felt did not escape M. de Bragadin when we met in the +morning. He kindly encouraged me to confess my troubles to him. +I was conscious that it was my only chance, and candidly related the +whole affair, and I ended by saying that I should not survive my +disgrace. He consoled me by promising that my debt would be +cancelled in the course of the day, if I would swear never to play +again upon trust. I took an oath to that effect, and kissing his +hand, I went out for a walk, relieved from a great load. I had no +doubt that my excellent father would give me five hundred sequins +during the day, and I enjoyed my anticipation the honour I would +derive, in the opinion of the lovely countess, by my exactitude and +prompt discharge of my debt. I felt that it gave new strength to my +hopes, and that feeling prevented me from regretting my heavy loss, +but grateful for the great generosity of my benefactor I was fully +determined on keeping my promise. + +I dined with the three friends, and the matter was not even alluded +to; but, as we were rising from the table, a servant brought M. de +Bragadin a letter and a parcel. + +He read the letter, asked me to follow him into his study, and the +moment we were alone, he said; + +"Here is a parcel for you." + +I opened it, and found some forty sequins. Seeing my surprise, M. +de Bragadin laughed merrily and handed me the letter, the contents of +which ran thus: + +"M. de Casanova may be sure that our playing last night was only a +joke: he owes me nothing. My wife begs to send him half of the gold +which he has lost in cash. + +"COUNT RINALDI." + +I looked at M. de Bragadin, perfectly amazed, and he burst out +laughing. I guessed the truth, thanked him, and embracing him +tenderly I promised to be wiser for the future. The mist I had +before my eyes was dispelled, I felt that my love was defunct, and I +remained rather ashamed, when I realized that I had been the dupe of +the wife as well as of the husband. + +"This evening," said my clever physician, "you can have a gay supper +with the charming countess." + +"This evening, my dear, respected benefactor, I will have supper with +you. You have given me a masterly lesson." + +"The next time you lose money upon trust, you had better not pay it." + +"But I should be dishonoured." + +"Never mind. The sooner you dishonour yourself, the more you will +save, for you will always be compelled to accept your dishonour +whenever you find yourself utterly unable to pay your losses. It is +therefore more prudent not to wait until then." + +"It is much better still to avoid that fatal impossibility by never +playing otherwise than with money in hand." + + +"No doubt of it, for then you will save both your honour and your +purse. But, as you are fond of games of chance, I advise you never +to punt. Make the bank, and the advantage must be on your side." + +"Yes, but only a slight advantage." + +"As slight as you please, but it will be on your side, and when the +game is over you will find yourself a winner and not a loser. The +punter is excited, the banker is calm. The last says, 'I bet you do +not guess,' while the first says, 'I bet I can guess.' Which is the +fool, and which is the wise man? The question is easily answered. I +adjure you to be prudent, but if you should punt and win, recollect +that you are only an idiot if at the end you lose." + +"Why an idiot? Fortune is very fickle." + +"It must necessarily be so; it is a natural consequence. Leave off +playing, believe me, the very moment you see luck turning, even if +you should, at that moment, win but one groat." + +I had read Plato, and I was astonished at finding a man who could +reason like Socrates. + +The next day, Zawoiski called on me very early to tell me that I had +been expected to supper, and that Count Rinaldi had praised my +promptness in paying my debts of honour. I did not think it +necessary to undeceive him, but I did not go again to Count +Rinaldi's, whom I saw sixteen years afterwards in Milan. As to +Zawoiski, I did not tell him the story till I met him in Carlsbad, +old and deaf, forty years later. + +Three or four months later, M. de Bragadin taught me another of his +masterly lessons. I had become acquainted, through Zawoiski, with a +Frenchman called L'Abbadie, who was then soliciting from the Venetian +Government the appointment of inspector of the armies of the +Republic. The senate appointed, and I presented him to my protector, +who promised him his vote; but the circumstance I am going to relate +prevented him from fulfilling his promise. + +I was in need of one hundred sequins to discharge a few debts, and I +begged M. de Bragadin to give them to me. + +"Why, my dear son, do you not ask M. de l'Abbadie to render you that +service?" + +"I should not dare to do so, dear father." + +"Try him; I am certain that he will be glad to lend you that sum." + +"I doubt it, but I will try." + +I called upon L'Abbadie on the following day, and after a short +exchange of compliments I told him the service I expected from his +friendship. He excused himself in a very polite manner, drowning his +refusal in that sea of commonplaces which people are sure to repeat +when they cannot or will not oblige a friend. Zawoiski came in as he +was still apologizing, and I left them together. I hurried at once +to M. de Bragadin, and told him my want of success. He merely +remarked that the Frenchman was deficient in intelligence. + +It just happened that it was the very day on which the appointment of +the inspectorship was to be brought before the senate. I went out to +attend to my business (I ought to say to my pleasure), and as I did +not return home till after midnight I went to bed without seeing my +father. In the morning I said in his presence that I intended to +call upon L'Abbadie to congratulate him upon his appointment. + +"You may spare yourself that trouble; the senate has rejected his +nomination." + +"How so? Three days ago L'Abbadie felt sure of his success." + +"He was right then, for he would have been appointed if I had not +made up my mind to speak against him. I have proved to the senate +that a right policy forbade the government to trust such an important +post to a foreigner." + +"I am much surprised, for your excellency was not of that opinion the +day before yesterday." + +"Very true, but then I did not know M. de l'Abbadie. I found out +only yesterday that the man was not sufficiently intelligent to fill +the position he was soliciting. Is he likely to possess a sane +judgment when he refuses to lend you one hundred sequins? That +refusal has cost him an important appointment and an income of three +thousand crowns, which would now be his." + +When I was taking my walk on the same day I met Zawoiski with +L'Abbadie, and did not try to avoid them. L'Abbadie was furious, and +he had some reason to be so. + +"If you had told me," he said angrily, "that the one hundred sequins +were intended as a gag to stop M. de Bragadin's mouth, I would have +contrived to procure them for you." + +"If you had had an inspector's brains you would have easily guessed +it." + +The Frenchman's resentment proved very useful to me, because he +related the circumstance to everybody. The result was that from that +time those who wanted the patronage of the senator applied to me. +Comment is needless; this sort of thing has long been in existence, +and will long remain so, because very often, to obtain the highest of +favours, all that is necessary is to obtain the good-will of a +minister's favourite or even of his valet. My debts were soon paid. + +It was about that time that my brother Jean came to Venice with +Guarienti, a converted Jew, a great judge of paintings, who was +travelling at the expense of His Majesty the King of Poland, and +Elector of Saxony. It was the converted Jew who had purchased for +His Majesty the gallery of the Duke of Modena for one hundred +thousand sequins. Guarienti and my brother left Venice for Rome, +where Jean remained in the studio of the celebrated painter Raphael +Mengs, whom we shall meet again hereafter. + +Now, as a faithful historian, I must give my readers the story of a +certain adventure in which were involved the honour and happiness of +one of the most charming women in Italy, who would have been unhappy +if I had not been a thoughtless fellow. + +In the early part of October, 1746, the theatres being opened, I was +walking about with my mask on when I perceived a woman, whose head +was well enveloped in the hood of her mantle, getting out of the +Ferrara barge which had just arrived. Seeing her alone, and +observing her uncertain walk, I felt myself drawn towards her as if +an unseen hand had guided me. + +I come up to her, and offer my services if I can be of any use to +her. She answers timidly that she only wants to make some enquiries. + +"We are not here in the right place for conversation," I say to her; +"but if you would be kind enough to come with me to a cafe, you would +be able to speak and to explain your wishes." + +She hesitates, I insist, and she gives way. The tavern was close at +hand; we go in, and are alone in a private room. I take off my mask, +and out of politeness she must put down the hood of her mantle. A +large muslin head-dress conceals half of her face, but her eyes, her +nose, and her pretty mouth are enough to let me see on her features +beauty, nobleness, sorrow, and that candour which gives youth such an +undefinable charm. I need not say that, with such a good letter of +introduction, the unknown at once captivated my warmest interest. +After wiping away a few tears which are flowing, in spite of all her +efforts, she tells me that she belongs to a noble family, that she +has run away from her father's house, alone, trusting in God, to meet +a Venetian nobleman who had seduced her and then deceived her, thus +sealing her everlasting misery. + +"You have then some hope of recalling him to the path of duty? I +suppose he has promised you marriage?" + +"He has engaged his faith to me in writing. The only favour I claim +from your kindness is to take me to his house, to leave me there, and +to keep my secret." + +"You may trust, madam, to the feelings of a man of honour. I am +worthy of your trust. Have entire confidence in me, for I already +take a deep interest in all your concerns. Tell me his name." + +"Alas! sir, I give way to fate." + +With these words, she takes out of her bosom a paper which she gives +me; I recognize the handwriting of Zanetto Steffani. It was a +promise of marriage by which he engaged his word of honour to marry +within a week, in Venice, the young countess A---- S----. When I +have read the paper, I return it to her, saying that I knew the +writer quite well, that he was connected with the chancellor's +office, known as a great libertine, and deeply in debt, but that he +would be rich after his mother's death. + +"For God's sake take me to his house." + +"I will do anything you wish; but have entire confidence in me, and +be good enough to hear me. I advise you not to go to his house. He +has already done you great injury, and, even supposing that you +should happen to find him at home, he might be capable of receiving +you badly; if he should not be at home, it is most likely that his +mother would not exactly welcome you, if you should tell her who you +are and what is your errand. Trust to me, and be quite certain that +God has sent me on your way to assist you. I promise you that +to-morrow at the latest you shall know whether Steffani is in Venice, +what he intends to do with you, and what we may compel him to do. +Until then my advice is not to let him know your arrival in Venice." + +"Good God! where shall I go to-night?" + +"To a respectable house, of course." + +"I will go to yours, if you are married." + +"I am a bachelor." + +I knew an honest widow who resided in a lane, and who had two +furnished rooms. I persuade the young countess to follow me, and we +take a gondola. As we are gliding along, she tells me that, one +month before, Steffani had stopped in her neighbourhood for necessary +repairs to his travelling-carriage, and that, on the same day he had +made her acquaintance at a house where she had gone with her mother +for the purpose of offering their congratulations to a newly-married +lady. + +"I was unfortunate enough," she continued, "to inspire him with love, +and he postponed his departure. He remained one month in C----, never +going out but in the evening, and spending every night under my +windows conversing with me. He swore a thousand times that he adored +me, that his intentions were honourable. I entreated him to present +himself to my parents to ask me in marriage, but he always excused +himself by alleging some reason, good or bad, assuring me that he +could not be happy unless I shewed him entire confidence. He would +beg of me to make up my mind to run away with him, unknown to +everybody, promising that my honour should not suffer from such a +step, because, three days after my departure, everybody should +receive notice of my being his wife, and he assured me that he would +bring me back on a visit to my native place shortly after our +marriage. Alas, sir! what shall I say now? Love blinded me; I fell +into the abyss; I believed him; I agreed to everything. He gave me +the paper which you have read, and the following night I allowed him +to come into my room through the window under which he was in the +habit of conversing with me. + +"I consented to be guilty of a crime which I believed would be atoned +for within three days, and he left me, promising that the next night +he would be again under my window, ready to receive me in his arms. +Could I possibly entertain any doubt after the fearful crime I had +committed for him? I prepared a small parcel, and waited for his +coming, but in vain. Oh! what a cruel long night it was! In the +morning I heard that the monster had gone away with his servant one +hour after sealing my shame. You may imagine my despair! I adopted +the only plan that despair could suggest, and that, of course, was +not the right one. One hour before midnight I left my father's roof, +alone, thus completing my dishonour, but resolved on death, if the +man who has cruelly robbed me of my most precious treasure, and whom +a natural instinct told me I could find here, does not restore me the +honour which he alone can give me back. I walked all night and +nearly the whole day, without taking any food, until I got into the +barge, which brought me here in twenty-four hours. I travelled in +the boat with five men and two women, but no one saw my face or heard +my voice, I kept constantly sitting down in a corner, holding my head +down, half asleep, and with this prayer-book in my hands. I was left +alone, no one spoke to me, and I thanked God for it. When I landed +on the wharf, you did not give me time to think how I could find out +the dwelling of my perfidious seducer, but you may imagine the +impression produced upon me by the sudden apparition of a masked man +who, abruptly, and as if placed there purposely by Providence, +offered me his services; it seemed to me that you had guessed my +distress, and, far from experiencing any repugnance, I felt that I +was acting rightly in trusting myself in your hands, in spite of all +prudence which, perhaps, ought to have made me turn a deaf ear to +your words, and refuse the invitation to enter