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+Project Gutenberg's Spanish Passions: Spain, 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: Spanish Passions: Spain
+       The Memoirs Of Jacques Casanova De Seingalt 1725-1798
+
+Author: Jacques Casanova de Seingalt
+
+Release Date: October 31, 2006 [EBook #2976]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPANISH PASSIONS: SPAIN ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Widger
+
+
+
+
+
+MEMOIRS OF JACQUES CASANOVA de SEINGALT 1725-1798
+
+SPANISH PASSIONS, Volume 6a--SPAIN
+THE MEMOIRS OF JACQUES CASANOVA DE SEINGALT
+
+THE RARE UNABRIDGED LONDON EDITION OF 1894 TRANSLATED BY ARTHUR MACHEN TO
+WHICH HAS BEEN ADDED THE CHAPTERS DISCOVERED BY ARTHUR SYMONS.
+
+
+
+
+SPAIN
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+I Am Ordered to Leave Vienna--The Empress Moderates but Does Not Annul
+the Order--Zavoiski at Munich--My Stay at Augsburg--Gasconnade at
+Louisburg--The Cologne Newspaper--My Arrival at Aix-la-Chapelle
+
+The greatest mistake a man that punishes a knave can commit is to leave
+the said rogue alive, for he is certain to take vengeance. If I had had
+my sword in the den of thieves, I should no doubt have defended myself,
+but it would have gone ill with me, three against one, and I should
+probably have been cut to pieces, while the murderers would have escaped
+unpunished.
+
+At eight o'clock Campioni came to see me in my bed, and was astonished at
+my adventure. Without troubling himself to compassionate me, we both
+began to think how we could get back my purse; but we came to the
+conclusion that it would be impossible, as I had nothing more than my
+mere assertion to prove the case. In spite of that, however, I wrote out
+the whole story, beginning with the girl who recited the Latin verses. I
+intended to bring the document before the police; however, I had not time
+to do so.
+
+I was just sitting down to dinner, when an agent of the police came and
+gave me an order to go and speak to Count Schrotembach, the Statthalter.
+I told him to instruct my coachman, who was waiting at the door, and that
+I would follow him shortly.
+
+When I called on the Statthalter, I found him to be a thick-set
+individual; he was standing up, and surrounded by men who seemed ready to
+execute his orders. When he saw me, he shewed me a watch, and requested
+me to note the hour.
+
+"I see it."
+
+"If you are at Vienna at that time to-morrow I shall have you expelled
+from the city."
+
+"Why do you give me such an unjust order?"
+
+"In the first place, I am not here to give you accounts or reasons for my
+actions. However, I may tell you that you are expelled for playing at
+games of chance, which are forbidden by the laws under pain of the
+galleys. Do you recognize that purse and these cards?"
+
+I did not know the cards, but I knew the purse which had been stolen from
+me. I was in a terrible rage, and I only replied by presenting the
+magistrate with the truthful narrative of what had happened to me. He
+read it, and then said with a laugh that I was well known to be a man of
+parts, that my character was known, that I had been expelled from Warsaw,
+and that as for the document before him he judged it to be a pack of
+lies, since in his opinion it was altogether void of probability.
+
+"In fine," he added, "you will obey my order to leave the town, and you
+must tell me where you are going."
+
+"I will tell you that when I have made up my mind to go."
+
+"What? You dare to tell me that you will not obey?"
+
+"You yourself have said that if I do not go I shall be removed by force."
+
+"Very good. I have heard you have a strong will, but here it will be of
+no use to you. I advise you to go quietly, and so avoid harsh measures."
+
+"I request you to return me that document."
+
+"I will not do so. Begone!"
+
+This was one of the most terrible moments of my life. I shudder still
+when I think of it. It was only a cowardly love of life that hindered me
+from running my sword through the body of the Statthalter, who had
+treated me as if he were a hangman and not a judge.
+
+As I went away I took it into my head to complain to Prince Kaunitz,
+though I had not the honour of knowing him. I called at his house, and a
+man I met told me to stay in the ante-chamber, as the prince would pass
+through to go to dinner.
+
+It was five o'clock. The prince appeared, followed by his guests, amongst
+whom was M. Polo Renieri, the Venetian ambassador. The prince asked me
+what he could do for me, and I told my story in a loud voice before them
+all.
+
+"I have received my order to go, but I shall not obey. I implore your
+highness to give me your protection, and to help me to bring my plea to
+the foot of the throne."
+
+"Write out your petition," he replied, "and I will see that the empress
+gets it. But I advise you to ask her majesty for a respite, for if you
+say that you won't obey, she will be predisposed against you."
+
+"But if the royal grace does not place me in security, I shall be driven
+away by violence."
+
+"Then take refuge with the ambassador of your native country."
+
+"Alas, my lord, my country has forsaken me. An act of legal though
+unconstitutional violence has deprived me of my rights as a citizen. My
+name is Casanova, and my country is Venice."
+
+The prince looked astonished and turned to the Venetian ambassador, who
+smiled, and whispered to him for ten minutes.
+
+"It's a pity," said the prince, kindly, "that you cannot claim the
+protection of any ambassador."
+
+At these words a nobleman of colossal stature stepped forward and said I
+could claim his protection, as my whole family, myself included, had
+served the prince his master. He spoke the truth, for he was the
+ambassador of Saxony.
+
+"That is Count Vitzthum," said the prince. "Write to the empress, and I
+will forward your petition immediately. If there is any delay in the
+answer, go to the count; you will be safe with him, until you like to
+leave Vienna."
+
+In the meanwhile the prince ordered writing materials to be brought me,
+and he and his guests passed into the dining-hall.
+
+I give here a copy of the petition, which I composed in less than ten
+minutes. I made a fair copy for the Venetian ambassador to send home to
+the Senate:
+
+"MADAM,--I am sure that if, as your royal and imperial highness were
+walking in your garden, an insect appealed plaintively to you not to
+crush it, you would turn aside, and so avoid doing the poor creature any
+hurt.
+
+"I, madam, am an insect, and I beg of you that you will order M.
+Statthalter Schrotembach to delay crushing me with your majesty's slipper
+for a week. Possibly, after that time has elapsed, your majesty will not
+only prevent his crushing me, but will deprive him of that slipper, which
+was only meant to be the terror of rogues, and not of an humble Venetian,
+who is an honest man, though he escaped from The Leads.
+
+"In profound submission to your majesty's will,
+   "I remain,
+               "CASANOVA.
+
+"Given at Vienna, January 21st, 1769."
+
+When I had finished the petition, I made a fair draft of it, and sent it
+in to the prince, who sent it back to me telling me that he would place
+it in the empress's hands immediately, but that he would be much obliged
+by my making a copy for his own use.
+
+I did so, and gave both copies to the valet de chambre, and went my way.
+I trembled like a paralytic, and was afraid that my anger might get me
+into difficulty. By way of calming myself, I wrote out in the style of a
+manifesto the narrative I had given to the vile Schrotembach, and which
+that unworthy magistrate had refused to return to me.
+
+At seven o'clock Count Vitzthum came into my room. He greeted me in a
+friendly manner and begged me to tell him the story of the girl I had
+gone to see, on the promise of the Latin quatrain referring to her
+accommodating disposition. I gave him the address and copied out the
+verses, and he said that was enough to convince an enlightened judge that
+I had been slandered; but he, nevertheless, was very doubtful whether
+justice would be done me.
+
+"What! shall I be obliged to leave Vienna to-morrow?"
+
+"No, no, the empress cannot possibly refuse you the week's delay."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Oh! no one could refuse such an appeal as that. Even the prince could
+not help smiling as he was reading it in his cold way. After reading it
+he passed it on to me, and then to the Venetian ambassador, who asked him
+if he meant to give it to the empress as it stood. 'This petition,'
+replied the prince, 'might be sent to God, if one knew the way;' and
+forthwith he ordered one of his secretaries to fold it up and see that it
+was delivered. We talked of you for the rest of dinner, and I had the
+pleasure of hearing the Venetian ambassador say that no one could
+discover any reason for your imprisonment under the Leads. Your duel was
+also discussed, but on that point we only knew what has appeared in the
+newspapers. Oblige me by giving me a copy of your petition; that phrase
+of Schrotembach and the slipper pleased me vastly."
+
+I copied out the document, and gave it him with a copy of my manifesto.
+Before he left me the count renewed the invitation to take refuge with
+him, if I did not hear from the empress before the expiration of the
+twenty-four hours.
+
+At ten o'clock I had a visit from the Comte de la Perouse, the Marquis de
+las Casas, and Signor Uccelli, the secretary of the Venetian embassy. The
+latter came to ask for a copy of my petition for his chief. I promised he
+should have it, and I also sent a copy of my manifesto. The only thing
+which rather interfered with the dignity of this latter piece, and gave
+it a somewhat comic air, were the four Latin verses, which might make
+people imagine that, after enjoying the girl as Hebe, I had gone in
+search of her as Ganymede. This was not the case, but the empress
+understood Latin and was familiar with mythology, and if she had looked
+on it in the light I have mentioned I should have been undone. I made six
+copies of the two documents before I went to bed; I was quite tired out,
+but the exertion had somewhat soothed me. At noon the next day, young
+Hasse (son of the chapel-master and of the famous Trustina), secretary of
+legation to Count Vitzthum, came to tell me from the ambassador that
+nobody would attack me in my own house, nor in my carriage if I went
+abroad, but that it would be imprudent to go out on foot. He added that
+his chief would have the pleasure of calling on me at seven o'clock. I
+begged M. Hasse to let me have all this in writing, and after he had
+written it out he left me.
+
+Thus the order to leave Vienna had been suspended; it must have been done
+by the sovereign.
+
+"I have no time to lose," said I to myself, "I shall have justice done
+me, my assassins will be condemned, my purse will be returned with the
+two hundred ducats in it, and not in the condition in which it was shewn
+to me by the infamous Schrotembach, who will be punished by dismissal, at
+least."
+
+Such were my castles in Spain; who has not built such? 'Quod nimis miseri
+volunt hoc facile credunt', says Seneca. The wish is father to the
+thought.
+
+Before sending my manifesto to the empress, Prince Kaunitz, and to all
+the ambassadors, I thought it would be well to call on the Countess of
+Salmor, who spoke to the sovereign early and late. I had had a letter of
+introduction for her.
+
+She greeted me by saying that I had better give up wearing my arm in a
+sling, as it looked as ii I were a charlatan; my arm must be well enough
+after nine months.
+
+I was extremely astonished by this greeting, and replied that if it were
+not necessary I should not wear a sling, and that I was no charlatan.
+
+"However," I added, "I have come to see you on a different matter."
+
+"Yes, I know, but I will have nothing to do with it. You are all as bad
+as Tomatis."
+
+I gave a turn round and left the room without taking any further notice
+of her. I returned home feeling overwhelmed by the situation. I had been
+robbed and insulted by a band of thorough-paced rascals; I could do
+nothing, justice was denied me, and now I had been made a mock of by a
+worthless countess. If I had received such an insult from a man I would
+have soon made him feel the weight of one arm at all events. I could not
+bear my arm without a sling for an hour; pain and swelling set in
+immediately. I was not perfectly cured till twenty months after the duel.
+
+Count Vitzthum came to see me at seven o'clock. He said the empress had
+told Prince Kaunitz that Schrotembach considered my narrative as pure
+romance. His theory was that I had held a bank at faro with sharpers'
+cards, and had dealt with both hands the arm in the sling being a mere
+pretence. I had then been taken in the act by one of the gamesters, and
+my unjust gains had been very properly taken from me. My detector had
+then handed over my purse, containing forty ducats, to the police, and
+the money had of course been confiscated. The empress had to choose
+between believing Schrotembach and dismissing him; and she was not
+inclined to do the latter, as it would be a difficult matter to find him
+a successor in his difficult and odious task of keeping Vienna clear of
+human vermin.
+
+"This is what Prince Kaunitz asked me to tell you. But you need not be
+afraid of any violence, and you can go when you like."
+
+"Then I am to be robbed of two hundred ducats with impunity. The empress
+might at least reimburse me if she does nothing more. Please to ask the
+prince whether I can ask the sovereign to give me that satisfaction; the
+least I can demand."
+
+"I will tell him what you say."
+
+"If not, I shall leave; for what can I do in a town where I can only
+drive, and where the Government keeps assassins in its pay?"
+
+"You are right. We are all sure that Pocchini has calumniated you. The
+girl who recites Latin verses is well known, but none know her address. I
+must advise you not to publish your tale as long as you are in Vienna, as
+it places Schrotembach in a very bad light, and you see the empress has
+to support him in the exercise of his authority."
+
+"I see the force of your argument, and I shall have to devour my anger. I
+will leave Vienna as soon as the washerwoman sends home my linen, but I
+will have the story printed in all its black injustice."
+
+"The empress is prejudiced against you, I don't know by whom."
+
+"I know, though; it is that infernal old hag, Countess Salmor."
+
+The next day I received a letter from Count Vitzthum, in which he said
+that Prince Kaunitz advised me to forget the two hundred ducats, that the
+girl and her so-called mother had left Vienna to all appearance, as
+someone had gone to the address and had failed to find her.
+
+I saw that I could do nothing, and resolved to depart in peace, and
+afterwards to publish the whole story and to hang Pocchini with my own
+hands when next I met him. I did neither the one nor the other.
+
+About that time a young lady of the Salis de Coire family arrived at
+Vienna without any companion. The imperial hangman Schrotembach, ordered
+her to leave Vienna in two days. She replied that she would leave exactly
+when she felt inclined. The magistrate consigned her to imprisonment in a
+convent, and she was there still when I left. The emperor went to see
+her, and the empress, his mother, asked him what he thought of her. His
+answer was, "I thought her much more amusing than Schrotembach."
+
+Undoubtedly, every man worthy of the name longs to be free, but who is
+really free in this world? No one. The philosopher, perchance, may be
+accounted so, but it is at the cost of too precious sacrifices at the
+phantom shrine of Liberty.
+
+I left the use of my suite of rooms, for which I had paid a month in
+advance, to Campioni, promising to wait for him at Augsburg, where the
+Law alone is supreme. I departed alone carrying with me the bitter regret
+that I had not been able to kill the monster, whose despotism had crushed
+me. I stopped at Linz on purpose to write to Schrotembach even a more
+bitter letter than that which I had written to the Duke of Wurtemburg in
+1760. I posted it myself, and had it registered so as to be sure of its
+reaching the scoundrel to whom it had been addressed. It was absolutely
+necessary for me to write this letter, for rage that has no vent must
+kill at last. From Linz I had a three days' journey to Munich, where I
+called on Count Gaetan Zavoicki, who died at Dresden seven years ago. I
+had known him at Venice when he was in want, and I had happily been
+useful to him. On my relating the story of the robbery that had been
+committed on me, he no doubt imagined I was in want, and gave me
+twenty-five louis. To tell the truth it was much less than what I had
+given him at Venice, and if he had looked upon his action as paying back
+a debt we should not have been quits; but as I had never wished him to
+think that I had lent, not given him money, I received the present
+gratefully. He also gave me a letter for Count Maximilian Lamberg,
+marshal at the court of the Prince-Bishop of Augsburg, whose acquaintance
+I had the honour of having.
+
+There was no theatre then in Augsburg, but there were masked balls in
+which all classes mingled freely. There were also small parties where
+faro was played for small stakes. I was tired of the pleasure, the
+misfortune, and the griefs I had had in three capitals, and I resolved to
+spend four months in the free city of Augsburg, where strangers have the
+same privileges as the canons. My purse was slender, but with the
+economical life I led I had nothing to fear on that score. I was not far
+from Venice, where a hundred ducats were always at my service if I wanted
+them. I played a little and waged war against the sharpers who have
+become more numerous of late than the dupes, as there are also more
+doctors than patients. I also thought of getting a mistress, for what is
+life without love? I had tried in vain to retrace Gertrude; the engraver
+was dead, and no one knew what had become of his daughter.
+
+Two or three days before the end of the carnival I went to a hirer of
+carriages, as I had to go to a ball at some distance from the town. While
+the horses were being put in, I entered the room to warm my hands, for
+the weather was very cold. A girl came up and asked me if I would drink a
+glass of wine.
+
+"No," said I; and on the question being repeated, repeated the
+monosyllable somewhat rudely. The girl stood still and began to laugh,
+and I was about to turn angrily away when she said,--
+
+"I see you do not remember me?"
+
+I looked at her attentively, and at last I discovered beneath her
+unusually ugly features the lineaments of Anna Midel, the maid in the
+engraver's house.
+
+"You remind me of Anna Midel," said I.
+
+"Alas, I was Anna Midel once. I am no longer an object fit for love, but
+that is your fault."
+
+"Mine?"
+
+"Yes; the four hundred florins you gave me made Count Fugger's coachman
+marry me, and he not only abandoned me but gave me a disgusting disease,
+which was like to have been my death. I recovered my health, but I never
+shall recover my good looks."
+
+"I am very sorry to hear all this; but tell me what has become of
+Gertrude?"
+
+"Then you don't know that you are going to a ball at her house to-night?"
+
+"Her house?"
+
+"Yes. After her father's death she married a well-to-do and respectable
+man, and I expect you will be pleased with the entertainment."
+
+"Is she pretty still?"
+
+"She is just as she used to be, except that she is six years older and
+has had children."
+
+"Is she gallant?"
+
+"I don't think so."
+
+Anna had spoken the truth. Gertrude was pleased to see me, and introduced
+me to her husband as one of her father's old lodgers, and I had
+altogether a pleasant welcome; but, on sounding her, I found she
+entertained those virtuous sentiments which might have been expected
+under the circumstances.
+
+Campioni arrived at Augsburg at the beginning of Lent. He was in company
+with Binetti, who was going to Paris. He had completely despoiled his
+wife, and had left her for ever. Campioni told me that no one at Vienna
+doubted my story in the slightest degree. Pocchini and the Sclav had
+disappeared a few days after my departure, and the Statthalter had
+incurred a great deal of odium by his treatment of me. Campioni spent a
+month with me, and then went on to London.
+
+I called on Count Lamberg and his countess, who, without being beautiful,
+was an epitome of feminine charm and amiability. Her name before marriage
+was Countess Dachsberg. Three months after my arrival, this lady, who was
+enciente, but did not think her time was due, went with Count Fugger,
+dean of the chapter, to a party of pleasure at an inn three quarters of a
+league from Augsburg. I was present; and in the course of the meal she
+was taken with such violent pains that she feared she would be delivered
+on the spot. She did not like to tell the noble canon, and thinking that
+I was more likely to be acquainted with such emergencies she came up to
+me and told me all. I ordered the coachman to put in his horses
+instantly, and when the coach was ready I took up the countess and
+carried her to it. The canon followed us in blank astonishment, and asked
+me what was the matter. I told him to bid the coachman drive fast and not
+to spare his horses. He did so, but he asked again what was the matter.
+
+"The countess will be delivered of a child if we do not make haste."
+
+I thought I should be bound to laugh, in spite of my sympathies for the
+poor lady's pains, when I saw the dean turn green and white and purple,
+and look as if he were going into a fit, as he realized that the countess
+might be delivered before his eyes in his own carriage. The poor man
+looked as grievously tormented as St. Laurence on his gridiron. The
+bishop was at Plombieres; they would write and tell him! It would be in
+all the papers! "Quick! coachman, quick!"
+
+We got to the castle before it was too late. I carried the lady into her
+rook, and they ran for a surgeon and a midwife. It was no good, however,
+for in five minutes the count came out and said the countess had just
+been happily delivered. The dean looked as if a weight had been taken off
+his mind; however, he took the precaution of having himself blooded.
+
+I spent an extremely pleasant four months at Augsburg, supping twice or
+thrice a week at Count Lamberg's. At these suppers I made the
+acquaintance of a very remarkable man--Count Thura and Valsamina, then a
+page in the prince-bishop's household, now Dean of Ratisbon. He was
+always at the count's, as was also Dr. Algardi, of Bologna, the prince's
+physician and a delightful man.
+
+I often saw at the same house a certain Baron Sellenthin, a Prussian
+officer, who was always recruiting for his master at Augsburg. He was a
+pleasant man, somewhat in the Gascon style, soft-spoken, and an expert
+gamester. Five or six years ago I had a letter from him dated Dresden, in
+which he said that though he was old, and had married a rich wife, he
+repented of having married at all. I should say the same if I had ever
+chanced to marry.
+
+During my stay at Augsburg several Poles, who had left their country on
+account of the troubles, came to see me. Amongst others was Rzewuski, the
+royal Prothonotary, whom I had known at St. Petersburg as the lover of
+poor Madame Langlade.
+
+"What a diet! What plots! What counterplots! What misfortunes!" said this
+honest Pole, to me. "Happy are they who have nothing to do with it!"
+
+He was going to Spa, and he assured me that if I followed him I should
+find Prince Adam's sister, Tomatis, and Madame Catai, who had become the
+manager's wife. I determined to go to Spa, and to take measures so that I
+might go there with three or four hundred ducats in my purse. To this
+intent I wrote to Prince Charles of Courland, who was at Venice, to send
+me a hundred ducats, and in my letter I gave him an infallible receipt
+for the philosopher's stone. The letter containing this vast secret was
+not in cypher, so I advised him to burn it after he had read it, assuring
+him that I possessed a copy. He did not do so, and it was taken to Paris
+with his order papers when he was sent to the Bastile.
+
+If it had not been for the Revolution my letter would never have seen the
+light. When the Bastille was destroyed, my letter was found and printed
+with other curious compositions, which were afterwards translated into
+German and English. The ignorant fools that abound in the land where my
+fate wills that I should write down the chief events of my long and
+troublous life--these fools, I say, who are naturally my sworn foes (for
+the ass lies not down with the horse), make this letter an article of
+accusation against me, and think they can stop my mouth by telling me
+that the letter has been translated into German, and remains to my
+eternal shame. The ignorant Bohemians are astonished when I tell them
+that I regard the letter as redounding to my glory, and that if their
+ears were not quite so long their blame would be turned into praise.
+
+I do not know whether my letter has been correctly translated, but since
+it has become public property I shall set it down here in homage to
+truth, the only god I adore. I have before me an exact copy of the
+original written in Augsburg in the year 1767, and we are now in the year
+1798.
+
+It runs as follows:
+
+"MY LORD,--I hope your highness will either burn this letter after
+reading it, or else preserve it with the greatest care. It will be
+better, however, to make a copy in cypher, and to burn the original. My
+attachment to you is not my only motive in writing; I confess my interest
+is equally concerned. Allow me to say that I do not wish your highness to
+esteem me alone for any qualities you may have observed in me; I wish you
+to become my debtor by the inestimable secret I am going to confide to
+you. This secret relates to the making of gold, the only thing of which
+your highness stands in need. If you had been miserly by nature you would
+be rich now; but you are generous, and will be poor all your days if you
+do not make use of my secret.
+
+"Your highness told me at Riga that you would like me to give you the
+secret by which I transmuted iron into copper; I never did so, but now I
+shall teach you how to make a much more marvellous transmutation. I
+should point out to you, however, that you are not at present in a
+suitable place for the operation, although all the materials are easily
+procurable. The operation necessitates my presence for the construction
+of a furnace, and for the great care necessary, far the least mistake
+will spoil all. The transmutation of Mars is an easy and merely
+mechanical process, but that of gold is philosophical in the highest
+degree. The gold produced will be equal to that used in the Venetian
+sequins. You must reflect, my lord, that I am giving you information
+which will permit you to dispense with me, and you must also reflect that
+I am confiding to you my life and my liberty.
+
+"The step I am taking should insure your life-long protection, and should
+raise you above that prejudice which is entertained against the general
+mass of alchemists. My vanity would be wounded if you refuse to
+distinguish me from the common herd of operators. All I ask you is that
+you will wait till we meet before undertaking the process. You cannot do
+it by yourself, and if you employ any other person but myself, you will
+betray the secret. I must tell you that, using the same materials, and by
+the addition of mercury and nitre, I made the tree of projection for the
+Marchioness d'Urfe and the Princess of Anhalt. Zerbst calculated the
+profit as fifty per cent. My fortune would have been made long ago, if I
+had found a prince with the control of a mint whom I could trust. Your
+character enables me to confide in you. However, we will come to the
+point.
+
+"You must take four ounces of good silver, dissolve in aqua fortis,
+precipitate secundum artem with copper, then wash in lukewarm water to
+separate the acids; dry, mix with half an ounce of sal ammoniac, and
+place in a suitable vessel. Afterwards you must take a pound of alum, a
+pound of Hungary crystals, four ounces of verdigris, four ounces of
+cinnabar, and two ounces of sulphur. Pulverise and mix, and place in a
+retort of such size that the above matters will only half fill it. This
+retort must be placed over a furnace with four draughts, for the heat
+must be raised to the fourth degree. At first your fire must be slow so
+as to extract the gross phlegm of the matter, and when the spirit begins
+to appear, place the receiver under the retort, and Luna with the
+ammoniac salts will appear in it. All the joinings must be luted with the
+Philosophical Luting, and as the spirit comes, so regulate your furnace,
+but do not let it pass the third degree of heat.
+
+"So soon as the sublimation begins then boldly open your forth vent, but
+take heed that that which is sublimed pass not into the receiver where is
+your Luna, and so you must shut, the mouth of the retort closely, and
+keep it so for twenty-four hours, and then take off your fastenings, and
+allow the distillation to go on. Then you must increase your fire so that
+the spirits may pass, over, until the matter in the retort is quite
+desiccated. After this operation has been performed three times, then you
+shall see, the gold appear in the retort. Then draw it forth and melt it,
+adding your corpus perfectum. Melt with it two ounces of gold, then lay
+it in water, and you shall find four ounces of pure gold.
+
+"Such my lord, is the gold mine for your mint of Mitau, by which, with
+the assistance of a manager and four men, you can assure yourself a
+revenue of a thousand ducats a week, and double, and quadruple that sum,
+if your highness chooses to increase the men and the furnaces. I ask your
+highness to make me your manager. But remember it must be a State secret,
+so burn this letter, and if your highness would give me any reward in
+advance, I only ask you to give me your affection and esteem. I shall be
+happy if I have reason to believe that my master will also be my friend.
+My life, which this letter places in your power, is ever at your service,
+and I know not what I shall do if I ever have cause to repent having
+disclosed my secret. I have the honour to be, etc."
+
+In whatever language this letter may have been translated, if its sense
+run not as above, it is not my letter, and I am ready to give the lie to
+all the Mirabeaus in the world. I have been called an exile, but
+wrongfully, for a man who has to leave a country by virtue of a 'lettre
+de cachet' is no exile. He is forced to obey a despotic monarch who looks
+upon his kingdom as his house, and turns out of doors anyone who meets
+with his displeasure.
+
+As soon as my purse swelled to a respectable size, I left Augsburg, The
+date of my departure was June 14th, 1767. I was at Ulm when a courier of
+the Duke of Wurtemburg's passed through the town with the news that his
+highness would arrive from Venice in the course of five or six days. This
+courier had a letter for me. It had been entrusted to him by Prince
+Charles of Courland, who had told the courier that he would find me at
+the "Hotel du Raisin," in Augsburg. As it happened, I had left the day
+before, but knowing the way by which I had gone he caught me up at Ulm.
+He gave me the letter and asked me if I were the same Casanova who had
+been placed under arrest and had escaped, on account of some gambling
+dispute with three officers. As I was never an adept in concealing the
+truth, I replied in the affirmative. A Wurtemburg officer who was
+standing beside us observed to me in a friendly manner that he was at
+Stuttgart at the time, and that most people concurred in blaming the
+three officers for their conduct in the matter.
+
+Without making any reply I read the letter, which referred to our private
+affairs, but as I was reading it I resolved to tell a little lie--one of
+those lies which do nobody any harm.
+
+"Well, sir," I said to the officer, "his highness, your sovereign, has
+listened to reason at last, and this letter informs me of a reparation
+which is in every way satisfactory. The duke has created me his private
+secretary, with a salary of twelve hundred a year. But I have waited for
+it a long time. God knows what has become of the three officers!"
+
+"They are all at Louisburg, and---- -is now a colonel."
+
+"Well, they will be surprised to hear my news, and they will hear it
+to-morrow, for I am leaving this place in an hour. If they are at
+Louisburg, I shall have a triumph; but I am sorry not to be able to
+accompany you, however we shall see each other the day after tomorrow."
+
+I had an excellent night, and awoke with the beautiful idea of going to
+Louisburg, not to fight the three officers but to frighten them, triumph
+over them, and to enjoy a pleasant vengeance for the injury they had done
+me. I should at the same time see a good many old friends; there was
+Madame Toscani, the duke's mistress; Baletti, and Vestri, who had married
+a former mistress of the duke's. I had sounded the depths of the human
+heart, and knew I had nothing to fear. The duke was on the point of
+returning, and nobody would dream of impugning the truth of my story.
+When he actually did arrive he would not find me, for as soon as the
+courier announced his approach I should go away, telling everybody that I
+had orders to precede his highness, and everybody would be duped.
+
+I never had so pleasant an idea before. I was quite proud of it, and I
+should have despised myself if I had failed to carry it into effect. It
+would be my vengeance on the duke, who could not have forgotten the
+terrible letter I had written him; for princes do not forget small
+injuries as they forget great services.
+
+I slept badly the following night, my anxiety was so great, and I reached
+Louisburg and gave my name at the town gates, without the addition of my
+pretended office, for my jest must be matured by degrees. I went to stay
+at the posting-inn, and just as I was asking for the address of Madame
+Toscani, she and her husband appeared on the scene. They both flung their
+arms around my neck, and overwhelmed me with compliments on my wounded
+arm and the victory I had achieved.
+
+"What victory?"
+
+"Your appearance here has filled the hearts of all your friends with
+joy."
+
+"Well, I certainly am in the duke's service, but how did you find it
+out?"
+
+"It's the common talk. The courier who gave you the letter has spread it
+all abroad, and the officer who was present and arrived here yesterday
+morning confirmed it. But you cannot imagine the consternation of your
+three foes. However, we are afraid that you will have some trouble with
+them, as they have kept your letter of defiance given from Furstenberg."
+
+"Why didn't they meet me, then?"
+
+"Two of them could not go, and the third arrived too late."
+
+"Very good. If the duke has no objection I shall be happy to meet them
+one after another, not three all at once. Of course, the duel must be
+with pistols; a sword duel is out of the question with my arm in a
+sling."
+
+"We will speak of that again. My daughter wants to make peace before the
+duke comes, and you had better consent to arrangements, for there are
+three of them, and it isn't likely that you could kill the whole three
+one after the other."
+
+"Your daughter must have grown into a beauty."
+
+"You must stop with us this evening; you will see her, for she is no
+longer the duke's mistress. She is going to get married."
+
+"If your daughter can bring about an arrangement I would gladly fall in
+with it, provided it is an honourable one for me."
+
+"How is it that you are wearing the sling after all these months?"
+
+"I am quite cured, and yet my arm swells as soon as I let it swing loose.
+You shall see it after dinner, for you must dine with me if you want me
+to sup with you."
+
+Next came Vestri, whom I did not know, accompanied by my beloved Baletti.
+With them was an officer who was in love with Madame Toscani's second
+daughter, and another of their circle, with whom I was also unacquainted.
+They all came to congratulate me on my honourable position in the duke's
+service. Baletti was quite overcome with delight. The reader will
+recollect that he was my chief assistant in my escape from Stuttgart, and
+that I was once going to marry his sister. Baletti was a fine fellow, and
+the duke was very fond of him. He had a little country house, with a
+spare room, which he begged me to accept, as he said he was only too
+proud that the duke should know him as my best friend. When his highness
+came, of course I would have an apartment in the palace. I accepted; and
+as it was still early, we all went to see the young Toscani. I had loved
+her in Paris before her beauty had reached its zenith, and she was
+naturally proud to shew me how beautiful she had become. She shewed me
+her house and her jewels, told me the story of her amours with the duke,
+of her breaking with him on account of his perpetual infidelities, and of
+her marriage with a man she despised, but who was forced on her by her
+position.