alone with you the +house to which you took me. + +"You know all now, sir; but I entreat you not to judge me too +severely; I have been virtuous all through my life; one month ago I +had never committed a fault which could call a blush upon my face, +and the bitter tears which I shed every day will, I hope, wash out my +crime in the eyes of God. I have been carefully brought up, but love +and the want of experience have thrown me into the abyss. I am in +your hands, and I feel certain that I shall have no cause to repent +it." + +I needed all she had just told' me to confirm me in the interest +which I had felt in her from the first moment. I told her +unsparingly that Steffani had seduced and abandoned her of malice +aforethought, and that she ought to think of him only to be revenged +of his perfidy. My words made her shudder, and she buried her +beautiful face in her hands. + +We reached the widow's house. I established her in a pretty, +comfortable room, and ordered some supper for her, desiring the good +landlady to skew her every attention and to let her want for nothing. +I then took an affectionate leave of her, promising to see her early +in the morning. + +On leaving this interesting but hapless girl, I proceeded to the +house of Steffani. I heard from one of his mother's gondoliers that +he had returned to Venice three days before, but that, twenty-four +hours after his return, he had gone away again without any servant, +and nobody knew his whereabouts, not even his mother. The same +evening, happening to be seated next to an abbe from Bologna at the +theatre, I asked him several questions respecting the family of my +unfortunate protegee. + +The abbe being intimately acquainted with them, I gathered from him +all the information I required, and, amongst other things, I heard +that the young countess had a brother, then an officer in the papal +service. + +Very early the next morning I called upon her. She was still asleep. +The widow told me that she had made a pretty good supper, but without +speaking a single word, and that she had locked herself up in her +room immediately afterwards. As soon as she had opened her door, I +entered her room, and, cutting short her apologies for having kept me +waiting, I informed her of all I had heard. + +Her features bore the stamp of deep sorrow, but she looked calmer, +and her complexion was no longer pale. She thought it unlikely that +Steffani would have left for any other place but for C-----. +Admitting the possibility that she might be right, I immediately +offered to go to C----- myself, and to return without loss of time to +fetch her, in case Steffani should be there. Without giving her time +to answer I told her all the particulars I had learned concerning her +honourable family, which caused her real satisfaction. + +"I have no objection," she said, "to your going to C----, and I thank +you for the generosity of your offer, but I beg you will postpone +your journey. I still hope that Steffani will return, and then I can +take a decision." + +"I think you are quite right," I said. "Will you allow me to have +some breakfast with you?" + +"Do you suppose I could refuse you?" + +"I should be very sorry to disturb you in any way. How did you use +to amuse yourself at home?" + +"I am very fond of books and music; my harpsichord was my delight." + +I left her after breakfast, and in the evening I came back with a +basket full of good books and music, and I sent her an excellent +harpsichord. My kindness confused her, but I surprised her much more +when I took out of my pocket three pairs of slippers. She blushed, +and thanked me with great feeling. She had walked a long distance, +her shoes were evidently worn out, her feet sore, and she appreciated +the delicacy of my present. As I had no improper design with regard +to her, I enjoyed her gratitude, and felt pleased at the idea she +evidently entertained of my kind attentions. I had no other purpose +in view but to restore calm to her mind, and to obliterate the bad +opinion which the unworthy Steffani had given her of men in general. +I never thought of inspiring her with love for me, and I had not the +slightest idea that I could fall in love with her. She was unhappy, +and her unhappiness--a sacred thing in my eyes--called all the more +for my most honourable sympathy, because, without knowing me, she had +given me her entire confidence. Situated as she was, I could not +suppose her heart susceptible of harbouring a new affection, and I +would have despised myself if I had tried to seduce her by any means +in my power. + +I remained with her only a quarter of an hour, being unwilling that +my presence should trouble her at such a moment, as she seemed to be +at a loss how to thank me and to express all her gratitude. + +I was thus engaged in a rather delicate adventure, the end of which I +could not possibly foresee, but my warmth for my protegee did not +cool down, and having no difficulty in procuring the means to keep +her I had no wish to see the last scene of the romance. That +singular meeting, which gave me the useful opportunity of finding +myself endowed with generous dispositions, stronger even than my love +for pleasure, flattered my self-love more than I could express. I +was then trying a great experiment, and conscious that I wanted sadly +to study myself, I gave up all my energies to acquire the great +science of the 'xxxxxxxxxxxx'. + +On the third day, in the midst of expressions of gratitude which I +could not succeed in stopping she told me that she could not conceive +why I shewed her so much sympathy, because I ought to have formed but +a poor opinion of her in consequence of the readiness with which she +had followed me into the cafe. She smiled when I answered that I +could not understand how I had succeeded in giving her so great a +confidence in my virtue, when I appeared before her with a mask on my +face, in a costume which did not indicate a very virtuous character. + +"It was easy for me, madam," I continued, "to guess that you were a +beauty in distress, when I observed your youth, the nobleness of your +countenance, and, more than all, your candour. The stamp of truth +was so well affixed to the first words you uttered that I could not +have the shadow of a doubt left in me as to your being the unhappy +victim of the most natural of all feelings, and as to your having +abandoned your home through a sentiment of honour. Your fault was +that of a warm heart seduced by love, over which reason could have no +sway, and your flight--the action of a soul crying for reparation or +for revenge-fully justifies you. Your cowardly seducer must pay with +his life the penalty due to his crime, and he ought never to receive, +by marrying you, an unjust reward, for he is not worthy of possessing +you after degrading himself by the vilest conduct." + +"Everything you say is true. My brother, I hope, will avenge me." + +"You are greatly mistaken if you imagine that Steffani will fight +your brother; Steffani is a coward who will never expose himself to +an honourable death." + +As I was speaking, she put her hand in her pocket and drew forth, +after a few moments' consideration, a stiletto six inches long, which +she placed on the table. + +"What is this?" I exclaimed. + +"It is a weapon upon which I reckoned until now to use against myself +in case I should not succeed in obtaining reparation for the crime I +have committed. But you have opened my eyes. Take away, I entreat +you, this stiletto, which henceforth is useless to me. I trust in +your friendship, and I have an inward certainty that I shall be +indebted to you for my honour as well as for my life." + +I was struck by the words she had just uttered, and I felt that those +words, as well as her looks, had found their way to my heart, besides +enlisting my generous sympathy. I took the stiletto, and left her +with so much agitation that I had to acknowledge the weakness of my +heroism, which I was very near turning into ridicule; yet I had the +wonderful strength to perform, at least by halves, the character of a +Cato until the seventh day. + +I must explain how a certain suspicion of the young lady arose in my +mind. That doubt was heavy on my heart, for, if it had proved true, +I should have been a dupe, and the idea was humiliating. She had +told me that she was a musician; I had immediately sent her a +harpsichord, and, yet, although the instrument had been at her +disposal for three days, she had not opened it once, for the widow +had told me so. It seemed to me that the best way to thank me for my +attentive kindness would have been to give me a specimen of her +musical talent. Had she deceived me? If so, she would lose my +esteem. But, unwilling to form a hasty judgment, I kept on my guard, +with a firm determination to make good use of the first opportunity +that might present itself to clear up my doubts. + +I called upon her the next day after dinner, which was not my usual +time, having resolved on creating the opportunity myself. I caught +her seated before a toilet-glass, while the widow dressed the most +beautiful auburn hair I had ever seen. I tendered my apologies for +my sudden appearance at an unusual hour; she excused herself for not +having completed her toilet, and the widow went on with her work. It +was the first time I had seen the whole of her face, her neck, and +half of her arms, which the graces themselves had moulded. I +remained in silent contemplation. I praised, quite by chance, the +perfume of the pomatum, and the widow took the opportunity of telling +her that she had spent in combs, powder, and pomatum the three livres +she had received from her. I recollected then that she had told me +the first day that she had left C----- with ten paoli. + +I blushed for very shame, for I ought to have thought of that. + +As soon as the widow had dressed her hair, she left the room to +prepare some coffee for us. I took up a ring which had been laid by +her on the toilet-table, and I saw that it contained a portrait +exactly like her; I was amused at the singular fancy she had had of +having her likeness taken in a man's costume, with black hair. "You +are mistaken," she said, "it is a portrait of my brother. He is two +years older than I, and is an officer in the papal army." + +I begged her permission to put the ring on her finger; she consented, +and when I tried, out of mere gallantry, to kiss her hand, she drew +it back, blushing. I feared she might be offended, and I assured her +of my respect. + +"Ah, sir!" she answered, "in the situation in which I am placed, I +must think of defending myself against my own self much more than +against you." + +The compliment struck me as so fine, and so complimentary to me, that +I thought it better not to take it up, but she could easily read in +my eyes that she would never find me ungrateful for whatever feelings +she might entertain in my favour. Yet I felt my love taking such +proportions that I did not know how to keep it a mystery any longer. + +Soon after that, as she was again thanking me for the books--I had +given her, saying that I had guessed her taste exactly, because she +did not like novels, she added, "I owe you an apology for not having +sung to you yet, knowing that you are fond of music." These words +made me breathe freely; without waiting for any answer, she sat down +before the instrument and played several pieces with a facility, with +a precision, with an expression of which no words could convey any +idea. I was in ecstacy. I entreated her to sing; after some little +ceremony, she took one of the music books I had given her, and she +sang at sight in a manner which fairly ravished me. I begged that +she would allow me to kiss her hand, and she did not say yes, but +when I took it and pressed my lips on it, she did not oppose any +resistance; I had the courage to smother my ardent desires, and the +kiss I imprinted on her lovely hand was a mixture of tenderness, +respect, and admiration. + +I took leave of her, smitten, full of love, and almost determined on +declaring my passion. Reserve becomes silliness when we know that +our affection is returned by the woman we love, but as yet I was not +quite sure. + +The disappearance of Steffani was the talk of Venice, but I did not +inform the charming countess of that circumstance. It was generally +supposed that his mother had refused to pay his debts, and that he +had run away to avoid his creditors. It was very possible. But, +whether he returned or not, I could not make up my mind to lose the +precious treasure I had in my hands. Yet I did not see in what +manner, in what quality, I could enjoy that treasure, and I found +myself in a regular maze. Sometimes I had an idea of consulting my +kind father, but I would soon abandon it with fear, for I had made a +trial of his empiric treatment in the Rinaldi affair, and still more +in the case of l'Abbadie. His remedies frightened me to that extent +that I would rather remain ill than be cured by their means. + +One morning I was foolish enough to enquire from the widow whether +the lady had asked her who I was. What an egregious blunder! I saw +it when the good woman, instead of answering me, said, + +"Does she not know who you are?" + +"Answer me, and do not ask questions," I said, in order to hide my +confusion. + +The worthy woman was right; through my stupidity she would now feel +curious; the tittle-tattle of the neighbourhood would of course take +up the affair and discuss it; and all through my thoughtlessness! It +was an unpardonable blunder. One ought never to be more careful than +in addressing questions to half-educated persons. During the +fortnight that she had passed under my protection, the countess had +shewn me no curiosity whatever to know anything about me, but it did +not prove that she was not curious on the subject. If I had been +wise, I should have told her the very first day who I was, but I made +up for my mistake that evening better than anybody else could have +done it, and, after having told her all about myself, I entreated her +forgiveness for not having done so sooner. Thanking me for my +confidence, she confessed how curious she had been to know me better, +and she assured me that she would never have been imprudent enough to +ask any questions about me from her landlady. Women have a more +delicate, a surer tact than men, and her last words were a home- +thrust for me. + +Our conversation having turned to the extraordinary absence of +Steffani, she said that her father must necessarily believe her to be +hiding with him somewhere. "He must have found out," she added, +"that I was in the habit of conversing with him every night from my +window, and he must have heard of my having embarked for Venice on +board the Ferrara barge. I feel certain that my father is now in +Venice, making secretly every effort to discover me. When he visits +this city he always puts up at Boncousin; will you ascertain whether +he is there?" + +She never pronounced Steffani's name without disgust and hatred, and +she said she would bury herself in a convent, far away from her +native place, where no one could be acquainted with her shameful +history. + +I intended to make some enquiries the next day, but it was not +necessary for me to do so, for in the evening, at supper-time, M. +Barbaro said to us, + +"A nobleman, a subject of the Pope, has been recommended to me, and +wishes me to assist him with my influence in a rather delicate and +intricate matter. One of our citizens has, it appears, carried off +his daughter, and has been hiding somewhere with her for the last +fortnight, but nobody knows where. The affair ought to be brought +before the Council of Ten, but the mother of the ravisher claims to +be a relative of mine, and I do not intend to interfere." + +I pretended to take no interest in M. Barbaro's words, and early the +next morning I went to the young countess to tell her the interesting +news. She was still asleep; but, being in a hurry, I sent the widow +to say that I wanted to see her only for two minutes in order to +communicate something of great importance. She received me, covering +herself up to the chin with the bed-clothes. + +As soon as I had informed her of all I knew, she entreated me to +enlist M. Barbaro as a mediator between herself and her father, +assuring me that she would rather die than become the wife of the +monster who had dishonoured her. I undertook to do it, and she gave +me the promise of marriage used by the deceiver to seduce her, so +that it could be shewn to her father. + +In order to obtain M. Barbaro's mediation in favour of the young +countess, it would have been necessary to tell him that she was under +my protection, and I felt it would injure my protegee. I took no +determination at first, and most likely one of the reasons for my +hesitation was that I saw myself on the point of losing her, which +was particularly repugnant to my feelings. + +After dinner Count A--- S---- was announced as wishing to see M. +Barbaro. He came in with his son, the living portrait of his sister. +M. Barbaro took them to his study to talk the matter over, and within +an hour they had taken leave. As soon as they had gone, the +excellent M. Barbaro asked me, as I had expected, to consult my +heavenly spirit, and to ascertain whether he would be right in +interfering in favour of Count A---S---. He wrote the question +himself, and I gave the following answer with the utmost coolness: + +"You ought to interfere, but only to advise the father to forgive his +daughter and to give up all idea of compelling her to marry her +ravisher, for Steffani has been sentenced to death by the will of +God." + +The answer seemed wonderful to the three friends, and I was myself +surprised at my boldness, but I had a foreboding that Steffani was to +meet his death at the hands of somebody; love might have given birth +to that presentiment. M. de Bragadin, who believed my oracle +infallible, observed that it had never given such a clear answer, and +that Steffani was certainly dead. He said to M. de Barbaro, + +"You had better invite the count and his son to dinner hereto-morrow. +You must act slowly and prudently; it would be necessary to know +where the daughter is before you endeavour to make the father forgive +her." + +M. Barbaro very nearly made me drop my serious countenance by telling +me that if I would try my oracle I could let them know at once where +the girl was. I answered that I would certainly ask my spirit on the +morrow, thus gaining time in order to ascertain before hand the +disposition of the father and of his son. But I could not help +laughing, for I had placed myself under the necessity of sending +Steffani to the next world, if the reputation of my oracle was to be +maintained. + +I spent the evening with the young countess, who entertained no doubt +either of her father's indulgence or of the entire confidence she +could repose in me. + +What delight the charming girl experienced when she heard that I +would dine the next day with her father and brother, and that I would +tell her every word that would be said about her! But what happiness +it was for me to see her convinced that she was right in loving me, +and that, without me, she would certainly have been lost in a town +where the policy of the government tolerates debauchery as a solitary +species of individual freedom. We congratulated each other upon our +fortuitous meeting and upon the conformity in our tastes, which we +thought truly wonderful. We were greatly pleased that her easy +acceptance of my invitation, or my promptness in persuading her to +follow and to trust me, could not be ascribed to the mutual +attraction of our features, for I was masked, and her hood was then +as good as a mask. We entertained no doubt that everything had been +arranged by Heaven to get us acquainted, and to fire us both, even +unknown to ourselves, with love for each other. + +"Confess," I said to her, in a moment of enthusiasm, and as I was +covering her hand with kisses, "confess that if you found me to be in +love with you you would fear me." + +"Alas! my only fear is to lose you." + +That confession, the truth of which was made evident by her voice and +by her looks, proved the electric spark which ignited the latent +fire. Folding her rapidly in my arms, pressing my mouth on her lips, +reading in her beautiful eyes neither a proud indignation nor the +cold compliance which might have been the result of a fear of losing +me, I gave way entirely to the sweet inclination of love, and +swimming already in a sea of delights I felt my enjoyment increased a +hundredfold when I saw, on the countenance of the beloved creature +who shared it, the expression of happiness, of love, of modesty, and +of sensibility, which enhances the charm of the greatest triumph. + +She had scarcely recovered her composure when she cast her eyes down +and sighed deeply. Thinking that I knew the cause of it, I threw +myself on my knees before her, and speaking to her words of the +warmest affection I begged, I entreated her, to forgive me. + +"What offence have I to forgive you for, dear friend? You have not +rightly interpreted my thoughts. Your love caused me to think of my +happiness, and in that moment a cruel recollection drew that sigh +from me. Pray rise from your knees." + +Midnight had struck already; I told her that her good fame made it +necessary for me to go away; I put my mask on and left the house. I +was so surprised, so amazed at having obtained a felicity of which I +did not think myself worthy, that my departure must have appeared +rather abrupt to her. I could not sleep. I passed one of those +disturbed nights during which the imagination of an amorous young man +is unceasingly running after the shadows of reality. I had tasted, +but not savoured, that happy reality, and all my being was longing +for her who alone could make my enjoyment complete. In that +nocturnal drama love and imagination were the two principal actors; +hope, in the background, performed only a dumb part. People may say +what they please on that subject but hope is in fact nothing but a +deceitful flatterer accepted by reason only because it is often in +need of palliatives. Happy are those men who, to enjoy life to the +fullest extent, require neither hope nor foresight. + +In the morning, recollecting the sentence of death which I had passed +on Steffani, I felt somewhat embarrassed about it. I wished I could +have recalled it, as well for the honour of my oracle, which was +seriously implicated by it, as for the sake of Steffani himself, whom +I did not hate half so much since I was indebted to him for the +treasure in my possession. + +The count and his son came to dinner. The father was simple, +artless, and unceremonious. It was easy to read on his countenance +the grief he felt at the unpleasant adventure of his daughter, and +his anxiety to settle the affair honourably, but no anger could be +traced on his features or in his manners. The son, as handsome as +the god of love, had wit and great nobility of manner. His easy, +unaffected carriage pleased me, and wishing to win his friendship I +shewed him every attention. + +After the dessert, M. Barbaro contrived to persuade the count that we +were four persons with but one head and one heart, and the worthy +nobleman spoke to us without any reserve. He praised his daughter +very highly. He assured us that Steffani had never entered his +house, and therefore he could not conceive by what spell, speaking to +his daughter only at night and from the street under the window, he +had succeeded in seducing her to such an extent as to make her leave +her home alone, on foot, two days after he had left himself in his +post-chaise. + +"Then," observed M. Barbaro, "it is impossible to be certain that he +actually seduced her, or to prove that she went off with him." + +"Very true, sir, but although it cannot be proved, there is no doubt +of it, and now that no one knows where Steffani is, he can be nowhere +but with her. I only want him to marry her." + +"It strikes me that it would be better not to insist upon a +compulsory marriage which would seal your daughter's misery, for +Steffani is, in every respect, one of the most worthless young men we +have amongst our government clerks." + +"Were I in your place," said M. de Bragadin, "I would let my +daughter's repentance disarm my anger, and I would forgive her." + +"Where is she? I am ready to fold her in my arms, but how can I +believe in her repentance when it is evident that she is still with +him." + +"Is it quite certain that in leaving C---- she proceeded to this +city?" + +"I have it from the master of the barge himself, and she landed +within twenty yards of the Roman gate. An individual wearing a mask +was waiting for her, joined her at once, and they both disappeared +without leaving any trace of their whereabouts." + +"Very likely it was Steffani waiting there for her." + +"No, for he is short, and the man with the mask was tall. Besides, I +have heard that Steffani had left Venice two days before the arrival +of my daughter. The man must have been some friend of Steffani, and +he has taken her to him." + +"But, my dear count, all this is mere supposition." + +"There are four persons who have seen the man with the mask, and +pretend to know him, only they do not agree. Here is a list of four +names, and I will accuse these four persons before the Council of +Ten, if Steffani should deny having my daughter in his possession." + +The list, which he handed to M. Barbaro, gave not only the names of +the four accused persons, but likewise those of their accusers. The +last name, which M. Barbaro read, was mine. When I heard it, I +shrugged my shoulders in a manner which caused the three friends to +laugh heartily. + +M. de Bragadin, seeing the surprise of the count at such uncalled- +for mirth, said to him, + +"This is Casanova my son, and I give you my word of honour that, if +your daughter is in his hands, she is perfectly safe, although he may +not look exactly the sort of man to whom young girls should be +trusted." + +The surprise, the amazement, and the perplexity of the count and his +son were an amusing picture. The loving father begged me to excuse +him, with tears in his eyes, telling me to place myself in his +position. My only answer was to embrace him most affectionately. + +The man who had recognized me was a noted pimp whom I had thrashed +some time before for having deceived me. If I had not been there +just in time to take care of the young countess, she would not have +escaped him, and he would have ruined her for ever by taking her to +some house of ill-fame. + +The result of the meeting was that the count agreed to postpone his +application to the Council of Ten until Steffani's place of refuge +should be discovered. + +"I have not seen Steffani for six months, sir," I said to the count, +"but I promise you to kill him in a duel as soon as he returns." + +"You shall not do it," answered the young count, very coolly, "unless +he kills me first." + +"Gentlemen," exclaimed M. de Bragadin, "I can assure you that you +will neither of you fight a duel with him, for Steffani is dead." + +"Dead!" said the count. + +"We must not," observed the prudent Barbaro, "take that word in its +literal sense, but the wretched man is dead to all honour and self- +respect." + +After that truly dramatic scene, during which I could guess that the +denouement of the play was near at hand, I went to my charming +countess, taking care to change my gondola three times--a necessary +precaution to baffle spies. + +I gave my anxious mistress an exact account of all the conversation. +She was very impatient for my coming, and wept tears of joy when I +repeated her father's words of forgiveness; but when I told her that +nobody knew of Steffani having entered her chamber, she fell on her +knees and thanked God. I then repeated her brother's words, +imitating his coolness: "You shall not kill him, unless he kills me +first." She kissed me tenderly, calling me her guardian angel, her +saviour, and weeping in my arms. I promised to bring her brother on +the following day, or the day after that at the latest. We had our +supper, but we did not talk of Steffani, or of revenge, and after +that pleasant meal we devoted two hours to the worship of the god of +love. + +I left her at midnight, promising to return early in the morning--my +reason for not remaining all night with her was that the landlady +might, if necessary, swear without scruple that I had never spent a +night with the young girl. It proved a very lucky inspiration of +mine, for, when I arrived home, I found the three friends waiting +impatiently for me in order to impart to me wonderful news which M. +de Bragadin had heard at the sitting of the senate. + +"Steffani," said M. de Bragadin to me, "is dead, as our angel +Paralis revealed it to us; he is dead to the world, for he has become +a Capuchin friar. The senate, as a matter of course, has been +informed of it. We alone are aware that it is a punishment which God +has visited upon him. Let us worship the Author of all things, and +the heavenly hierarchy which renders us worthy of knowing what +remains a mystery to all men. Now we must achieve our undertaking, +and console the poor father. We must enquire from Paralis where the +girl is. She cannot now be with Steffani. Of course, God has not +condemned her to become a Capuchin nun." + +"I need not consult my angel, dearest father, for it is by his +express orders that I have been compelled until now to make a mystery +of the refuge found by the young countess." + +I related the whole story, except what they had no business to know, +for, in the opinion of the worthy men, who had paid heavy tribute to +Love, all intrigues were fearful crimes. M. Dandolo and M. Barbaro +expressed their surprise when they heard that the young girl had been +under my protection for a fortnight, but M. de Bragadin said that he +was not astonished, that it was according to cabalistic science, and +that he knew it. + +"We must only," he added, "keep up the mystery of his daughter's +place of refuge for the count, until we know for a certainty that he +will forgive her, and that he will take her with him to C----, or to +any other place where he may wish to live hereafter." + +"He cannot refuse to forgive her," I said, "when he finds that the +amiable girl would never have left C---- if her seducer had not given +her this promise of marriage in his own handwriting. She walked as +far as the barge, and she landed at the very moment I was passing the +Roman gate. An inspiration from above told me to accost her and to +invite her to follow me. She obeyed, as if she was fulfilling the +decree of Heaven, I took her to a refuge impossible