+
+At dinner-time we all went to the inn, where we met the offending
+colonel; he was the first to take off his hat, we returned the salute,
+and he passed on his way.
+
+The dinner was a pleasant one, and when it was over I proceeded to take
+up my quarters with Baletti. In the evening we went to Madame Toscani's,
+where I saw two girls of ravishing beauty, Madame Toscani's daughter and
+Vestri's wife, of whom the duke had had two children. Madame Vestri was a
+handsome woman, but her wit and the charm of her manner enchanted me
+still more. She had only one fault--she lisped.
+
+There was a certain reserve about the manner of Mdlle. Toscani, so I
+chiefly addressed myself to Madame Vestri, whose husband was not jealous,
+for he neither cared for her nor she for him. On the day of my arrival
+the manager had distributed the parts of a little play which was to be
+given in honour of the duke's arrival. It had been written by a local
+author, in hopes of its obtaining the favour of the Court for him.
+
+After supper the little piece was discussed. Madame Vestri played the
+principal part, which she was prevailed upon to recite.
+
+"Your elocution is admirable, and your expression full of spirit," I
+observed; "but what a pity it is that you do not pronounce the dentals."
+
+The whole table scouted my opinion.
+
+"It's a beauty, not a defect," said they. "It makes her acting soft and
+delicate; other actresses envy her the privilege of what you call a
+defect."
+
+I made no answer, but looked at Madame Vestri.
+
+"Do you think I am taken in by all that?" said she.
+
+"I think you are much too sensible to believe such nonsense."
+
+"I prefer a man to say honestly, 'what a pity,' than to hear all that
+foolish flattery. But I am sorry to say that there is no remedy for the
+defect."
+
+"No remedy?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Pardon me, I have an infallible remedy for your complaint. You shall
+give me a good hearty blow if I do not make you read the part perfectly
+by to-morrow, but if I succeed in making you read it as your husband, for
+example's sake, might read it you shall permit me to give you a tender
+embrace."
+
+"Very good; but what must I do?"
+
+"You must let me weave a spell over your part, that is all. Give it to
+me. To-morrow morning at nine o'clock I will bring it to you to get my
+blow or my kiss, if your husband has no objection."
+
+"None whatever; but we do not believe in spells."
+
+"You are right, in a general way; but mine will not fail."
+
+"Very good."
+
+Madame Vestri left me the part, and the conversation turned on other
+subjects. I was condoled with on my swollen hand, and I told the story of
+my duel. Everybody seemed to delight in entertaining me and feasting me,
+and I went back to Baletti's in love with all the ladies, but especially
+with Madame Vestri and Mdlle. Toscani.
+
+Baletti had a beautiful little girl of three years old.
+
+"How did you get that angel?" I asked.
+
+"There's her mother; and, as a proof of my hospitality, she shall sleep
+with you to-night."
+
+"I accept your generous offer; but let it be to-morrow night."
+
+"And why not to-night?"
+
+"Because I shall be engaged all night in weaving my spell."
+
+"What do you mean? I thought that was a joke."
+
+"No, I am quite serious."
+
+"Are you a little crazy?"
+
+"You shall see. Do you go to bed, and leave me a light and writing
+materials."
+
+I spent six hours in copying out the part, only altering certain phrases.
+For all words in which the letter r appeared I substituted another. It
+was a tiresome task, but I longed to embrace Madame Vestri before her
+husband. I set about my task in the following manner:
+
+The text ran:
+
+"Les procedes de cet homme m'outragent et me deseparent, je dois penser a
+me debarrasser."
+
+For this I substituted:
+
+"Cet homme a des facons qui m'offensent et me desolent, il faut que je
+m'en defasse;" and so on throughout the piece.
+
+When I had finished I slept for three hours, and then rose and dressed.
+Baletti saw my spell, and said I had earned the curses of the young
+author, as Madame Vestri would no doubt make him write all parts for her
+without using the letter 'r'; and, indeed, that was just what she did.
+
+I called on the actress and found her getting up. I gave her the part,
+and as soon as she saw what I had done she burst out into exclamations of
+delight; and calling her husband shewed him my contrivance, and said she
+would never play a part with an 'r' in it again. I promised to copy them
+all out, and added that I had spent the whole night in amending the
+present part. "The whole night! Come and take your reward, for you are
+cleverer than any sorcerer. We must have the author to dinner, and I
+shall make him promise to write all my parts without the 'r', or the duke
+will not employ him. Indeed, I don't wonder the duke has made you his
+secretary. I never thought it would be possible to do what you have done;
+but I suppose it was very difficult?"
+
+"Not at all. If I were a pretty woman with the like defect I should take
+care to avoid all words with an 'r; in them."
+
+"Oh, that would be too much trouble."
+
+"Let us bet again, for a box or a kiss, that you can spend a whole day
+without using an 'r'. Let us begin now."
+
+"All in good time," said she, "but we won't have any stake, as I think
+you are too greedy."
+
+The author came to dinner, and was duly attacked by Madame Vestri. She
+began by saying that it was an author's duty to be polite to actresses,
+and if any of them spoke with a lisp the least he could do was to write
+their parts without the fatal letter.
+
+The young author laughed, and said it could not be done without spoiling
+the style. Thereupon Madame Vestri gave him my version of her part,
+telling him to read it, and to say on his conscience whether the style
+had suffered. He had to confess that my alterations were positive
+improvements, due to the great richness of the French language. And he
+was right, for there is no language in the world that can compare in
+copiousness of expression with the French.
+
+This trifling subject kept us merry, but Madame Vestri expressed a devout
+wish that all authors would do for her what I had done. At Paris, where I
+heard her playing well and lisping terribly, she did not find the authors
+so obliging, but she pleased the people. She asked me if I would
+undertake to recompose Zaire, leaving out the r's.
+
+"Ah!" said I, "considering that it would have to be in verse, and in
+Voltairean verse, I would rather not undertake the task."
+
+With a view to pleasing the actress the young author asked me how I would
+tell her that she was charming without using an 'r'.
+
+"I should say that she enchanted me, made me in an ecstasy, that she is
+unique."
+
+She wrote me a letter, which I still keep, in which the 'r' does not
+appear. If I could have stayed at Stuttgart, this device of mine might
+have won me her favours; but after a week of feasting and triumph the
+courier came one morning at ten o'clock and announced that his highness,
+the duke, would arrive at four.
+
+As soon as I heard the news I told Baletti with the utmost coolness that
+I thought it would be only polite to meet my lord, and swell his train on
+his entry into Louisburg; and as I wished to meet him at a distance of
+two stages I should have to go at once. He thought my idea an excellent
+one, and went to order post-horses immediately; but when he saw me
+packing up all my belongings into my trunk, he guessed the truth and
+applauded the jest. I embraced him and confessed my hardihood. He was
+sorry to lose me, but he laughed when he thought of the feelings of the
+duke and of the three officers when they found out the trick. He promised
+to write to me at Mannheim, where I had decided on spending a week to see
+my beloved Algardi, who was in the service of the Elector. I had also
+letters for M. de Sickirigen and Baron Becker, one of the Elector's
+ministers.
+
+When the horses were put in I embraced Baletti, his little girl, and his
+pretty housekeeper, and ordered the postillion to drive to Mannheim.
+
+When we reached Mannheim I heard that the Court was at Schwetzingen, and
+I bade the postillion drive on. I found everyone I had expected to see.
+Algardi had got married, M. de Sickingen was soliciting the position of
+ambassador to Paris, and Baron Becker introduced me to the Elector. Five
+or six days after my arrival died Prince Frederic des Deux Ponts, and I
+will here relate an anecdote I heard the day before he died.
+
+Dr. Algardi had attended on the prince during his last illness. I was
+supping with Veraci, the poet-laureate, on the eve of the prince's death,
+and in the course of supper Algardi came in.
+
+"How is the prince?" said I.
+
+"The poor prince--he cannot possibly live more than twenty-four hours."
+
+"Does he know it?"
+
+"No, he still hopes. He grieved me to the heart by bidding me tell him
+the whole truth; he even bade me give my word of honour that I was
+speaking the truth. Then he asked me if he were positively in danger of
+death."
+
+"And you told him the truth?"
+
+"Certainly not. I told him his sickness was undoubtedly a mortal one, but
+that with the help of nature and art wonders might be worked."
+
+"Then you deceived him, and told a lie?"
+
+"I did not deceive him; his recovery comes under the category of the
+possible. I did not want to leave him in despair, for despair would most
+certainly kill him."
+
+"Yes, yes; but you will confess that you told him a lie and broke your
+word of honour."
+
+"I told no lie, for I know that he may possibly be cured."
+
+"Then you lied just now?"
+
+"Not at all, for lie will die to-morrow."
+
+"It seems to me that your reasoning is a little Jesuitical."
+
+"No, it is not. My duty was to prolong my patient's life and to spare him
+a sentence which would most certainly have shortened it, possibly by
+several hours; besides, it is not an absolute impossibility that he
+should recover, therefore I did not lie when I told him that he might
+recover, nor did I lie just now when I gave it as my opinion (the result
+of my experience) that he would die to-morrow. I would certainly wager a
+million to one that he will die to-morrow, but I would not wager my
+life."
+
+"You are right, and yet for all that you deceived the poor man; for his
+intention in asking you the question was not to be told a commonplace
+which he knew as well as you, but to learn your true opinion as to his
+life or death. But again I agree with you that as his physician you were
+quite right not to shorten his few remaining hours by telling him the
+terrible truth."
+
+After a fortnight I left Schwetzingen, leaving some of my belongings
+under the care of Veraci the poet, telling him I would call for them some
+day; but I never came, and after a lapse of thirty-one years Veraci keeps
+them still. He was one of the strangest poets I have ever met. He
+affected eccentricity to make himself notorious, and opposed the great
+Metastasio in everything, writing unwieldy verses which he said gave more
+scope for the person who set them to music. He had got this extravagant
+notion from Jumelli.
+
+I traveled to Mayence and thence I sailed to Cologne, where I looked
+forward to the pleasure of meeting with the burgomaster's wife who
+disliked General Kettler, and had treated me so well seven years ago. But
+that was not the only reason which impelled me to visit that odious town.
+When I was at Dresden I had read in a number of the Cologne Gazette that
+"Master Casanova has returned to Warsaw only to be sent about his
+business again. The king has heard some stories of this famous
+adventurer, which compel him to forbid him his Court."
+
+I could not stomach language of this kind, and I resolved to pay Jacquet,
+the editor, a visit, and now my time had come.
+
+I made a hasty dinner and then called on the burgomaster, whom I found
+sitting at table with his fair Mimi. They welcomed me warmly, and for two
+hours I told them the story of my adventures during the last seven years.
+Mimi had to go out, and I was asked to dine with them the next day.
+
+I thought she looked prettier than ever, and my imagination promised me
+some delicious moments with her. I spent an anxious and impatient night,
+and called on my Amphitryon at an early hour to have an opportunity of
+speaking to his dear companion. I found her alone, and began with an
+ardent caress which she gently repelled, but her face froze my passion in
+its course.
+
+"Time is an excellent doctor," said she, "and it has cured me of a
+passion which left behind it the sting of remorse."
+
+"What! The confessional . . . ."
+
+"Should only serve as a place wherein to confess our sins of the past,
+and to implore grace to sin no more."
+
+"May the Lord save me from repentance, the only source of which is a
+prejudice! I shall leave Cologne to-morrow."
+
+"I do not tell you to go."
+
+"If there is no hope, it is no place for me. May I hope?"
+
+"Never."
+
+She was delightful at table, but I was gloomy and distracted. At seven
+o'clock next day I set out, and as soon as I had passed the Aix la
+Chapelle Gate, I told the postillion to stop and wait for me. I then
+walked to Jacquet's, armed with a pistol and a cane, though I only meant
+to beat him.
+
+The servant shewed me into the room where he was working by himself. It
+was on the ground floor, and the door was open for coolness' sake.
+
+He heard me coming in and asked what he could do for me.
+
+"You scoundrelly journalist." I replied, "I am the adventurer Casanova
+whom you slandered in your miserable sheet four months ago."
+
+So saying I directed my pistol at his head, with my left hand, and lifted
+my cane with my right. But the wretched scribbler fell on his knees
+before me with clasped hands and offered to shew me the signed letter he
+had received from Warsaw, which contained the statements he had inserted
+in his paper.
+
+"Where is this letter?"
+
+"You shall have it in a moment."
+
+I made way for him to search, but I locked and bolted the door to prevent
+his escaping. The man trembled like a leaf and began to look for the
+letter amongst his Warsaw correspondence, which was in a disgraceful
+state of confusion. I shewed him the date of the article in the paper,
+but the letter could not be found; and at the end of an hour he fell down
+again on his knees, and told me to do what I would to him. I gave him a
+kick and told him to get up and follow me. He made no reply, and followed
+me bareheaded till he saw me get into my chaise and drive off, and I have
+no doubt he gave thanks to God for his light escape. In the evening, I
+reached Aix-la-Chapelle, where I found Princess Lubomirska, General
+Roniker, several other distinguished Poles, Tomatis and his wife, and
+many Englishmen of my acquaintance.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+My Stay at Spa--The Blow--The Sword--Della Croce--Charlotte; Her Lying-in
+and Death--A Lettre de Cachet Obliges Me to Leave Paris in the Course of
+Twenty-four Hours
+
+All my friends seemed delighted to see me, and I was well pleased to find
+myself in such good company. People were on the point of leaving Aix for
+Spa. Nearly everyone went, and those who stayed only did so because
+lodgings were not to be had at Spa. Everybody assured me that this was
+the case, and many had returned after seeking in vain for a mere garret.
+I paid no attention to all this, and told the princess that if she would
+come with me I would find some lodging, were it only in my carriage. We
+accordingly set out the next day, and got to Spa in good time, our
+company consisting of the princess, the prothonotary, Roniker, and the
+Tomatis. Everyone except myself had taken rooms in advance, I alone knew
+not where to turn. I got out and prepared for the search, but before
+going along the streets I went into a shop and bought a hat, having lost
+mine on the way. I explained my situation to the shopwoman, who seemed to
+take an interest in me, and began speaking to her husband in Flemish or
+Walloon, and finally informed me that if it were only for a few days she
+and her husband would sleep in the shop and give up their room to me. But
+she said that she had absolutely no room whatever for my man.
+
+"I haven't got one."
+
+"All the better. Send away your carriage."
+
+"Where shall I send it?"
+
+"I will see that it is housed safely."
+
+"How much am I to pay?"
+
+"Nothing; and if you are not too particular, we should like you to share
+our meals."
+
+"I accept your offer thankfully."
+
+I went up a narrow staircase, and found myself in a pretty little room
+with a closet, a good bed, suitable furniture, and everything perfectly
+neat and clean. I thought myself very lucky, and asked the good people
+why they would not sleep in the closet rather than the shop, and they
+replied with one breath that they would be in my way, while their niece
+would not interfere with me.
+
+This news about the niece was a surprise to me. The closet had no door,
+and was not much bigger than the bed which it contained; it was, in fact,
+a mere alcove, without any window.
+
+I must note that my hostess and her husband, both of them from Liege,
+were perfect models of ugliness.
+
+"It's not within the limits of possibility," I said to myself, "for the
+niece to be uglier than they, but if they allow her to sleep thus in the
+same room with the first comer, she must be proof against all
+temptation."
+
+However, I gave no sign, and did not ask to see the niece for fear of
+offense, and I went out without opening my trunk. I told them as I went
+out that I should not be back till after supper, and gave them some money
+to buy wax candles and night lights.
+
+I went to see the princess with whom I was to sup. All the company
+congratulated me on my good fortune in finding a lodging. I went to the
+concert, to the bank at faro, and to the other gaming saloons, and there
+I saw the so-called Marquis d'Aragon, who was playing at piquet with an
+old count of the Holy Roman Empire. I was told about the duel he had had
+three weeks before with a Frenchman who had picked a quarrel with him;
+the Frenchman had been wounded in the chest, and was still ill.
+Nevertheless, he was only waiting for his cure to be completed to have
+his revenge, which he had demanded as he was taken off the field. Such is
+the way of the French when a duel is fought for a trifling matter. They
+stop at the first blood, and fight the duel over and over again. In
+Italy, on the other hand, duels are fought to the death. Our blood burns
+to fire when our adversary's sword opens a vein. Thus stabbing is common
+in Italy and rare in France; while duels are common in France, and rare
+in Italy.
+
+Of all the company at Spa, I was most pleased to see the Marquis
+Caraccioli, whom I had left in London. His Court had given him leave of
+absence, and he was spending it at Spa. He was brimful of wit and the
+milk of human kindness, compassionate for the weaknesses of others, and
+devoted to youth, no matter of what sex, but he knew well the virtue of
+moderation, and used all things without abusing them. He never played,
+but he loved a good gamester and despised all dupes. The worthy marquis
+was the means of making the fortune of the so-called Marquis d'Aragon by
+becoming surety for his nobility and bona fides to a wealthy English
+widow of fifty, who had taken a fancy to him, and brought him her fortune
+of sixty thousand pounds sterling. No doubt the widow was taken with the
+gigantic form and the beautiful title of d'Aragon, for Dragon (as his
+name really was) was devoid of wit and manners, and his legs, which I
+suppose he kept well covered, bore disgusting marks of the libertine life
+he had led. I saw the marquis some time afterwards at Marseilles, and a
+few years later he purchased two estates at Modena. His wife died in due
+course, and according to the English law he inherited the whole of her
+property.
+
+I returned to my lodging in good time, and went to bed without seeing the
+niece, who was fast asleep. I was waited on by the ugly aunt, who begged
+me not to take a servant while I remained in her house, for by her
+account all servants were thieves.
+
+When I awoke in the morning the niece had got up and gone down. I dressed
+to go to the Wells, and warned my host and hostess that I should have the
+pleasure of dining with them. The room I occupied was the only place in
+which they could take their meals, and I was astonished when they came
+and asked my permission to do so. The niece had gone out, so I had to put
+my curiosity aside. When I was out my acquaintances pointed out to me the
+chief beauties who then haunted the Wells. The number of adventurers who
+flock to Spa during the season is something incredible, and they all hope
+to make their fortunes; and, as may be supposed, most of them go away as
+naked as they came, if not more so. Money circulates with great freedom,
+but principally amongst the gamesters, shop-keepers, money-lenders, and
+courtezans. The money which proceeds from the gaming-table has three
+issues: the first and smallest share goes to the Prince-Bishop of Liege;
+the second and larger portion, to the numerous amateur cheats who
+frequent the place; and by far the largest of all to the coffers of
+twelve sharpers, who keep the tables and are authorized by the sovereign.
+
+Thus goes the money. It comes from the pockets of the dupes--poor moths
+who burn their wings at Spa!
+
+The Wells are a mere pretext for gaming, intriguing, and fortune-hunting.
+There are a few honest people who go for amusement, and a few for rest
+and relaxation after the toils of business.
+
+Living is cheap enough at Spa. The table d'hote is excellent, and only
+costs a small French crown, and one can get good lodging for the like
+sum.
+
+I came home at noon having won a score of louis. I went into the shop,
+intending to go to my room, but I was stopped short by seeing a handsome
+brunette, of nineteen or twenty, with great black eyes, voluptuous lips,
+and shining teeth, measuring out ribbon on the counter. This, then, was
+the niece, whom I had imagined as so ugly. I concealed my surprise and
+sat down in the shop to gaze at her and endeavour to make her
+acquaintance. But she hardly seemed to see me, and only acknowledged my
+presence by a slight inclination of the head. Her aunt came down to say
+that dinner was ready, and I went upstairs and found the table laid for
+four. The servant brought in the soup, and then asked me very plainly to
+give her some money if I wanted any wine, as her master and mistress only
+drank beer. I was delighted with her freedom, and gave her money to buy
+two bottles of Burgundy.
+
+The master came up and shewed me a gold repeater with a chain also of
+gold by a well-known modern maker. He wanted to know how much it was
+worth.
+
+"Forty louis at the least."
+
+"A gentleman wants me to give him twenty louis for it, on the condition
+that I return it to-morrow if he brings me twenty-two."
+
+"Then I advise you to accept his offer."
+
+"I haven't got the money."
+
+"I will lend it you with pleasure."
+
+I gave him the twenty Louis, and placed the watch in my jewel-casket. At
+table the niece sat opposite to me, but I took care not to look at her,
+and she, like a modest girl, did not say a score of words all through the
+meal. The meal was an excellent one, consisting of soup, boiled beef, an
+entree, and a roast. The mistress of the house told me that the roast was
+in my honour, "for," she said, "we are not rich people, and we only allow
+ourselves this Luxury on a Sunday." I admired her delicacy, and the
+evident sincerity with which she spoke. I begged my entertainers to help
+me with my wine, and they accepted the offer, saying they only wished
+they were rich enough to be able to drink half a bottle a day.
+
+"I thought trade was good with you."
+
+"The stuff is not ours, and we have debts; besides, the expenses are very
+great. We have sold very little up to now."
+
+"Do you only sell hats?"
+
+"No, we have silk handkerchiefs, Paris stockings, and lace ruffs, but
+they say everything is too dear."
+
+"I will buy some things for you, and will send all my friends here. Leave
+it to me; I will see what I can do for you."
+
+"Mercy, fetch down one or two packets of those handkerchiefs and some
+stockings, large size, for the gentleman has a big leg."
+
+Mercy, as the niece was called, obeyed. I pronounced the handkerchiefs
+superb and the stockings excellent. I bought a dozen, and I promised them
+that they should sell out their whole stock. They overwhelmed me with
+thanks, and promised to put themselves entirely in my hands.
+
+After coffee, which, like the roast, was in my honour, the aunt told her
+niece to take care to awake me in the morning when she got up. She said
+she would not fail, but I begged her not to take too much trouble over
+me, as I was a very heavy sleeper.
+
+In the afternoon I went to an armourer's to buy a brace of pistols, and
+asked the man if he knew the tradesman with whom I was staying.
+
+"We are cousins-german," he replied.
+
+"Is he rich?"
+
+"Yes, in debts."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Because he is unfortunate, like most honest people."
+
+"How about his wife?"
+
+"Her careful economy keeps him above water."
+
+"Do you know the niece?"
+
+"Yes; she's a good girl, but very pious. Her silly scruples keep
+customers away from the shop."
+
+"What do you think she should do to attract customers?"
+
+"She should be more polite, and not play the prude when anyone wants to
+give her a kiss."
+
+"She is like that, is she?"
+
+"Try her yourself and you will see. Last week she gave an officer a box
+on the ear. My cousin scolded her, and she wanted to go back to Liege;
+however, the wife soothed her again. She is pretty enough, don't you
+think so?"
+
+"Certainly I do, but if she is as cross-grained as you say, the best
+thing will be to leave her alone."
+
+After what I had heard I made up my mind to change my room, for Mercy had
+pleased me in such a way that I was sure I should be obliged to pay her a
+call before long, and I detested Pamelas as heartily as Charpillons.
+
+In the afternoon I took Rzewuski and Roniker to the shop, and they bought
+fifty ducats' worth of goods to oblige me. The next day the princess and
+Madame Tomatis bought all the handkerchiefs.
+
+I came home at ten o'clock, and found Mercy in bed as I had done the
+night before. Next morning the watch was redeemed, and the hatter
+returned me twenty-two louis. I made him a present of the two louis, and
+said I should always be glad to lend him money in that way--the profits
+to be his. He left me full of gratitude.
+
+I was asked to dine with Madame Tomatis, so I told my hosts that I would
+have the pleasure of supping with them, the costs to be borne by me. The
+supper was good and the Burgundy excellent, but Mercy refused to taste
+it. She happened to leave the room for a moment at the close of the meal,
+and I observed to the aunt that her niece was charming, but it was a pity
+she was so sad.
+
+"She will have to change her ways, or I will keep her no longer."
+
+"Is she the same with all men?"
+
+"With all."
+
+"Then she has never been in love."
+
+"She says she has not, but I don't believe her."
+
+"I wonder she can sleep so comfortably with a man at a few feet distant."
+
+"She is not afraid."
+
+Mercy came in, bade us good night, and said she would go to bed. I made
+as if I would give her a kiss, but she turned her back on me, and placed
+a chair in front of her closet so that I might not see her taking off her
+chemise. My host and hostess then went to bed, and so did I, puzzling my
+head over the girl's behaviour which struck me as most extraordinary and
+unaccountable. However, I slept peacefully, and when I awoke the bird had
+left the nest. I felt inclined to have a little quiet argument with the
+girl, and to see what I could make of her; but I saw no chance of my
+getting an opportunity. The hatter availed himself of my offer of purse
+to lend money on pledges, whereby he made a good profit. There was no
+risk for me in the matter, and he and his wife declared that they blessed
+the day on which I had come to live with them.
+
+On the fifth or sixth day I awoke before Mercy, and only putting on my
+dressing-gown I came towards her bed. She had a quick ear and woke up,
+and no sooner did she see me coming towards her than she asked me what I
+wanted. I sat down on her bed and said gently that I only wanted to wish
+her a good day and to have a little talk. It was hot weather, and she was
+only covered by a single sheet; and stretching out one arm I drew her
+towards me, and begged her to let me give her a kiss. Her resistance made
+me angry; and passing an audacious hand under the sheet I discovered that
+she was made like other women; but just as my hand was on the spot, I
+received a fisticuff on the nose that made me see a thousand stars, and
+quite extinguished the fire of my concupiscence. The blood streamed from
+my nose and stained the bed of the furious Mercy. I kept my presence of
+mind and left her on the spot, as the blow she had given me was but a
+sample of what I might expect if I attempted reprisals. I washed my face
+in cold water, and as I was doing so Mercy dressed herself and left the
+room.
+
+At last my blood ceased to flow, and I saw to my great annoyance that my
+nose was swollen in such a manner that my face was simply hideous. I
+covered it up with a handkerchief and sent for the hairdresser to do my
+hair, and when this was done my landlady brought me up some fine trout,
+of which I approved; but as I was giving her the money she saw my face
+and uttered a cry of horror. I told her the whole story, freely
+acknowledging that I was in the wrong, and begging her to say nothing to
+her niece. Then heeding not her excuses I went out with my handkerchief
+before my face, and visited a house which the Duchess of Richmond had
+left the day before.
+
+Half of the suite she had abandoned had been taken in advance by an
+Italian marquis; I took the other half, hired a servant, and had my
+effects transported there from my old lodgings. The tears and
+supplications of my landlady had no effect whatever upon me, I felt I
+could not bear the sight of Mercy any longer.
+
+In the house into which I had moved I found an Englishman who said he
+would bring down the bruise in one hour, and make the discoloration of
+the flesh disappear in twenty-four. I let him do what he liked and he
+kept his word. He rubbed the place with spirits of wine and some drug
+which is unknown to me; but being ashamed to appear in public in the
+state I was in, I kept indoors for the rest of the day. At noon the
+distressed aunt brought me my trout, and said that Mercy was cut to the
+heart to have used me so, and that if I would come back I could do what I
+liked with her.
+
+"You must feel," I replied, "that if I complied with your request the
+adventure would become public to the damage of my honour and your
+business, and your niece would not be able to pass for a devotee any
+longer."
+
+I made some reflections on the blow she had given the officer, much to
+the aunt's surprise, for she could not think how I had heard of it; and I
+shewed her that, after having exposed me to her niece's brutality, her
+request was extremely out of place. I concluded by saying that I could
+believe her to be an accomplice in the fact without any great stretch of
+imagination. This made her burst into tears, and I had to apologize and
+to promise to continue forwarding her business by way of consolation, and
+so she left me in a calmer mood. Half an hour afterwards her husband came
+with twenty-five Louis I had lent him on a gold snuff-box set with
+diamonds, and proposed that I should lend two hundred Louis on a ring
+worth four hundred.
+
+"It will be yours," he said, "if the owner does not bring me two hundred
+and twenty Louis in a week's time."
+
+I had the money and proceeded to examine the stone which seemed to be a
+good diamond, and would probably weigh six carats as the owner declared.
+The setting was in gold.
+
+"I consent to give the sum required if the owner is ready to give me a
+receipt."
+
+"I will do so myself in the presence of witnesses."
+
+"Very good. You shall have the money in the course of an hour; I am going
+to have the stone taken out first. That will make no difference to the
+owner, as I shall have it reset at my own expense. If he redeems it, the
+twenty Louis shall be yours."
+
+"I must ask him whether he has any objection to the stone being taken
+out."
+
+"Very good, but you can tell him that if he will not allow it to be done
+he will get nothing for it."
+
+He returned before long with a jeweller who said he would guarantee the
+stone to be at least two grains over the six carats.
+
+"Have you weighed it?"
+
+"No, but I am quite sure it weighs over six carats."
+
+"Then you can lend the money on it?"
+
+"I cannot command such a sum."
+
+"Can you tell me why the owner objects to the stone being taken out and
+put in at my expense?"
+
+"No, I can't; but he does object."
+
+"Then he may take his ring somewhere else."
+
+They went away, leaving me well pleased at my refusal, for it was plain
+that the stone was either false or had a false bottom.
+
+I spent the rest of the day in writing letters and making a good supper,
+In the morning I was awoke by someone knocking at my door, and on my
+getting up to open it, what was my astonishment to find Mercy!
+
+I let her in, and went back to bed, and asked her what she wanted with me
+so early in the morning. She sat down on the bed, and began to overwhelm
+me with apologies. I replied by asking her why, if it was her principle
+to fly at her lovers like a tiger, she had slept almost in the same room
+as myself.
+
+"In sleeping in the closet," said she, "I obeyed my aunt's orders, and in
+striking you (for which I am very sorry) I was but defending my honour;
+and I cannot admit that every man who sees me is at liberty to lose his
+reason. I think you will allow that your duty is to respect, and mine to
+defend, my honour."
+
+"If that is your line of argument, I acknowledge that you are right; but
+you had nothing to complain of, for I bore your blow in silence, and by
+my leaving the house you might know that it was my intention to respect
+you for the future. Did you come to hear me say this? If so, you are
+satisfied. But you will not be offended if I laugh at your excuses, for
+after what you have said I cannot help thinking them very laughable."
+
+"What have I said?"
+
+"That you only did your duty in flattening my nose. If so, do you think
+it is necessary to apologize for the performance of duty?"
+
+"I ought to have defended myself more gently. But forget everything and
+forgive me; I will defend myself no more in any way. I am yours and I
+love you, and I am ready to prove my love."
+
+She could not have spoken more plainly, and as she spoke the last words
+she fell on me with her face close to mine, which she bedewed with her
+tears. I was ashamed of such an easy conquest, and I gently withdrew from
+her embrace, telling her to return after the bruise on my face had
+disappeared. She left me deeply mortified.
+
+The Italian, who had taken half the suite of rooms, had arrived in the
+course of the night. I asked his name, and was given a card bearing the
+name of The Marquis Don Antonio della Croce.
+
+Was it the Croce I knew?
+
+It was very possible.
+
+I asked what kind of an establishment he had, and was informed that the
+marchioness had a lady's maid, and the marquis a secretary and two
+servants. I longed to see the nobleman in question.
+
+I had not long to wait, for as soon as he heard that I was his neighbour,
+he came to see me, and we spent two hours in telling each other our
+adventures since we had parted in Milan. He had heard that I had made the
+fortune of the girl he had abandoned, and in the six years that had
+elapsed he had been travelling all over Europe, engaged in a constant
+strife with fortune. At Paris and Brussels he had made a good deal of
+money, and in the latter town he had fallen in love with a young lady of
+rank, whom her father had shut up in a convent. He had taken her away,
+and she it was whom he called the Marchioness della Croce, now six months
+with child.
+
+He made her pass for his wife, because, as he said, he meant to marry her
+eventually.
+
+"I have fifty thousand francs in gold," said he, "and as much again in
+jewellery and various possessions. It is my intention to give suppers
+here and hold a bank, but if I play without correcting the freaks of
+fortune I am sure to lose." He intended going to Warsaw, thinking I would
+give him introductions to all my friends there; but he made a mistake,
+and I did not even introduce him to my Polish friends at Spa. I told him
+he could easily make their acquaintance by himself, and that I would
+neither make nor mar with him.
+
+I accepted his invitation to dinner for the same day. His secretary, as
+he called him, was merely his confederate. He was a clever Veronese named
+Conti, and his wife was an essential accomplice in Croce's designs.
+
+At noon my friend the hatter came again with the ring, followed by the
+owner, who looked like a bravo. They were accompanied by the jeweller and
+another individual. The owner asked me once more to lend him two hundred
+louis on the ring.
+
+My proper course would have been to beg to be excused, then I should have
+had no more trouble in the matter; but it was not to be. I wanted to make
+him see that the objection he made to having the stone taken out was an
+insuperable obstacle to my lending him the money.
+
+"When the stone is removed," said I, "we shall see what it really is.
+Listen to my proposal: if it weighs twenty-six grains, I will give you,
+not two but three hundred louis, but in its present condition I shall
+give nothing at all."
+
+"You have no business to doubt my word; you insult me by doing so."
+
+"Not at all, I have no intentions of the kind. I simply propose a wager
+to you. If the stone be found to weigh twenty-six grains, I shall lose
+two hundred Louis, if it weighs much less you will lose the ring."
+
+"That's a scandalous proposal; it's as much as to tell me that I am a
+liar."
+
+I did not like the tone with which these words were spoken, and I went up
+to the chest of drawers where I kept my pistols, and bade him go and
+leave me in peace.
+
+Just then General Roniker came in, and the owner of the ring told him of
+the dispute between us. The general looked at the ring, and said to
+him,--
+
+"If anyone were to give me the ring I should not have the stone taken
+out, because one should not look a gift horse in the mouth; but if it
+came to a question of buying or lending I would not give a crown for it,
+were the owner an emperor, before the stone was taken out; and I am very
+much surprised at your refusing to let this be done."
+
+Without a word the knave made for the door, and the ring remained in the
+hands of my late host.
+
+"Why didn't you give him his ring?" said I.
+
+"Because I have advanced him fifty Louis on it; but if he does not redeem
+it to-morrow I will have the stone taken out before a judge, and
+afterwards I shall sell it by auction."
+
+"I don't like the man's manners, and I hope you will never bring anyone
+to my rooms again."
+
+The affair came to the following conclusion: The impostor did not redeem
+the ring, and the Liege tradesman had the setting removed. The diamond
+was found to be placed on a bed of rock crystal, which formed two-thirds
+of the whole bulk. However, the diamond was worth fifty Louis, and an
+Englishman bought it. A week afterwards the knave met me as I was walking
+by myself, and begged me to follow him to place where we should be free
+from observation, as his sword had somewhat to say to mine. Curiously
+enough I happened to be wearing my sword at the time.
+
+"I will not follow you," I replied; "the matter can be settled here?"
+
+"We are observed."
+
+"All the better. Make haste and draw your sword first."
+
+"The advantage is with you."
+
+"I know it, and so it ought to be. If you do not draw I will proclaim you
+to be the coward I am sure you are."
+
+At this he drew his sword rapidly and came on, but I was ready to receive
+him. He began to fence to try my mettle, but I lunged right at his chest,
+and gave him three inches of cold steel. I should have killed him on the
+spot if he had not lowered his sword, saying he would take his revenge at
+another time. With this he went off, holding his hand to the wound.
+
+A score of people were close by, but no one troubled himself about the
+wounded man, as he was known to have been the aggressor. The duel had no
+further consequences for me. When I left Spa the man was still in the
+surgeon's hands. He was something worse than an adventurer, and all the
+French at Spa disowned him.
+
+But to return to Croce and his dinner.
+
+The marchioness, his wife so-called, was a young lady of sixteen or
+seventeen, fair-complexioned and tall, with all the manners of the
+Belgian nobility. The history of her escape is well known to her brothers
+and sisters, and as her family are still in existence my readers will be
+obliged to me for concealing her name.
+
+Her husband had told her about me, and she received me in the most
+gracious manner possible. She shewed no signs of sadness or of repentance
+for the steps she had taken. She was with child for some months, and
+seemed to be near her term, owing to the slimness of her figure.
+Nevertheless she had the aspect of perfect health. Her countenance
+expressed candour and frankness of disposition in a remarkable degree.
+Her eyes were large and blue, her complexion a roseate hue, her small
+sweet mouth, her perfect teeth made her a beauty worthy of the brush of
+Albano.
+
+I thought myself skilled in physiognomy, and concluded that she was not
+only perfectly happy, but also the cause of happiness. But here let me
+say how vain a thing it is for anyone to pronounce a man or woman to be
+happy or unhappy from a merely cursory inspection.
+
+The young marchioness had beautiful ear-rings, and two rings, which gave
+me a pretext for admiring the beauty of her hands.
+
+Conti's wife did not cut any figure at all, and I was all eyes for the
+marchioness, whose name was Charlotte. I was profoundly impressed by her
+that I was quite abstracted during dinner.
+
+I sought in vain to discover by what merits Croce had been able to seduce
+two such superior women. He was not a fine-looking man, he was not well
+educated, his manners were doubtful, and his way of speaking by no means
+seductive; in fine, I saw nothing captivating about him, and yet I could
+be a witness to his having made two girls leave their homes to follow
+him. I lost myself in conjecture; but I had no premonition of what was to
+happen in the course of a few weeks.
+
+When dinner was over I took Croce apart, and talked seriously to him. I
+impressed on him the necessity of circumspect conduct, as in my opinion
+he would be for ever infamous if the beautiful woman whom he had seduced
+was to become wretched by his fault.
+
+"For the future I mean to trust to my skill in play, and thus I am sure
+of a comfortable living."
+
+"Does she know, that your revenue is fed solely by the purses of dupes?"
+
+"She knows that I am a gamester; and as she adores me, her will is as
+mine. I am thinking of marrying her at Warsaw before she is confined. If
+you are in any want of money, look upon my purse as your own."
+
+I thanked him, and once more pressed on him the duty of exercising
+extreme prudence.
+
+As a matter of fact, I had no need of money. I had played with
+moderation, and my profits amounted to nearly four hundred louis. When
+the luck turned against me I was wise enough to turn my back on the
+board. Although the bruise that Mercy had given me was still apparent, I
+escorted the marchioness to the tables, and there she drew all eyes upon
+her. She was fond of piquet, and we played together for small stakes for
+some time. In the end she lost twenty crowns to me, and I was forced to
+take the money for fear of offending her.
+
+When we went back we met Croce and Conti, who had both won--Conti a score
+of louis at Faro, and Croce more than a hundred guineas at 'passe dix',
+which he had been playing at a club of Englishmen. I was more lively at
+supper than dinner, and excited Charlotte to laughter by my wit.
+
+Henceforth the Poles and the Tomatis only saw me at intervals. I was in
+love with the fair marchioness, and everybody said it was very natural.
+When a week had elapsed, Croce, finding that the pigeons would not come
+to be plucked, despite the suppers he gave, went to the public room, and
+lost continually. He was as used to loss as to gain, and his spirits were
+unaltered; he was still gay, still ate well and drank better, and
+caressed his victim, who had no suspicions of what was going on.
+
+I loved her, but did not dare to reveal my passion, fearing lest it
+should be unrequited; and I was afraid to tell her of Croce's losses lest
+she should put down my action to some ulterior motive; in fine, I was
+afraid to lose the trust she had already begun to place in me.
+
+At the end of three weeks Conti, who had played with prudence and
+success, left Croce and set out for Verona with his wife and servant. A
+few days later Charlotte dismissed her maid, sending her back to Liege,
+her native town.
+
+Towards the middle of September all the Polish party left the Spa for
+Paris, where I promised to rejoin them. I only stayed for Charlotte's
+sake; I foresaw a catastrophe, and I would not abandon her. Every day
+Croce lost heavily, and at last he was obliged to sell his jewellery.
+Then came Charlotte's turn; she had to give up her watches, ear-rings,
+her rings, and all the jewels she had. He lost everything, but this
+wonderful girl was as affectionate as ever. To make a finish he despoiled
+her of her lace and her best gowns, and then selling his own wardrobe he
+went to his last fight with fortune, provided with two hundred Louis. He
+played like a madman, without common-sense or prudence, and lost all.
+
+His pockets were empty, and seeing me he beckoned to me, and I followed
+him out of the Spa.
+
+"My friend," he began, "I have two alternatives, I can kill myself this
+instant or I can fly without returning to the house. I shall embrace the
+latter and go to Warsaw on foot, and I leave my wife in your hands, for I
+know you adore her. It must be your task to give her the dreadful news of
+the pass to which I have come. Have a care of her, she is too good by far
+for a poor wretch like me. Take her to Paris and I will write to you
+there at your brother's address. I know you have money, but I would die
+rather than accept a single louis from you. I have still two or three
+pieces left, and I assure you that I am richer at the present moment than
+I was two months ago. Farewell; once more I commend Charlotte to your
+care; I would that she had never known me."
+
+With these words he shed tears, and embracing me went his way. I was
+stupefied at what lay before me.
+
+I had to inform a pregnant woman that the man she dearly loved had
+deserted her. The only thought that supported me in that moment was that
+it would be done for love of her, and I felt thankful that I had
+sufficient means to secure her from privation.
+
+I went to the house and told her that we might dine at once, as the
+marquis would be engaged till the evening. She sighed, wished him luck,
+and we proceeded to dine. I disguised my emotions so well that she
+conceived no suspicion. After the meal was over, I asked her to walk with
+me in the garden of the Capuchin Monastery, which was close at hand. To
+prepare her for the fatal news I asked her if she would approve of her
+lover exposing himself to assassination for the sake of bidding adieu to
+her rather than making his escape.
+
+"I should blame him for doing so," she replied. "He ought to escape by
+all means, if only to save his life for my sake. Has my husband done so?
+Speak openly to me. My spirit is strong enough to resist even so fatal a
+blow, for I know I have a friend in you. Speak."
+
+"Well, I will tell you all. But first of all remember this; you must look
+upon me as a tender father who will never let you want, so long as life
+remains to him."
+
+"In that case I cannot be called unfortunate, for I have a true friend.
+Say on."
+
+I told all that Croce had told me, not omitting his last words: "I
+commend Charlotte to your care; I would that she had never known me."
+
+For a few minutes she remained motionless, as one turned into stone. By
+her attitude, by her laboured and unequal breath, I could divine somewhat
+of the battle between love, and anger, and sorrow, and pity, that was
+raging in the noble breast. I was cut to the heart. At last she wiped
+away the big tears that began to trickle down her cheeks, and turning to
+me sighed and said,--
+
+"Dear friend, since I can count on you, I am far indeed from utter
+misery."
+
+"I swear to you, Charlotte, that I will never leave you till I place you
+again in your husband's hands, provided I do not die before."
+
+"That is enough. I swear eternal gratitude, and to be as submissive to
+you as a good daughter ought to be."
+
+The religion and philosophy with which her heart and mind were fortified,
+though she made no parade of either, began to calm her spirit, and she
+proceeded to make some reflections on Croce's unhappy lot, but all in
+pity not in anger, excusing his inveterate passion for play. She had
+often heard from Croce's lips the story of the Marseilles girl whom he
+had left penniless in an inn at Milan, commending her to my care. She
+thought it something wonderful that I should again be intervening as the
+tutelary genius; but her situation was much the worse, for she was with
+child.
+
+"There's another difference," I added, "for I made the fortune of the
+first by finding her an honest husband, whereas I should never have the
+courage to adopt the same method with the second."
+
+"While Croce lives I am no man's wife but his, nevertheless I am glad to
+find myself free."
+
+When we were back in the house, I advised her to send away the servant
+and to pay his journey to Besanion, where she had taken him. Thus all
+unpleasantness would be avoided. I made her sell all that remained of her
+poor lover's wardrobe, as also his carriage, for mine was a better one.
+She shewed me all she had left, which only amounted to some sets of linen
+and three or four dresses.
+
+We remained at Spa without going out of doors. She could see that my love
+was a tenderer passion than the love of a father, and she told me so, and
+that she was obliged to me for the respect with which I treated her. We
+sat together for hours, she folded in my arms, whilst I gently kissed her
+beautiful eyes, and asked no more. I was happy in her gratitude and in my
+powers of self-restraint. When temptation was too strong I left the
+beautiful girl till I was myself again, and such conquests made me proud.
+In the affection between us there was somewhat of the purity of a man's
+first love.
+
+I wanted a small travelling cap, and the servant of the house went to my
+former lodging to order one. Mercy brought several for me to choose from.
+She blushed when she saw me, but I said nothing to her. When she had gone
+I told Charlotte the whole story, and she laughed with all her heart when
+I reminded her of the bruise on my face when we first met, and informed
+her that Mercy had given it me. She praised my firmness in rejecting her
+repentance, and agreed with me in thinking that the whole plan had been
+concerted between her and her aunt.
+
+We left Spa without any servant, and when we reached Liege we took the
+way of the Ardennes, as she was afraid of being recognized if we passed
+through Brussels. At Luxemburg we engaged a servant, who attended on us
+till we reached Paris. All the way Charlotte was tender and affectionate,
+but her condition prescribed limits to her love, and I could only look
+forward to the time after her delivery. We got down at Paris at the
+"Hotel Montmorenci," in the street of the same name.
+
+Paris struck me quite as a new place. Madame d'Urfe was dead, my friends
+had changed their houses and their fortunes; the poor had become rich and
+the rich poor, new streets and buildings were rising on all sides; I
+hardly knew my way about the town. Everything was dearer; poverty was
+rampant, and luxury at it highest pitch. Perhaps Paris is the only city
+where so great a change could take place in the course of five or six
+years.
+
+The first call I made was on Madame du Rumain, who was delighted to see
+me. I repaid her the money she had so kindly lent me in the time of my
+distress. She was well in health, but harassed by so many anxieties and
+private troubles that she said Providence must have sent me to her to
+relieve her of all her griefs by my cabala. I told her that I would wait
+on her at any hour or hours; and this, indeed, was the least I could do
+for the woman who had been so kind to me.
+
+My brother had gone to live in the Faubourg St. Antoine. Both he and his
+wife (who remained constant to him, despite his physical disability) were
+overjoyed to see me, and entreated me to come and stop with them. I told
+them I should be glad to do so, as soon as the lady who had travelled
+with me had got over her confinement. I did not think proper to tell them
+her story, and they had the delicacy to refrain from questioning me on
+the subject. The same day I called on Princess Lubomirska and Tomatis,
+begging them not to take it amiss if my visits were few and far between,
+as the lady they had seen at Spa was approaching her confinement, and
+demanded all my care.
+
+After the discharge of these duties I remained constantly by Charlotte's
+side. On October 8th I thought it would be well to take her to Madame
+Lamarre, a midwife, who lived in the Faubourg St. Denis, and Charlotte
+was of the same opinion. We went together, she saw the room, the bed, and
+heard how she would be tended and looked after, for all of which I would
+pay. At nightfall we drove to the place, with a trunk containing all her
+effects.
+
+As we were leaving the Rue Montmorenci our carriage was obliged to stop
+to allow the funeral of some rich man to go by. Charlotte covered her
+face with her handkerchief, and whispered in my ear, "Dearest, I know it
+is a foolish superstition, but to a woman in my condition such a meeting
+is of evil omen."
+
+"What, Charlotte! I thought you were too wise to have such silly fears. A
+woman in child-bed is not a sick woman, and no woman ever died of giving
+birth to a child except some other disease intervened."
+
+"Yes, my dear philosopher, it is like a duel; there are two men in
+perfect health, when all of a sudden there comes a sword-thrust, and one
+of them is dead."
+
+"That's a witty idea. But bid all gloomy thoughts go by, and after your
+child is born, and we have placed it in good hands, you shall come with
+me to Madrid, and there I hope to see you happy and contented."
+
+All the way I did my best to cheer her, for I knew only too well the
+fatal effects of melancholy on a pregnant woman, especially in such a
+delicate girl as Charlotte.
+
+When I saw her completely settled I returned to the hotel, and the next
+day I took up my quarters with my brother. However, as long as my
+Charlotte lived, I only slept at his house, for from nine in the morning
+till after midnight I was with my dear.
+
+On October 13th Charlotte was attacked with a fever which never left her.
+On the 17th she was happily delivered of a boy, which was immediately
+taken to the church and baptized at the express wishes of the mother.
+Charlotte wrote down what its name was to be--Jacques (after me), Charles
+(after her), son of Antonio della Croce and of Charlotte de (she gave her
+real name). When it was brought from the church she told Madame Lamarre
+to carry it to the Foundling Hospital, with the certificate of baptism in
+its linen. I vainly endeavoured to persuade her to leave the care of the
+child to me. She said that if it lived the father could easily reclaim
+it. On the same day, October 18th, the midwife gave me the following
+certificate, which I still possess:
+
+It was worded as follows:
+
+"We, J. B. Dorival, Councillor to the King, Commissary of the Chatelet,
+formerly Superintendent of Police in the City of Paris, do certify that
+there has been taken to the Hospital for Children a male infant,
+appearing to be one day old, brought from the Faubourg St. Denis by the
+midwife Lamarre, and bearing a certificate of baptism to the effect that
+its name is Jacques Charles, son of Antonio della Croce and of Charlotte
+de----. Wherefore, we have delivered the above certificate at our office
+in the City of Paris, this 18th day of October, in the year of our Lord,
+1767, at seven o'clock in the afternoon.
+
+"DORIVAL."
+
+
+If any of my readers have any curiosity to know the real name of the
+mother, I have given them the means of satisfying it.
+
+After this I did not leave the bed of the invalid for a single instant.
+In spite of all the doctor's care the fever increased, and at five
+o'clock in the morning of October 26th, she succumbed to it. An hour
+before she sighed her last, she bade me the last farewell in the presence
+of the venerable ecclesiastic who had confessed her at midnight. The
+tears which gather fast as I write these words are probably the last
+honours I shall pay to this poor victim of a man who is still alive, and
+whose destiny seemed to be to make women unhappy.
+
+I sat weeping by the bed of her I loved so dearly, and in vain Madame
+Lamarre tried to induce me to come and sit with her. I loved the poor
+corpse better than all the world outside.
+
+At noon my brother and his wife came to see me; they had not seen me for
+a week, and were getting anxious. They saw the body lovely in death; they
+understood my tears, and mingled theirs with mine. At last I asked them
+to leave me, and I remained all night by Charlotte's bed, resolved not to
+leave it till her body had been consigned to the grave.
+
+The day before this morning of unhappy memory my brother had given me
+several letters, but I had not opened any of them. On my return from the
+funeral I proceeded to do so, and the first one was from M. Dandolo,
+announcing the death of M. de Bragadin; but I could not weep. For
+twenty-two years M. de Bragadin had been as a father to me, living
+poorly, and even going into debt that I might have enough. He could not
+leave me anything, as his property was entailed, while his furniture and
+his library would become the prey of his creditors. His two friends, who
+were my friends also, were poor, and could give me nothing but their
+love. The dreadful news was accompanied by a bill of exchange for a
+thousand crowns, which he had sent me twenty-four hours before his death,
+foreseeing that it would be the last gift he would ever make me.
+
+I was overwhelmed, and thought that Fortune had done her worst to me.
+
+I spent three days in my brother's house without going out. On the fourth
+I began to pay an assiduous court to Princess Lubomirska, who had written
+the king, her brother, a letter that must have mortified him, as she
+proved beyond a doubt that the tales he had listened to against me were
+mere calumny. But your kings do not allow so small a thing to vex or
+mortify them. Besides, Stanislas Augustus had just received a dreadful
+insult from Russia. Repnin's violence in kidnapping the three senators
+who had spoken their minds at the Diet was a blow which must have pierced
+the hapless king to the heart.
+
+The princess had left Warsaw more from hatred than love; though such was
+not the general opinion. As I had decided to visit the Court of Madrid
+before going to Portugal, the princess gave me a letter of introduction
+to the powerful Count of Aranda; and the Marquis Caraccioli, who was
+still at Paris, gave me three letters, one for Prince de la Catolica, the
+Neapolitan ambassador at Madrid, one for the Duke of Lossada, the king's
+favourite and lord high steward, and a third for the Marquis Mora
+Pignatelli.
+
+On November 4th I went to a concert with a ticket that the princess had
+given me. When the concert was half-way through I heard my name
+pronounced, accompanied by scornful laughter. I turned round and saw the
+gentleman who was speaking contemptuously of me. It was a tall young man
+sitting between two men advanced in years. I stared him in the face, but
+he turned his head away and continued his impertinencies, saying, amongst
+other things, that I had robbed him of a million francs at least by my
+swindling his late aunt, the Marchioness d'Urfe.
+
+"You are an impudent liar," I said to him, "and if we were out of this
+room I would give you a kick to teach you to speak respectfully."
+
+With these words I made my way out of the hall, and on turning my head
+round I saw that the two elderly men were keeping the young blockhead
+back. I got into my carriage and waited some time, and as he did not come
+I drove to the theatre and chanced to find myself in the same box as
+Madame Valville. She informed me that she had left the boards, and was
+kept by the Marquis the Brunel.
+
+"I congratulate you, and wish you good luck."
+
+"I hope you will come to supper at my house."
+
+"I should be only too happy, but unfortunately I have an engagement; but
+I will come and see you if you will give me your address."
+
+So saying, I slipped into her hand a rouleau, it being the fifty louis I
+owed her.
+
+"What is this?"
+
+"The money you lent me so kindly at Konigsberg."
+
+"This is neither the time nor the place to return it. I will only take it
+at my own house, so please do not insist."
+
+I put the money back into my pocket, she gave me her address, and I left
+her. I felt too sad to visit her alone.
+
+Two days later, as I was at table with my brother, my sister-in-law, and
+some young Russians whom he was teaching to paint, I was told that a
+Chevalier of St. Louis wanted to speak to me in the antechamber. I went
+out, and he handed me a paper without making any preface. I opened the
+document, and found it was signed "Louis." The great king ordered me to
+leave Paris in twenty-four hours and his realm of France within three
+weeks, and the reason assigned was: "It is our good pleasure."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+My Departure From Paris--My Journey to Madrid--The Count of Aranda--The
+Prince de la Catolica--The Duke of Lossada--Mengs--A Ball--Madame
+Pichona--Donna Ignazia
+
+"Well, chevalier," I said, "I have read the little note, and I will try
+and oblige his majesty as soon as possible. However, if I have not time
+to get away in twenty-four hours, his majesty must work his dread will on
+me."
+
+"My dear sir, the twenty-four hours are a mere formality. Subscribe the
+order and give me a receipt for the lettre de cachet, and you can go at
+your convenience. All I ask of you is that you give me your word of
+honour not to go to the theatres or public places of amusement on foot."
+
+"I give you my word with pleasure."
+
+I took the chevalier to my room and gave him the necessary
+acknowledgment, and with the observation that he would be glad to see my
+brother, whom he knew already, I led him into the dining-room, and
+explained with a cheerful face the purport of his visit.
+
+My brother laughed and said,--
+
+"But, M. Buhot, this news is like March in Lent, it was quite
+unnecessary; my brother was going in the course of a week."
+
+"All the better. If the minister had been aware of that he would not have
+troubled himself about it."
+
+"Is the reason known?"
+
+"I have heard something about a proposal to kick a gentleman, who though
+young, is too exalted a person to be spoken to in such a manner."
+
+"Why, chevalier," said I, "the phrase is a mere formality like the
+twenty-four hours for if the impudent young rascal had come out he would
+have met me, and his sword should have been sufficient to ward off any
+kicks."
+
+I then told the whole story, and Buhot agreed that I was in the right
+throughout; adding that the police were also in the right to prevent any
+encounter between us. He advised me to go next morning and tell the tale
+to M. de Sartine, who knew me, and would be glad to have the account from
+my own lips. I said nothing, as I knew the famous superintendent of
+police to be a dreadful sermoniser.
+
+The lettre de cachet was dated November 6th, and I did not leave Paris
+till the 20th.
+
+I informed all my friends of the great honour his majesty had done me,
+and I would not hear of Madame du Rumain appealing to the king on my
+behalf, though she said she felt certain she could get the order revoked.
+The Duc de Choiseul gave me a posting passport dated November 19th, which
+I still preserve.
+
+I left Paris without any servant, still grieving, though quietly, over
+Charlotte's fate. I had a hundred Louis in cash, and a bill of exchange
+on Bordeaux for eight thousand francs. I enjoyed perfect health, and
+almost felt as if I had been rejuvenated. I had need of the utmost
+prudence and discretion for the future. The deaths of M. de Bragadin and
+Madame d'Urfe had left me alone in the world, and I was slowly but
+steadily approaching what is called a certain age, when women begin to
+look on a man with coldness.
+
+I only called on Madame Valville on the eve of my departure: and found
+her in a richly-furnished house, and her casket well filled with
+diamonds. When I proposed to return her the fifty louis, she asked me if
+I had got a thousand; and on learning that I had only five hundred she
+refused the money absolutely and offered me her purse, which I in my turn
+refused. I have not seen the excellent creature since then, but before I
+left I gave her some excellent advice as to the necessity of saving her
+gains for the time of her old age, when her charms would be no more. I
+hope she has profited by my counsel. I bade farewell to my brother and my
+sister-in-law at six o'clock in the evening, and got into my chaise in
+the moonlight, intending to travel all night so as to dine next day at
+Orleans, where I wanted to see an old friend. In half an hour I was at
+Bourg-la-Reine, and there I began to fall asleep. At seven in the morning
+I reached Orleans.
+
+Fair and beloved France, that went so well in those days, despite lettres
+de cachet, despite corvees, despite the people's misery and the king's
+"good pleasure," dear France, where art thou now? Thy sovereign is the
+people now, the most brutal and tyrannical sovereign in the world. You
+have no longer to bear the "good pleasure" of the sovereign, but you have
+to endure the whims of the mob and the fancies of the Republic--the ruin
+of all good Government. A republic presupposes self-denial and a virtuous
+people; it cannot endure long in our selfish and luxurious days.
+
+I went to see Bodin, a dancer, who had married Madame Joffroy, one of my
+thousand mistresses whom I had loved twenty-two years ago, and had seen
+later at Turin, Paris, and Vienna. These meetings with old friends and
+sweethearts were always a weak or rather a strong point with me. For a
+moment I seemed to be young again, and I fed once more on the delights of
+long ago. Repentance was no part of my composition.
+
+Bodin and his wife (who was rather ugly than old-looking, and had become
+pious to suit her husband's tastes, thus giving to God the devil's
+leavings), Bodin, I say, lived on a small estate he had purchased, and
+attributed all the agricultural misfortunes he met with in the course of
+the year to the wrath of an avenging Deity.
+
+I had a fasting dinner with them, for it was Friday, and they strictly
+observed all the rules of the Church. I told them of my adventures of the
+past years, and when I had finished they proceeded to make reflections on
+the faults and failings of men who have not God for a guide. They told me
+what I knew already: that I had an immortal soul, that there was a God
+that judgeth righteously, and that it was high time for me to take
+example by them, and to renounce all the pomps and vanities of the world.
+
+"And turn Capuchin, I suppose?"
+
+"You might do much worse."
+
+"Very good; but I shall wait till my beard grows the necessary length in
+a single night."
+
+In spite of their silliness, I was not sorry to have spent six hours with
+these good creatures who seemed sincerely repentant and happy in their
+way, and after an affectionate embrace I took leave of them and travelled
+all night. I stopped at Chanteloup to see the monument of the taste and
+magnificence of the Duc de Choiseul, and spent twenty-four hours there. A
+gentlemanly and polished individual, who did not know me, and for whom I
+had no introduction, lodged me in a fine suite of rooms, gave me supper,
+and would only sit down to table with me after I had used all my powers
+of persuasion. The next day he treated me in the same way, gave me an
+excellent dinner, shewed me everything, and behaved as if I were some
+prince, though he did not even ask my name. His attentions even extended
+to seeing that none of his servants were at hand when I got into my
+carriage and drove off. This was to prevent my giving money to any of
+them.
+
+The castle on which the Duc de Choiseul had spent such immense sums had
+in reality cost him nothing. It was all owing, but he did not trouble
+himself about that in the slightest degree, as he was a sworn foe to the
+principle of meum and tuum. He never paid his creditors, and never
+disturbed his debtors. He was a generous man; a lover of art and artists,
+to whom he liked to be of service, and what they did for him he looked
+upon as a grateful offering. He was intellectual, but a hater of all
+detail and minute research, being of a naturally indolent and
+procrastinating disposition. His favourite saying was,
+
+"There's time enough for that."
+
+When I got to Poitiers, I wanted to push on to Vivonne; it was seven
+o'clock in the evening, and two girls endeavoured to dissuade me from
+this course.
+
+"It's very cold," said they, "and the road is none of the best. You are
+no courier, sup here, we will give you a good bed, and you shall start
+again in the morning."
+
+"I have made up my mind to go on, but if you will keep me company at
+supper I will stay."
+
+"That would cost you too dearly."
+
+"Never too dear. Quick I make up your minds."
+
+"Well, we will sup with you."
+
+"Then lay the table for three; I must go on in an hour."
+
+"In an hour! You mean three, sir; papa will take two hours to get you a
+good supper."
+
+"Then I will not go on, but you must keep me company all night."
+
+"We will do so, if papa does not object. We will have your chaise put
+into the coach-house."
+
+These two minxes gave me an excellent supper, and were a match for me in
+drinking as well as eating. The wine was delicious, and we stayed at
+table till midnight, laughing and joking together, though without
+overstepping the bounds of propriety.
+
+About midnight, the father came in jovially, and asked me how I had
+enjoyed my supper.
+
+"Very much," I answered, "but I have enjoyed still more the company of
+your charming daughters."
+
+"I am delighted to hear it. Whenever you come this way they shall keep
+you company, but now it is past midnight, and time for them to go to
+bed."
+
+I nodded my head, for Charlotte's death was still too fresh in my memory
+to admit of my indulging in any voluptuous pleasures. I wished the girls
+a pleasant sleep, and I do not think I should even have kissed them if
+the father had not urged me to do this honour to their charms. However,
+my vanity made me put some fire into the embrace, and I have no doubt
+they thought me a prey to vain desires.
+
+When I was alone I reflected that if I did not forget Charlotte I was a
+lost man. I slept till nine o'clock, and I told the servant that came to
+light my fire to get coffee for three, and to have my horses put in.
+
+The two pretty girls came to breakfast with me, and I thanked them for
+having made me stay the night. I asked for the bill, and the eldest said
+it was in round figures a Louis apiece. I shewed no sign of anger at this
+outrageous fleecing, but gave them three Louis with the best grace
+imaginable and went on my way. When I reached Angouleme, where I expected
+to find Noel, the King of Prussia's cook, I only found his father, whose
+talents in the matter of pates was something prodigious. His eloquence
+was as fervent as his ovens. He said he would send his pates all over
+Europe to any address I liked to give him.
+
+"What! To Venice, London, Warsaw, St. Petersburg?"
+
+"To Constantinople, if you like. You need only give me your address, and
+you need not pay me till you get the pates."
+
+I sent his pates to my friends in Venice, Warsaw, and Turin, and
+everybody thanked me for the delicious dish.