to discover, and +placed her under the care of a God-fearing woman." + +My three friends listened to me so attentively that they looked like +three statues. I advised them to invite the count to dinner for the +day after next, because I needed some time to consult 'Paralis de +modo tenendi'. I then told M. Barbaro to let the count know in what +sense he was to understand Steffani's death. He undertook to do it, +and we retired to rest. + +I slept only four or five hours, and, dressing myself quickly, +hurried to my beloved mistress. I told the widow not to serve the +coffee until we called for it, because we wanted to remain quiet and +undisturbed for some hours, having several important letters to +write. + +I found the lovely countess in bed, but awake, and her eyes beaming +with happiness and contentment. For a fortnight I had only seen her +sad, melancholy, and thoughtful. Her pleased countenance, which I +naturally ascribed to my influence, filled me with joy. We commenced +as all happy lovers always do, and we were both unsparing of the +mutual proofs of our love, tenderness, and gratitude. + +After our delightful amorous sport, I told her the news, but love had +so completely taken possession of her pure and sensitive soul, that +what had been important was now only an accessory. But the news of +her seducer having turned a Capuchin friar filled her with amazement, +and, passing very sensible remarks on the extraordinary event, she +pitied Steffani. When we can feel pity, we love no longer, but a +feeling of pity succeeding love is the characteristic only of a great +and generous mind. She was much pleased with me for having informed +my three friends of her being under my protection, and she left to my +care all the necessary arrangements for obtaining a reconciliation +with her father. + +Now and then we recollected that the time of our separation was near +at hand, our grief was bitter, but we contrived to forget it in the +ecstacy of our amorous enjoyment. + +"Ah! why can we not belong for ever to each other?" the charming girl +would exclaim. "It is not my acquaintance with Steffani, it is your +loss which will seal my eternal misery." + +But it was necessary to bring our delightful interview to a close, +for the hours were flying with fearful rapidity. I left her happy, +her eyes wet with tears of intense felicity. + +At the dinner-table M. Barbaro told me that he had paid a visit to +his relative, Steffani's mother, and that she had not appeared sorry +at the decision taken by her son, although he was her only child. + +"He had the choice," she said, "between killing himself and turning +friar, and he took the wiser course." + +The woman spoke like a good Christian, and she professed to be one; +but she spoke like an unfeeling mother, and she was truly one, for +she was wealthy, and if she had not been cruelly avaricious her son +would not have been reduced to the fearful alternative of committing +suicide or of becoming a Capuchin friar. + +The last and most serious motive which caused the despair of +Steffani, who is still alive, remained a mystery for everybody. My +Memoirs will raise the veil when no one will care anything about it. + +The count and his son were, of course, greatly surprised, and the +event made them still more desirous of discovering the young lady. +In order to obtain a clue to her place of refuge, the count had +resolved on summoning before the Council of Ten all the parties, +accused and accusing, whose names he had on his list, with the +exception of myself. His determination made it necessary for us to +inform him that his daughter was in my hands, and M. de Bragadin +undertook to let him know the truth. + +We were all invited to supper by the count, and we went to his +hostelry, with the exception of M. de Bragadin, who had declined the +invitation. I was thus prevented from seeing my divinity that +evening, but early the next morning I made up for lost time, and as +it had been decided that her father would on that very day be +informed of her being under my care, we remained together until noon. +We had no hope of contriving another meeting, for I had promised to +bring her brother in the afternoon. + +The count and his son dined with us, and after dinner M. de Bragadin +said, + +"I have joyful news for you, count; your beloved daughter has been +found!" + +What an agreeable surprise for the father and son! M. de Bragadin +handed them the promise of marriage written by Steffani, and said, + +"This, gentlemen, evidently brought your lovely young lady to the +verge of madness when she found that he had gone from C---- without +her. She left your house alone on foot, and as she landed in Venice +Providence threw her in the way of this young man, who induced her to +follow him, and has placed her under the care of an honest woman, +whom she has not left since, whom she will leave only to fall in your +arms as soon as she is certain of your forgiveness for the folly she +has committed." + +"Oh! let her have no doubt of my forgiving her," exclaimed the +father, in the ecstacy of joy, and turning to me, "Dear sir, I beg of +you not to delay the fortunate moment on which the whole happiness of +my life depends." + +I embraced him warmly, saying that his daughter would be restored to +him on the following day, and that I would let his son see her that +very afternoon, so as to give him an opportunity of preparing her by +degrees for that happy reconciliation. M. Barbaro desired to +accompany us, and the young man, approving all my arrangements, +embraced me, swearing everlasting friendship and gratitude. + +We went out all three together, and a gondola carried us in a few +minutes to the place where I was guarding a treasure more precious +than the golden apples of the Hesperides. But, alas! I was on the +point of losing that treasure, the remembrance of which causes me, +even now, a delicious trembling. + +I preceded my two companions in order to prepare my lovely young +friend for the visit, and when I told her that, according to my +arrangements, her father would not see her till on the following day: + +"Ah!" she exclaimed with the accent of true happiness, "then we can +spend a few more hours together! Go, dearest, go and bring my +brother." + +I returned with my companions, but how can I paint that truly +dramatic situation? Oh! how inferior art must ever be to nature! +The fraternal love, the delight beaming upon those two beautiful +faces, with a slight shade of confusion on that of the sister, the +pure joy shining in the midst of their tender caresses, the most +eloquent exclamations followed by a still more eloquent silence, +their loving looks which seem like flashes of lightning in the midst +of a dew of tears, a thought of politeness which brings blushes on +her countenance, when she recollects that she has forgotten her duty +towards a nobleman whom she sees for the first time, and finally +there was my part, not a speaking one, but yet the most important of +all. The whole formed a living picture to which the most skilful +painter could not have rendered full justice. + +We sat down at last, the young countess between her brother and M. +Barbaro, on the sofa, I, opposite to her, on a low foot-stool. + +"To whom, dear sister, are we indebted for the happiness of having +found you again?" + +"To my guardian angel," she answered, giving me her hand, "to this +generous man who was waiting for me, as if Heaven had sent him with +the special mission of watching over your sister; it is he who has +saved me, who has prevented me from falling into the gulf which +yawned under my feet, who has rescued me from the shame threatening +me, of which I had then no conception; it is to him I am indebted for +all, to him who, as you see, kisses my hand now for the first time." + +And she pressed her handkerchief to her beautiful eyes to dry her +tears, but ours were flowing at the same time. + +Such is true virtue, which never loses its nobleness, even when +modesty compels it to utter some innocent falsehood. But the +charming girl had no idea of being guilty of an untruth. It was a +pure, virtuous soul which was then speaking through her lips, and she +allowed it to speak. Her virtue seemed to whisper to her that, in +spite of her errors, it had never deserted her. A young girl who +gives way to a real feeling of love cannot be guilty of a crime, or +be exposed to remorse. + +Towards the end of our friendly visit, she said that she longed to +throw herself at her father's feet, but that she wished to see him +only in the evening, so as not to give any opportunity to the gossips +of the place, and it was agreed that the meeting, which was to be the +last scene of the drama, should take place the next day towards the +evening. + +We returned to the count's hostelry for supper, and the excellent +man, fully persuaded that he was indebted to me for his honour as +well as for his daughter's, looked at me with admiration, and spoke +to me with gratitude. Yet he was not sorry to have ascertained +himself, and before I had said so, that I had been the first man who +had spoken to her after landing. Before parting in the evening, M. +Barbaro invited them to dinner for the next day. + +I went to my charming mistress very early the following morning, and, +although there was some danger in protracting our interview, we did +not give it a thought, or, if we did, it only caused us to make good +use of the short time that we could still devote to love. + +After having enjoyed, until our strength was almost expiring, the +most delightful, the most intense voluptuousness in which mutual +ardour can enfold two young, vigorous, and passionate lovers, the +young countess dressed herself, and, kissing her slippers, said she +would never part with them as long as she lived. I asked her to give +me a lock of her hair, which she did at once. I meant to have it +made into a chain like the one woven with the hair of Madame F----, +which I still wore round my neck. + +Towards dusk, the count and his son, M. Dandolo, M. Barbaro, and +myself, proceeded together to the abode of the young countess. The +moment she saw her father, she threw herself on her knees before him, +but the count, bursting into tears, took her in his arms, covered her +with kisses, and breathed over her words of forgiveness, of love and +blessing. What a scene for a man of sensibility! An hour later we +escorted the family to the inn, and, after wishing them a pleasant +journey, I went back with my two friends to M. de Bragadin, to whom I +gave a faithful account of what had taken place. + +We thought that they had left Venice, but the next morning they +called at the place in a peotta with six rowers. The count said that +they could not leave the city without seeing us once more; without +thanking us again, and me particularly, for all we had done for them. +M. de Bragadin, who had not seen the young countess before, was +struck by her extraordinary likeness to her brother. + +They partook of some refreshments, and embarked in their peotta, +which was to carry them, in twenty-four hours, to Ponte di Lago +Oscuro, on the River Po, near the frontiers of the papal states. It +was only with my eyes that I could express to the lovely girl all the +feelings which filled my heart, but she understood the language, and +I had no difficulty in interpreting the meaning of her looks. + +Never did an introduction occur in better season than that of the +count to M. Barbaro. It saved the honour of a respectable family; +and it saved me from the unpleasant consequences of an interrogatory +in the presence of the Council of Ten, during which I should have +been convicted of having taken the young girl with me, and compelled +to say what I had done with her. + +A few days afterwards we all proceeded to Padua to remain in that +city until the end of autumn. I was grieved not to find Doctor Gozzi +in Padua; he had been appointed to a benefice in the country, and he +was living there with Bettina; she had not been able to remain with +the scoundrel who had married her only for the sake of her small +dowry, and had treated her very ill. + +I did not like the quiet life of Padua, and to avoid dying from ennui +I fell in love with a celebrated Venetian courtesan. Her name was +Ancilla; sometime after, the well-known dancer, Campioni, married her +and took her to London, where she caused the death of a very worthy +Englishman. I shall have to mention her again in four years; now I +have only to speak of a certain circumstance which brought my love +adventure with her to a close after three or four weeks. + +Count Medini, a young, thoughtless fellow like myself, and with +inclinations of much the same cast, had introduced me to Ancilla. +The count was a confirmed gambler and a thorough enemy of fortune. +There was a good deal of gambling going on at Ancilla's, whose +favourite lover he was, and the fellow had presented me to his +mistress only to give her the opportunity of making a dupe of me at +the card-table. + +And, to tell the truth, I was a dupe at first; not thinking of any +foul play, I accepted ill luck without complaining; but one day I +caught them cheating. I took a pistol out of my pocket, and, aiming +at Medini's breast, I threatened to kill him on the spot unless he +refunded at once all the gold they had won from me. Ancilla fainted +away, and the count, after refunding the money, challenged me to +follow him out and measure swords. I placed my pistols on the table, +and we went out. Reaching a convenient spot, we fought by the bright +light of the moon, and I was fortunate enough to give him a gash +across the shoulder. He could not move his arm, and he had to cry +for mercy. + +After that meeting, I went to bed and slept quietly, but in the +morning I related the whole affair to my father, and he advised me to +leave Padua immediately, which I did. + +Count Medini remained my enemy through all his life. I shall have +occasion to speak of him again when I reach Naples. + +The remainder of the year 1746 passed off quietly, without any events +of importance. Fortune was now favourable to me and now adverse. + +Towards the end of January, 1747, I received a letter from the young +countess A---- S----, who had married the Marquis of ---- . She +entreated me not to appear to know her, if by chance I visited the +town in which she resided, for she had the happiness of having linked +her destiny to that of a man who had won her heart after he had +obtained her hand. + +I had already heard from her brother that, after their return to +C----, her mother had taken her to the city from which her letter was +written, and there, in the house of a relative with whom she was +residing, she had made the acquaintance of the man who had taken upon +himself the charge of her future welfare and happiness. I saw her +one year afterwards, and if it had not been for her letter, I should +certainly have solicited an introduction to her husband. Yet, peace +of mind has greater charms even than love; but, when love is in the +way, we do not think so. + +For a fortnight I was the lover of a young Venetian girl, very +handsome, whom her father, a certain Ramon, exposed to public +admiration as a dancer at the theatre. I might have remained longer +her captive, if marriage had not forcibly broken my chains. Her +protectress, Madame Cecilia Valmarano, found her a very proper +husband in the person of a French dancer, called Binet, who had +assumed the name of Binetti, and thus his young wife had not to +become a French woman; she soon won great fame in more ways than one. +She was strangely privileged; time with its heavy hand seemed to have +no power over her. She always appeared young, even in the eyes of +the best judges of faded, bygone female beauty. Men, as a general +rule, do not ask for anything more, and they are right in not racking +their brain for the sake of being convinced that they are the dupes +of external appearance. The last lover that the wonderful Binetti +killed by excess of amorous enjoyment was a certain Mosciuski, a +Pole, whom fate brought to Venice seven or eight years ago; she had +then reached her sixty-third year! + +My life in Venice would have been pleasant and happy, if I could have +abstained from punting at basset. The ridotti were only open to +noblemen who had to appear without masks, in their patrician robes, +and wearing the immense wig which had become indispensable since the +beginning of the century. I would play, and I was wrong, for I had +neither prudence enough to leave off when fortune was adverse, nor +sufficient control over myself to stop when I had won. I was then +gambling through a feeling of avarice. I was extravagant by taste, +and I always regretted the money I had spent, unless it had been won +at the gaming-table, for it was only in that case that the money had, +in my opinion, cost me nothing. + +At the end of January, finding myself under the necessity of +procuring two hundred sequins, Madame Manzoni contrived to obtain for +me from another woman the loan of a diamond ring worth five hundred. +I made up my mind to go to Treviso, fifteen miles distant from +Venice, to pawn the ring at the Mont-de-piete, which there lends +money upon valuables at the rate of five per cent. That useful +establishment does not exist in Venice, where the Jews have always +managed to keep the monopoly in their hands. + +I got up early one morning, and walked to the end of the canale +regio, intending to engage a gondola to take me as far as Mestra, +where I could take post horses, reach Treviso in less than two hours, +pledge my diamond ring, and return to Venice the same evening. + +As I passed along St. Job's Quay, I saw in a two-oared gondola a +country girl beautifully dressed. I stopped to look at her; the +gondoliers, supposing that I wanted an opportunity of reaching Mestra +at a cheap rate, rowed back to the shore. + +Observing the lovely face of the young girl, I do not hesitate, but +jump into the gondola, and pay double fare, on condition that no more +passengers are taken. An elderly priest was seated near the young +girl, he rises to let me take his place, but I politely insist upon +his keeping it. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +I Fall in Love with Christine, and Find a Husband Worthy of Her-- +Christine's Wedding + + +"Those gondoliers," said the elderly priest, ad dressing me in order +to begin the conversation, "are very fortunate. They took us up at +the Rialto for thirty soldi, on condition that they would be allowed +to embark other passengers, and here is one already; they will +certainly find more." + +"When I am in a gondola, reverend sir, there is no room left for any +more passengers." + +So saying, I give forty more soldi to the gondoliers, who, highly +pleased with my generosity, thank me and call me excellency. The +good priest, accepting that title as truly belonging to me, entreats +my pardon for not having addressed me as such. + +"I am not a Venetian nobleman, reverend sir, and I have no right to +the title of Excellenza." + +"Ah!" says the young lady, "I am very glad of it." + +"Why so, signora?" + +"Because when I find myself near a nobleman I am afraid. But I +suppose that you are an illustrissimo." + +"Not even that, signora; I am only an advocate's clerk." + +"So much the better, for I like to be in the company of persons who +do not think themselves above me. My father was a farmer, brother of +my uncle here, rector of P----, where I was born and bred. As I am +an only daughter I inherited my father's property after his death, +and I shall likewise be heiress to my mother, who has been ill a long +time and cannot live much longer, which causes me a great deal of +sorrow; but it is the doctor who says it. Now, to return to my +subject, I do not suppose that there is much difference between an +advocate's clerk and the daughter of a rich farmer. I only say so +for the sake of saying something, for I know very well that, in +travelling, one must accept all sorts of companions: is it not so, +uncle?" + +"Yes, my dear Christine, and as a proof you see that this gentleman +has accepted our company without knowing who or what we are." + +"But do you think I would have come if I had not been attracted by +the beauty of your lovely niece?" + +At these words the good people burst out laughing. As I did not +think that there was anything very comic in what I had said, I judged +that my travelling companions were rather simple, and I was not sorry +to find them so. + +"Why do you laugh so heartily, beautiful 'demigella'? Is it to shew +me your fine teeth? I confess that I have never seen such a splendid +set in Venice." + +"Oh! it is not for that, sir, although everyone in Venice has paid me +the same compliment. I can assure you that in P---- all the 'girls +have teeth as fine as mine. Is it not a fact, uncle?" + +"Yes, my dear niece." + +"I was laughing, sir, at a thing which I will never tell you." + +"Oh! tell me, I entreat you." + +"Oh! certainly not, never." + +"I will tell you myself," says the curate. + +"You will not," she exclaims, knitting her beautiful eyebrows. "If +you do I will go away." + +"I defy you to do it, my dear. Do you know what she said, sir, when +she saw you on the wharf? 'Here is a very handsome young man who is +looking at me, and would not be sorry to be with us.' And when she +saw that the gondoliers were putting back for you to embark she was +delighted." + +While the uncle was speaking to me, the indignant niece was slapping +him on the shoulder. + +"Why are you angry, lovely Christine, at my hearing that you liked my +appearance, when I am so glad to let you know how truly charming I +think you?" + +"You are glad for a moment. Oh! I know the Venetians thoroughly now. +They have all told me that they were charmed with me, and not one of +those I would have liked ever made a declaration to me." + +"What sort of declaration did you want?" + +"There's only one sort for me, sir; the declaration leading to a good +marriage in church, in the sight of all men. Yet we remained a +fortnight in Venice; did we not, uncle?" + +"This girl," said the uncle, "is a good match, for she possesses +three thousand crowns. She has always said that she would marry only +a Venetian, and I have accompanied her to Venice to give her an +opportunity of being known. A worthy woman gave us hospitality for a +fortnight, and has presented my niece in several houses where she +made the acquaintance of marriageable young men, but those who +pleased her would not hear of marriage, and those who would have been +glad to marry her did not take her fancy." + +"But do you imagine, reverend sir, that marriages can be made like +omelets? A fortnight in Venice, that is nothing; you ought to live +there at least six months. Now, for instance, I think your niece +sweetly pretty, and I should consider myself fortunate if the wife +whom God intends for me were like her, but, even if she offered me +now a dowry of fifty thousand crowns on condition that our wedding +takes place immediately, I would refuse her. A prudent young man +wants to know the character of a girl before he marries her, for it +is neither money nor beauty which can ensure happiness in married +life." + +"What do you mean by character?" asked Christine; "is it a beautiful +hand-writing?" + +"No, my dear. I mean the qualities of the mind and the heart. I +shall most likely get married sometime, and I have been looking for a +wife for the last three years, but I am still looking in vain. I +have known several young girls almost as lovely as you are, and all +with a good marriage portion, but after an acquaintance of two or +three months I found out that they could not make me happy." + +"In what were they deficient?" + +"Well, I will tell you, because you are not acquainted with them, and +there can be no indiscretion on my part. One whom I certainly would +have married, for I loved her dearly, was extremely vain. She would +have ruined me in fashionable clothes and by her love for luxuries. +Fancy! she was in the habit of paying one sequin every month to the +hair-dresser, and as much at least for pomatum and perfumes." + +"She was a giddy, foolish girl. Now, I spend only ten soldi in one +year on wax which I mix with goat's grease, and there I have an +excellent pomatum." + +"Another, whom I would have married two years ago, laboured under a +disease which would have made me unhappy; as soon as I knew of it, I +ceased my visits." + +"What disease was it?" + +"A disease which would have prevented her from being a mother, and, +if I get married, I wish to have children." + +"All that is in God's hands, but I know that my health is excellent. +Is it not, uncle?" + +"Another was too devout, and that does not suit me. She was so over- +scrupulous that she was in the habit of going to her confessor twice +a week, and every time her confession lasted at least one hour. I +want my wife to be a good Christian, but not bigoted." + +"She must have been a great sinner, or else she was very foolish. I +confess only once a month, and get through everything in two minutes. +Is it not true, uncle? and if you were to ask me any questions, +uncle, I should not know what more to say." + +"One young lady thought herself more learned than I, although she +would, every minute, utter some absurdity. Another was always low- +spirited, and my wife must be cheerful." + +"Hark to that, uncle! You and my mother are always chiding me for my +cheerfulness." + +"Another, whom I did not court long, was always afraid of being alone +with me, and if I gave her a kiss she would run and tell her mother." + +"How silly she must have been! I have never yet listened to a lover, +for we have only rude peasants in P----, but I know very well that +there are some things which I would not tell my mother." + +"One had a rank breath; another painted her face, and, indeed, almost +every young girl is guilty of that fault. I am afraid marriage is +out of the question for me, because I want, for instance, my wife to +have black eyes, and in our days almost every woman colours them by +art; but I cannot be deceived, for I am a good judge." + +"Are mine black?" + +"You are laughing?" + +"I laugh because your eyes certainly appear to be black, but they are +not so in reality. Never mind, you are very charming in spite of +that." + +"Now, that is amusing. You pretend to be a good judge, yet you say +that my eyes are dyed black. My eyes, sir, whether beautiful or +ugly, are now the same as God made them. Is it not so, uncle?" + +"I never had any doubt of it, my dear niece." + +"And you do not believe me, sir?" + +"No, they are too beautiful for me to believe them natural." + +"Oh, dear me! I cannot bear it." + +"Excuse me, my lovely damigella, I am afraid I have been too +sincere." + +After that quarrel we remained silent. The good curate smiled now +and then, but his niece found it very hard to keep down her sorrow. + +At intervals I stole a look at her face, and could see that she was +very near crying. I felt sorry, for she was a charming girl. In her +hair, dressed in the fashion of wealthy countrywomen, she had more +than one hundred sequins' worth of gold pins and arrows which +fastened the plaits of her long locks as dark as ebony. Heavy gold +ear-rings, and a long chain, which was wound twenty times round her +snowy neck, made a fine contrast to her complexion, on which the +lilies and the roses were admirably blended. It was the first time +that I had seen a country beauty in such splendid apparel. Six years +before, Lucie at Pasean had captivated me, but in a different manner. + +Christine did not utter a single word, she was in despair, for her +eyes were truly of the greatest beauty, and I was cruel enough to +attack them. She evidently hated me, and her anger alone kept back +her tears. Yet I would not undeceive her, for I wanted her to bring +matters to a climax. + +When the gondola had entered the long canal of Marghera, I asked the +clergyman whether he had a carriage to go to Treviso, through which +place he had to pass to reach P----. + +"I intended to walk," said the worthy man, "for my parish is poor and +I am the same, but I will try to obtain a place for Christine in some +carriage travelling that way." + +"You would confer a real kindness on me if you would both accept a +seat in my chaise; it holds four persons, and there is plenty of +room." + +"It is a good fortune which we were far from expecting" + +"Not at all, uncle; I will not go with this gentleman." + +"Why not, my dear niece?" + +"Because I will not." + +"Such is the way," I remarked, without looking at her, "that +sincerity is generally rewarded." + +"Sincerity, sir! nothing of the sort," she exclaimed, angrily, "it is +sheer wickedness. There can be no true black eyes now for you in the +world, but, as you like them, I am very glad of it." + +"You are mistaken, lovely Christine, for I have the means of +ascertaining the truth." + +"What means?" + +"Only to wash the eyes with a little lukewarm rose-water; or if the +lady cries, the artificial colour is certain to be washed off." + +At those words, the scene changed as if by the wand of a conjuror. +The face of the charming girl, which had expressed nothing but +indignation, spite and disdain, took an air of contentment and of +placidity delightful to witness. She smiled at her uncle who was +much pleased with the change in her countenance, for the offer of the +carriage had gone to his heart. + +"Now you had better cry a little, my dear niece, and 'il signore' +will render full justice to your eyes." + +Christine cried in reality, but it was immoderate laughter that made +her tears flow. + +That species of natural originality pleased me greatly, and as we +were going up the steps at the landing-place, I offered her my full +apologies; she accepted the carriage. I ordered breakfast, and told +a 'vetturino' to get a very handsome chaise ready while we had our +meal, but the curate said that he must first of all go and say his +mass. + +"Very well, reverend sir, we will hear it, and you must say it for my +intention." + +I put a silver ducat in his hand. + +"It is what I am in the habit of giving," I observed. + +My generosity surprised him so much that he wanted to kiss my hand. +We proceeded towards the church, and I offered my arm to the niece +who, not knowing whether she ought to accept it or not, said to me, + +"Do you suppose that I cannot walk alone?" + +"I have no such idea, but if I do not give you my arm, people will +think me wanting in politeness." + +"Well, I will take it. But now that I have your arm, what will +people think?" + +"Perhaps that we love each other and that we make a very nice +couple." + +"And if anyone should inform your mistress that we are in love with +each other, or