+
+Noel had made quite a fortune. He assured me he had sent large
+consignments to America, and with the exception of some losses by
+shipwreck all the pates had arrived in excellent condition. They were
+chiefly made of turkeys, partridges, and hare, seasoned with truffles,
+but he also made pates de foie gras of larks and of thrushes, according
+to the season.
+
+In two days I arrived at Bordeaux, a beautiful town coming only second to
+Paris, with respect to Lyons be it said. I spent a week there, eating and
+drinking of the best, for the living there is the choicest in the world.
+
+I transferred my bill of exchange for eight thousand francs to a Madrid
+house, and crossed the Landes, passing by Mont de Marsan, Bayonne, and
+St. Jean de Luz, where I sold my post-chaise. From St. Jean de Luz I went
+to Pampeluna by way of the Pyrenees, which I crossed on mule-back, my
+baggage being carried by another mule. The mountains struck me as higher
+than the Alps. In this I may possibly be wrong, but I am certain that the
+Pyrenees are the most picturesque, fertile, and agreeable of the two.
+
+At Pampeluna a man named Andrea Capello took charge of me and my luggage,
+and we set out for Madrid. For the first twenty leagues the travelling
+was easy enough, and the roads as good as any in France. These roads did
+honour to the memory of M. de Gages, who had administered Navarre after
+the Italian war, and had, as I was assured, made the road at his own
+expense. Twenty years earlier I had been arrested by this famous general;
+but he had established a claim on posterity greater than any of his
+victories. These laurels were dyed in blood, but the maker of a good road
+is a solid benefactor of all posterity.
+
+In time this road came to an end, and thenceforth it would be incorrect
+to say that the roads were bad, for, to tell the truth, there were no
+roads at all. There were steep ascents and violent descents, but no
+traces of carriage wheels, and so it is throughout the whole of Old
+Castile. There are no good inns, only miserable dens scarce good enough
+for the muleteers, who make their beds beside their animals. Signor or
+rather Senor Andrea tried to choose the least wretched inns for me, and
+after having provided for the mules he would go round the entire village
+to get something for me to eat. The landlord would not stir; he shewed me
+a room where I could sleep if I liked, containing a fire-place, in which
+I could light a fire if I thought fit, but as to procuring firewood or
+provisions, he left that all to me. Wretched Spain!
+
+The sum asked for a night's accommodation was less than a farmer would
+ask in France or Germany for leave to sleep in his barn; but there was
+always an extra charge of a 'pizetta por el ruido'. The pizetta is worth
+four reals; about twenty-one French sous.
+
+The landlord smoked his paper cigarette nonchalantly enough, blowing
+clouds of smoke into the air with immense dignity. To him poverty was as
+good as riches; his wants were small, and his means sufficed for them. In
+no country in Europe do the lower orders live so contentedly on a very
+little as in Spain. Two ounces of white bread, a handful of roast
+chestnuts or acorns (called bellotas in Spanish) suffice to keep a
+Spaniard for a day. It is his glory to say when a stranger is departing
+from his abode,--
+
+"I have not given myself any trouble in waiting on him."
+
+This proceeds in part from idleness and in part from Castilian pride. A
+Castilian should not lower himself, they say, by attending on a Gavacho,
+by which name the Spaniards know the French, and, indeed, all foreigners.
+It is not so offensive as the Turkish appellation of dog, or the damned
+foreigner of the English. Of course, persons who have travelled or have
+had a liberal education do not speak in this way, and a respectable
+foreigner will find reasonable Spaniards as he will find reasonable Turks
+and Englishmen.
+
+On the second night of my journey I slept at Agreda, a small and ugly
+town, or rather village. There Sister Marie d'Agreda became so crazy as
+to write a life of the Virgin, which she affirmed to have been dictated
+to her by the Mother of the Lord. The State Inquisitors had given me this
+work to read when I was under the Leads, and it had nearly driven me mad.
+
+We did ten Spanish leagues a day, and long and weary leagues they seemed
+to me. One morning I thought I saw a dozen Capuchins walking slowly in
+front of us, but when we caught them up I found they were women of all
+ages.
+
+"Are they mad?" I said to Senior Andrea.
+
+"Not at all. They wear the Capuchin habit out of devotion, and you would
+not find a chemise on one of them."
+
+There was nothing surprising in their not having chemises, for the
+chemise is a scarce article in Spain, but the idea of pleasing God by
+wearing a Capuchin's habit struck me as extremely odd. I will here relate
+an amusing adventure which befell me on my way.
+
+At the gate of a town not far from Madrid I was asked for my passport. I
+handed it over, and got down to amuse myself. I found the chief of the
+customs' house engaged in an argument with a foreign priest who was on
+his way to Madrid, and had no passport for the capital. He skewed one he
+had had for Bilbao, but the official was not satisfied. The priest was a
+Sicilian, and I asked him why he had exposed himself to being placed in
+this disagreeable predicament. He said he thought it was unnecessary to
+have a passport in Spain when one had once journeyed in the country.
+
+"I want to go to Madrid," said he to me, "and hope to obtain a chaplaincy
+in the house of a grandee. I have a letter for him."
+
+"Shew it; they will let you pass then."
+
+"You are right."
+
+The poor priest drew out the letter and skewed it to the official, who
+opened it, looked at the signature, and absolutely shrieked when he saw
+the name Squillace.
+
+"What, senor abbe! you are going to Madrid with a letter from Squillace,
+and you dare to skew it?"
+
+The clerks, constables, and hangers-on, hearing that the hated Squillace,
+who would have been stoned to death if it had not been for the king's
+protection, was the poor abbe's only patron, began to beat him violently,
+much to the poor Sicilian's astonishment.
+
+I interposed, however, and after some trouble I succeeded in rescuing the
+priest, who was then allowed to pass, as I believe, as a set-off against
+the blows he had received.
+
+Squillace was sent to Venice as Spanish ambassador, and in Venice he died
+at an advanced age. He was a man designed to be an object of intense
+hatred to the people; he was simply ruthless in his taxation.
+
+The door of my room had a lock on the outside but none on the inside. For
+the first and second night I let it pass, but on the third I told Senor
+Andrea that I must have it altered.
+
+"Senor Don Jacob, you must bear with it in Spain, for the Holy
+Inquisition must always be at liberty to inspect the rooms of
+foreigners."
+
+"But what in the devil's name does your cursed Inquisition want . . . ?"
+
+"For the love of God, Senor Jacob, speak not thus! if you were overheard
+we should both be undone."
+
+"Well, what can the Holy Inquisition want to know?"
+
+"Everything. It wants to know whether you eat meat on fast days, whether
+persons of opposite sexes sleep together, if so, whether they are
+married, and if not married it will cause both parties to be imprisoned;
+in fine, Senor Don Jaimo, the Holy inquisition is continually watching
+over our souls in this country."
+
+When we met a priest bearing the viaticum to some sick man, Senor Andrea
+would tell me imperatively to get out of my carriage, and then there was
+no choice but to kneel in the mud or dust as the case might be. The chief
+subject of dispute at that time was the fashion of wearing breeches.
+Those who wore 'braguettes' were imprisoned, and all tailors making
+breeches with 'braguettes' were severely punished. Nevertheless, people
+persisted in wearing them, and the priests and monks preached in vain
+against the indecency of such a habit. A revolution seemed imminent, but
+the matter was happily settled without effusion of blood. An edict was
+published and affixed to the doors of all the churches, in which it was
+declared that breeches with braguettes were only to be worn by the public
+hangmen. Then the fashion passed away; for no one cared to pass for the
+public executioner.
+
+By little and little I got an insight into the manners of the Spanish
+nation as I passed through Guadalaxara and Alcala, and at length arrived
+at Madrid.
+
+Guadalaxara, or Guadalajara, is pronounced by the Spaniards with a strong
+aspirate, the x and j having the same force. The vowel d, the queen of
+letters, reigns supreme in Spain; it is a relic of the old Moorish
+language. Everyone knows that the Arabic abounds in d's, and perhaps the
+philologists are right in calling it the most ancient of languages, since
+the a is the most natural and easy to pronounce of all the letters. It
+seems to me very mistaken to call such words as Achald, Ayanda, Almanda,
+Acard, Agracaramba, Alcantara, etc., barbarous, for the sonorous ring
+with which they are pronounced renders the Castilian the richest of all
+modern languages. Spanish is undoubtedly one of the finest, most
+energetic, and most majestic languages in the world. When it is
+pronounced 'ore rotundo' it is susceptible of the most poetic harmony. It
+would be superior to the Italian, if it were not for the three guttural
+letters, in spite of what the Spaniards say to the contrary. It is no
+good remonstrating with them.
+
+'Quisquis amat ranam, ranam purat esse Dianam'.
+
+As I was entering the Gate of Alcala, my luggage was searched, and the
+clerks paid the greatest attention to my books, and they were very
+disappointed only to find the "Iliad" in Greek, and a Latin Horace. They
+were taken away, but three days after, they were returned to me at my
+lodging in the Rue de la Croix where I had gone in spite of Senor Andrea,
+who had wanted to take me elsewhere. A worthy man whom I had met in
+Bordeaux had given me the address. One of the ceremonies I had to undergo
+at the Gate of Alcala displeased me in the highest degree. A clerk asked
+me for a pinch of snuff, so I took out my snuff-box and gave it him, but
+instead of taking a pinch he snatched it out of my hands and said,--
+
+"Senor, this snuff will not pass in Spain" (it was French rappee); and
+after turning it out on the ground he gave me back the box.
+
+The authorities are most rigorous on the matter of this innocent powder,
+and in consequence an immense contraband trade is carried on. The spies
+employed by the Spanish snuff-makers are always on the look-out after
+foreign snuff, and if they detect anyone carrying it they make him pay
+dearly for the luxury. The ambassadors of foreign powers are the only
+persons exempted from the prohibitions. The king who stuffs into his
+enormous nose one enormous pinch as he rises in the morning wills that
+all his subjects buy their snuff of the Spanish manufacturers. When
+Spanish snuff is pure it is very good, but at the time I was in Spain the
+genuine article could hardly be bought for its weight in gold. By reason
+of the natural inclination towards forbidden fruit, the Spaniards are
+extremely fond of foreign snuff, and care little for their own; thus
+snuff is smuggled to an enormous extent.
+
+My lodging was comfortable enough, but I felt the want of a fire as the
+cold was more trying than that of Paris, in spite of the southern
+latitude. The cause of this cold is that Madrid is the highest town in
+Europe. From whatever part of the coast one starts, one has to mount to
+reach the capital. The town is also surrounded by mountains and hills, so
+that the slightest touch of wind from the north makes the cold intense.
+The air of Madrid is not healthy for strangers, especially for those of a
+full habit of body; the Spaniards it suits well enough, for they are dry
+and thin, and wear a cloak even in the dog days.
+
+The men of Spain dwell mentally in a limited horizon, bounded by
+prejudice on every side; but the women, though ignorant, are usually
+intelligent; while both sexes are the prey of desires, as lively as their
+native air, as burning as the sun that shines on them. Every Spaniard
+hates a foreigner, simply because he is a foreigner, but the women avenge
+us by loving us, though with great precautions, for your Spaniard is
+intensely jealous. They watch most jealously over the honour of their
+wives and daughters. As a rule the men are ugly, though there are
+numerous exceptions; while the women are pretty, and beauties are not
+uncommon. The southern blood in their veins inclines them to love, and
+they are always ready to enter into an intrigue and to deceive the spies
+by whom they are surrounded. The lover who runs the greatest dangers is
+always the favourite. In the public walks, the churches, the theatres,
+the Spanish women are always speaking the language of the eyes. If the
+person to whom it is addressed knows how to seize the instant, he may be
+sure of success, but if not, the opportunity will never be offered him
+again.
+
+I required some kind of heat in my room, and could not bear a charcoal
+brazier, so I incited an ingenious tin-smith to make me a stove with a
+pipe going out of the window. However, he was so proud of his success
+that he made me pay dearly.
+
+Before the stove was ready I was told where I might go and warm myself an
+hour before noon, and stay till dinner-time. It is called La Pueyta del
+Sol, "The Gate of the Sun." It is not a gate, but it takes its name from
+the manner in which the source of all heat lavishes his treasures there,
+and warms all who come and bask in his rays. I found a numerous company
+promenading there, walking and talking, but it was not much to my taste.
+
+I wanted a servant who could speak French, and I had the greatest
+difficulty in getting one, and had to pay dearly, for in Madrid the kind
+of man I wanted was called a page. I could not compel him to mount behind
+my carriage, nor to carry a package, nor to light me by night with a
+torch or lantern.
+
+My page was a man of thirty, and terribly ugly; but this was a
+recommendation, as his ugliness secured him from the jealous suspicions
+of husbands. A woman of rank will not drive out without one of these
+pages seated in the forepart of her carriage. They are said to be more
+difficult to seduce than the strictest of duennas.
+
+I was obliged to take one of these rascally tribe into my service, and I
+wish he had broken his leg on his way to my house.
+
+I delivered all my introductions, beginning with the letter from Princess
+Lubomirska to the Count of Aranda. The count had covered himself with
+glory by driving the Jesuits out of Spain. He was more powerful than the
+king himself, and never went out without a number of the royal guardsmen
+about him, whom he made to sit down at his table. Of course all the
+Spaniards hated him, but he did not seem to care much for that. A
+profound politician, and absolutely resolute and firm, he privately
+indulged in every luxury that he forbade to others, and did not care
+whether people talked of it or not.
+
+He was a rather ugly man, with a disagreeable squint. His reception of me
+was far from cordial.
+
+"What do you want in Spain?" he began.
+
+"To add fresh treasures to my store of experience, by observing the
+manners and the customs of the country, and if possible to serve the
+Government with such feeble, talents as I may possess."
+
+"Well, you have no need of my protection. If you do not infringe the
+laws, no one will disturb you. As to your obtaining employment, you had
+better go to the representative of your country; he will introduce you at
+Court, and make you known."
+
+"My lord, the Venetian ambassador will do nothing for me; I am in
+disgrace with the Government. He will not even receive me at the
+embassy."
+
+"Then I would advise you to give up all hopes of employment, for the king
+would begin by asking your ambassador about you, and his answer would be
+fatal. You will do well to be satisfied with amusing yourself."
+
+After this I called on the Neapolitan ambassador, who talked in much the
+same way. Even the Marquis of Moras, one of the most pleasant men in
+Spain, did not hold out any hopes. The Duke of Lossada, the high steward
+and favourite of his Catholic majesty, was sorry to be disabled from
+doing me any service, in spite of his good will, and advised me, in some
+way or other, to get the Venetian ambassador to give me a good word, in
+spite of my disgrace. I determined to follow his advice, and wrote to M.
+Dandolo, begging him to get the ambassador to favour me at the Spanish
+Court in spite of my quarrel with the Venetian Government. I worded my
+letter in such a way that it might be read by the Inquisitors themselves,
+and calculated on its producing a good impression.
+
+After I had written this letter I went to the lodging of the Venetian
+ambassador, and presented myself to the secretary, Gaspar Soderini, a
+worthy and intelligent man. Nevertheless, he dared to tell me that he was
+astonished at my hardihood in presenting myself at the embassy.
+
+"I have presented myself, sir, that my enemies may never reproach me for
+not having done so; I am not aware that I have ever done anything which
+makes me too infamous to call on my ambassador. I should have credited
+myself with much greater hardihood if I had left without fulfilling this
+duty; but I shall be sorry if the ambassador views my proceedings in the
+same light as yourself, and puts down to temerity what was meant for a
+mark of respect. I shall be none the less astonished if his excellency
+refuses to receive me on account of a private quarrel between myself and
+the State Inquisitors, of which he knows no more than I do, and I know
+nothing. You will excuse my saying that he is not the ambassador of the
+State Inquisitors, but of the Republic of which I am a subject; for I
+defy him and I defy the Inquisitors to tell me what crime I have
+committed that I am to be deprived of my rights as a Venetian citizen. I
+think that, while it is my duty to reverence my prince in the person of
+my ambassador, it is his duty to afford me his protection."
+
+This speech had made Soderini blush, and he replied,--
+
+"Why don't you write a letter to the ambassador, with the arguments you
+have just used to me?"
+
+"I could not write to him before I know whether he will receive me or
+not. But now, as I have reason to suppose that his opinions are much the
+same as your own, I will certainly write to him."
+
+"I do not know whether his excellency thinks as I do or not, and, in
+spite of what I said to you, it is just possible that you do not know my
+own opinions on the question; but write to him, and he may possibly give
+you an audience."
+
+"I shall follow your advice, for which I am much obliged."
+
+When I got home I wrote to his excellency all I had said to the
+secretary, and the next day I had a visit from Count Manucci. The count
+proved to be a fine-looking young man of an agreeable presence. He said
+that he lived in the embassy, that his excellency had read my letter, and
+though he grieved not to receive me publicly he should be delighted to
+see me in private, for he both knew and esteemed me.
+
+Young Manucci told me that he was a Venetian, and that he knew me by
+name, as he often heard his father and mother lamenting my fortune.
+Before long it dawned upon me that this Count Manucci was the son of that
+Jean Baptiste Manucci who had served as the spy of the State Inquisitors
+and had so adroitly managed to get possession of my books of magic, which
+were in all probability the chief corpus delicti.
+
+I did not say anything to him, but I was certain that my guess was
+correct. His mother was the daughter of a valet de chambre, and his
+father was a poor mechanic. I asked the young man if he were called count
+at the embassy, and he said he bore the title in virtue of a warrant from
+the elector-palatine. My question skewed him that I knew his origin, and
+he began to speak openly to me; and knowing that I was acquainted with
+the peculiar tastes of M. de Mocenigo, the ambassador, he informed me
+laughingly that he was his pathic.
+
+"I will do my best for you," he added; and I was glad to hear him say so,
+for an Alexis should be able to obtain almost anything from his Corydon.
+We embraced, and he told me as we parted that he would expect me at the
+embassy in the afternoon, to take coffee in his room; the ambassador, he
+said, would certainly come in as soon as he heard of my presence.
+
+I went to the embassy, and had a very kind reception from the ambassador,
+who said he was deeply grieved not to be able to receive me publicly. He
+admitted that he might present me at Court without compromising himself,
+but he was afraid of making enemies.
+
+"I hope soon to receive a letter from a friend of mine, which will
+authorise your excellency producing me."
+
+"I shall be delighted, in that case, to present you to all the Spanish
+ministers."
+
+This Mocenigo was the same that acquired such a reputation at Paris by
+his leanings to pederasty, a vice or taste which the French hold in
+horror. Later on, Mocenigo was condemned by the Council of Ten to ten
+years' imprisonment for having started on an embassy to Vienna without
+formal permission. Maria Theresa had intimated to the Venetian Government
+that she would not receive such a character, as his habits would be the
+scandal of her capital. The Venetian Government had some trouble with
+Mocenigo, and as he attempted to set out for Vienna they exiled him and
+chose another ambassador, whose morals were as bad, save that the new
+ambassador indulged himself with Hebe and not Ganymede, which threw a
+veil of decency over his proceedings.
+
+In spite of his reputation for pederasty, Mocenigo was much liked at
+Madrid. On one occasion I was at a ball, and a Spaniard noticing me with
+Manucci, came up to me, and told me with an air of mystery that that
+young man was the ambassador's wife. He did not know that the ambassador
+was Manucci's wife; in fact, he did not understand the arrangement at
+all. "Where ignorance is bliss!" etc. However, in spite of the revolting
+nature of this vice, it has been a favourite one with several great men.
+It was well-known to the Ancients, and those who indulged in it were
+called Hermaphrodites, which symbolises not a man of two sexes but a man
+with the passions of the two sexes.
+
+I had called two or three times on the painter Mengs, who had been
+painter in ordinary to his Catholic majesty for six years, and had an
+excellent salary. He gave me some good dinners. His wife and family were
+at Rome, while he basked in the royal favours at Madrid, enjoying the
+unusual privilege of being able to speak to the king whenever he would.
+At Mengs's house I trade the acquaintance of the architect Sabatini, an
+extremely able man whom the king had summoned from Naples to cleanse
+Madrid, which was formerly the dirtiest and most stinking town in Europe,
+or, for the matter of that, in the world. Sabatini had become a rich man
+by constructing drains, sewers, and closets for a city of fourteen
+thousand houses. He had married by proxy the daughter of Vanvitelli, who
+was also an architect at Naples, but he had never seen her. She came to
+Madrid about the same time as myself. She was a beauty of eighteen, and
+no sooner did she see her husband than she declared she would never be
+his wife. Sabatini was neither a young man nor a handsome one, but he was
+kind-hearted and distinguished; and when he told his young wife that she
+would have to choose between him and a nunnery, she determined to make
+the best of what she thought a bad bargain. However, she had no reason to
+repent of her choice; her husband was rich, affectionate, and easygoing,
+and gave her everything she wanted. I sighed and burned for her in
+silence, not daring to declare my love, for while the wound of the death
+of Charlotte was still bleeding I also began to find that women were
+beginning to give me the cold shoulder.
+
+By way of amusing myself I began to go to the theatre, and the masked
+balls to which the Count of Aranda had established. They were held in a
+room built for the purpose, and named 'Los Scannos del Peral'. A Spanish
+play is full of absurdities, but I rather relished the representations.
+The 'Autos Sacramentales' were still represented; they were afterwards
+prohibited. I could not help remarking the strange way in which the boxes
+are constructed by order of the wretched police. Instead of being boarded
+in front they are perfectly open, being kept up by small pillars. A
+devotee once said to me at the theatre that this was a very wise
+regulation, and he was surprised that it was not carried into force in
+Italy.
+
+"Why so?"
+
+"Because lovers, who feel sure that no one in the pit can see them, may
+commit improprieties."
+
+I only answered with a shrug of the shoulders.
+
+In a large box opposite to the stage sat 'los padres' of the Holy
+Inquisition to watch over the morals of actors and audience. I was gazing
+on them when of a sudden the sentinel at the door of the pit called out
+"Dios!" and at this cry all the actors and all the audience, men and
+women, fell down on their knees, and remained kneeling till the sound of
+a bell in the street ceased to be heard. This bell betokened that a
+priest was passing by carrying the viaticum to some sick man. I felt very
+much inclined to laugh, but I had seen enough of Spanish manners to
+refrain. All the religion of the Spaniard is in outward show and
+ceremony. A profligate woman before yielding to the desires of her lover
+covers the picture of Christ, or the Virgin, with a veil. If the lover
+laughed at this absurdity he would run a risk of being denounced as an
+Atheist, and most probably by the wretched woman who had sold him her
+charms.
+
+In Madrid, and possibly all over Spain, a gentleman who takes a lady to a
+private room in an inn must expect to have a servant in the room the
+whole of the time, that he may be able to swear that the couple took no
+indecent liberties with each other. In spite of all, profligacy is
+rampant at Madrid, and also the most dreadful hypocrisy, which is more
+offensive to true piety than open sin. Men and women seemed to have come
+to an agreement to set the whole system of surveillance utterly at
+nought. However, commerce with women is not without its dangers; whether
+it be endemic or a result of dirty habits, one has often good reason to
+repent the favours one has obtained.
+
+The masked ball quite captivated me. The first time I went to see what it
+was like and it only cost me a doubloon (about eleven francs), but ever
+after it cost me four doubloons, for the following reason:
+
+An elderly gentleman, who sat next me at supper, guessed I was a
+foreigner by my difficulty in making myself understood by the waiter, and
+asked me where, I had left my lady friend.
+
+"I have not got one; I came by myself to enjoy this delightful and
+excellently-managed entertainment."
+
+"Yes, but you ought to come with a companion; then you could dance. At
+present you cannot do so, as every lady has her partner, who will not
+allow her to dance with anyone else."
+
+"Then I must be content not to dance, for, being a stranger, I do not
+know any lady whom I can ask to come with me."
+
+"As a stranger you would have much less difficulty in securing a partner
+than a citizen of Madrid. Under the new fashion, introduced by the Count
+of Aranda, the masked ball has become the rage of all the women in the
+capital. You see there are about two hundred of them on the floor
+to-night; well, I think there are at least four thousand girls in Madrid
+who are sighing for someone to take them to the ball, for, as you may
+know, no woman is allowed to come by herself. You would only have to go
+to any respectable people, give your name and address, and ask to have
+the pleasure of taking their daughter to the ball. You would have to send
+her a domino, mask, and gloves; and you would take her and bring her back
+in your carriage."
+
+"And if the father and mother refused?"
+
+"Then you would make your bow and go, leaving them to repent of their
+folly, for the girl would sigh, and weep, and moan, bewail parental
+tyranny, call Heaven to witness the innocency of going to a ball, and
+finally go into convulsions."
+
+This oration, which was uttered in the most persuasive style, made me
+quite gay, for I scented an intrigue from afar. I thanked the masked (who
+spoke Italian very well) and promised to follow his advice and to let him
+know the results.
+
+"I shall be delighted to hear of your success, and you will find me in
+the box, where I shall be glad if you will follow me now, to be
+introduced to the lady who is my constant companion."
+
+I was astonished at so much politeness, and told him my name and followed
+him. He took me into a box where there were two ladies and an elderly
+man. They were talking about the ball, so I put in a remark or two on the
+same topic, which seemed to meet with approval. One of the two ladies,
+who retained some traces of her former beauty, asked me, in excellent
+French, what circles I moved in.
+
+"I have only been a short time in Madrid, and not having been presented
+at Court I really know no one."
+
+"Really! I quite pity you. Come and see me, you will be welcome. My name
+is Pichona, and anybody will tell you where I live."
+
+"I shall be delighted to pay my respects to you, madam."
+
+What I liked best about the spectacle was a wonderful and fantastic dance
+which was struck up at midnight. It was the famous fandango, of which I
+had often heard, but of which I had absolutely no idea. I had seen it
+danced on the stage in France and Italy, but the actors were careful not
+to use those voluptuous gestures which make it the most seductive in the
+world. It cannot be described. Each couple only dances three steps, but
+the gestures and the attitudes are the most lascivious imaginable.
+Everything is represented, from the sigh of desire to the final ecstasy;
+it is a very history of love. I could not conceive a woman refusing her
+partner anything after this dance, for it seemed made to stir up the
+senses. I was so excited at this Bacchanalian spectacle that I burst out
+into cries of delight. The masker who had taken me to his box told me
+that I should see the fandango danced by the Gitanas with good partners.
+
+"But," I remarked, "does not the Inquisition object to this dance?"
+
+Madame Pichona told me that it was absolutely forbidden, and would not be
+danced unless the Count of Aranda had given permission.
+
+I heard afterwards that, on the count forbidding the fandango, the
+ball-room was deserted with bitter complaints, and on the prohibition
+being withdrawn everyone was loud in his praise.
+
+The next day I told my infamous page to get me a Spaniard who would teach
+me the fandango. He brought me an actor, who also gave me Spanish
+lessons, for he pronounced the language admirably. In the course of three
+days the young actor taught me all the steps so well that, by the
+confession of the Spaniards themselves, I danced it to perfection.
+
+For the next ball I determined to carry the masker's advice into effect,
+but I did not want to take a courtesan or a married woman with me, and I
+could not reasonably expect that any young lady of family would accompany
+me.
+
+It was St. Anthony's Day, and passing the Church of the Soledad I went
+in, with the double motive of hearing mass and of procuring a partner for
+the next day's ball.
+
+I noticed a fine-looking girl coming out of the confessional, with
+contrite face and lowered eyes, and I noted where she went. She knelt
+down in the middle of the church, and I was so attracted by her
+appearance that I registered a mental vow to the effect that she should
+be my first partner. She did not look like a person of condition, nor, so
+far as I could see, was she rich, and nothing about her indicated the
+courtesan, though women of that class go to confession in Madrid like
+everybody else. When mass was ended, the priest distributed the
+Eucharist, and I saw her rise and approach humbly to the holy table, and
+there receive the communion. She then returned to the church to finish
+her devotions, and I was patient enough to wait till they were over.
+
+At last she left, in company with another girl, and I followed her at a
+distance. At the end of a street her companion left her to go into her
+house, and she, retracing her steps, turned into another street and
+entered a small house, one story high. I noted the house and the street
+(Calle des Desinjano) and then walked up and down for half an hour, that
+I might not be suspected of following her. At last I took courage and
+walked in, and, on my ringing a bell, I heard a voice,
+
+"Who is there?"
+
+"Honest folk," I answered, according to the custom of the country; and
+the door was opened. I found myself in the presence of a man, a woman,
+the young devotee I had followed, and another girl, somewhat ugly.
+
+My Spanish was bad, but still it was good enough to express my meaning,
+and, hat in hand, I informed the father that, being a stranger, and
+having no partner to take to the ball, I had come to ask him to give me
+his daughter for my partner, supposing he had a daughter. I assured him
+that I was a man of honour, and that the girl should be returned to him
+after the ball in the same condition as when she started.
+
+"Senor," said he, "there is my daughter, but I don't know you, and I
+don't know whether she wants to go."
+
+"I should like to go, if my parents will allow me."
+
+"Then you know this gentleman?"
+
+"I have never seen him, and I suppose he has never seen me."
+
+"You speak the truth, senora."
+
+The father asked me my name and address, and promised I should have a
+decisive answer by dinner-time, if I dined at home. I begged him to
+excuse the liberty I had taken, and to let me know his answer without
+fail, so that I might have time to get another partner if it were
+unfavourable to me.
+
+Just as I was beginning to dine my man appeared. I asked him to sit down,
+and he informed me that his daughter would accept my offer, but that her
+mother would accompany her and sleep in the carriage. I said that she
+might do so if she liked, but I should be sorry for her on account of the
+cold. "She shall have a good cloak," said he; and he proceeded to inform
+me that he was a cordwainer.
+
+"Then I hope you will take my measure for a pair of shoes."
+
+"I daren't do that; I'm an hidalgo, and if I were to take anyone's
+measure I should have to touch his foot, and that would be a degradation.
+I am a cobbler, and that is not inconsistent with my nobility."
+
+"Then, will you mend me these boots?"
+
+"I will make them like new; but I see they want a lot of work; it will
+cost you a pezzo duro, about five francs."
+
+I told him that I thought his terms very reasonable, and he went out with
+a profound bow, refusing absolutely to dine with me.
+
+Here was a cobbler who despised bootmakers because they had to touch the
+foot, and they, no doubt, despised him because he touched old leather.
+Unhappy pride how many forms it assumes, and who is without his own
+peculiar form of it?
+
+The next day I sent to the gentleman-cobbler's a tradesman with dominos,
+masks, and gloves; but I took care not to go myself nor to send my page,
+for whom I had an aversion which almost amounted to a presentiment. I
+hired a carriage to seat four, and at nightfall I drove to the house of
+my pious partner, who was quite ready for me. The happy flush on her face
+was a sufficient index to me of the feelings of her heart. We got into
+the carriage with the mother, who was wrapped up in a vast cloak, and at
+the door of the dancing-room we descended, leaving the mother in the
+carriage. As soon as we were alone my fair partner told me that her name
+was Donna Ignazia.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+My Amours With Donna Ignazia--My Imprisonment At Buen Retiro--My
+Triumph--I Am Commended to the Venetian Ambassador by One of the State
+Inquisitors
+
+We entered the ball-room and walked round several times. Donna Ignazia
+was in such a state of ecstasy that I felt her trembling, and augured
+well for my amorous projects. Though liberty, nay, license, seemed to
+reign supreme, there was a guard of soldiers ready to arrest the first
+person who created any disturbance. We danced several minuets and square
+dances, and at ten o'clock we went into the supper-room, our conversation
+being very limited all the while, she not speaking for fear of
+encouraging me too much, and I on account of my poor knowledge of the
+Spanish language. I left her alone for a moment after supper, and went to
+the box, where I expected to find Madame Pichona, but it was occupied by
+maskers, who were unknown to me, so I rejoined my partner, and we went on
+dancing the minuets and quadrilles till the fandango was announced. I
+took my place with my partner, who danced it admirably, and seemed
+astonished to find herself so well supported by a foreigner. This dance
+had excited both of us, so, after taking her to the buffet and giving her
+the best wines and liqueurs procurable, I asked her if she were content
+with me. I added that I was so deeply in love with her that unless she
+found some means of making me happy I should undoubtedly die of love. I
+assured her that I was ready to face all hazards.