even that you have given your arm to a young girl?" + +"I have no mistress, and I shall have none in future, because I could +not find a girl as pretty as you in all Venice." + +"I am very sorry for you, for we cannot go again to Venice; and even +if we could, how could we remain there six months? You said that six +months were necessary to know a girl well." + +"I would willingly defray all your expenses." + +"Indeed? Then say so to my uncle, and he will think it over, for I +could not go alone." + +"In six months you would know me likewise." + +"Oh! I know-you very well already." + +"Could you accept a man like me?" + +"Why not?" + +"And will you love me?" + +"Yes, very much, when you are my husband." + +I looked at the young girl with astonishment. She seemed to me a +princess in the disguise of a peasant girl. Her dress, made of 'gros +de Tours' and all embroidered in gold, was very handsome, and cost +certainly twice as much as the finest dress of a Venetian lady. Her +bracelets, matching the neckchain, completed her rich toilet. She +had the figure of a nymph, and the new fashion of wearing a mantle +not having yet reached her village, I could see the most magnificent +bosom, although her dress was fastened up to the neck. The end of +the richly-embroidered skirt did not go lower than the ankles, which +allowed me to admire the neatest little foot and the lower part of an +exquisitely moulded leg. Her firm and easy walk, the natural freedom +of all her movements, a charming look which seemed to say, "I am very +glad that you think me pretty," everything, in short, caused the +ardent fire of amorous desires to circulate through my veins. I +could not conceive how such a lovely girl could have spent a +fortnight in Venice without finding a man to marry or to deceive her. +I was particularly delighted with her simple, artless way of talking, +which in the city might have been taken for silliness. + +Absorbed in my thoughts, and having resolved in my own mind on +rendering brilliant homage to her charms, I waited impatiently for +the end of the mass. + +After breakfast I had great difficulty in convincing the curate that +my seat in the carriage was the last one, but I found it easier to +persuade him on our arrival in Treviso to remain for dinner and for +supper at a small, unfrequented inn, as I took all the expense upon +myself. He accepted very willingly when I added that immediately +after supper a carriage would be in readiness to convey him to P----, +where he would arrive in an hour after a peasant journey by +moonlight. He had nothing to hurry him on, except his wish to say +mass in his own church the next morning. + +I ordered a fire and a good dinner, and the idea struck me that the +curate himself might pledge the ring for me, and thus give me the +opportunity of a short interview with his niece. I proposed it to +him, saying that I could not very well go myself, as I did not wish +to be known. He undertook the commission at once, expressing his +pleasure at doing something to oblige me. + +He left us, and I remained alone with Christine. I spent an hour +with her without trying to give her even a kiss, although I was dying +to do so, but I prepared her heart to burn with the same desires +which were already burning in me by those words which so easily +inflame the imagination of a young 'girl. + +The curate came back and returned me the ring, saying that it could +not be pledged until the day after the morrow, in consequence of the +Festival of the Holy Virgin. He had spoken to the cashier, who had +stated that if I liked the bank would lend double the sum I had +asked. + +"My dear sir," I said, "you would greatly oblige me if you would come +back here from P---- to pledge the ring yourself. Now that it has +been offered once by you, it might look very strange if it were +brought by another person. Of course I will pay all your expenses." + +"I promise you to come back." + +I hoped he would bring his niece with him. + +I was seated opposite to Christine during the dinner, and discovered +fresh charms in her every minute, but, fearing I might lose her +confidence if I tried to obtain some slight favour, I made up my mind +not to go to work too quickly, and to contrive that the curate should +take her again to Venice. I thought that there only I could manage +to bring love into play and to give it the food it requires. + +"Reverend sir," I said, "let me advise you to take your niece again +to Venice. I undertake to defray all expenses, and to find an honest +woman with whom your Christine will be as safe as with her own +mother. I want to know her well in order to make her my wife, and if +she comes to Venice our marriage is certain." + +"Sir, I will bring my niece myself to Venice as soon as you inform me +that you have found a worthy woman with whom I can leave her in +safety." + +While we were talking I kept looking at Christine, and I could see +her smile with contentment. + +"My dear Christine," I said, "within a week I shall have arranged the +affair. In the meantime, I will write to you. I hope that you have +no objection to correspond with me." + +"My uncle will write for me, for I have never been taught writing." + +"What, my dear child! you wish to become the wife of a Venetian, and +you cannot write." + +"Is it then necessary to know how to write in order to become a wife? +I can read well." + +"That is not enough, and although a girl can be a wife and a mother +without knowing how to trace one letter, it is generally admitted +that a young girl ought to be able to write. I wonder you never +learned." + +"There is no wonder in that, for not one girl in our village can do +it. Ask my uncle." + +"It is perfectly true, but there is not one who thinks of getting +married in Venice, and as you wish for a Venetian husband you must +learn." + +"Certainly," I said, "and before you come to Venice, for everybody +would laugh at you, if you could not write. I see that it makes you +sad, my dear, but it cannot be helped." + +"I am sad, because I cannot learn writing in a week." + +"I undertake," said her uncle, "to teach you in a fortnight, if you +will only practice diligently. You will then know enough to be able +to improve by your own exertions." + +"It is a great undertaking, but I accept it; I promise you to work +night and day, and to begin to-morrow." + +After dinner, I advised the priest not to leave that evening, to rest +during the night, and I observed that, by going away before day- +break, he would reach P---- in good time, and feel all the better for +it. I made the same proposal to him in the evening, and when he saw +that his niece was sleepy, he was easily persuaded to remain. I +called for the innkeeper, ordered a carriage for the clergyman, and +desired that a fire might be lit for me in the next room where I +would sleep, but the good priest said that it was unnecessary, +because there were two large beds in our room, that one would be for +me and the other for him and his niece. + +"We need not undress," he added, "as we mean to leave very early, but +you can take off your clothes, sir, because you are not going with +us, and you will like to remain in bed to-morrow morning." + +"Oh!" remarked Christine, "I must undress myself, otherwise I could +not sleep, but I only want a few minutes to get ready in the +morning." + +I said nothing, but I was amazed. Christine then, lovely and +charming enough to wreck the chastity of a Xenocrates, would sleep +naked with her uncle! True, he was old, devout, and without any of +the ideas which might render such a position dangerous, yet the +priest was a man, he had evidently felt like all men, and he ought to +have known the danger he was exposing himself to. My carnal- +mindedness could not realize such a state of innocence. But it was +truly innocent, so much so that he did it openly, and did not suppose +that anyone could see anything wrong in it. I saw it all plainly, +but I was not accustomed to such things, and felt lost in wonderment. +As I advanced in age and in experience, I have seen the same custom +established in many countries amongst honest people whose good morals +were in no way debased by it, but it was amongst good people, and I +do not pretend to belong to that worthy class. + +We had had no meat for dinner, and my delicate palate was not over- +satisfied. I went down to the kitchen myself, and I told the +landlady that I wanted the best that could be procured in Treviso for +supper, particularly in wines. + +"If you do not mind the expense, sir, trust to me, and I undertake to +please you. I will give you some Gatta wine." + +"All right, but let us have supper early." + +When I returned to our room, I found Christine caressing the cheeks +of her old uncle, who was laughing; the good man was seventy-five +years old. + +"Do you know what is the matter?" he said to me; "my niece is +caressing me because she wants me to leave her here until my return. +She tells me that you were like brother and sister during the hour +you have spent alone together this morning, and I believe it, but she +does not consider that she would be a great trouble to you." + +"Not at all, quite the reverse, she will afford me great pleasure, +for I think her very charming. As to our mutual behaviour, I believe +you can trust us both to do our duty." + +"I have no doubt of it. Well, I will leave her under your care until +the day after to-morrow. I will come back early in the morning so as +to attend to your business." + +This extraordinary and unexpected arrangement caused the blood to +rush to my head with such violence that my nose bled profusely for a +quarter of an hour. It did not frighten me, because I was used to +such accidents, but the good priest was in a great fright, thinking +that it was a serious haemorrhage. + +When I had allayed his anxiety, he left us on some business of his +own, saying that he would return at night-fall. I remained alone +with the charming, artless Christine, and lost no time in thanking +her for the confidence she placed in me. + +"I can assure you," she said, "that I wish you to have a thorough +knowledge of me; you will see that I have none of the faults which +have displeased you so much in the young ladies you have known in +Venice, and I promise to learn writing immediately." + +"You are charming and true; but you must be discreet in P----, and +confide to no one that we have entered into an agreement with each +other. You must act according to your uncle's instructions, for it +is to him that I intend to write to make all arrangements." + +"You may rely upon my discretion. I will not say anything even to my +mother, until you give me permission to do so." + +I passed the afternoon, in denying myself even the slightest +liberties with my lovely companion, but falling every minute deeper +in love with her. I told her a few love stories which I veiled +sufficiently not to shock her modesty. She felt interested, and I +could see that, although she did not always understand, she pretended +to do so, in order not to appear ignorant. + +When her uncle returned, I had arranged everything in my mind to make +her my wife, and I resolved on placing her, during her stay in +Venice, in the house of the same honest widow with whom I had found a +lodging for my beautiful Countess A---- S----. + +We had a delicious supper. I had to teach Christine how to eat +oysters and truffles, which she then saw for the first time. Gatta +wine is like champagne, it causes merriment without intoxicating, but +it cannot be kept for more than one year. We went to bed before +midnight, and it was broad daylight when I awoke. The curate had +left the room so quietly that I had not heard him. + +I looked towards the other bed, Christine was asleep. I wished her +good morning, she opened her eyes, and leaning on her elbow, she +smiled sweetly. + +"My uncle has gone. I did not hear him." + +"Dearest Christine, you are as lovely as one of God's angels. I have +a great longing to give you a kiss." + +"If you long for a kiss, my dear friend, come and give me one." + +I jump out of my bed, decency makes her hide her face. It was cold, +and I was in love. I find myself in her arms by one of those +spontaneous movements which sentiment alone can cause, and we belong +to each other without having thought of it, she happy and rather +confused, I delighted, yet unable to realize the truth of a victory +won without any contest. + +An hour passed in the midst of happiness, during which we forgot the +whole world. Calm followed the stormy gusts of passionate love, and +we gazed at each other without speaking. + +Christine was the first to break the silence + +"What have we done?" she said, softly and lovingly. + +"We have become husband and wife." + +"What will my uncle say to-morrow?" + +"He need not know anything about it until he gives us the nuptial +benediction in his own church." + +"And when will he do so?" + +"As soon as we have completed all the arrangements. necessary for a +public marriage." + +"How long will that be?" + +"About a month." + +"We cannot be married during Lent." + +"I will obtain permission." + +"You are not deceiving me?" + +"No, for I adore you." + +"Then, you no longer want to know me better?" + +"No; I know you thoroughly now, and I feel certain that you will make +me happy." + +"And will you make me happy, too?" + +"I hope so." + +"Let us get up and go to church. Who could have believed that, to +get a husband, it was necessary not to go to Venice, but to come back +from that city!" + +We got up, and, after partaking of some breakfast, we went to hear +mass. The morning passed off quickly, but towards dinner-time I +thought that Christine looked different to what she did the day +before, and I asked her the reason of that change. + +"It must be," she said, "the same reason which causes you to be +thoughtful." + +"An air of thoughtfulness, my dear, is proper to love when it finds +itself in consultation with honour. This affair has become serious, +and love is now compelled to think and consider. We want to be +married in the church, and we cannot do it before Lent, now that we +are in the last days of carnival; yet we cannot wait until Easter, it +would be too long. We must therefore obtain a dispensation in order +to be married. Have I not reason to be thoughtful?" + +Her only answer was to come and kiss me tenderly. I had spoken the +truth, yet I had not told her all my reasons for being so pensive. I +found myself drawn into an engagement which was not disagreeable to +me, but I wished it had not been so very pressing. I could not +conceal from myself that repentance was beginning to creep into my +amorous and well-disposed mind, and I was grieved at it. I felt +certain, however, that the charming girl would never have any cause +to reproach me for her misery. + +We had the whole evening before us, and as she had told me that she +had never gone to a theatre, I resolved on affording her that +pleasure. I sent for a Jew from whom I procured everything necessary +to disguise her, and we went to the theatre. A man in love enjoys no +pleasure but that which he gives to the woman he loves. After the +performance was over, I took her to the Casino, and her astonishment +made me laugh when she saw for the first time a faro bank. I had not +money enough to play myself, but I had more than enough to amuse her +and to let her play a reasonable game. I gave her ten sequins, and +explained what she had to do. She did not even know the cards, yet +in less than an hour she had won one hundred sequins. I made her +leave off playing, and we returned to the inn. When we were in our +room, I told her to see how much money she had, and when I assured +her that all that gold belonged to her, she thought it was a dream. + +"Oh! what will my uncle say?" she exclaimed. + +We had a light supper, and spent a delightful night, taking good care +to part by day-break, so as not to be caught in the same bed by the +worthy ecclesiastic. He arrived early and found us sleeping soundly +in our respective beds. He woke me, and I gave him the ring which he +went to pledge immediately. When he returned two hours later, he saw +us dressed and talking quietly near the fire. As soon as he came in, +Christine rushed to embrace him, and she shewed him all the gold she +had in her possession. What a pleasant surprise for the good old +priest! He did not know how to express his wonder! He thanked God +for what he called a miracle, and he concluded by saying that we were +made to insure each other's happiness. + +The time to part had come. I promised to pay them a visit in the +first days of Lent, but on condition that on my arrival in P---- I +would not find anyone informed of my name or of my concerns. The +curate gave me the certificate of birth of his niece and the account +of her possessions. As soon as they had gone I took my departure for +Venice, full of love for the charming girl, and determined on keeping +my engagement with her. I knew how easy it would be for me to +convince my three friends that my marriage had been irrevocably +written in the great book of fate. + +My return caused the greatest joy to the three excellent men, +because, not being accustomed to see me three days absent, M. +Dandolo and M. Barbaro were afraid of some accident having befallen +me; but M. de Bragadin's faith was stronger, and he allayed their +fears, saying to them that, with Paralis watching over me, I could +not be in any danger. + +The very next day I resolved on insuring Christine's happiness +without making her my wife. I had thought of marrying her when I +loved her better than myself, but after obtaining possession the +balance was so much on my side that my self-love proved stronger than +my love for Christine. I could not make up my mind to renounce the +advantages, the hopes which I thought were attached to my happy +independence. Yet I was the slave of sentiment. To abandon the +artless, innocent girl seemed to me an awful crime of which I could +not be guilty, and the mere idea of it made me shudder. I was aware +that she was, perhaps, bearing in her womb a living token of our +mutual love, and I shivered at the bare possibility that her +confidence in me might be repaid by shame and everlasting misery. + +I bethought myself of finding her a husband in every way better than +myself; a husband so good that she would not only forgive me for the +insult I should thus be guilty of towards her, but also thank me at +the end, and like me all the better for my deceit. + +To find such a husband could not be very difficult, for Christine was +not only blessed with wonderful beauty, and with a well-established +reputation for virtue, but she was also the possessor of a fortune +amounting to four thousand Venetian ducats. + +Shut up in a room with the three worshippers of my oracle, I +consulted Paralis upon the affair which I had so much at heart. The +answer was: + +"Serenus must attend to it." + +Serenus was the cabalistic name of M. de Bragadin, and the excellent +man immediately expressed himself ready to execute all the orders of +Paralis. It was my duty to inform him of those orders. + +"You must," I said to him, "obtain from the Holy Father a +dispensation for a worthy and virtuous girl, so as to give her the +privilege of marrying during Lent in the church of her village; she +is a young country girl. Here is her certificate of birth. The +husband is not yet known; but it does not matter, Paralis undertakes +to find one." + +"Trust to me," said my father, "I will write at once to our +ambassador in Rome, and I will contrive to have my letter sent by +special express. You need not be anxious, leave it all to me, I will +make it a business of state, and I must obey Paralis all the more +readily that I foresee that the intended husband is one of us four. +Indeed, we must prepare ourselves to obey." + +I had some trouble in keeping my laughter down, for it was in my +power to metamorphose Christine into a grand Venetian lady, the wife +of a senator; but that was not my intention. I again consulted the +oracle in order to ascertain who would be the husband of the young +girl, and the answer was that M. Dandolo was entrusted with the care +of finding one, young, handsome, virtuous, and able to serve the +Republic, either at home or abroad. M. Dandolo was to consult me +before concluding any arrangements. I gave him courage for his task +by informing him that the girl had a dowry of four thousand ducats, +but I added that his choice was to be made within a fortnight. M. +de Bragadin, delighted at not being entrusted with the commission, +laughed heartily. + +Those arrangements made me feel at peace with myself. I was certain +that the husband I wanted would be found, and I only thought of +finishing the carnival gaily, and of contriving to find my purse +ready for a case of emergency. + +Fortune soon rendered me possessor of a thousand sequins. I paid my +debts, and the licence for the marriage having arrived from Rome ten +days after M. de Bragadin had applied for it, I gave him one hundred +ducats, that being the sum it had cost. The dispensation gave +Christine the right of being married in any church in Christendom, +she would only have to obtain the seal of the episcopal court of the +diocese in which the marriage was to take place, and no publication +of banns was required. We wanted, therefore, but one thing--a +trifling one, namely, the husband. M. Dandolo had already proposed +three or four to me, but I had refused them for excellent reasons. +At last he offered one who suited me exactly. + +I had to take the diamond ring out of pledge, and not wishing to do +it myself, I wrote to the priest making an appointment in Treviso. I +was not, of course, surprised when I found that he was accompanied by +his lovely niece, who, thinking that I had come to complete all +arrangements for our marriage, embraced me without ceremony, and I +did the same. If the uncle had not been present, I am afraid that +those kisses would have caused all my heroism to vanish. I gave the +curate the dispensation, and the handsome features of Christine shone +with joy. She certainly could not imagine that I had been working so +actively for others, and, as I was not yet certain of anything, I did +not undeceive her then. I promised to be in P---- within eight or +ten days, when we would complete all necessary arrangements. After +dinner, I gave the curate the ticket for the ring and the money to +take it out of pledge, and we retired to rest. This time, very +fortunately, there was but one bed in the room, and I had to take +another chamber for myself. + +The next morning, I went into Christine's room, and found her in bed. +Her uncle had gone out for my diamond ring, and alone with that +lovely girl, I found that I had, when necessary, complete control +over my passions. Thinking that she was not to be my wife, and that +she would belong to another, I considered it my duty to silence my +desires. I kissed her, but nothing more. + +I spent one hour with her, fighting like Saint Anthony against the +carnal desires of my nature. I could see the charming girl full of +love and of wonder at my reserve, and I admired her virtue in the +natural modesty which prevented her from making the first advances. +She got out of bed and dressed herself without shewing any +disappointment. She would, of course, have felt mortified if she bad +had the slightest idea that I despised her, or that I did not value +her charms. + +Her uncle returned, gave me the ring, and we had dinner, after which +he treated me to a wonderful exhibition. Christine had learned how +to write, and, to give me a proof of her talent, she wrote very +fluently and very prettily in my presence. + +We parted, after my promising to come back again within ten days, and +I returned to Venice. + +On the second Sunday in Lent, M. Dandolo told me with an air of +triumph that the fortunate husband had been found, and that there was +no doubt of my approval of the new candidate. He named Charles ---- +whom I knew by sight--very handsome young man, of irreproachable +conduct, and about twenty-two years of age. He was clerk to M. +Ragionato and god-son of Count Algarotti, a sister of whom had +married M. Dandolo's brother. + +"Charles," said M. Dandolo to me, "has lost his father and his +mother, and I feel satisfied that his godfather will guarantee the +dowry brought by his wife. I have spoken to him, and I believe him +disposed to marry an honest girl whose dowry would enable him to +purchase M. Ragionato's office." + +"It seems to promise very well, but I cannot decide until I have seen +him." + +"I have invited him to dine with us to-morrow." + +The young man came, and I found him worthy of all M. Dandolo's +praise. We became friends at once; he had some taste for poetry, I +read some of my productions to him, and having paid him a visit the +following day, he shewed me several pieces of his own composition +which were well written. He introduced me to his aunt, in whose +house he lived with his sister, and I was much pleased with their +friendly welcome. Being alone with him in his room, I asked him what +he thought of love. + +"I do not care for love," he answered: "but I should like to get +married in order to have a house of my own." + +When I returned to the palace, I told M. Dandolo that he might open +the affair with Count Algarotti, and the count mentioned it to +Charles, who said that he could not give any answer, either one way +or the other, until he should have seen the young girl, talked with +her, and enquired about her reputation. As for Count Algarotti, he +was ready to be answerable for his god-son, that is to guarantee four +thousand ducats to the wife, provided her dowry was worth that +amount. Those were only the preliminaries; the rest belonged to my +province. + +Dandolo having informed Charles that the matter was entirely in my +hands, he called on me and enquired when I would be kind enough to +introduce him to the young person. I named the day, adding that it +was necessary to devote a whole day to the visit, as she resided at a +distance of twenty miles from Venice, that we would dine with her and +return the same evening. He promised to be ready for me by day- +break. I immediately sent an express to the curate to inform him of +the day on which I would call with a friend of mine whom I wished to +introduce to his niece. + +On the appointed day, Charles was punctual. I took care to let him +know along the road that I had made the acquaintance of the young +girl and of her uncle as travelling companions from Venice to Mestra +about one month before, and that I would have offered myself as a +husband, if I had been in a position to guarantee the dowry of four +thousand ducats. I did not think it necessary to go any further in +my confidences. + +We arrived at the good priest's house two hours before mid-day, and +soon after our arrival, Christine came in with an air of great ease, +expressing all her pleasure at seeing me. She only bowed to Charles, +enquiring from me whether he was likewise a clerk. + +Charles answered that he was clerk at Ragionato. + +She pretended to understand, in order not to appear ignorant. + +"I want you to look at my writing," she said to me, "and afterwards +we will go and see my mother." + +Delighted at the praise bestowed upon her writing by Charles, when he +heard that she had learned only one month, she invited us to follow +her. Charles asked her why she had waited until the age of nineteen +to study writing. + +"Well, sir, what does it matter to you? Besides, I must tell you +that I am seventeen, and not nineteen years of age." + +Charles entreated her to excuse him, smiling at the quickness of her +answer. + +She was dressed like a simple country girl, yet very neatly, and she +wore her handsome gold chains round her neck and on her arms. I told +her to take my arm and that of Charles, which she did, casting +towards me a look of loving obedience. We went to her mother's +house; the good woman was compelled to keep her bed owing to +sciatica. As we entered the room, a respectable-looking man, who was +seated near the patient, rose at the sight of Charles, and embraced +him affectionately. I heard that he was the family physician, and +the circumstance pleased me much. + +After we had paid our compliments to the good woman, the doctor +enquired after Charles's aunt and sister; and alluding to the sister +who was suffering from a secret disease, Charles desired to say a few +words to him in private; they left the room together. Being alone +with the mother and Christine, I praised Charles, his excellent +conduct, his high character, his business abilities, and extolled the +happiness of the woman who would be his wife. They both confirmed my +praises by saying that everything I said of him could be read on his +features. I had no time to lose, so I told Christine to be on her +guard during dinner, as Charles might possibly be the husband whom +God had intended for her. + +"For me?" + +"Yes, for you. Charles is one of a thousand; you would be much +happier with him than you could be with me; the doctor knows him, and +you could ascertain from him everything which I cannot find time to +tell you now about my friend." + +The reader can imagine all I suffered in making this declaration, and +my surprise when I saw the young girl calm and perfectly composed! +Her composure dried the tears already gathering in my eyes. After a +short silence, she asked me whether I was certain that such a +handsome young man would have her. That question gave me an insight +into Christine's heart and feelings, and quieted all my sorrow, for I +saw that I had not known her well. I answered that, beautiful as she +was, there was no doubt of her being loved by everybody. + +"It will be at dinner, my dear Christine, that my friend will examine +and study you; do not fail to shew all the charms and qualities with +which God has endowed you, but do not let him suspect our intimacy." + +"It is all very strange. Is my uncle informed of this wonderful +change?" + +"No." + +"If your friend should feel pleased with me, when would he marry me?" + +"Within ten days. I will take care of everything, and you will see +me again in the course of the week:" + +Charles came back with the doctor, and Christine, leaving her +mother's bedside, took a chair opposite to us. She answered very +sensibly all the questions addressed to her by Charles, often +exciting his mirth by her artlessness, but not shewing any silliness. + +Oh! charming simplicity! offspring of wit and of ignorance! thy charm +is delightful, and thou alone hast the privilege of saying anything +without ever giving offence! But how unpleasant thou art when thou +art not natural! and thou art the masterpiece of art