+
+"By making you happy," she replied, "I shall make myself happy, too. I
+will write to you to-morrow, and you will find the letter sewn into the
+hood of my domino."
+
+"You will find me ready to do anything, fair Ignazia, if you will give me
+hope."
+
+At last the ball was over, and we went out and got into the carriage. The
+mother woke up, and the coachman drove off, and I, taking the girl's
+hands, would have kissed them. However, she seemed to suspect that I had
+other intentions, and held my hands clasped so tightly that I believe I
+should have found it a hard task to pull them away. In this position
+Donna Ignazia proceeded to tell her mother all about the ball, and the
+delight it had given her. She did not let go my hands till we got to the
+corner of their street, when the mother called out to the coachman to
+stop, not wishing to give her neighbours occasion for slander by stopping
+in front of their own house.
+
+The next day I sent for the domino, and in it I found a letter from Donna
+Ignazia, in which she told me that a Don Francisco de Ramos would call on
+me, that he was her lover, and that he would inform me how to render her
+and myself happy.
+
+Don Francisco wasted no time, for the next morning at eight o'clock my
+page sent in his name. He told me that Donna Ignazia, with whom he spoke
+every night, she being at her window and he in the street, had informed
+him that she and I had been at the ball together. She had also told him
+that she felt sure I had conceived a fatherly affection for her, and she
+had consequently prevailed upon him to call on me, being certain that I
+would treat him as my own son. She had encouraged him to ask me to lend
+him a hundred doubloons which would enable them to get married before the
+end of the carnival.
+
+"I am employed at the Mint," he added, "but my present salary is a very
+small one. I hope I shall get an increase before long, and then I shall
+be in a position to make Ignazia happy. All my relations live at Toledo,
+and I have no friends at Madrid, so when we set up our only friends will
+be the father and mother of my wife and yourself, for I am sure you love
+her like a daughter."
+
+"You have probed my heart to its core," I replied, "but just now I am
+awaiting remittances, and have very little money about me. You may count
+on my discretion, and I shall be delighted to see you whenever you care
+to call on me."
+
+The gallant made me a bow, and took his departure in no good humour. Don
+Francisco was a young man of twenty-two, ugly and ill-made. I resolved to
+nip the intrigue in the bud, for my inclination for Donna Ignazia was of
+the lightest description; and I went to call on Madame Pichona, who had
+given me such a polite invitation to come and see her. I had made
+enquiries about her, and had found out that she was an actress and had
+been made rich by the Duke of Medina-Celi. The duke had paid her a visit
+in very cold weather, and finding her without a fire, as she was too poor
+to buy coals, had sent her the next day a silver stove, which he had
+filled with a hundred thousand pezzos duros in gold, amounting to three
+hundred thousand francs in French money. Since then Madame Pichona lived
+at her ease and received good company.
+
+She gave me a warm reception when I called on her, but her looks were
+sad. I began by saying that as I had not found her in her box on the last
+ball night I had ventured to come to enquire after her health.
+
+"I did not go," said she, "for on that day died my only friend the Duke
+of Medina-Celi. He was ill for three days."
+
+"I sympathise with you. Was the duke an old man?"
+
+"Hardly sixty. You have seen him; he did not look his age."
+
+"Where have I seen him?"
+
+"Did he not bring you to my box?"
+
+"You don't say so! He did not tell me his name and I never saw him
+before."
+
+I was grieved to hear of his death; it was in all probability a
+misfortune for me as well as Madame Pichona. All the duke's estate passed
+to a son of miserly disposition, who in his turn had a son who was
+beginning to evince the utmost extravagance.
+
+I was told that the family of Medina-Celi enjoys thirty titles of
+nobility.
+
+One day a young man called on me to offer me, as a foreigner, his
+services in a country which he knew thoroughly.
+
+"I am Count Marazzini de Plaisance," he began, "I am not rich and I have
+come to Madrid to try and make my fortune. I hope to enter the bodyguard
+of his Catholic majesty. I have been indulging in the amusements of the
+town ever since I came. I saw you at the ball with an unknown beauty. I
+don't ask you to tell me her name, but if you are fond of novelty I can
+introduce you to all the handsomest girls in Madrid."
+
+If my experience had taught me such wholesome lessons as I might have
+expected, I should have shown the impudent rascal the door. Alas! I began
+to be weary of my experience and the fruits of it; I began to feel the
+horrors of a great void; I had need of some slight passion to wile away
+the dreary hours. I therefore made this Mercury welcome, and told him I
+should be obliged by his presenting me to some beauties, neither too easy
+nor too difficult to access.
+
+"Come with me to the ball," he rejoined, "and I will shew you some women
+worthy of your attention."
+
+The ball was to take place the same evening, and I agreed; he asked me to
+give him some dinner, and I agreed to that also. After dinner he told me
+he had no money, and I was foolish enough to give him a doubloon. The
+fellow, who was ugly, blind of one eye, and full of impudence, shewed me
+a score of pretty women, whose histories he told me, and seeing me to be
+interested in one of them he promised to bring her to a procuress. He
+kept his word, but he cost me dear; for the girl only served for an
+evening's amusement.
+
+Towards the end of the carnival the noble Don Diego, the father of Donna
+Ignazia, brought me my boots, and the thanks of his wife and himself for
+the pleasure I had given her at the ball.
+
+"She is as good as she is beautiful," said I, "she deserves to prosper,
+and if I have not called on her it is only that I am anxious to do
+nothing which could injure her reputation."
+
+"Her reputation, Senor Caballero, is above all reproach, and I shall be
+delighted to see you whenever you honour me with a call."
+
+"The carnival draws near to its end," I replied, "and if Donna Ignazia
+would like to go to another ball I shall be happy to take her again."
+
+"You must come and ask her yourself."
+
+"I will not fail to do so."
+
+I was anxious to see how the pious girl, who had tried to make me pay a
+hundred doubloons for the chance of having her after her marriage, would
+greet me, so I called the same day. I found her with her mother, rosary
+in hand, while her noble father was botching old boots. I laughed
+inwardly at being obliged to give the title of don to a cobbler who would
+not make boots because he was an hidalgo. Hidalgo, meaning noble, is
+derived from 'higo de albo', son of somebody, and the people, whom the
+nobles call 'higos de nade', sons of nobody, often revenge themselves by
+calling the nobles hideputas, that is to say, sons of harlots.
+
+Donna Ignazia rose politely from the floor, where she was sitting
+cross-legged, after the Moorish fashion. I have seen exalted ladies in
+this position at Madrid, and it is very common in the antechambers of the
+Court and the palace of the Princess of the Asturias. The Spanish women
+sit in church in the same way, and the rapidity with which they can
+change this posture to a kneeling or a standing one is something amazing.
+
+Donna Ignazia thanked me for honouring her with a visit, adding that she
+would never have gone to the ball if it had not been for me, and that she
+never hoped to go to it again, as I had doubtless found someone else more
+worthy of my attentions.
+
+"I have not found anyone worthy to be preferred before you," I replied,
+"and if you would like to go to the ball again I should be most happy to
+take you."
+
+The father and mother were delighted with the pleasure I was about to
+give to their beloved daughter. As the ball was to take place the same
+evening, I gave the mother a doubloon to get a mask and domino. She went
+on her errand, and, as Don Diego also went out on some business, I found
+myself alone with the girl. I took the opportunity of telling her that if
+she willed I would be hers, as I adored her, but that I could not sigh
+for long.
+
+"What can you ask, and what can I offer, since I must keep myself pure
+for my husband?"
+
+"You should abandon yourself to me without reserve, and you may be sure
+that I should respect your innocence."
+
+I then proceeded to deliver a gentle attack, which she repulsed, with a
+serious face. I stopped directly, telling her that she would find me
+polite and respectful, but not in the least affectionate, for the rest of
+the evening.
+
+Her face had blushed a vivid scarlet, and she replied that her sense of
+duty obliged her to repulse me in spite of herself.
+
+I liked this metaphysical line of argument. I saw that I had only to
+destroy the idea of duty in her and all the rest would follow. What I had
+to do was to enter into an argument, and to bear away the prize directly
+I saw her at a loss for an answer.
+
+"If your duty," I began, "forces you to repulse me in spite of yourself,
+your duty is a burden on you. If it is a burden on you, it is your enemy,
+and if it is your enemy why do you suffer it thus lightly to gain the
+victory? If you were your own friend, you would at once expel this
+insolent enemy from your coasts."
+
+"That may not be."
+
+"Yes, it may. Only shut your eyes."
+
+"Like that?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+I immediately laid hands on a tender place; she repulsed me, but more
+gently and not so seriously as before.
+
+"You may, of course, seduce me," she said, "but if you really love me you
+will spare me the shame."
+
+"Dearest Ignazia, there is no shame in a girl giving herself up to the
+man she loves. Love justifies all things. If you do not love me I ask
+nothing of you."
+
+"But how shall I convince you that I am actuated by love and not by
+complaisance?"
+
+"Leave me to do what I like, and my self-esteem will help me to believe
+you."
+
+"But as I cannot be certain that you will believe me, my duty plainly
+points to a refusal."
+
+"Very good, but you will make me sad and cold."
+
+"Then I shall be sad, too."
+
+At these encouraging words I embraced her, and obtained some solid
+favours with one hardy hand. She made no opposition, and I was well
+pleased with what I had got; and for a first attempt I could not well
+expect more.
+
+At this juncture the mother came in with the dominos and gloves. I
+refused to accept the change, and went away to return in my carriage, as
+before.
+
+Thus the first step had been taken, and Donna Ignazia felt it would be
+ridiculous not to join in with my conversation at the ball which all
+tended to procuring the pleasure of spending our nights together. She
+found me affectionate all the evening, and at supper I did my best to get
+her everything she liked. I made her see that the part she had at last
+taken was worthy of praise, and not blame. I filled her pockets with
+sweets, and put into my own pockets two bottles of ratafia, which I
+handed over to the mother, who was asleep in the carriage. Donna Ignazia
+gratefully refused the quadruple I wished to give her, saying that if it
+were in my power to make such presents, I might give the money to her
+lover whenever he called on me.
+
+"Certainly," I answered, "but what shall I say to prevent his taking
+offence?"
+
+"Tell him that it is on account of what he asked you. He is poor, and I
+am sure he is in despair at not seeing me in the window to-night. I shall
+tell him I only went to the ball with you to please my father."
+
+Donna Ignazia, a mixture of voluptuousness and piety, like most Spanish
+women, danced the fandango with so much fire that no words could have
+expressed so well the Joys that were in store for me. What a dance it is!
+Her bosom was heaving and her blood all aflame, and yet I was told that
+for the greater part of the company the dance was wholly innocent, and
+devoid of any intention. I pretended to believe it, but I certainly did
+not. Ignazia begged me to come to mass at the Church of the Soledad the
+next day at eight o'clock. I had not yet told her that it was there I had
+seen her first. She also asked me to come and see her in the evening, and
+said she would send me a letter if we were not left alone together.
+
+I slept till noon, and was awoke by Marazzini, who came to ask me to give
+him some dinner. He told me he had seen me with my fair companion the
+night before, and that he had vainly endeavoured to find out who she was.
+I bore with this singularly misplaced curiosity, but when it came to his
+saying that he would have followed us if he had had any money, I spoke to
+him in a manner that made him turn pale. He begged pardon, and promised
+to bridle his curiosity for the future. He proposed a party of pleasure
+with the famous courtezan Spiletta, whose favours were dear, but I
+declined, for my mind was taken up with the fair Ignazia, whom I
+considered a worthy successor to Charlotte.
+
+I went to the church, and she saw me when she came in, followed by the
+same companion as before.
+
+She knelt down at two or three paces from me, but did not once look in my
+direction. Her friend, on the other hand, inspected me closely; she
+seemed about the same age as Ignazia, but she was ugly. I also noticed
+Don Francisco, and as I was going out of the church my rival followed me,
+and congratulated me somewhat bitterly on my good fortune in having taken
+his mistress a second time to the ball. He confessed that he had been on
+our track the whole evening, and that he should have gone away well
+enough pleased if it had not been for the way in which we dance the
+fandango. I felt this was an occasion for a little gentle management, and
+I answered good-humouredly that the love he thought he noticed was wholly
+imaginary, and that he was wrong to entertain any suspicions as to so
+virtuous a girl as Donna Ignazia. At the same time I placed an ounce in
+his hand, begging him to take it on account. He did so with an astonished
+stare, and, calling me his father and guardian angel, swore an eternal
+gratitude.
+
+In the evening I called on Don Diego, where I was regaled with the
+excellent ratafia I had given the mother, and the whole family began to
+speak of the obligations Spain owed to the Count of Aranda.
+
+"No exercise is more healthful than dancing," said Antonia, the mother,
+"and before his time balls were strictly forbidden. In spite of that he
+is hated for having expelled 'los padres de la compagnia de Jesus', and
+for his sumptuary regulations. But the poor bless his name, for all the
+money produced by the balls goes to them."
+
+"And thus," said the father, "to go to the ball is to do a pious work."
+
+"I have two cousins," said Ignazia, "who are perfect angels of goodness.
+I told them that you had taken me to the ball; but they are so poor that
+they have no hope of going. If you like you can make them quite happy by
+taking them on the last day of the carnival. The ball closes at midnight,
+so as not to profane Ash Wednesday."
+
+"I shall be happy to oblige you, all the more as your lady mother will
+not be obliged to wait for us in the carriage."
+
+"You are very kind; but I shall have to introduce you to my aunt; she is
+so particular. When she knows you, I am sure she will consent, for you
+have all the air of discretion. Go and see her to-day; she lives in the
+next street, and over her door you will see a notice that lace is washed
+within. Tell her that my mother gave you the address. To-morrow morning,
+after mass, I will see to everything else, and you must come here at noon
+to agree as to our meeting on the last day of the carnival."
+
+I did all this, and the next day I heard that it was settled.
+
+"I will have the dominos ready at my house," I said, "and you must come
+in at the back door. We will dine in my room, mask, and go to the ball.
+The eldest of your cousins must be disguised as a man."
+
+"I won't tell her anything about that, for fear she might think it a sin,
+but once in your house you will have no difficulty in managing her."
+
+The younger of the two cousins was ugly, but looked like a woman, where
+as the elder looked like an ugly dressed man in woman's clothes. She made
+an amusing contrast with Donna Ignazia, who looked most seductive when
+she laid aside her air of piety.
+
+I took care that everything requisite for our disguises should be at hand
+in a neighbouring closet, unbeknown to my rascally page. I gave him a
+piece of money in the morning, and told him to spend the last day of the
+carnival according to his own taste, as I should not require his services
+till noon the day after.
+
+I ordered a good dinner, and a waiter to serve it, at the tavern, and got
+rid of Marazzini by giving him a doubloon. I took great pains over the
+entertainment I was to give the two cousins and the fair Ignazia, whom I
+hoped that day to make my mistress. It was all quite a novelty for me; I
+had to do with three devotees, two hideous and the third ravishingly
+beautiful, who had already had a foretaste of the joys in store for her.
+
+They came at noon, and for an hour I discoursed to them in a moral and
+unctuous manner. I had taken care to provide myself with some excellent
+wine, which did not fail to take effect on the three girls, who were not
+accustomed to a dinner that lasted two hours. They were not exactly
+inebriated, but their spirits were worked up to a pitch they had never
+attained before.
+
+I told the elder cousin, who might be twenty-five years old, that I was
+going to disguise her as a man; consternation appeared on her features,
+but I had expected as much, and Donna Ignazia told her she was only too
+lucky, and her sister observed that she did not think it could be a sin.
+
+"If it were a sin," said I, "do you suppose that I should have suggested
+it to your virtuous sister."
+
+Donna Ignazia, who knew the Legendarium by heart, corroborated my
+assertion by saying that the blessed St. Marina had passed her whole life
+in man's clothes; and this settled the matter.
+
+I then burst into a very high-flown eulogium of her intellectual
+capacity, so as to enlist her vanity in the good cause.
+
+"Come with me," said I, "and do you ladies wait here; I want to enjoy
+your surprise when you see her in man's clothes."
+
+The ugly cousin made a supreme effort and followed me, and when she had
+duly inspected her disguise I told her to take off her boots and to put
+on white stockings and shoes, of which I had provided several pairs. I
+sat down before her, and told her that if she suspected me of any
+dishonourable intentions she would commit a mortal sin, as I was old
+enough to be her father. She replied that she was a good Christian, but
+not a fool. I fastened her garters for her, saying that I should never
+have supposed she had so well-shapen and so white a leg, which compliment
+made her smile in a satisfied manner.
+
+Although I had a fine view of her thighs, I observed no traces of a blush
+on her face. I then gave her a pair, of my breeches, which fitted her
+admirably, though I was five inches taller than she, but this difference
+was compensated by the posterior proportions, with which, like most
+women, she was bountifully endowed. I turned away to let her put them on
+in freedom, and, having given her a linen shirt, she told me she had
+finished before she had buttoned it at the neck. There may possibly have
+been a little coquetry in this, as I buttoned the shirt for her, and was
+thus gratified with a sight of her splendid breast. I need not say
+whether she was pleased or not at my refraining from complimenting her
+upon her fine proportions. When her toilette was finished I surveyed her
+from head to foot, and pronounced her to be a perfect man, with the
+exception of one blemish.
+
+"I am sorry for that."
+
+"Will you allow me to arrange your shirt so as to obviate it?"
+
+"I shall be much obliged, as I have never dressed in man's clothes
+before."
+
+I then sat down in front of her, and, after unbuttoning the fly, arranged
+the shirt in a proper manner. In doing so I allowed myself some small
+liberties, but I toyed with such a serious air that she seemed to take it
+all as a matter of course.
+
+When I had put on her domino and mask I led her forth, and her sister and
+Donna Ignazia congratulated her on her disguise, saying that anybody
+would take her for a man.
+
+"Now it's your turn," I said to the younger one.
+
+"Go with him," said the elder, "Don Jaime is as honest a man as you will
+find in Spain."
+
+There was really not much to be done to the younger sister, her disguise
+being simply a mask and domino, but as I wanted to keep Ignazia a long
+time I made her put on white stockings, change her kerchief, and a dozen
+other trifles. When she was ready I brought her forth, and Donna Ignazia
+noticing that she had changed her stockings and kerchief, asked her
+whether I were as expert at dressing a lady as at turning a lady into a
+gentleman.
+
+"I don't know," she replied, "I did everything for myself."
+
+Next came the turn of Don Diego's daughter, and as soon as I had her in
+the closet I did my pleasure on her, she submitting with an air that
+seemed to say, "I only give in because I can't resist." Wishing to save
+her honour I withdrew in time, but in the second combat I held her for
+half an hour to my arms. However, she was naturally of a passionate
+disposition, and nature had endowed her with a temperament able to resist
+the most vigorous attacks. When decency made us leave the closet, she
+remarked to her cousins,
+
+"I thought I should never have done; I had to alter the whole fit of the
+domino."
+
+I admired her presence of mind.
+
+At nightfall we went to the ball, at which the fandango might be danced
+ad libitum by a special privilege, but the crowd was so great that
+dancing was out of the question. At ten we had supper, and then walked up
+and down, till all at once the two orchestras became silent. We heard the
+church clocks striking midnight the carnival was over, and Lent had
+begun.
+
+This rapid transition from wantonness to devotion, from paganism to
+Christianity, has something startling and unnatural about it. At
+fifty-nine minutes past eleven the senses are all aglow; midnight sounds,
+and in a minute they are supposed to be brought low, and the heart to be
+full of humble repentance; it is an absurdity, an impossibility.
+
+I took the three girls to my house to take off their dominos, and we then
+escorted the two cousins home. When we had left them for a few minutes
+Donna Ignazia told me that she would like a little coffee. I understood
+her, and took her to my house, feeling sure of two hours of mutual
+pleasure.
+
+I took her to my room, and was just going out to order the coffee when I
+met Don Francisco, who asked me plainly to let him come up, as he had
+seen Donna Ignazia go in with me. I had sufficient strength of mind to
+conceal my rage and disappointment, and told him to come in, adding that
+his mistress would be delighted at this unexpected visit. I went
+upstairs, and he followed me, and I shewed him into the room,
+congratulating the lady on the pleasant surprise.
+
+I expected that she would play her part as well as I had played mine, but
+I was wrong. In her rage she told him that she would never have asked me
+to give her a cup of coffee if she had foreseen this piece of
+importunity, adding that if he had been a gentleman he would have known
+better than to intrude himself at such an hour.
+
+In spite of my own anger I felt that I must take the poor devil's part;
+he looked like a dog with a tin kettle tied to his tail. I tried to calm
+Donna Ignazia, telling her that Don Francisco had seen us by a mere
+accident, and that it was I who had asked him to come upstairs, in the
+hope of pleasing her.
+
+Donna Ignazia feigned to be persuaded and asked her lover to sit down,
+but she did not speak another word to him, confining her remarks to me,
+saying how much she had enjoyed the ball, and how kind I had been to take
+her cousins.
+
+After he had taken a cup of coffee, Don Francisco bade us a good night. I
+told him I hoped he would come and see me before Lent was over, but Donna
+Ignazia only vouchsafed him a slight nod. When he had gone she said,
+sadly enough, that she was sorry he had deprived us both of our pleasure,
+and that she was sure Don Francisco was still hanging about the place,
+and that she dared not expose herself to his vengeance. "So take me home,
+but if you love me come and see me again. The trick the stupid fellow has
+played me shall cost him dear. Are you sure I don't love him?"
+
+"Quite certain, for you love me too well to love anybody else."
+
+Donna Ignazia gave me a hasty proof of her affection, and I escorted her
+home, assuring her that she would be the sole object of my thoughts as
+long as I stayed at Madrid.
+
+The next day I dined with Mengs, and the day after that I was accosted in
+the street by an ill-looking fellow, who bade me follow him to a
+cloister, as he had something of importance to communicate to me.
+
+As soon as he saw that we were unobserved, he told me that the Alcalde
+Messa was going to pay me a visit that same night with a band of police,
+"of whom," he added, "I am one. He knows you have concealed weapons in
+your room. He knows, or thinks he knows, certain other things which
+authorize him to seize your person and to take you to the prison where
+persons destined for the galleys are kept. I give you all this warning
+because I believe you to be a man of honour. Despise not my advice, but
+look to yourself, and get into some place of security."
+
+I credited what he told me, as the circumstance of my having arms was
+perfectly true, so I gave the man a doubloon, and, instead of calling on
+Donna Ignazia, as I intended, I went back to my lodging, and after
+putting the weapons under my cloak I went to Mengs's, leaving word at the
+cafe to send me my page as soon as he came back. In Mengs's house I was
+safe, as it belonged to the king.
+
+The painter was an honest fellow, but proud and suspicious in excess. He
+did not refuse me an asylum for the night, but he told me that I must
+look out for some other refuge, as the alcalde must have some other
+accusation against me, and that knowing nothing of the merits or demerits
+of the case he could not take any part in it. He gave me a room and we
+supped together, discussing the matter all the time, I persisting that
+the possession of arms was my only offence, and he replying that if it
+were so I should have awaited the alcalde fearlessly, as it stood to
+reason that a man had a right to keep defensive weapons in his own room.
+To this I answered that I had only come to him to avoid passing the night
+in prison, as I was certain that the man had told me the truth.
+
+"To-morrow I shall look out for another lodging."
+
+I confessed, however, that it would have been wiser of me to leave my
+pistols and musket in my room.
+
+"Yes, and you might have remained there yourself. I did not think you
+were so easily frightened."
+
+As we were arguing it over my landlord came and said that the alcalde
+with thirty constables had been to my apartment and had broken open the
+door. He had searched everything, but unsuccessfully, and had gone away
+after sealing the room and its contents. He had arrested and imprisoned
+my page on the charge of having warned me, "for otherwise," he said, "the
+Venetian gentleman would never have gone to the house of Chevalier Mengs,
+where he is out of my power."
+
+At this Mengs agreed that I had been right in believing my informant's
+tale, and he added that the first thing in the morning I should go and
+protest my innocence before the Count of Aranda, but he especially urged
+on me the duty of defending the poor page. My landlord went his way, and
+we continued the discussion, Mengs insisting on the page's innocence,
+till at last I lost all patience, and said,--
+
+"My page must be a thorough-paced scoundrel; the magistrate's arresting
+him for warning me is an absolute proof that he knew of my approaching
+arrest. What is a servant who does not warn his master under such
+circumstances but a rascal? Indeed I am absolutely certain that he was
+the informer, for he was the only person who knew where the arms were
+concealed."
+
+Mengs could find no answer to this, and left to go to bed. I did the same
+and had an excellent night.
+
+Early the next morning the great Mengs sent me linen and all the
+requisites of the toilette. His maid brought me a cup of chocolate, and
+his cook came to ask if I had permission to eat flesh-meat. In such ways
+a prince welcomes a guest, and bids him stay, but such behaviour in a
+private person is equivalent to a hint to go. I expressed my gratitude,
+and only accepted a cup of chocolate and one handkerchief.
+
+My carriage was at the door, and I was just taking leave of Mengs when an
+officer appeared on the scene, and asked the painter if the Chevalier de
+Casanova was in his house.
+
+"I am the Chevalier de Casanova," said I.
+
+"Then I hope you will follow me of your own free will to the prison of
+Buen Retiro. I cannot use force here, for this house is the king's, but I
+warn you that in less than an hour the Chevalier Mengs will have orders
+to turn you out, and then you will be dragged to prison, which would be
+unpleasant for you. I therefore advise you to follow me quietly, and to
+give up such weapons as you may possess."
+
+"The Chevalier Mengs will give you the weapons in question. I have
+carried them with me for eleven years; they are meant to protect me on
+the highways. I am ready to follow you, but first allow me to write four
+notes; I shall not be half an hour."
+
+"I can neither allow you to wait nor to write, but you will be at liberty
+to do so after you have reached the prison."
+
+"Very good; then I am ready to follow you, for I have no choice. I shall
+remember Spanish justice!"
+
+I embraced Mengs, had the weapons put into my carriage, and got in with
+the officer, who seemed a perfect gentleman.
+
+He took me to the Castle of Buen Retiro, formerly a royal palace, and now
+a prison. When my conductor had consigned me to the officer of the watch
+I was handed over to a corporal, who led me into a vast hall on the
+ground floor of the building. The stench was dreadful, and the prisoners
+were about thirty, ten of them being soldiers. There were ten or twelve
+large beds, some benches, no tables, and no chairs.
+
+I asked a guard to get me some pens, ink, and paper, and gave him a duro
+for the purpose. He took the coin smilingly, and went away, but he did
+not return. When I asked his brethren what had become of him they laughed
+in my face. But what surprised me the most was the sight of my page and
+Marazzini, who told me in Italian that he had been there for three days,
+and that he had not written to me as he had a presentiment that we should
+soon meet. He added that in a fortnight's time we should be sent off
+under a heavy escort to work in some fortress, though we might send our
+pleas to the Government, and might possibly be let out after three or
+four years' imprisonment.
+
+"I hope," he said, "not to be condemned before I am heard. The alcalde
+will come and interrogate you tomorrow, and your answers will be taken
+down; that's all. You may then be sent to hard labour in Africa."
+
+"Has your case been heard yet?"
+
+"They were at me about it for three hours yesterday."
+
+"What kind of questions did they ask you?"
+
+"They wished to know what banker furnished me with money for my expenses.
+I told them I had not got a banker, and that I lived by borrowing from my
+friends, in the expectation of becoming one of the king's body-guard.
+They then asked me how it was that the Parmese ambassador knew nothing
+about me, and I replied that I had never been presented to him.
+
+"'Without the favour of your ambassador,' they objected, 'you could never
+join the royal guard, and you must be aware of that, but the king's
+majesty shall give you employment where you will stand in need of no
+commendation;' and so the alcalde left me. If the Venetian ambassador
+does not interpose in your behalf you will be treated in the same way."
+
+I concealed my rage, and sat down on a bed, which I left after three
+hours, as I found myself covered with the disgusting vermin which seem
+endemic in Spain. The very sight of them made me sick. I stood upright,
+motionless, and silent, devouring the bile which consumed me.
+
+There was no good in talking; I must write; but where was I to find
+writing materials? However, I resolved to wait in silence; my time must
+come, sooner or later.
+
+At noon Marazzini told me that he knew a soldier for whose
+trustworthiness he would answer, and who would get me my dinner if I gave
+him the money.
+
+"I have no appetite," I replied, "and I am not going to give a farthing
+to anyone till the stolen crown is restored to me."
+
+He made an uproar over this piece of cheating, but the soldiers only
+laughed at him. My page then asked him to intercede with me, as he was
+hungry, and had no money wherewith to buy food.
+
+"I will not give him a farthing; he is no longer in my service, and would
+to God I had never seen him!"
+
+My companions in misery proceeded to dine on bad garlic soup and wretched
+bread, washed down by plain water, two priests and an individual who was
+styled corregidor excepted, and they seemed to fare very well.
+
+At four o'clock one of Mengs's servants brought me a dinner which would
+have sufficed for four. He wanted to leave me the dinner and come for the
+plates in the evening; but not caring to share the meal with the vile mob
+around me I made him wait till I had done and come again at the same time
+the next day, as I did not require any supper. The servant obeyed.
+Marazzini said rudely that I might at least have kept the bottle of wine;
+but I gave him no answer.
+
+At five o'clock Manucci appeared, accompanied by a Spanish officer. After
+the usual compliments had passed between us I asked the officer if I
+might write to my friends, who would not allow me to stay much longer in
+prison if they were advised of my arrest.
+
+"We are no tyrants," he replied; "you can write what letters you like."
+
+"Then," said I, "as this is a free country, is it allowable for a soldier
+who has received certain moneys to buy certain articles to pocket the
+money and appropriate it to his own use?"
+
+"What is his name?"
+
+The guard had been relieved, and no one seemed to know who or where he
+was.
+
+"I promise you, sir," said the officer, "that the soldier shall be
+punished and your money restored to you; and in the meanwhile you shall
+have pens, ink, paper, a table, and a candle, immediately."
+
+"And I," added Manucci, "promise you that one of the ambassador's
+servants shall wait on you at eight o'clock to deliver any letters you
+may write."
+
+I took three crowns from my pocket, and told my fellow-prisoners that the
+first to name the soldier who had deceived me should have the money;
+Marazzini was the first to do so. The officer made a note of the man's
+name with a smile; he was beginning to know me; I had spent three crowns
+to get back one, and could not be very avaricious.
+
+Manucci whispered to me that the ambassador would do his best in a
+confidential way to get my release, and that he had no doubt of his
+success.
+
+When my visitors were gone I sat down to write, but I had need of all my
+patience. The rascally prisoners crowded round me to read what I was
+writing, and when they could not understand it they were impudent enough
+to ask me to explain it to them. Under the pretext of snuffing the
+candle, they put it out. However, I bore with it all. One of the soldiers
+said he would keep them quiet for a crown, but I gave him no answer. In
+spite of the hell around me, I finished my letters and sealed them up.
+They were no studied or rhetorical epistles, but merely the expression of
+the fury with which I was consumed.
+
+I told Mocenigo that it was his duty to defend a subject of his prince,
+who had been arrested and imprisoned by a foreign power on an idle
+pretext. I shewed him that he must give me his protection unless I was
+guilty, and that I had committed no offence against the law of the land.
+I reminded him that I was a Venetian, in spite of my persecution at the
+hands of the State Inquisitors, and that being a Venetian I had a right
+to count on his protection.
+
+To Don Emmanuel de Roda, a learned scholar, and the minister of justice,
+I wrote that I did not ask any favour but only simple justice.
+
+"Serve God and your master," said I. "Let his Catholic majesty save me
+from the hands of the infamous alcalde who has arrested me, an honest and
+a law-abiding man, who came to Spain trusting in his own innocence and
+the protection of the laws. The person who writes to you, my lord, has a
+purse full of doubloons in his pocket; he has already been robbed, and
+fears assassination in the filthy den in which he has been imprisoned."
+
+I wrote to the Duke of Lossada, requesting him to inform the king that
+his servants had subjected to vile treatment a man whose only fault was
+that he had a little money. I begged him to use his influence with his
+Catholic majesty to put a stop to these infamous proceedings.
+
+But the most vigorous letter of all was the one I addressed to the Count
+of Aranda. I told him plainly that if this infamous action went on I
+should be forced to believe that it was by his orders, since I had stated
+in vain that I came to Madrid with an introduction to him from a
+princess.
+
+"I have committed no crime," I said; "what compensation am I to have when
+I am released from this filthy and abominable place? Set me at liberty at
+once, or tell your hangmen to finish their work, for I warn you that no
+one shall take me to the galleys alive."
+
+According to my custom I took copies of all the letters, and I sent them
+off by the servant whom the all-powerful Manucci despatched to the
+prison. I passed such a night as Dante might have imagined in his Vision
+of Hell. All the beds were full, and even if there had been a spare place
+I would not have occupied it. I asked in vain for a mattress, but even if
+they had brought me one, it would have been of no use, for the whole
+floor was inundated. There were only two or three chamber utensils for
+all the prisoners, and everyone discharged his occasions on the floor.
+
+I spent the night on a narrow bench without a back, resting my head on my
+hands.
+
+At seven o'clock the next morning Manucci came to see me; I looked upon
+him as my Providence. I begged him to take me down to the guard-room, and
+give me some refreshment, for I felt quite exhausted. My request was
+granted, and as I told my sufferings I had my hair done by a barber.
+
+Manucci told me that my letters would be delivered in the course of the
+day, and observed, smilingly, that my epistle to the ambassador was
+rather severe. I shewed him copies of the three others I had written, and
+the inexperienced young man told me that gentleness was the best way to
+obtain favours. He did not know that there are circumstances in which a
+man's pen must be dipped in gall. He told me confidentially that the
+ambassador dined with Aranda that day, and would speak in my favour as a
+private individual, adding that he was afraid my letter would prejudice
+the proud Spaniard against me.
+
+"All I ask of you," said I, "is not to tell the ambassador that you have
+seen the letter I wrote to the Count of Aranda."
+
+He promised he would keep the secret.
+
+An hour after his departure I saw Donna Ignazia and her father coming in,
+accompanied by the officer who had treated me with such consideration.
+Their visit cut me to the quick; nevertheless, I felt grateful, for it
+shewed me the 'goodness of Don Diego's heart and the love of the fair
+devotee.
+
+I gave them to understand, in my bad Spanish, that I was grateful for the
+honour they had done me in visiting me in this dreadful situation. Donna
+Ignazia did not speak, she only wept in silence; but Don Diego gave me
+clearly to understand that he would never have come to see me unless he
+had felt certain that my accusation was a mistake or an infamous calumny.
+He told me he was sure I should be set free, and that proper satisfaction
+would be given me.
+
+"I hope so," I replied, "for I am perfectly innocent of any offence." I
+was greatly touched when the worthy man slipped into my hands a rouleau,
+telling me it contained twelve quadruples, which I could repay at my
+convenience.
+
+It was more than a thousand francs, and my hair stood on end. I pressed
+his hand warmly, and whispered to him that I had fifty in my pocket,
+which I was afraid to shew him, for fear the rascals around might rob me.
+He put back his rouleau, and bade me farewell in tears, and I promised to
+come and see him as soon as I should be set at liberty.
+
+He had not sent in his name, and as he was very well dressed he was taken
+for a man of importance. Such characters are not altogether exceptional
+in heroic Spain; it is a land of extremes.
+
+At noon Mengs's servant came with a dinner that was choicer than before,
+but not so plentiful. This was just what I liked. He waited for me to
+finish, and went away with the plates, carrying my heartiest thanks to
+his master.
+
+At one o'clock an individual came up to me and bade me follow him. He
+took me to a small room, where I saw my carbine and pistols. In front of
+me was the Alcalde Messa, seated at a table covered with documents, and a
+policeman stood on each side of him. The alcalde told me to sit down, and
+to answer truly such questions as might be put to me, warning me that my
+replies would be taken down.
+
+"I do not understand Spanish well, and I shall only give written answers
+to any questions that may be asked of me, in Italian, French, or Latin."
+
+This reply, which I uttered in a firm and determined voice, seemed to
+astonish him. He spoke to me for an hour, and I understood him very well,
+but he only got one reply:
+
+"I don't understand what you say. Get a judge who understands one of the
+languages I have named, and I will write down my answers."
+
+The alcalde was enraged, but I did not let his ill-humour or his threats
+disturb me.
+
+Finally he gave me a pen, and told me to write my name, profession, and
+business in Spain in Italian. I could not refuse him this pleasure, so I
+wrote as follows:
+
+"My name is Jacques Casanova; I am a subject of the Republic of Venice,
+by profession a man of letters, and in rank a Knight of the Golden Spur.
+I have sufficient means, and I travel for my pleasure. I am known to the
+Venetian ambassador, the Count of Aranda, the Prince de la Catolica, the
+Marquis of Moras, and the Duke of Lossada. I have offended in no manner
+against the laws of his Catholic majesty, but in spite of my innocence I
+have been cast into a den of thieves and assassins by magistrates who
+deserve a ten times greater punishment. Since I have not infringed the
+laws, his Catholic majesty must know that he has only one right over me,
+and that is to order me to leave his realms, which order I am ready to
+obey. My arms, which I see before me, have travelled with me for the last
+eleven years; I carry them to defend myself against highwaymen. They were
+seen when my effects were examined at the Gate of Alcala, and were not
+confiscated; which makes it plain that they have served merely as a
+pretext for the infamous treatment to which I have been subjected."
+
+After I had written out this document I gave it to the alcalde, who
+called for an interpreter. When he had had it read to him he rose angrily
+and said to me,--
+
+"Valga me Dios! You shall suffer for your insolence."
+
+With this threat he went away, ordering that I should be taken back to
+prison.
+
+At eight o'clock Manucci called and told me that the Count of Aranda had
+been making enquiries about me of the Venetian ambassador, who had spoken
+very highly in my favour, and expressed his regret that he could not take
+my part officially on account of my being in disgrace with the State
+Inquisitors.
+
+"He has certainly been shamefully used," said the count, "but an
+intelligent man should not lose his head. I should have known nothing
+about it, but for a furious letter he has written me; and Don Emmanuel de
+Roda and the Duke of Lossada have received epistles in the same style.
+Casanova is in the right, but that is not the way to address people."
+
+"If he really said I was in the right, that is sufficient."
+
+"He said it, sure enough."
+
+"Then he must do me justice, and as to my style everyone has a style of
+their own. I am furious, and I wrote furiously. Look at this place; I
+have no bed, the floor is covered with filth, and I am obliged to sleep
+on a narrow bench. Don't you think it is natural that I should desire to
+eat the hearts of the scoundrels who have placed me here? If I do not
+leave this hell by tomorrow, I shall kill myself, or go mad."
+
+Manucci understood the horrors of my situation. He promised to come again
+early the next day, and advised me to see what money would do towards
+procuring a bed, but I would not listen to him, for I was suffering from
+injustice, and was therefore obstinate. Besides, the thought of the
+vermin frightened me, and I was afraid for my purse and the jewels I had
+about me.
+
+I spent a second night worse than the first, going to sleep from sheer
+exhaustion, only to awake and find myself slipping off the bench.
+
+Manucci came before eight o'clock, and my aspect shocked him. He had come
+in his carriage, bringing with him some excellent chocolate, which in
+some way restored my spirits. As I was finishing it, an officer of high
+rank, accompanied by two other officers, came in and called out,--
+
+"M. de Casanova!"
+
+I stepped forward and presented myself.
+
+"Chevalier," he began, "the Count of Aranda is at the gate of the prison;
+he is much grieved at the treatment you have received. He only heard
+about it through the letter you wrote him yesterday, and if you had
+written sooner your pains would have been shorter."
+
+"Such was my intention, colonel, but a soldier . . . ."
+
+I proceeded to tell him the story of the swindling soldier, and on
+hearing his name the colonel called the captain of the guard, reprimanded
+him severely, and ordered him to give me back the crown himself. I took
+the money laughingly, and the colonel then ordered the captain to fetch
+the offending soldier, and to give him a flogging before me.
+
+This officer, the emissary of the all-powerful Aranda, was Count Royas,
+commanding the garrison of Buen Retiro. I told him all the circumstances
+of my arrest, and of my imprisonment in that filthy place. I told him
+that if I did not get back that day my arms, my liberty, and my honour, I
+should either go mad or kill myself.
+
+"Here," I said, "I can neither rest nor sleep, and a man needs sleep
+every night. If you had come a little earlier you would have seen the
+disgusting filth with which the floor was covered."
+
+The worthy man was taken aback with the energy with which I spoke. I saw
+his feelings, and hastened to say,--
+
+"You must remember, colonel, that I am suffering from injustice, and am
+in a furious rage. I am a man of honour, like yourself, and you can
+imagine the effect of such treatment on me."
+
+Manucci told him, in Spanish, that in my normal state I was a good fellow
+enough. The colonel expressed his pity for me, and assured me that my
+arms should be restored to me, and my liberty too, in the course of the
+day.
+
+"Afterwards," said he, "you must go and thank his excellency the Count of
+Aranda, who came here expressly for your sake. He bade me tell you that
+your release would be delayed till the afternoon, that you may have full
+satisfaction for the affront you have received, if it is an affront, for
+the penalties of the law only dishonour the guilty. In this instance the
+Alcalde Messa has been deceived by the rascal who was in your service."
+
+"There he is," said I. "Be good enough to have him removed, or else, in
+my indignation, I might kill him."
+
+"He shall be taken away this moment," he replied.
+
+The colonel went out, and two minutes later two soldiers came in and took
+the rogue away between them. I never saw him again, and never troubled
+myself to enquire what had become of him.
+
+The colonel begged me to accompany him to the guard-room, to see the
+thieving soldier flogged. Manucci was at my side, and at some little
+distance stood the Count of Aranda, surrounded by officers, and
+accompanied by a royal guard.
+
+The business kept us there for a couple of hours. Before leaving me the
+colonel begged me to meet Mengs at dinner at his house.
+
+When I returned to my filthy prison I found a clean arm-chair, which I
+was informed had been brought in for me. I sat down in it immediately,
+and Manucci left me, after embracing me again and again. He was my
+sincere friend, and I can never forgive myself the stupidity which made
+me offend him grievously. He never forgave me, at which I am not
+surprised, but I believe my readers will agree with me in thinking that
+he carried his vengeance too far.
+
+After the scene which had taken place, the vile crowd of prisoners stood
+gazing at me in stupid silence, and Marazzini came up to me and begged me
+to use my offices for him.
+
+Dinner was brought me as usual, and at three o'clock the Alcalde Messa
+appeared and begged me to follow him, as he had received orders to take
+me back to my lodging, where he hoped I should find everything in perfect
+order. At the same time he shewed me my arms, which one of his men was
+going to bring to my house. The officer of the guard returned me my
+sword, the alcalde, who was in his black cloak, put himself on my left
+hand, and thus I was escorted home with a guard of thirty constables. The
+seals were removed from my apartment, and after a brief inspection I
+pronounced that everything was in perfect order.
+
+"If you had not a rascal and a traitor (who shall end his days in the
+galleys) in your service, Senor Caballero, you would never have written
+down the servants of his Catholic majesty as scoundrels."
+
+"Senor Alcalde, my indignation made me write the same sentence to four of
+his majesty's ministers. Then I believed what I wrote, but I do so no
+longer. Let us forget and forgive; but you must confess that if I had not
+known how to write a letter you would have sent me to the galleys."
+
+"Alas! it is very likely."
+
+I need not say that I hastened to remove all traces of the vile prison
+where I had suffered so much. When I was ready to go out my first
+grateful visit was paid to the noble cobbler. The worthy man was proud of
+the fulfilment of his prophecy, and glad to see me again. Donna Ignazia
+was wild with delight--perhaps she had not been so sure of my
+release--and when Don Diego heard of the satisfaction that had been given
+me he said that a grandee of Spain could not have asked for more. I
+begged the worthy people to come and dine with me, telling them that I
+would name the day another time, and they accepted gladly.
+
+I felt that my love for Donna Ignazia had increased immensely since our
+last meeting.
+
+Afterwards I called on Mengs, who with his knowledge of Spanish law
+expected nothing less than to see me. When he heard of my triumphant
+release he overwhelmed me with congratulations. He was in his Court
+dress--an unusual thing with him, and on my asking him the reason he told
+me that he had been to Don Emmanuel de Roda's to speak on my behalf, but
+had not succeeded in obtaining an audience. He gave me a Venetian letter
+which had just arrived for me. I opened it, and found it was from M.
+Dandolo, and contained an enclosure for M. de Mocenigo. M. Dandolo said
+that on reading the enclosed letter the ambassador would have no more
+scruples about introducing me, as it contained a recommendation from one
+of the Inquisitors on behalf of the three.
+
+When I told Mengs of this he said it was now in my power to make my
+fortune in Spain, and that now was the time when all the ministers would
+be only too anxious to do something for me to make me forget the wrongs I
+had received.
+
+"I advise you," he said, "to take the letter to the ambassador
+immediately. Take my carriage; after what you have undergone for the last
+few days you cannot be in a walking humour."
+
+I had need of rest, and told Mengs that I would not sup with him that
+night, but would dine with him the next day. The ambassador was out, so I
+left the letter with Manucci, and then drove home and slept profoundly
+for twelve hours.
+
+Manucci came to see me the next day in high spirits, and told me that M.
+Girolamo Zulian had written to the ambassador on behalf of M. du Mula,
+informing him that he need not hesitate to countenance me, as any
+articles the Tribunal might have against me were in no degree prejudicial
+to my honour.
+
+"The ambassador," he continued, "proposes to introduce you at Court next
+week, and he wants you to dine with him to-day; there will be a numerous
+company at dinner."
+
+"I am engaged to Mengs."
+
+"No matter, he shall be asked as well; you must come. Consider the effect
+of your presence at the ambassador's the day after your triumph."
+
+"You are right. Go and ask Mengs, and tell the ambassador that I have
+much pleasure in accepting his invitation."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+Campomanes--Olavides--Sierra Morena--Aranjuez--Mengs--The Marquis
+Grimaldi--Toledo--Madame Pelliccia--My Return to Madrid
+
+Different circumstances in my life seem to have combined to render me
+somewhat superstitious; it is a humiliating confession, and yet I make
+it. But who could help it? A man who abandons himself to his whims and
+fancies is like a child playing with a billiard cue. It may make a stroke
+that would be an honour to the most practised and scientific player; and
+such are the strange coincidences of life which, as I have said, have
+caused me to become superstitious.
+
+Fortune, which under the humbler name of luck seems but a word, is a very
+divinity when it guides the most important actions of a man's life.
+Always it has seemed to me that this divinity is not blind, as the
+mythologists affirm; she had brought me low only to exalt me, and I found
+myself in high places, only, as it seems, to be cast into the depths.
+Fortune has done her best to make me regard her as a reasoning, almighty
+power; she has made me feel that the strength of my will is as nothing
+before this mysterious power, which takes my will and moulds it, and
+makes it a mere instrument for the accomplishment of its decrees.
+
+I could not possibly have done anything in Spain without the help of the
+representative of my country, and he would not have dared to do anything
+for me without the letter I had just given him. This letter, in its turn,
+would probably have had but slight effect if it had not come to hand so
+soon after my imprisonment, which had become the talk of the town,
+through the handsome satisfaction the Count of Aranda had given me.
+
+The letter made the ambassador sorry that he had not interposed on my
+behalf, but he hoped people would believe that the count would not have
+acted as he did if it had not been for his interposition. His favourite,
+Count Manucci, had come to ask me to dinner; as it happened I was engaged
+to Mengs, which obtained an invitation for the painter, and flattered his
+vanity excessively. He fancied that the invitation proceeded from
+gratitude, and it certainly smoothed away the mortification he had felt
+at seeing me arrested in his house. He immediately wrote to the effect
+that he would call upon me with his carriage.
+
+I called on the Count of Aranda, who kept me waiting for a quarter of an
+hour, and then came in with some papers in his hand. He smiled when he
+saw me, and said,--
+
+"Your business is done. Stay, here are four letters; take them and read
+them over again."
+
+"Why should I read them again? This is the document I gave the alcalde."
+
+"I know that. Read, and confess that you should not have written so
+violently, in spite of the wrongs that vexed you."
+
+"I crave your pardon, my lord, but a man who meditates suicide does not
+pick terms. I believed that your excellency was at the bottom of it all."
+
+"Then you don't know me. Go and thank Don Emmanuel de Roda, who wants to
+know you, and I shall be glad if you will call once on the alcalde, not
+to make him an apology, for you owe him none, but as an act of politeness
+to salve over the hard things you said of him. If you write the history
+of Princess Lubomirska, I hope you will tell her that I did my best for
+you."
+
+I then called on Colonel Royas, who told me that I had made a great
+mistake in saying that I was satisfied.
+
+"What could I claim?"
+
+"Everything. Dismissal of the alcalde and compensation to the tune of
+fifty thousand duros. Spain is a country where a man may speak out save
+in the matters which the Holy Inquisition looks after."
+
+This colonel, now a general, is one of the pleasantest Spaniards I have
+ever met.
+
+I had not long returned to my lodging when Mengs called for me in his
+carriage. The ambassador gave me a most gracious reception, and
+overwhelmed Mengs with compliments for having endeavoured to shelter me.
+At dinner I told the story of my sufferings at Buen Retiro, and the
+conversation I had just had with the Count of Aranda, who had returned me
+my letters. The company expressed a desire to see them, and everyone gave
+an opinion on the matter.
+
+The guests were Abbe Bigliardi, the French consul, Don Rodrigues de
+Campomanes, and the famous Don Pablo d'Olavides. Everyone spoke his mind,
+and the ambassador condemned the letters as too ferocious. On the other
+hand, Campomanes approved them, saying that they were not abusive, and
+were wonderfully adapted to my purpose, namely, to force the reader to do
+me prompt justice, were the reader to be the king himself. Olavides and
+Bigliardi echoed this sentiment. Mengs sided with the ambassador, and
+begged me to come and live with him, so as not to be liable to any more
+inconveniences from spying servants. I did not accept this invitation
+till I had been pressed for some time, and I noted the remark of the
+ambassador, who said I owed Mengs this reparation for the indirect
+affront he had received.
+
+I was delighted to make the acquaintance of Campomanes and Olavides, men
+of intellect and of a stamp very rare in Spain. They were not exactly men
+of learning, but they were above religious prejudices, and were not only
+fearless in throwing public scorn upon them but even laboured openly for
+their destruction. It was Campomanes who had furnished Aranda with all
+the damaging matter against the Jesuits. By a curious coincidence,
+Campomanes, the Count of Aranda, and the General of the Jesuits, were all
+squint-eyed. I asked Campomanes why he hated the Jesuits so bitterly, and
+he replied that he looked upon them in the same light as the other
+religious orders, whom he considered a parasitical and noxious race, and
+would gladly banish them all, not only from the peninsula but from the
+face of the earth.
+
+He was the author of all the pamphlets that had been written on the
+subject of mortmain; and as he was an intimate friend of the
+ambassador's, M. Mocenigo had furnished him with an account of the
+proceedings of the Venetian Republic against the monks. He might have
+dispensed with this source of information if he had read the writings of
+Father Paul Sarpi on the same subject. Quick-sighted, firm, with the
+courage of his opinions, Campomanes was the fiscal of the Supreme Council
+of Castille, of which Aranda was president. Everyone knew him to be a
+thoroughly honest man, who acted solely for the good of the State. Thus
+statesmen and officials had warm feelings of respect for him, while the
+monks and bigots hated the sound of his name, and the Inquisition had
+sworn to be his ruin. It was said openly that he would either become a
+bishop or perish in the cells of the holy brotherhood. The prophecy was
+only partly fulfilled. Four years after my visit to Spain he was
+incarcerated in the dungeons of the Inquisition, but he obtained his
+release after three years' confinement by doing public penance. The
+leprosy which eats out the heart of Spain is not yet cured. Olavides was
+still more harshly treated, and even Aranda would have fallen a victim if
+he had not had the good sense to ask the king to send him to France as
+his ambassador. The king was very glad to do so, as otherwise he would
+have been forced to deliver him up to the infuriated monks. Charles III.
+(who died a madman) was a remarkable character. He was as obstinate as a
+mule, as weak as a woman, as gross as a Dutchman, and a thorough-paced
+bigot. It was no wonder that he became the tool of his confessor.
+
+At the time of which I am speaking the cabinet of Madrid was occupied in
+a curious scheme. A thousand Catholic families had been enticed from
+Switzerland to form a colony in the beautiful but deserted region called
+the Sierra Morena, well known all over Europe by its mention in Don
+Quixote. Nature seemed there to have lavished all her gifts; the climate
+was perfect, the soil fertile, and streams of all kinds watered the land,
+but in spite of all it was almost depopulated.
+
+Desiring to change this state of things, his Catholic majesty had decided
+to make a present of all the agricultural products for a certain number
+of years to industrious colonists. He had consequently invited the Swiss
+Catholics, and had paid their expenses for the journey. The Swiss
+arrived, and the Spanish government did its best to provide them with
+lodging and spiritual and temporal superintendence. Olavides was the soul
+of this scheme. He conferred with the ministers to provide the new
+population with magistrates, priests, a governor, craftsmen of all kinds
+to build churches and houses, and especially a bull-ring, a necessity for
+the Spaniards, but a perfectly useless provision as far as the simple
+Swiss were concerned.
+
+In the documents which Don Pablo Olavides had composed on the subject he
+demonstrated the inexpediency of establishing any religious orders in the
+new colony, but if he could have proved his opinion to be correct with
+foot and rule he would none the less have drawn on his head the
+implacable hatred of the monks, and of the bishop in whose diocese the
+new colony was situated. The secular clergy supported Olavides, but the
+monks cried out against his impiety, and as the Inquisition was eminently
+monkish in its sympathies persecution had already begun, and this was one
+of the subjects of conversation at the dinner at which I was present.
+
+I listened to the arguments, sensible and otherwise, which were advanced,
+and I finally gave my opinion, as modestly as I could, that in a few
+years the colony would banish like smoke; and this for several reasons.
+
+"The Swiss," I said, "are a very peculiar people; if you transplant them
+to a foreign shore, they languish and die; they become a prey to
+home-sickness. When this once begins in a Switzer, the only thing is to
+take him home to the mountain, the lake, or the valley, where he was
+born, or else he will infallibly die."
+
+"It would be wise, I think," I continued, "to endeavour to combine a
+Spanish colony with the Swiss colony, so as to effect a mingling of
+races. At first, at all events, their rules, both spiritual and temporal,
+should be Swiss, and, above all, you would have to insure them complete
+immunity from the Inquisition. The Swiss who has been bred in the country
+has peculiar customs and manners of love-making, of which the Spanish
+Church might not exactly approve; but the least attempt to restrain their
+liberty in this respect would immediately bring about a general
+home-sickness."
+
+At first Olavides thought I was joking, but he soon found out that my
+remarks had some sense in them. He begged me to write out my opinions on
+the subject, and to give him the benefit of my knowledge. I promised to
+do so, and Mengs fixed a day for him to come and dine with me at his
+house.
+
+The next day I moved my household goods to Mengs's house, and began my
+philosophical and physiological treatise on the colony.
+
+I called on Don Emmanuel de Roda, who was a man of letters, a 'rara aves'
+in Spain. He liked Latin poetry, had read some Italian, but very
+naturally gave the palm to the Spanish poets. He welcomed me warmly,
+begged me to come and see him again, and told me how sorry he had been at
+my unjust imprisonment.
+
+The Duke of Lossada congratulated me on the way in which the Venetian
+ambassador spoke of me everywhere, and encouraged me in my idea of
+getting some place under Government, promising to give me his support in
+the matter.
+
+The Prince della Catolica, invited me to dinner with the Venetian
+ambassador; and in the course of three weeks I had made a great number of
+valuable acquaintances. I thought seriously of seeking employment in
+Spain, as not having heard from Lisbon I dared not go there on the chance
+of finding something to do. I had not received any letters from Pauline
+of late, and had no idea as to what had become of her.
+
+I passed a good many of my evenings with a Spanish lady, named Sabatini,
+who gave 'tertullas' or assemblies, frequented chiefly by fifth-rate
+literary men. I also visited the Duke of Medina-Sidonia, a well-read and
+intelligent man, to whom I had been presented by Don Domingo Varnier, one
+of the gentlemen of the king's chamber, whom I had met at Mengs's house.
+I paid a good many visits to Donna Ignazia, but as I was never left alone
+with her these visits became tiresome. When I suggested a party of
+pleasure with her and her cousins, she replied that she would like it as
+much as I, but as it was Lent and near Holy Week, in which God died for
+our salvation, it was more fit to think of penance than pleasure. After
+Easter, she said, we might consider the matter. Ignazia was a perfect
+example of the young Spanish devotee.
+
+A fortnight after, the King and Court left Madrid for Aranjuez. M. de
+Mocenigo asked me to come and stay with him, as he would be able to
+present me at Court. As may be imagined, I should have been only too glad
+to accept, but on the eve of my departure, as I was driving with Mengs, I
+was suddenly seized with a fever, and was convulsed so violently that my
+head was dashed against the carriage window, which it shivered to
+fragments. Mengs ordered the coachman to drive home, and I was put to
+bed. In four hours I was seized with a sweating fit, which lasted for ten
+or twelve hours. The bed and two mattresses were soaked through with my
+perspiration, which dripped on to the floor beneath. The fever abated in
+forty-eight hours, but left me in such a state of weakness that I was
+kept to my bed for a whole week, and could not go to Aranjuez till Holy
+Saturday. The ambassador welcomed me warmly, but on the night I arrived a
+small lump which I had felt in the course of the day grew as large as an
+egg, and I was unable to go to mass on Easter Day.
+
+In five days the excrescence became as large as an average melon, much to
+the amazement of Manucci and the ambassador, and even of the king's
+surgeon, a Frenchman who declared he had never seen the like before. I
+was not alarmed personally, for, as I suffered no pain and the lump was
+quite soft, I guessed it was only a collection of lymph, the remainder of
+the evil humours which I had sweated away in the fever. I told the
+surgeon the history of the fever and begged him to lance the abscess,
+which he did, and for four days the opening discharged an almost
+incredible amount of matter. On the fifth day the wound was almost
+healed, but the exhaustion had left me so weak that I could not leave my
+bed.
+
+Such was my situation when I received a letter from Mengs. It is before
+me at the present moment, and I give below a true copy:
+
+"Yesterday the rector of the parish in which I reside affixed to the
+church-door a list of those of his parishioners who are Atheists and have
+neglected their Easter duties. Amongst them your name figures in full,
+and the aforesaid rector has reproached me bitterly for harbouring a
+heretic. I did not know what answer to make, for I feel sure that you
+could have stopped in Madrid a day longer to discharge the duties of a
+Christian, even if it were only out of regard for me. The duty I owe to
+the king, my master, the care I am bound to take of my reputation, and my
+fears of being molested, all make me request you to look upon my house as
+yours no longer. When you return to Madrid you may go where you will, and
+my servants shall transport your effects to your new abode.
+
+"I am, etc.,
+"ANTONIO RAPHAEL MENGS."
+
+I was so annoyed by this rude, brutal, and ungrateful letter, that if I
+had not been seven leagues from Madrid, and in a state of the utmost
+weakness, Mengs should have suffered for his insolence. I told the
+messenger who had brought it to begone, but he replied that he had orders
+to await my reply. I crushed the letter in my hand and flung it at his
+face, saying,--
+
+"Go and tell your unworthy master what I did with his letter, and tell
+him that is the only answer that such a letter deserves."
+
+The innocent messenger went his way in great amazement.
+
+My anger gave me strength, and having dressed myself and summoned a
+sedan-chair I went to church, and was confessed by a Grey Friar, and at
+six o'clock the next morning I received the Sacrament.
+
+My confessor was kind enough to give me a certificate to the effect that
+I had been obliged to keep my bed since my arrival 'al sitio', and that
+in spite of my extreme weakness I had gone to church, and had confessed
+and communicated like a good Christian. He also told me the name of the
+priest who had affixed the paper containing my name to the door of the
+church.
+
+When I returned to the ambassador's house I wrote to this priest, telling
+him that the certificate enclosed would inform him as to my reasons for
+not communicating. I expressed a hope that, being satisfied of my
+orthodoxy, he would not delay in removing my name from his church-doors,
+and I concluded by begging him to hand the enclosed letter to the
+Chevalier Mengs.
+
+To the painter I wrote that I felt that I had deserved the shameful
+insult he had given me by my great mistake in acceding to his request to
+honour him by staying in his house. However, as a good Christian who had
+just received the Holy Communion, I told him that his brutal behaviour
+was forgiven; but I bade him to take to heart the line, well known to all
+honest people, and doubtless unknown to him:
+
+'Turpius ejicitur quam non admittitur hospes.'
+
+After sending the letter I told the ambassador what had happened, to
+which he replied,--
+
+"I am not at all surprised at what you tell me. Mengs is only liked for
+his talents in painting; in everything else he is well known to be little
+better than a fool."
+
+As a matter of fact he had only asked me to stay with him to gratify his
+own vanity. He knew that all the town was talking of my imprisonment and
+of the satisfaction the Count of Aranda had accorded me, and he wanted
+people to think that his influence had obtained the favour that had been
+shewn me. Indeed, he had said in a moment of exaltation that I should
+have compelled the Alcade Messa to escort me not to my own house but to
+his, as it was in his house that I had been arrested.
+
+Mengs was an exceedingly ambitious and a very jealous man; he hated all
+his brother painters. His colour and design were excellent, but his
+invention was very weak, and invention is as necessary to a great painter
+as a great poet.
+
+I happened to say to him one day, "Just as every poet should be a
+painter, so every painter should be a poet;" and he got quite angry,
+thinking that I was alluding to his weakness of imagination, which he
+felt but would not acknowledge.
+
+He was an ignorant man, and liked to pass for a scholar; he sacrificed to
+Bacchus and Comus, and would fain be thought sober; he was lustful,
+bad-tempered, envious, and miserly, but yet would be considered a
+virtuous man. He loved hard work, and this forced him to abstain, as a
+rule, from dinner, as he drank so inordinately at that meal that he could
+do nothing after it. When he dined out he had to drink nothing but water,
+so as not to compromise his reputation for temperance. He spoke four
+languages, and all badly, and could not even write his native tongue with
+correctness; and yet he claimed perfection for his grammar and
+orthography, as for all his other qualities. While I was staying with him
+I became acquainted with some of his weak points, and endeavoured to
+correct them, at which he took great offence. The fellow writhed under a
+sense of obligation to me. Once I prevented his sending a petition to the
+Court, which the king would have seen, and which would have made Mengs
+ridiculous. In signing his name he had written 'el mas inclito', wishing
+to say your most humble. I pointed out to him that 'el mas inclito' meant
+the most illustrious, and that the Spanish for the expression he wanted
+was 'el mas humilde'. The proud fool was quite enraged, telling me that
+he knew Spanish better than I, but when the dictionary was searched he
+had to swallow the bitter pill of confessing himself in the wrong.