when thou art +imitated with perfection! + +We dined rather late, and I took care not to speak to Christine, not +even to look at her, so as not to engross her attention, which she +devoted entirely to Charles, and I was delighted to see with what +ease and interest she kept up the conversation. After dinner, and as +we were taking leave, I heard the following words uttered by Charles, +which went to my very heart: + +"You are made, lovely Christine, to minister to the happiness of a +prince." + +And Christine? This was her answer: + +"I should esteem myself fortunate, sir, if you should judge me worthy +of ministering to yours." + +These words excited Charles so much that he embraced me! + +Christine was simple, but her artlessness did not come from her mind, +only from her heart. The simplicity of mind is nothing but +silliness, that of the heart is only ignorance and innocence; it is a +quality which subsists even when the cause has ceased to be. This +young girl, almost a child of nature, was simple in her manners, but +graceful in a thousand trifling ways which cannot be described. She +was sincere, because she did not know that to conceal some of our +impressions is one of the precepts of propriety, and as her +intentions were pure, she was a stranger to that false shame and mock +modesty which cause pretended innocence to blush at a word, or at a +movement said or made very often without any wicked purpose. + +During our journey back to Venice Crarles spoke of nothing but of his +happiness. He had decidedly fallen in love. + +"I will call to-morrow morning upon Count Algarotti," he said to me, +"and you may write to the priest to come with all the necessary +documents to make the contract of marriage which I long to sign." + +His delight and his surprise were intense when I told him that my +wedding present to Christine was a dispensation from the Pope for her +to be married in Lent. + +"Then," he exclaimed, "we must go full speed ahead!" + +In the conference which was held the next day between my young +substitute, his god-father, and M. Dandolo, it was decided that the +parson should be invited to come with his niece. I undertook to +carry the message, and leaving Venice two hours before morning I +reached P---- early. The priest said he would be ready to start +immediately after mass. I then called on Christine, and I treated +her to a fatherly and sentimental sermon, every word of which was +intended to point out to her the true road to happiness in the new +condition which she was on the point of adopting. I told her how she +ought to behave towards her husband, towards his aunt and his sister, +in order to captivate their esteem and their love. The last part of +my discourse was pathetic and rather disparaging to myself, for, as I +enforced upon her the necessity of being faithful to her husband, I +was necessarily led to entreat her pardon for having seduced her. +"When you promised to marry me, after we had both been weak enough to +give way to our love, did you intend to deceive me?" + +"Certainly not." + +"Then you have not deceived me. On the contrary, I owe you some +gratitude for having thought that, if our union should prove unhappy, +it was better to find another husband for me, and I thank God that +you have succeeded so well. Tell me, now, what I can answer to your +friend in case he should ask me, during the first night, why I am so +different to what a virgin ought to be?" + +"It is not likely that Charles, who is full of reserve and propriety, +would ask you such a thing, but if he should, tell him positively +that you never had a lover, and that you do not suppose yourself to +be different to any other girl." + +"Will he believe me?" + +"He would deserve your contempt, and entail punishment on himself if +he did not. But dismiss all anxiety; that will not occur. A +sensible man, my dear Christine, when he has been rightly brought up, +never ventures upon such a question, because he is not only certain +to displease, but also sure that he will never know the truth, for if +the truth is likely to injure a woman in the opinion of her husband, +she would be very foolish, indeed, to confess it." + +"I understand your meaning perfectly, my dear friend; let us, then, +embrace each other for the last time." + +"No, for we are alone and I am very weak. I adore thee as much as +ever." + +"Do not cry, dear friend, for, truly speaking, I have no wish for +it." + +That simple and candid answer changed my disposition suddenly, and, +instead of crying, I began to laugh. Christine dressed herself +splendidly, and after breakfast we left P----. We reached Venice in +four hours. I lodged them at a good inn, and going to the palace, I +told M. Dandolo that our people had arrived, that it would be his +province to bring them and Charles together on the following day, and +to attend to the matter altogether, because the honour of the future +husband and wife, the respect due to their parents and to propriety, +forbade any further interference on my part. + +He understood my reasons, and acted accordingly. He brought Charles +to me, I presented both of them to the curate and his niece, and then +left them to complete their business. + +I heard afterwards from M. Dandolo that they all called upon Count +Algarotti, and at the office of a notary, where the contract of +marriage was signed, and that, after fixing a day for the wedding, +Charles had escorted his intended back to P----. + +On his return, Charles paid me a visit. He told me that Christine +had won by her beauty and pleasing manners the affection of his aunt, +of his sister, and of his god-father, and that they had taken upon +themselves all the expense of the wedding. + +"We intend to be married," he added, "on such a day at P----, and I +trust that you will crown your work of kindness by being present at +the ceremony." + +I tried to excuse myself, but he insisted with such a feeling of +gratitude, and with so much earnestness, that I was compelled to +accept. I listened with real pleasure to the account he gave me of +the impression produced upon all his family and upon Count Algarotti +by the beauty, the artlessness, the rich toilet, and especially by +the simple talk of the lovely country girl. + +"I am deeply in love with her," Charles said to me, "and I feel that +it is to you that I shall be indebted for the happiness I am sure to +enjoy with my charming wife. She will soon get rid of her country +way of talking in Venice, because here envy and slander will but too +easily shew her the absurdity of it." + +His enthusiasm and happiness delighted me, and I congratulated myself +upon my own work. Yet I felt inwardly some jealousy, and I could not +help envying a lot which I might have kept for myself. + +M. Daridolo and M. Barbaro having been also invited by Charles, I +went with them to P----. We found the dinner-table laid out in the +rector's house by the servants of Count Algarotti, who was acting as +Charles's father, and having taken upon himself all the expense of +the wedding, had sent his cook and his major-domo to P----. + +When I saw Christine, the tears filled my eyes, and I had to leave +the room. She was dressed as a country girl, but looked as lovely as +a nymph. Her husband, her uncle, and Count Algarotti had vainly +tried to make her adopt the Venetian costume, but she had very wisely +refused. + +"As soon as I am your wife," she had said to Charles, "I will dress +as you please, but here I will not appear before my young companions +in any other costume than the one in which they have always seen me. +I shall thus avoid being laughed at, and accused of pride, by the +girls among whom I have been brought up." + +There was in these words something so noble, so just, and so +generous, that Charles thought his sweetheart a supernatural being. +He told me that he had enquired, from the woman with whom Christine +had spent a fortnight, about the offers of marriage she had refused +at that time, and that he had been much surprised, for two of those +offers were excellent ones. + +"Christine," he added, "was evidently destined by Heaven for my +happiness, and to you I am indebted for the precious possession of +that treasure." + +His gratitude pleased me, and I must render myself the justice of +saying that I entertained no thought of abusing it. I felt happy in +the happiness I had thus given. + +We repaired to the church towards eleven o'clock, and were very much +astonished at the difficulty we experienced in getting in. A large +number of the nobility of Treviso, curious to ascertain whether it +was true that the marriage ceremony of a country girl would be +publicly performed during Lent when, by waiting only one month, a +dispensation would have been useless, had come to P----. Everyone +wondered at the permission having been obtained from the Pope, +everyone imagined that there was some extraordinary reason for it, +and was in despair because it was impossible to guess that reason. +In spite of all feelings of envy, every face beamed with pleasure and +satisfaction when the young couple made their appearance, and no one +could deny that they deserved that extraordinary distinction, that +exception to all established rules. + +A certain Countess of Tos...., from Treviso, Christine's god-mother, +went up to her after the ceremony, and embraced her most tenderly, +complaining that the happy event had not been communicated to her in +Treviso. Christine, in her artless way, answered with as much +modesty as sweetness, that the countess ought to forgive her if she +had failed in her duty towards her, on account of the marriage having +been decided on so hastily. She presented her husband, and begged +Count Algarotti to atone for her error towards her god-mother by +inviting her to join the wedding repast, an invitation which the +countess accepted with great pleasure. That behaviour, which is +usually the result of a good education and a long experience of +society, was in the lovely peasant-girl due only to a candid and +well-balanced mind which shone all the more because it was all nature +and not art. + +As they returned from the church, Charles and Christine knelt down +before the young wife's mother, who gave them her blessing with tears +of joy. + +Dinner was served, and, of course, Christine and her happy spouse +took the seats of honour. Mine was the last, and I was very glad of +it, but although everything was delicious, I ate very little, and +scarcely opened my lips. + +Christine was constantly busy, saying pretty things to every one of +her guests, and looking at her husband to make sure that he was +pleased with her. + +Once or twice she addressed his aunt and sister in such a gracious +manner that they could not help leaving their places and kissing her +tenderly, congratulating Charles upon his good fortune. I was seated +not very far from Count Algarotti, and I heard him say several times +to Christine's god-mother that he had never felt so delighted in his +life. + +When four o'clock struck, Charles whispered a few words to his lovely +wife, she bowed to her god-mother, and everybody rose from the table. +After the usual compliments--and in this case they bore the stamp of +sincerity--the bride distributed among all the girls of the village, +who were in the adjoining room, packets full of sugar-plums which had +been prepared before hand, and she took leave of them, kissing them +all without any pride. Count Algarotti invited all the guests to +sleep at a house he had in Treviso, and to partake there of the +dinner usually given the day after the wedding. The uncle alone +excused himself, and the mother could not come, owing to her disease +which prevented her from moving. The good woman died three months +after Christine's marriage. + +Christine therefore left her village to follow her husband, and for +the remainder of their lives they lived together in mutual happiness. + +Count Algarotti, Christine's god-mother and my two noble friends, +went away together. The bride and bridegroom had, of course, a +carriage to themselves, and I kept the aunt and the sister of Charles +company in another. I could not help envying the happy man somewhat, +although in my inmost heart I felt pleased with his happiness. + +The sister was not without merit. She was a young widow of twenty- +five, and still deserved the homage of men, but I gave the preference +to the aunt, who told me that her new niece was a treasure, a jewel +which was worthy of everybody's admiration, but that she would not +let her go into society until she could speak the Venetian dialect +well. + +"Her cheerful spirits," she added, "her artless simplicity, her +natural wit, are like her beauty, they must be dressed in the +Venetian fashion. We are highly pleased with my nephew's choice, and +he has incurred everlasting obligations towards you. I hope that for +the future you will consider our house as your own." + +The invitation was polite, perhaps it was sincere, yet I did not +avail myself of it, and they were glad of it. At the end of one year +Christine presented her husband with a living token of their mutual +love, and that circumstance increased their conjugal felicity. + +We all found comfortable quarters in the count's house in Treviso, +where, after partaking of some refreshments, the guests retired to +rest. + +The next morning I was with Count Algarotti and my two friends when +Charles came in, handsome, bright, and radiant. While he was +answering with much wit some jokes of the count, I kept looking at +him with some anxiety, but he came up to me and embraced me warmly. +I confess that a kiss never made me happier. + +People wonder at the devout scoundrels who call upon their saint when +they think themselves in need of heavenly assistance, or who thank +him when they imagine that they have obtained some favour from him, +but people are wrong, for it is a good and right feeling, which +preaches against Atheism. + +At the invitation of Charles, his aunt and his sister had gone to pay +a morning visit to the young wife, and they returned with her. +Happiness never shone on a more lovely face! + +M. Algarotti, going towards her, enquired from her affectionately +whether she had had a good night. Her only answer was to rush to her +husband's arms. It was the most artless, and at the same time the +most eloquent, answer she could possible give. Then turning her +beautiful eyes towards me, and offering me her hand, she said, + +"M. Casanova, I am happy, and I love to be indebted to you for my +happiness." + +The tears which were flowing from my eyes, as I kissed her hand, told +her better than words how truly happy I was myself. + +The dinner passed off delightfully. We then left for Mestra and +Venice. We escorted the married couple to their house, and returned +home to amuse M. Bragadin with the relation of our expedition. This +worthy and particularly learned man said a thousand things about the +marriage, some of great profundity and others of great absurdity. + +I laughed inwardly. I was the only one who had the key to the +mystery, and could realize the secret of the comedy. + + + + +End of this Project Gutenberg Etext of MEMOIRES OF JACQUES CASANOVA +VENETION YEARS, Vol. 1d, RETURN TO VENICE +by Jacques Casanova de Seingalt + diff --git a/old/jcrvn11.zip b/old/jcrvn11.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..e666a0a --- /dev/null +++ b/old/jcrvn11.zip |