+
+Another time I suppressed a heavy and stupid criticism of his on someone
+who had maintained that there were no monuments still existing of the
+antediluvian period. Mengs thought he would confound the author by citing
+the remains of the Tower of Babel--a double piece of folly, for in the
+first place there are no such remains, and in the second, the Tower of
+Babel was a post-diluvian building.
+
+He was also largely given to the discussion of metaphysical questions, on
+which his knowledge was simply nil, and a favourite pursuit of his was
+defining beauty in the abstract, and when he was on this topic the
+nonsense he talked was something dreadful.
+
+Mengs was a very passionate man, and would sometimes beat his children
+most cruelly. More than once I have rescued his poor sons from his
+furious hands. He boasted that his father, a bad Bohemian artist, had
+brought him up with the stick. Thus, he said, he had become a great
+painter, and he wished his own children to enjoy the same advantages.
+
+He was deeply offended when he received a letter, of which the address
+omitted his title of chevalier, and his name, Rafael. One day I ventured
+to say that these things were but trifles after all, and that I had taken
+no offence at his omitting the chevalier on the letters he had written to
+me, though I was a knight of the same order as himself. He very wisely
+made no answer; but his objection to the omission of his baptismal name
+was a very ridiculous one. He said he was called Antonio after Antonio
+Correggio, and Rafael after Rafael da Urbino, and that those who omitted
+these names, or either of them, implicitly denied his possession of the
+qualities of both these great painters.
+
+Once I dared to tell him that he had made a mistake in the hand of one of
+his figures, as the ring finger was shorter than the index. He replied
+sharply that it was quite right, and shewed me his hand by way of proof.
+I laughed, and shewed him my hand in return, saying that I was certain
+that my hand was made like that of all the descendants of Adam.
+
+"Then whom do you think that I am descended from?"
+
+"I don't know, but you are certainly not of the same species as myself."
+
+"You mean you are not of my species; all well-made hands of men, and
+women too, are like mine and not like yours."
+
+"I'll wager a hundred doubloons that you are in the wrong."
+
+He got up, threw down brushes and palette, and rang up his servants,
+saying,--
+
+"We shall see which is right."
+
+The servants came, and on examination he found that I was right. For once
+in his life, he laughed and passed it off as a joke, saying,--
+
+"I am delighted that I can boast of being unique in one particular, at
+all events."
+
+Here I must note another very sensible remark of his.
+
+He had painted a Magdalen, which was really wonderfully beautiful. For
+ten days he had said every morning, "The picture will be finished
+to-night." At last I told him that he had made a mistake in saying it
+would be finished, as he was still working on it.
+
+"No, I have not," he replied, "ninety-nine connoisseurs out of a hundred
+would have pronounced it finished long ago, but I want the praise of the
+hundredth man. There's not a picture in the world that can be called
+finished save in a relative sense; this Magdalen will not be finished
+till I stop working at it, and then it will be only finished relatively,
+for if I were to give another day's work to it it would be more finished
+still. Not one of Petrarch's sonnets is a really finished production; no,
+nor any other man's sonnets. Nothing that the mind of man can conceive is
+perfect, save it be a mathematical theorem."
+
+I expressed my warm approval of the excellent way in which he had spoken.
+He was not so sensible another time when he expressed a wish to have been
+Raphael.
+
+"He was such a great painter."
+
+"Certainly," said I, "but what can you mean by wishing you had been
+Raphael? This is not sense; if you had been Raphael, you would no longer
+be existing. But perhaps you only meant to express a wish that you were
+tasting the joys of Paradise; in that case I will say no more."
+
+"No, no; I mean I would have liked to have been Raphael without troubling
+myself about existing now, either in soul or body."
+
+"Really such a desire is an absurdity; think it over, and you will see it
+for yourself."
+
+He flew into a rage, and abused me so heartily that I could not help
+laughing.
+
+Another time he made a comparison between a tragic author and a painter,
+of course to the advantage of the latter.
+
+I analysed the matter calmly, shewing him that the painter's labour is to
+a great extent purely mechanical, and can be done whilst engaged in
+casual talk; whilst a well-written tragedy is the work of genius pure and
+simple. Therefore, the poet must be immeasurably superior to the painter.
+
+"Find me if you can," said I, "a poet who can order his supper between
+the lines of his tragedy, or discuss the weather whilst he is composing
+epic verses."
+
+When Mengs was beaten in an argument, instead of acknowledging his
+defeat, he invariably became brutal and insulting. He died at the age of
+fifty, and is regarded by posterity as a Stoic philosopher, a scholar,
+and a compendium of all the virtues; and this opinion must be ascribed to
+a fine biography of him in royal quarto, choicely printed, and dedicated
+to the King of Spain. This panegyric is a mere tissue of lies. Mengs was
+a great painter, and nothing else; and if he had only produced the
+splendid picture which hangs over the high altar of the chapel royal at
+Dresden, he would deserve eternal fame, though indeed he is indebted to
+the great Raphael for the idea of the painting.
+
+We shall hear more of Mengs when I describe my meeting with him at Rome,
+two or three years later.
+
+I was still weak and confined to my room when Manucci came to me, and
+proposed that I should go with him to Toledo.
+
+"The ambassador," he said, "is going to give a grand official dinner to
+the ambassadors of the other powers, and as I have not been presented at
+Court I am excluded from being present. However, if I travel, my absence
+will not give rise to any remarks. We shall be back in five or six days."
+
+I was delighted to have the chance of seeing Toledo, and of making the
+journey in a comfortable carriage, so I accepted. We started the next
+morning, and reached Toledo in the evening of the same day. For Spain we
+were lodged comfortably enough, and the next day we went out under the
+charge of a cicerone, who took us to the Alcazar, the Louvre of Toledo,
+formerly the palace of the Moorish kings. Afterwards we inspected the
+cathedral, which is well worthy of a visit, on account of the riches it
+contains. I saw the great tabernacle used on Corpus Christi. It is made
+of silver, and is so heavy that it requires thirty strong men to lift it.
+The Archbishop of Toledo has three hundred thousand duros a year, and his
+clergy have four hundred thousand, amounting to two million francs in
+French money. One of the canons, as he was shewing me the urns containing
+the relics, told me that one of them contained the thirty pieces of
+silver for which Judas betrayed our Lord. I begged him to let me see
+them, to which he replied severely that the king himself would not have
+dared to express such indecent curiosity.
+
+I hastened to apologise, begging him not to take offence at a stranger's
+heedless questions; and this seemed to calm his anger.
+
+The Spanish priests are a band of knaves, but one has to treat them with
+more respect than one would pay to honest men elsewhere. The following
+day we were shewn the museum of natural history. It was rather a dull
+exhibition; but, at all events, one could laugh at it without exciting
+the wrath of the monks and the terrors of the Inquisition. We were shewn,
+amongst other wonders, a stuffed dragon, and the man who exhibited it
+said,--
+
+"This proves, gentlemen, that the dragon is not a fabulous animal;" but I
+thought there was more of art than nature about the beast. He then shewed
+us a basilisk, but instead of slaying us with a glance it only made us
+laugh. The greatest wonder of all, however, was nothing else than a
+Freemason's apron, which, as the curator very sagely declared, proved the
+existence of such an order, whatever some might say.
+
+The journey restored me to health, and when I returned to Aranjuez, I
+proceeded to pay my court to all the ministers. The ambassador presented
+me to Marquis Grimaldi, with whom I had some conversations on the subject
+of the Swiss colony, which was going on badly. I reiterated my opinion
+that the colony should be composed of Spaniards.
+
+"Yes," said he, "but Spain is thinly peopled everywhere, and your plan
+would amount to impoverishing one district to make another rich."
+
+"Not at all, for if you took ten persons who are dying of poverty in the
+Asturias, and placed them in the Sierra Morena, they would not die till
+they had begotten fifty children. This fifty would beget two hundred and
+so on."
+
+My scheme was laid before a commission, and the marquis promised that I
+should be made governor of the colony if the plan was accepted.
+
+An Italian Opera Comique was then amusing the Court, with the exception
+of the king, who had no taste for music. His majesty bore a considerable
+resemblance to a sheep in the face, and it seemed as if the likeness went
+deeper, for sheep have not the slightest idea of sound. His favourite
+pursuit was sport, and the reason will be given later on.
+
+An Italian musician at the Court desired to compose some music for a new
+opera, and as there was no time to send to Italy I offered to compose the
+libretto. My offer was accepted, and by the next day the first act was
+ready. The music was composed in four days, and the Venetian ambassador
+invited all the ministers to the rehearsal in the grand hall of his
+palace. The music was pronounced exquisite; the two other acts were
+written, and in a fortnight the opera was put upon the stage. The
+musician was rewarded handsomely, but I was considered too grand to work
+for money and my reward was paid me in the Court money of compliments.
+However, I was glad to see that the ambassador was proud of me and that
+the minister's esteem for me seemed increased.
+
+In writing the libretto I had become acquainted with the actresses. The
+chief of them was a Roman named Pelliccia, neither pretty nor ugly, with
+a slight squint, and but moderate talents. Her younger sister was pretty
+if not handsome; but no one cared for the younger, while the elder was a
+universal favourite. Her expression was pleasant, her smile delightful,
+and her manners most captivating. Her husband was an indifferent painter,
+plain-looking, and more like her servant than her husband. He was indeed
+her very humble servant, and she treated him with great kindness. The
+feelings she inspired me with were not love, but a sincere respect and
+friendship. I used to visit her every day, and wrote verses for her to
+sing to the Roman airs she delivered so gracefully.
+
+On one of the days of rehearsals I was pointing out to her the various
+great personages who were present. The manager of the company,
+Marescalchi by name, had entered into an arrangement with the Governor of
+Valentia to bring the company there in September to play comic opera in a
+small theatre which had been built on purpose. Italian opera had hitherto
+never been presented at Valentia, and Marecalchi hoped to make a good
+deal of money there. Madame Pelliccia knew nobody in Valentia, and wanted
+a letter of introduction to someone there. She asked me if I thought she
+could venture to ask the Venetian ambassador to do her the favour, but I
+advised her to try the Duke of Arcos.
+
+"Where is he?"
+
+"That gentleman who is looking in your direction now."
+
+"How can I dare to ask him?"
+
+"He is a true nobleman, and I am sure he will be only too happy to oblige
+you. Go and ask him now; you will not be denied."
+
+"I haven't the courage to do so. Come with me and introduce me."
+
+"That would spoil everything; he must not even think that I am your
+adviser in the matter. I am just going to leave you; you must make your
+request directly afterwards."
+
+I walked towards the orchestra, and looking round I saw that the duke was
+approaching the actress.
+
+"The thing's as good as done," I said to myself.
+
+After the rehearsal was over Madame Pelliccia came and told me that the
+Duke would give her the letter on the day on which the opera was
+produced. He kept his word, and she received a sealed letter for a
+merchant and banker, Don Diego Valencia.
+
+It was then May, and she was not to go to Valentia till September, so we
+shall hear what the letter contained later on.
+
+I often saw the king's gentleman of the chamber, Don Domingo Varnier,
+another 'gentleman in the service of the Princess of the Asturias, and
+one of the princess's bed-chamber women. This most popular princess
+succeeded in suppressing a good deal of the old etiquette, and the tone
+of her Court had lost the air of solemnity common in Spanish society. It
+was a strange thing to see the King of Spain always dining at eleven
+o'clock, like the Parisian cordwainers in the seventeenth century. His
+meal always consisted of the same dishes, he always went out hunting at
+the same hour, coming back in the evening thoroughly fatigued.
+
+The king was ugly, but everything is relative, he was handsome compared
+with his brother, who was terrifically ugly.
+
+This brother never went anywhere without a picture of the Virgin, which
+Mengs had painted for him. It was two feet high by three and a half
+broad. The figure was depicted as seated on the grass with legs crossed
+after the Eastern fashion, and uncovered up to the knees. It was, in
+reality, a voluptuous painting; and the prince mistook for devotion that
+which was really a sinful passion, for it was impossible to look upon the
+figure without desiring to have the original within one's arms. However,
+the prince did not see this, and was delighted to find himself in love
+with the mother of the Saviour. In this he was a true Spaniard; they only
+love pictures of this kind, and interpret the passions they excite in the
+most favourable sense.
+
+At Madrid I had, seen a picture of the Madonna with the child at her
+breast. It was the altarpiece of a chapel in the Calle St. Jeronimo. The
+place was filled all day by the devout, who came to adore the Mother of
+God, whose figure was only interesting by reason of her magnificent
+breast. The alms given at this chapel were so numerous, that in the
+hundred and fifty years, since the picture had been placed there, the
+clergy had been able to purchase numerous lamps and candlesticks of
+silver, and vessels of silver gilt, and even of gold. The doorway was
+always blocked by carriages, and a sentinel was placed there to keep
+order amongst the coachmen; no nobleman would pass by without going in to
+pray to the Virgin, and to contemplate those 'beata ubera, quae
+lactaverunt aeterni patris filium'. But there came a change.
+
+When I returned to Madrid I wanted to pay a visit to the Abbe Pico, and
+told my coachman to take another way so as to avoid the crush in front of
+the chapel.
+
+"It is not so frequented now, senor," said he, "I can easily get by it."
+
+He went on his way, and I found the entrance to the chapel deserted. As I
+was getting out of the carriage I asked my coachman what was the reason
+of the change, and he replied,--
+
+"Oh, senor! men are getting more wicked every day."
+
+This reason did not satisfy me, and when I had taken my chocolate with
+the abbe, an intelligent and venerable old man, I asked him why the
+chapel in question had lost its reputation.
+
+He burst out laughing, and replied,--
+
+"Excuse me, I really cannot tell you. Go and see for yourself; your
+curiosity will soon be satisfied."
+
+As soon as I left him I went to the chapel, and the state of the picture
+told me all. The breast of the Virgin had disappeared under a kerchief
+which some profane brush had dared to paint over it. The beautiful
+picture was spoilt; the magic and fascination had disappeared. Even the
+teat had been painted out; the Child held on to nothing, and the head of
+the Virgin no longer appeared natural.
+
+This disaster had taken place at the end of the Carnival of 1768. The old
+chaplain died, and the Vandal who succeeded him pronounced the painting
+to be a scandalous one, and robbed it of all its charm.
+
+He may have been in the right as a fool, but as a Christian and a
+Spaniard he was certainly in the wrong, and he was probably soon
+convinced of the mistake he had made by the diminution in the offerings
+of the faithful.
+
+My interest in the study of human nature made me call on this priest,
+whom I expected to find a stupid old man.
+
+I went one morning, but instead of being old, the priest was an active,
+clever-looking man of thirty, who immediately offered me chocolate with
+the best grace imaginable. I refused, as was my duty as a stranger, and
+indeed the Spaniards offer visitors chocolate so frequently at all hours,
+that if one accepted it all one would be choked.
+
+I lost no time in exordiums, but came to the point at once, by saying
+that as a lover of paintings I had been grieved at finding the
+magnificent Madonna spoilt.
+
+"Very likely," he replied, "but it was exactly the physical beauty of the
+picture that rendered it in my eyes unfit to represent one whose aspect
+should purify and purge the senses, instead of exciting them. Let all the
+pictures in the world be destroyed, if they be found to have caused the
+commission of one mortal sin."
+
+"Who allowed you to commit this mutilation? The Venetian State
+Inquisitors, even M. Barberigo, though he is a devout man, would have put
+you under the Leads for such a deed. The love of Paradise should not be
+allowed to interfere with the fine arts, and I am sure that St. Luke
+himself (who was a painter, as you know) would condemn you if he could
+come to life again."
+
+"Sir, I needed no one's leave or license. I have to say mass at that
+altar every day, and I am not ashamed to tell you that I was unable to
+consecrate. You are a man and a Christian, you can excuse my weakness.
+That voluptuous picture drew away my thoughts from holy things."
+
+"Who obliged you to look at it?"
+
+"I did not look at it; the devil, the enemy of God, made me see it in
+spite of myself."
+
+"Then you should have mutilated yourself like Origen. Your generative
+organs, believe me, are not so valuable as the picture you have ruined."
+
+"Sir, you insult me."
+
+"Not at all, I have no intention of doing so."
+
+That young priest shewed me the door with such brusqueness that I felt
+sure he would inform against me to the Inquisition. I knew he would have
+no difficulty in finding out my name, so I resolved to be beforehand with
+him.
+
+Both my fear and my resolve were inspired by an incident which I shall
+mention as an episode.
+
+A few days before, I had met a Frenchman named Segur, who had just come
+out of the prisons of the Inquisition. He had been shut up for three
+years for committing the following crime:
+
+In the hall of his house there was a fountain, composed of a marble basin
+and the statue of a naked child, who discharged the water in the same way
+as the well-known statue of Brussels, that is to say, by his virile
+member. The child might be a Cupid or an Infant Jesus, as you pleased,
+but the sculptor had adorned the head with a kind of aureole; and so the
+fanatics declared that it was a mocking of God.
+
+Poor Segur was accused of impiety, and the Inquisition dealt with him
+accordingly.
+
+I felt that my fault might be adjudged as great as Segur's, and not
+caring to run the risk of a like punishment I called on the bishop, who
+held the office of Grand Inquisitor, and told him word for word the
+conversation I had had with the iconoclast chaplain. I ended by craving
+pardon, if I had offended the chaplain, as I was a good Christian, and
+orthodox on all points.
+
+I had never expected to find the Grand Inquisitor of Madrid a kindly and
+intelligent, though ill-favoured, prelate; but so it was, and he did
+nothing but laugh from the beginning to the end of my story, for he would
+not let me call it a confession.
+
+"The chaplain," he said, "is himself blameworthy and unfit for his
+position, in that he has adjudged others to be as weak as himself; in
+fact, he has committed a wrong against religion. Nevertheless, my dear
+son, it was not wise of you to go and irritate him." As I had told him my
+name he shewed me, smilingly, an accusation against me, drawn up by
+someone who had witnessed the fact. The good bishop gently chid me for
+having called the friar-confessor of the Duke of Medina an ignoramus. He
+had refused to admit that a priest might say mass a second time on a high
+festival, after breaking his fast, on the command of his sovereign
+prince, who, by the hypothesis, had not heard mass before.
+
+"You were quite right in your contention," said the Inquisitor, "but yet
+every truth is not good to utter, and it was wrong to call the man an
+ignoramus in his presence. For the future you would do well to avoid all
+idle discussion on religious matters, both on dogma and discipline. And I
+must also tell you, in order that you may not leave Spain with any harsh
+ideas on the Inquisition, that the priest who affixed your name to the
+church-door amongst the excommunicated has been severely reprimanded. He
+ought to have given you a fatherly admonition, and, above all, enquired
+as to your health, as we know that you were seriously ill at the time."
+
+Thereupon I knelt down and kissed his hand, and went my way, well pleased
+with my call.
+
+To go back to Aranjuez. As soon as I heard that the ambassador could not
+put me up at Madrid, I wrote to the worthy cobbler, Don Diego, that I
+wanted a well-furnished room, a closet, a good bed, and an honest
+servant. I informed him how much I was willing to spend a month, and said
+I would leave Aranjuez as soon as I heard that everything was ready.
+
+I was a good deal occupied with the question of colonising the Sierra
+Morena; I wrote principally on the subject of the civil government, a
+most important item in a scheme for a new colony. My articles pleased the
+Marquis Grimaldi and flattered Mocenigo; for the latter hoped that I
+should become governor of the colony, and that his embassy would thereby
+shine with a borrowed light.
+
+My labours did not prevent my amusing myself, and I frequented the
+society of those about the Court who could tell me most of the king and
+royal family. Don Varnier, a man of much frankness and intelligence, was
+my principal source of information.
+
+I asked him one day whether the king was fond of Gregorio Squillace only
+because he had been once his wife's lover.
+
+"That's an idle calumny," he replied. "If the epithet of 'chaste' can be
+applied to any monarch, Charles III. certainly deserves it better than
+any other. He has never touched any woman in his life except his wife,
+not only out of respect or the sanctity of marriage, but also as a good
+Christian. He has avoided this sin that his soul may remain pure, and so
+as not to have the shame of confessing it to his chaplain. He enjoys an
+iron constitution, sickness is unknown to him, and he is a thorough
+Spaniard in temperament. Ever since his marriage he has paid his duty to
+his wife every day, except when the state of her health compelled her to
+call for a truce. In such seasons this chaste husband brought down his
+fleshly desires by the fatigue of hunting and by abstinence. You can
+imagine his distress at being left a widower, for he would rather die
+than take a mistress. His only resource was in hunting, and in so
+planning out his day that he should have no time left wherein to think of
+women. It was a difficult matter, for he cares neither for reading nor
+writing, music wearies him, and conversation of a lively turn inspires
+him with disgust.
+
+"He has adopted the following plan, in which he will preserve till his
+dying day: He dresses at seven, then goes into his closet and has his
+hair dressed. At eight o'clock he says his prayers, then hears mass, and
+when this is over he takes chocolate and an enormous pinch of snuff, over
+which his big nose ruminates for some minutes; this is his only pinch in
+the whole day. At nine o'clock he sees his ministers, and works with them
+till eleven. Then comes dinner, which he always takes alone, then a short
+visit to the Princess of the Austurias, and at twelve sharp he gets into
+his carriage and drives to the hunting-grounds. At seven o'clock he takes
+a morsel wherever he happens to be, and at eight o'clock he comes home,
+so tired that he often goes to sleep before he can get his clothes off.
+Thus he keeps down the desires of the flesh."
+
+"Poor voluntary martyr!"
+
+"He thought of marrying a second time, but when Adelaide of France saw
+his portrait she was quite frightened and refused him. He was very
+mortified, and renounced all thoughts of marriage; and woe to the
+courtier who should advise him to get a mistress!"
+
+In further speaking of his character Don Domingo told me that the
+ministers had good cause for making him inaccessible, as whenever anyone
+did succeed in getting at him and asked a favour, he made a point of
+granting it, as it was at such times that he felt himself really a king.
+
+"Then he is not a hard man, as some say?"
+
+"Not at all. Kings seldom have the reputation they deserve. The most
+accessible monarchs are the least generous; they are overwhelmed with
+importunate requests, and their first instinct is always to refuse."
+
+"But as Charles III. is so inaccessible he can have no opportunity of
+either granting or refusing."
+
+"People catch him when he is hunting; he is usually in a good humour
+then. His chief defect is his obstinacy; when he has once made up his
+mind there is no changing it.
+
+"He has the greatest liking for his brother, and can scarce refuse him
+anything, though he must be master in all things. It is thought he will
+give him leave to marry for the sake of his salvation; the king has the
+greatest horror of illegitimate children, and his brother has three
+already."
+
+There were an immense number of persons at Aranjuez, who persecuted the
+ministers in the hope of getting employment.
+
+"They will go back as they come," said Don Domingo, "and that is
+empty-handed."
+
+"Then they ask impossibilities?"
+
+"They don't ask anything. 'What do you want?' says a minister.
+
+"'What your excellency will let me have.'
+
+"'What can you do?'
+
+"'I am ready to do whatever your excellency pleases to think best for me'
+
+"'Please leave me. I have no time to waste.'"
+
+That is always the way. Charles III. died a madman; the Queen of Portugal
+is mad; the King of England has been mad, and, as some say, is not really
+cured. There is nothing astonishing in it; a king who tries to do his
+duty is almost forced into madness by his enormous task.
+
+I took leave of M. Mocenigo three days before he left Aranjuez, and I
+embraced Manucci affectionately. He had been most kind to me throughout
+my stay.
+
+My cobbler had written to tell me that for the sum I had mentioned he
+could provide me with a Biscayan maid who could cook. He sent me the
+address of my new lodging in the Calle Alcala. I arrived there in the
+afternoon, having started from Aranjuez in the morning.
+
+I found that the Biscayan maid could speak French; my room was a very
+pleasant one, with another chamber annexed where I could lodge a friend.
+After I had had my effects carried up I saw my man, whose face pleased
+me.
+
+I was anxious to test the skill of my cook, so I ordered her to get a
+good supper for me, and I gave her some money.
+
+"I have some money," she replied, "and I will let you have the bill
+to-morrow."
+
+After taking away whatever I had left with Mengs I went to Don Diego's
+house, and to my astonishment found it empty. I went back and asked
+Philippe, my man, where Don Diego was staying.
+
+"It's some distance, sir; I will take you there tomorrow."
+
+"Where is my landlord?"
+
+"In the floor above; but they are very quiet people."
+
+"I should like to see him."
+
+"He is gone out and won't be home till ten."
+
+At nine o'clock I was told that my supper was ready. I was very hungry,
+and the neatness with which the table was laid was a pleasant surprise in
+Spain. I was sorry that I had had no opportunity of expressing my
+satisfaction to Don Diego, but I sat down to supper. Then indeed I
+thought the cobbler a hero; the Biscayan maid might have entered into
+rivalry with the best cook in France. There were five dishes, including
+my favourite delicacy 'las criadillas', and everything was exquisite. My
+lodging was dear enough, but the cook made the whole arrangement a
+wonderful bargain.
+
+Towards the end of supper Philippe told me that the landlord had come in,
+and that with my leave he would wish me a good evening.
+
+"Shew him in by all means."
+
+I saw Don Diego and his charming daughter enter; he had rented the house
+on purpose to be my landlord.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+My Amours With Donna Ignazia--Return of M. de Mocenino to Madrid
+
+All you barons, counts, and marquises who laugh at an untitled man who
+calls himself a gentleman, pause and reflect, spare your disdain till you
+have degraded him; allow him a gentle title so long as he does gentle
+deeds. Respect the man that defines nobility in a new way, which you
+cannot understand. With him nobility is not a series of descents from
+father to son; he laughs at pedigrees, in which no account is taken of
+the impure blood introduced by wifely infidelities; he defines a nobleman
+as one who does noble deeds, who neither lies nor cheats, who prefers his
+honour to his life.
+
+This latter part of the definition should make you tremble for your
+lives, if you meditate his dishonour. From imposture comes contempt, from
+contempt hatred, from hatred homicide, which takes out the blot of
+dishonour.
+
+The cobbler Don Diego might have feared, perhaps, that I should laugh at
+him, when he told me he was noble; but feeling himself to be really so he
+had done his best to prove it to me. The fineness of his behaviour when I
+was in prison had given me some idea of the nobility of his soul, but he
+was not content with this. On the receipt of my letter, he had taken a
+new house only to give up the best part of it to me. No doubt he
+calculated on not losing in the long run, as after I had left he would
+probably have no difficulty in letting the apartment, but his chief
+motive was to oblige me.
+
+He was not disappointed; henceforth I treated him entirely as an equal.
+Donna Ignazia was delighted at what her father had done for me. We talked
+an hour, settling our business relations over a bottle of excellent wine.
+I succeeded in my contention that the Biscayan cook should be kept at my
+expense. All the same, I wanted the girl to think that she was in Don
+Diego's service, so I begged him to pay her every day, as I should take
+all my meals at home, at all events, till the return of the ambassador. I
+also told him that it was a penance to me to eat alone, and begged him to
+keep me company at dinner and supper every day. He tried to excuse
+himself, and at last gave in on the condition that his daughter should
+take his place when he had too much work to do. As may be imagined I had
+anticipated this condition, and made no difficulty about it.
+
+The next morning, feeling curious to see the way in which my landlord was
+lodged, I paid him a visit. I went into the little room sacred to Donna
+Ignazia. A bed, a chest, and a chair made up the whole furniture; but
+beside the bed was a desk before a picture, four feet high, representing
+St. Ignatius de Loyola as a fine young man, more calculated to irritate
+the sense than to arouse devotion.
+
+My cobbler said to me,
+
+"I have a much better lodging than I had before; and the rent of your
+room pays me for the house four times over."
+
+"How about the furniture and the linen?"
+
+"It will all be paid in the course of four years. I hope this house will
+be the dower of my daughter. It is an excellent speculation, and I have
+to thank you for it."
+
+"I am glad to hear it; but what is this, you seem to be making new
+boots?"
+
+"Quite so; but if you look you will see that I am working on a last which
+has been given me. In this way I have not to put them on, nor need I
+trouble myself whether they fit well or ill."
+
+"How much do you get?"
+
+"Thirty reals."
+
+"That's a larger price than usual."
+
+"Yes, but there's a great difference between my work and my leather, and
+the usual work and leather of the bootmakers."
+
+"Then I will have a last made, and you shall make me a pair of shoes, if
+you will; but I warn you they must be of the finest skin, and the soles
+of morocco."
+
+"They will cost more, and not last so long."
+
+"I can't help that; I can't bear any but the lightest boots."
+
+Before I left him he said his daughter should dine with me that day as he
+was very busy.
+
+I called on the Count of Aranda, who received me coldly, but with great
+politeness. I told him how I had been treated by my parish priest and by
+Mengs.
+
+"I heard about it; this was worse than your imprisonment, and I don't
+know what I could have done for you if you had not communicated, and
+obliged the priest to take out your name. Just now they are trying to
+annoy me with posters on the walls, but I take no notice."
+
+"What do they want your excellency to do?"
+
+"To allow long cloaks and low-crowned hats; you must know all about it."
+
+"I only arrived at Madrid yesterday evening."
+
+"Very good. Don't come here on Sunday, as my house is to be blown up."
+
+"I should like to see that, my lord, so I will be in your hall at noon."
+
+"I expect you will be in good company."
+
+I duly went, and never had I seen it so full. The count was addressing
+the company, under the last poster threatening him with death, two very
+energetic lines were inscribed by the person who put up the poster,
+knowing that he was at the same time running his head into the noose:
+
+     Si me cogen, me horqueran,
+     Pero no me cogeran.
+
+   "If they catch me, they will hang me,
+   So I shall not let them catch me."
+
+At dinner Donna Ignazia told me how glad she was to have me in the house,
+but she did not respond to all my amorous speeches after Philippe had
+left the room. She blushed and sighed, and then being obliged to say
+something, begged me to forget everything that had passed between us. I
+smiled, and said that I was sure she knew she was asking an
+impossibility. I added that even if I could forget the past I would not
+do so.
+
+I knew that she was neither false nor hypocritical, and felt sure that
+her behaviour proceeded from devotion; but I knew this could not last
+long. I should have to conquer her by slow degrees. I had had to do so
+with other devotees who had loved me less than she, nevertheless, they
+had capitulated. I was therefore sure of Donna Ignazia.
+
+After dinner she remained a quarter of an hour with me, but I refrained
+from any amorous attempts.
+
+After my siesta I dressed, and went out without seeing her. In the
+evening when she came in for her father, who had supped with me, I
+treated her with the greatest politeness without shewing any ill-humour.
+The following day I behaved in the same manner. At dinner she told me she
+had broken with her lover at the beginning of Lent, and begged me not to
+see him if he called on me.
+
+On Whit Sunday I called on the Count of Aranda, and Don Diego, who was
+exquisitely dressed, dined with me. I saw nothing of his daughter. I
+asked after her, and Don Diego replied, with a smile, that she had shut
+herself up in her room to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost. He pronounced
+these words in a manner and with a smile that he would not have dared to
+use if he had been speaking to a fellow-Spaniard. He added that she
+would, no doubt, come down and sup with me, as he was going to sup with
+his brother.
+
+"My dear Don Diego, don't let there be any false compliments between us.
+Before you go out, tell your daughter not to put herself out for me, and
+that I do not pretend to put my society in comparison with that of God.
+Tell her to keep her room to-night, and she can sup with me another time.
+I hope you will take my message to her."
+
+"As you will have it so, you shall be obeyed."
+
+After my siesta, the worthy man said that Donna Ignazia thanked me and
+would profit by my kindness, as she did not want to see anyone on that
+holy day.
+
+"I am very glad she has taken me at my word, and to-morrow I will thank
+her for it."
+
+I had some difficulty in shaping my lips to this reply; for this excess
+of devotion displeased me, and even made me tremble for her love. I could
+not help laughing, however, when Don Diego said that a wise father
+forgives an ecstasy of love. I had not expected such a philosophic remark
+from the mouth of a Spaniard.
+
+The weather was unpleasant, so I resolved to stay indoors. I told
+Philippe that I should not want the carriage, and that he could go out. I
+told my Biscayan cook that I should not sup till ten. When I was alone I
+wrote for some time, and in the evening the mother lit my candles,
+instead of the daughter, so in the end I went to bed without any supper.
+At nine o'clock next morning, just as I was awaking, Donna Ignazia
+appeared, to my great astonishment, telling me how sorry she was to hear
+that I had not taken any supper.
+
+"Alone, sad, and unhappy," I replied, "I felt that abstinence was the
+best thing for me."
+
+"You look downcast."
+
+"You alone can make me look cheerful."
+
+Here my barber came in, and she left me. I then went to mass at the
+Church of the Good Success, where I saw all the handsome courtezans in
+Madrid. I dined with Don Diego, and when his daughter came in with
+dessert he told her that it was her fault I had gone supperless to bed.
+
+"It shall not happen again," said she.
+
+"Would you like to come with me to our Lady of Atocha?" said I.
+
+"I should like it very much," she replied, with a side-glance at her
+father.
+
+"My girl," said Don Diego, "true devotion and merriment go together, and
+the reason is that the truly devout person has trust in God and in the
+honesty of all men. Thus you can trust in Don Jaime as an honest man,
+though he has not the good fortune to be born in Spain."
+
+I could not help laughing at this last sentence, but Don Diego was not
+offended. Donna Ignazia kissed her father's hands, and asked if she might
+bring her cousin too.
+
+"What do you want to take the cousin for?" said Don Diego; "I will answer
+for Don Jaime."
+
+"You are very kind, Don Diego, but if Ignazia likes her cousin to come I
+shall be delighted, provided it be the elder cousin, whom I like better
+than the younger."
+
+After this arrangement the father went his way, and I sent Philippe to
+the stables to put in four mules.
+
+When we were alone Ignazia asked me repentantly to forgive her.
+
+"Entirely, if you will forgive me for loving you."
+
+"Alas, dearest! I think I shall go mad if I keep up the battle any
+longer."
+
+"There needs no battle, dearest Ignazia, either love me as I love you, or
+tell me to leave the house, and see you no more. I will obey you, but
+that will not make you happy."
+
+"I know that. No, you shall not go from your own house. But allow me to
+tell you that you are mistaken in your estimate of my cousins'
+characters. I know what influenced you, but you do not know all. The
+younger is a good girl, and though she is ugly, she too has succumbed to
+love. But the elder, who is ten times uglier, is mad with rage at never
+having had a lover. She thought she had made you in love with her, and
+yet she speaks evil of you. She reproaches me for having yielded so
+easily and boasts that she would never have gratified your passion."
+
+"Say no more, we must punish her; and the younger shall come."
+
+"I am much obliged to you."
+
+"Does she know that we love each other?"
+
+"I have never told her, but she has guessed it, and pities me. She wants
+me to join her in a devotion to Our Lady de la Soledad, the effect of
+which would be a complete cure for us both."
+
+"Then she is in love, too?"
+
+"Yes; and she is unhappy in her love, for it is not returned. That must
+be a great grief."
+
+"I pity her, and yet, with such a face, I do not know any man who would
+take compassion on her. The poor girl would do well to leave love alone.
+But as to you. . . ."
+
+"Say nothing about me: my danger is greater than hers. I am forced to
+defend myself or to give in, and God knows there are some men whom it is
+impossible to ward off! God is my witness that in Holy Week I went to a
+poor girl with the smallpox, and touched her in the hope of catching it,
+and so losing my beauty; but God would not have it so, and my confessor
+blamed me, bidding me to do a penance I had never expected."
+
+"Tell me what it is?"
+
+"He told me that a handsome face is the index of a handsome soul, and is
+a gift of God, for which a woman should render thanks continually; that
+in attempting to destroy this beauty I had sinned, for I had endeavoured
+to destroy God's handiwork. After a good deal of rebuke in this style, he
+ordered me to put a little rouge on my cheeks whenever I felt myself
+looking pale. I had to submit, and I have bought a pot of rouge, but
+hitherto I have not felt obliged to use it. Indeed, my father might
+notice it, and I should not like to tell him that it is done by way of
+penance."
+
+"Is your confessor a young man?"
+
+"He is an old man of seventy."
+
+"Do you tell him all your sins without reserve?"
+
+"Certainly, for the smallest circumstance may be really a great sin."
+
+"Does he ask you questions?"
+
+"No, for he sees that I am telling him the whole truth. It is a great
+trial, but I have to submit to it."
+
+"Have you had this confessor for long?"
+
+"For two years. Before him I had a confessor who was quite unbearable. He
+asked me questions which made me quite indignant."
+
+"What questions were these?"
+
+"You must please excuse me telling you."
+
+"Why do you go to confession so often?"
+
+"Why? Would to God I had not good cause! but after all I only go once a
+week."
+
+"That's too often."
+
+"Not so, for when I am in mortal sin I cannot sleep at night. I am afraid
+of dying in my sleep."
+
+"I pity you, dearest; I have a consolation which is denied you. I have an
+infinite trust in the infinite mercy of God."
+
+The cousin arrived and we set out. We found a good many carriages in
+front of the church-door, and the church itself was full of devotees,
+both male and female. Amongst others I saw the Duchess of Villadorias,
+notorious for her andromania. When the 'furor uterinus' seized her,
+nothing could keep her back. She would rush at the man who had excited
+her, and he had no choice but to satisfy her passion. This had happened
+several times in public assemblies, and had given rise to some
+extraordinary scenes. I had seen her at a ball; she was still both young
+and pretty. As I entered the church I saw her kneeling on the stones of
+the church floor. She lifted her eyes, and gazed at me, as if doubtful
+whether she knew me or not, as she had only seen me in domino. After my
+devotees had prayed for half an hour, they rose to go, and the duchess
+rose also; and as soon as we were out of the church she asked me if I
+knew her. I replied in the affirmative, and she asked why I had not been
+to see her, and if I visited the Duchess of Benevento. I told her that I
+did not visit her grace, and that I should have the honour of paying her
+a call before long.
+
+On our way I explained to my two companions the nature of the duchess's
+malady. Donna Ignazia asked me anxiously if I really meant to go and see
+her. She seemed reassured when I replied in the negative.
+
+A common and to my mind a ridiculous question is which of the two sexes
+enjoys the generative act the more. Homer gives us Jupiter and Juno
+disputing on this point. Tiresias, who was once a woman, has given a
+correct though amusing decision on the point. A laconic answer has it
+that a woman enjoys the act the most because with her it is sharper,
+repeated more frequently, and finally because the battle is fought in her
+field. She is at the same time an active and passive agent, while action
+is indispensable to the pleasure of the man. But the most conclusive
+reason is that if the woman's pleasure were not the greater nature would
+be unjust, and she never is or can be unjust. Nothing in this universe is
+without its use, and no pleasure or pain is without its compensation or
+balance. If woman had not more pleasure than man she would not have more
+organs than he. The greater nervous power planted in the female organ is
+demonstrated by the andromania to which some women are subject, and which
+makes them either Messalines or martyrs. Men have nothing at all similar
+to this.
+
+Nature has given to women this special enjoyment to compensate for the
+pains they have to undergo. What man would expose himself, for the
+pleasure he enjoys, to the pains of pregnancy and the dangers of
+childbed? But women will do so again and again; so it must be concluded
+that they believe the pleasure to outbalance the pain; and so it is
+clearly the woman who has the better share in the enjoyment. In spite of
+this, if I had the choice of being born again as a woman, I should say
+no; for in spite of my voluptuousness, a man has pleasures which a woman
+cannot enjoy. Though, indeed, rather than not be born again, I would be a
+woman, and even a brute, provided always that I had my memory, for
+without it I should no longer be myself.
+
+We had some ices, and my two companions returned home with me, well
+pleased with the enjoyment I had given them without offending God. Donna
+Ignazia, who was delighted with my continence during the day, and
+apparently afraid of its not lasting, begged me to invite her cousin to
+supper. I agreed, and even did so with pleasure.
+
+The cousin was ugly, and also a fool, but she had a great heart and was
+sympathetic. I knew that Donna Ignazia had told her all, and as she was
+no restraint on me I did not mind her being at supper, while Ignazia
+looked upon her as a safeguard.
+
+The table had been laid for three, when I heard a step coming up the
+stairs. It was the father, and I asked him to sup with us. Don Diego was
+a pleasant man, as I have said, but what amused me most of all about him
+was his moral maxims. He knew or suspected that I was fond of his
+daughter, though in an honourable way; he thought my honour or his
+daughter's piety would be a sufficient safeguard. If he had suspected
+what had really happened, I do not think he would ever have allowed us to
+be together.
+
+He sat beside his niece and facing his daughter, and did most of the
+talking, for your Spaniard, though grave, is eloquent, and fond of
+hearing the fine harmonies of his native tongue.
+
+It was very hot, so I asked him to take off his waistcoat, and to tell
+his daughter to do just as she would if only he and his wife had been
+present.
+
+Donna Ignazia had not to be entreated long before she took off her
+kerchief, but the poor cousin did not like having to shew us her bones
+and swarthy skin.
+
+Donna Ignazia told her father how much she had enjoyed herself, and how
+they had seen the Duchess of Villadorias, who had asked me to come and
+see her.
+
+The good man began to philosophise and to jest on her malady, and he told
+me some stories, germane to the question, which the girls pretended not
+to understand.
+
+The good wine of La Mancha kept us at table till a late hour, and the
+time seemed to pass very quickly. Don Diego told his niece that she could
+sleep with his daughter, in the room we were in, as the bed was big
+enough for two. I hastened to add that if the ladies would do so I should
+be delighted; but Donna Ignazia blushed and said it would not do, as the
+room was only separated from mine by a glass door. At this I smiled at
+Don Diego, who proceeded to harangue his daughter in a manner which
+amused me extremely. He told her that I was at least twenty years older
+than herself, and that in suspecting me she had committed a greater sin
+than if she allowed me to take some slight liberty.
+
+"I am sure," he added, "that when you go to confession next Sunday you
+will forget to accuse yourself of having wrongfully suspected Don Jaime
+of a dishonourable action."
+
+Donna Ignazia looked at me affectionately, asked my pardon, and said she
+would do whatever her father liked. The cousin said nothing, and the
+father kissed his daughter, bade me a good night, and went away well
+pleased with the harangue he had delivered.
+
+I suspected that Donna Ignazia expected me to make some attempt on her
+honour, and feeling sure that she would resist for the sake of
+appearance, I determined to leave her in peace. Next morning I got up and
+went into their room in the hope of playing some trick on them. However,
+the birds were flown, and I had no doubt that they had gone to hear mass.
+
+Donna Ignazia came home by herself at ten o'clock. She found me alone,
+dressed, and writing. She told me she had been in the church for three
+hours.
+
+"You have been to confession, I suppose?"
+
+"No; I went last Sunday, and I shall wait till next Sunday."
+
+"I am very glad that your confession will not be lengthened by any sins I
+have helped you to commit."
+
+"You are wrong."
+
+"Wrong? I understand; but you must know that I am not going to be damned
+for mere desires. I do not wish to torment you or to become a martyr
+myself. What you granted me has made me fall deeply in love with you, and
+it makes me shudder when I imagine that our love has become a subject of
+repentance with you. I have had a bad night; and it is time for me to
+think of my health. I must forget you, but to bring about that effect I
+will see you no longer. I will keep on the house, but I will not live in
+it. If your religion is an intelligent one, you will approve of my idea.
+Tell your confessor of it next Sunday, and you will see that he will
+approve it."
+
+"You are right, but I cannot agree to it. You can go away if you like,
+and I shall say nothing, but I shall be the most unhappy girl in all
+Madrid."
+
+As she spoke these words, two big tears rolled down her cheeks, and her
+face dropped; I was profoundly moved.
+
+"I love you, dearest Ignazia, and I hope not to be damned for my love. I
+cannot see you without loving you and to this love some positive proof is
+essential; otherwise, I am unhappy. If I go you say you will be unhappy,
+and if I stay it is I that will be unhappy, my health will be ruined. But
+tell me which I shall do stay or go? Say."
+
+"Stay."
+
+"Then you must be as loving and tender as you were before."
+
+"Alas! I promised to commit that sin no more. I tell you to stay, because
+I am sure that in eight or ten days we shall have become so accustomed to
+one another that I shall be able to love you like a father, and you will
+be able to take me in your arms without any amorous sentiments."
+
+"Are you sure of this?"
+
+"Yes, dearest, quite sure."
+
+"You make a mistake."
+
+"Let me be mistaken, and believe me I shall be glad to be mistaken."
+
+"Unhappy devotee!"
+
+"Why unhappy?"
+
+"Nothing, nothing. I may be too long, I shall endanger . . . let us say
+no more about it. I will stay."
+
+I went out more pained with her state than my own, and I felt that the
+best thing I could do would be to forget her, "for," said I to myself,
+"even if I do enjoy her once, Sunday will come again; she will confess,
+repent, and I shall have to begin all over again. She confessed her love,
+and flatters herself that she will be able to subdue it--a foolish hope,
+which could only exist in a mind under the dominion of prejudice."
+
+I came home at noon, and Don Diego dined with me; his daughter did not
+appear till the dessert. I begged her to sit down, politely, but coldly.
+Her father asked her jestingly if I had paid her a visit in the night.
+
+"I never suspected Don Jaime of such a thing," she replied, "and I only
+objected out of shyness."
+
+I interrupted her by praising her modesty, and telling her that she would
+have done quite right to beware of me, if my sense of duty had not been
+stronger than any voluptuous desires inspired by her charms.
+
+Don Diego pronounced this declaration of love as good as anything to be
+found in the "Morte d'Arthur."
+
+His daughter said I was laughing at her, but Don Diego said he was
+certain that I was in earnest, and that I had known her before taking her
+to the ball.
+
+"You are utterly mistaken," said Donna Ignazia, with some degree of fire.
+
+"Your father is wiser than you, senora," I replied.
+
+"What! How and when did you see me?"
+
+"At the church where I heard mass, and you communicated, when you went
+out with your cousin. I followed you at some distance; you can guess the
+rest."
+
+She was speechless, and her father enjoyed the consciousness of his
+superior intellect.
+
+"I am going to see the bull fight," said he; "it's a fine day, and all
+Madrid will be there, so one must go early to get a good place. I advise
+you to go, as you have never seen a bull fight; ask Don Jaime to take you
+with him, Ignazia."
+
+"Would you like to have my companionship?" said she, tenderly.
+
+"Certainly I would, but you must bring your cousin, as I am in love with
+her."
+
+Don Diego burst out laughing, but Ignazia said, slyly,
+
+"It is not so impossible after all."
+
+We went to see the splendid but barbarous spectacle in which Spaniards
+take so much delight. The two girls placed themselves in front of the
+only vacant box, and I sat behind on the second bench, which was a foot
+and a half higher than the first. There were already two ladies there,
+and much to my amusement one of them was the famous Duchess of
+Villadorias. She was in front of me, and sat in such a position that her
+head was almost between my legs. She recognized me, and said we were
+fortunate in meeting one another; and then noticing Donna Ignazia, who
+was close to her, she congratulated me in French on her charms, and asked
+me whether she was my mistress or my wife. I replied that she was a
+beauty before whom I sighed in vain. She replied, with a smile, that she
+was rather a sceptical person; and turning to Donna Ignazia began a
+pleasant and amorous discourse, thinking the girl to be as learned in the
+laws of love as herself. She whispered something in her ear which made
+Ignazia blush, and the duchess, becoming enthusiastic, told me I had
+chosen the handsomest girl in Madrid, and that she would be delighted to
+see us both at her country house.
+
+I promised to come, as I was obliged to do, but I begged to be excused
+naming the day. Nevertheless, she made me promise to call on her at four
+o'clock the next day, telling me, much to my terror, that she would be
+alone. She was pretty enough, but too notorious a character; and such a
+visit would have given rise to talk.
+
+Happily the fight began, and silence became general, for the Spaniards
+are passionately devoted of bull fighting.
+
+So much has been written on the subject that my readers will pardon my
+giving a detailed account of the fight. I may say that the sport is, in
+my opinion, a most barbarous one, and likely to operate unfavourably on
+the national morals; the arena is sometimes drenched in the blood of
+bulls, horses, and even of the unfortunate picadores and matadores, whose
+sole defence is the red rag with which they irritate the bull.
+
+When it was over I escorted the girls--who had enjoyed themselves
+immensely--back to the house, and made the ugly cousin stay to supper, as
+I foresaw that they would again sleep together.
+
+We supped together, but it was a melancholy affair, for Don Diego was
+away, and I did not feel in the humour to amuse my company.
+
+Donna Ignazia became pensive when, in reply to a question of hers, I said
+that it would be absolutely rude of me not to go to the duchess's.
+
+"You will come with me some day," I added, "to dine at her country
+house."
+
+"You need not look for that."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because she is a madwoman. She talked to me in a way that would have
+offended me if I did not know that she fancied she was honouring me by
+laying aside her rank."
+
+We rose from table, and after I had dismissed my man we sat on the
+balcony to wait for Don Diego and to enjoy the delicious evening breezes.
+
+As we sat near to each other in the twilight, so favourable to lovers'
+vows, I looked into Donna Ignazia's eyes, and saw there that my hour had
+come. I clasped her to me with one arm, I clung with my lips to hers, and
+by the way she trembled I guessed the flame which consumed her.
+
+"Will you go and see the duchess?"
+
+"No, if you will promise me not to go to confession next Sunday."
+
+"But what will he say if I do not go?"
+
+"Nothing at all, if he understands his business. But let us talk it over
+a little."
+
+We were so tightly clasped together that the cousin, like a good girl,
+left us, and went to the other end of the balcony, taking care to look
+away from us.
+
+Without changing my position, in spite of the temptation to do so, I
+asked her if she felt in the humour to repent of the sin she was ready to
+commit.
+
+"I was not thinking of repentance just then, but as you remind me of it,
+I must tell you that I shall certainly go to confession."
+
+"And after you have been to confession will you love me as you love me
+now?"
+
+"I hope God will give me strength to offend Him no more."
+
+"I assure you that if you continue loving me God will not give you grace,
+yet I feel sure that on Sunday evening you will refuse me that which you
+are now ready to grant."
+
+"Indeed I will, sweetheart; but why should we talk of that now?"
+
+"Because if I abandon myself to pleasure now I shall be more in love with
+you than ever, and consequently more unhappy than ever, when the day of
+your repentance comes. So promise me that you will not go to confession
+whilst I remain at Madrid, or give the fatal order now, and bid me leave
+you. I cannot abandon myself to love to-day knowing that it will be
+refused me on Sunday."
+
+As I remonstrated thus, I clasped her affectionately in my arms,
+caressing her most ardently; but before coming to the decisive action I
+asked her again whether she would promise not to go to confession next
+Sunday.
+
+"You are cruel," said she, "I cannot make you that promise for my
+conscience sake."
+
+At this reply, which I had quite expected, I remained motionless, feeling
+sure that she must be in a state of desperate irritation at the work half
+begun and not concluded. I, too, suffered, for I was at the door of the
+sanctuary, and a slight movement would have sent me into the inmost
+shrine; but I knew that her torments must be greater than mine, and that
+she could not resist long.
+
+Donna Ignazia was indeed in a terrible state; I had not repulsed her, but
+I was perfectly inactive. Modesty prevented her asking me openly to
+continue, but she redoubled her caresses, and placed herself in an easier
+position, reproaching me with my cruelty. I do not know whether I could
+have held out much longer, but just then the cousin turned round and told
+us that Don Diego was coming in.
+
+We hastened to arrange our toilette, and to sit in a decent position. The
+cousin came up to us, and Don Diego, after making a few remarks, left us
+on the balcony, wishing us a good night. I might have begun over again,
+but I clung to my system of repression, and after wishing the girls good
+night with a melancholy air, I went to bed.
+
+I hoped Donna Ignazia would repent and come and keep me company, but I
+was disappointed. They left their room early in the morning, and at noon
+Don Diego came to dine with me, saying his daughter had such a bad
+headache that she had not even gone to mass.
+
+"We must get her to eat something."
+
+"No, I think abstinence will do her good, and in the evening I daresay
+she will be able to sup with you."
+
+I went to keep her company by her bedside after I had taken my siesta. I
+did my best for three hours to convince her of her folly; but she kept
+her eyes closed, and said nothing, only sighing when I said something
+very touching.
+
+I left her to walk in St. Jerome's Park, and told her that if she did not
+sup with me I should understand that she did not wish to see me again.
+This threat had its effect. She came to table at supper-time, but she
+looked pale and exhausted. She ate little, and said nothing, for she knew
+not what to say. I saw that she was suffering, and I pitied her from my
+heart.
+
+Before going to bed she asked me if I had been to see the duchess. She
+seemed somewhat cheered when I answered in the negative. I told her that
+she might satisfy herself of the truth of my reply by asking Philippe,
+who had taken my note begging her grace to excuse me for that day.
+
+"But will you go another day?"
+
+"No, dearest, because I see it would grieve you."
+
+She gave a sigh of content, and I embraced her gently, and she left me as
+sad as I was.
+
+I could see that what I asked of her was a great deal; but I had good
+grounds for hope, as I knew her ardent disposition. It was not God and I
+that were disputing for her, but her confessor and I. If she had not been
+a Catholic I should have won her the first day.
+
+She had told me that she would get into trouble with her confessor if she
+did not go to him as usual; she had too much of fine Spanish honour in
+her to tell him what was not true, or to endeavour to combine her love
+with her religion.
+
+The Friday and the Saturday passed without any events of consequence. Her
+father, who could not blind himself to our love any longer, trusted, I
+suppose, to his daughter's virtue, and made her dine and sup with me
+every day. On Saturday evening Donna Ignazia left me sadder than ever,
+and turned her head away when I would have kissed her as usual. I saw
+what was the matter; she was going to communicate the next day. I admired
+her consistency, in spite of myself, and pitied her heartily; for I could
+guess the storm that must be raging in her breast. I began to repent
+having demanded all, and wished I had been contented with a little.
+
+I wished to be satisfied with my own eyes, and got up early on Sunday
+morning and followed her. I knew that she would call for her cousin, so I
+went on to the church. I placed myself by the sacristy-door, where I
+could see without being seen.
+
+I waited a quarter of an hour, then they came in, and after kneeling down
+for a few moments, separated, each going to her own confessor.
+
+I only noticed Donna Ignazia; I saw her going to the confessional, and
+the confessor turning towards her.
+
+I waited patiently. I thought the confession would never come to an end.
+"What is he saying?" I repeated to myself as I saw the confessor speaking
+to her now and again.
+
+I could bear it no longer, and I was on the point of going away when I
+saw her rise from her knees.
+
+Donna Ignazia, looking like a saint, came to kneel in the church, but out
+of my sight. I thought she would come forward to receive the Holy
+Communion at the end of the Mass that was being said, but instead of that
+she went towards the door, rejoined her cousin and they left the church.
+I was astonished. My heart was seized with a pang of remorse.
+
+"It's all over," I said to myself. "The poor girl has made a sincere and
+full confession, she has avowed her love, and the priest's cruel duty has
+made him refuse her absolution.
+
+"All is lost. What will come of it?"
+
+"My peace of mind and hers require me to leave her.
+
+"Wretch that I am, to have lost all for all! I should have made allowance
+for the peculiar Spanish character.
+
+"I might have enjoyed her by surprise now and again; the difficulty would
+have added piquancy to the intrigue. I have behaved as if I were once
+more twenty, and I have lost all.
+
+"At dinner she will be all sad and tearful. I must find some way out of
+this terrible situation."
+
+Thus soliloquising, I came home ill pleased with the line of conduct I
+had adopted.
+
+My hairdresser was waiting for me, but I sent him away, and told my cook
+not to serve my dinner till I ordered it; then, feeling the need of rest,
+I flung myself on my bed and slept profoundly till one o'clock.
+
+I got up and ordered dinner to be brought in, and sent a message to the
+father and daughter that I was expecting them.
+
+My surprise may be imagined when Donna Ignazia appeared in a costume of
+black velvet, adorned with ribbons and lace. In my opinion there is no
+more seductive costume in Europe when the wearer is pretty.
+
+I also noticed that every feature of her face breathed peace and calm; I
+had never seen her looking so well, and I could not help congratulating
+her. She replied with a smile, and I gave her a kiss, which she took as
+meekly as a lamb.
+
+Philippe arrived, and we sat down to table. I saw that my fair sweetheart
+had crossed the Rubicon; the day was won.
+
+"I am going to be happy," said she, "but let us say nothing, and it will
+come of itself."
+
+However, I did not conceal my bliss, and made love to her whenever the
+servant was out of the room. She was not only submissive, but even
+ardent.
+
+Before we left the table she asked me if I still loved her.
+
+"More than ever, darling; I adore you."
+
+"Then take me to the bull fight."
+
+"Quick! Fetch the hairdresser."
+
+When my hair was done I made an elaborate toilette, and burning with
+impatience we set out on foot, as I was afraid we should not secure a
+good place if we waited till the carriage was ready. We found a fine box
+with only two persons in it, and Ignazia, after glancing round, said she
+was glad that the detestable duchess was not anywhere near us.
+
+After some fine sport my mistress begged me to take her to the Prado,
+where all the best people in Madrid are to be seen.
+
+Donna Ignazia leant on my arm, seemed proud to be thought mine, and
+filled me with delight.
+
+All at once we met the Venetian ambassador and his favourite, Manucci.
+They had just arrived from Aranjuez. We greeted each other with due
+Spanish politeness, and the ambassador paid me a high compliment on the
+beauty of my companion. Donna Ignazia pretended not to understand, but
+she pressed my arm with Spanish delicacy.
+
+After walking a short distance with us M. de Mocenigo said he hoped I
+would dine with him on the following day, and after I had nodded
+acquiescence in the French style we parted.
+
+Towards the evening we took some ices and returned home, and the gentle
+pressure of my arm on the way prepared me for the bliss I was to enjoy.
+
+We found Don Diego on the balcony waiting for us. He congratulated his
+daughter on her pleasant appearance and the pleasure she must have taken
+in my society.
+
+Charmed with papa's good humour, I asked him to sup with us, and he
+accepted, and amused us with his witty conversation and a multitude of
+little tales that pleased me exceedingly. He made the following speech on
+leaving us, which I give word for word, but I cannot give the reader any
+idea of the inimitable Spanish gravity with which it was delivered.
+
+"Amigo Senior Don Jaime, I leave you here to enjoy the cool air with my
+daughter. I am delighted at your loving her, and you may be assured that
+I shall place no obstacle in the way of your becoming my son-in-law as
+soon as you can shew your titles of nobility."
+
+When he was gone, I said to his daughter,--
+
+"I should be only too happy, if it could be managed; but you must know
+that in my country they only are called nobles who have an hereditary
+right to rule the state. If I had been born in Spain I should be noble,
+but as it is I adore you, and I hope you will make me happy."
+
+"Yes, dearest, but we must be happy together; I cannot suffer any
+infidelity."
+
+"I give you my word of honour that I will be wholly faithful to you."
+
+"Come then, 'corazon mio', let us go in."
+
+"No, let us put out the lights, and stay here a quarter of an hour. Tell
+me, my angel, whence comes this unexpected happiness?"
+
+"You owe it to a piece of tyranny which drove me to desperation. God is
+good, and I am sure He would not have me become my own executioner. When
+I told my confessor that I could not help loving you, but that I could
+restrain myself from all excess of love, he replied that this
+self-confidence was misplaced, as I had already fallen. He wanted me to
+promise never to be alone with you again, and on my refusing to do so he
+would not give me absolution.
+
+"I have never had such a piece of shame cast on me, but I laid it all in
+the hands of God, and said, 'Thy will be done.'
+
+"Whilst I heard mass my mind was made up, and as long as you love me I
+shall be yours, and yours only. When you leave Spain and abandon me to
+despair, I shall find another confessor. My conscience holds me
+guiltless; this is my comfort. My cousin, whom I have told all, is
+astonished, but then she is not very clever."
+
+After this declaration, which put me quite at my ease, and would have
+relieved me of any scruples if I had had them, I took her to my bed. In
+the morning, she left me tired out, but more in love with her than ever.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Spanish Passions: Spain
+by Jacques Casanova de Seingalt
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+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPANISH PASSIONS: SPAIN ***
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+***The Project Gutenberg Etext of Spain, by Jacques Casanova***
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+Title: Spain
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+Author: Jacques Casanova
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+Spain
+
+by Jacques Casanova
+
+
+
+MEMOIRS OF JACQUES CASANOVA de SEINGALT 1725-1798
+SPANISH PASSIONS, Volume 6a--SPAIN
+
+
+THE MEMOIRS OF JACQUES CASANOVA DE SEINGALT
+
+THE RARE UNABRIDGED LONDON EDITION OF 1894 TRANSLATED BY ARTHUR MACHEN TO
+WHICH HAS BEEN ADDED THE CHAPTERS DISCOVERED BY ARTHUR SYMONS.
+
+
+
+
+SPAIN
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+I Am Ordered to Leave Vienna--The Empress Moderates but Does Not Annul
+the Order--Zavoiski at Munich--My Stay at Augsburg--Gasconnade at
+Louisburg--The Cologne Newspaper--My Arrival at Aix-la-Chapelle
+
+
+The greatest mistake a man that punishes a knave can commit is to leave
+the said rogue alive, for he is certain to take vengeance.
+If I had had my sword in the den of thieves, I should no doubt have
+defended myself, but it would have gone ill with me, three against one,
+and I should probably have been cut to pieces, while the murderers would
+have escaped unpunished.
+
+At eight o'clock Campioni came to see me in my bed, and was astonished at
+my adventure.  Without troubling himself to compassionate me, we both
+began to think how we could get back my purse; but we came to the
+conclusion that it would be impossible, as I had nothing more than my
+mere assertion to prove the case.  In spite of that, however, I wrote out
+the whole story, beginning with the girl who recited the Latin verses.  I
+intended to bring the document before the police; however, I had not time
+to do so.
+
+I was just sitting down to dinner, when an agent of the police came and
+gave me an order to go and speak to Count Schrotembach, the Statthalter.
+I told him to instruct my coachman, who was waiting at the door, and that
+I would follow him shortly.
+
+When I called on the Statthalter, I found him to be a thick-set
+individual; he was standing up, and surrounded by men who seemed ready to
+execute his orders.  When he saw me, he shewed me a watch, and requested
+me to note the hour.
+
+"I see it."
+
+"If you are at Vienna at that time to-morrow I shall have you expelled
+from the city."
+
+"Why do you give me such an unjust order?"
+
+"In the first place, I am not here to give you accounts or reasons for my
+actions.  However, I may tell you that you are expelled for playing at
+games of chance, which are forbidden by the laws under pain of the
+galleys.  Do you recognize that purse and these cards?"
+
+I did not know the cards, but I knew the purse which had been stolen from
+me.  I was in a terrible rage, and I only replied by presenting the
+magistrate with the truthful narrative of what had happened to me.  He
+read it, and then said with a laugh that I was well known to be a man of
+parts, that my character was known, that I had been expelled from Warsaw,
+and that as for the document before him he judged it to be a pack of
+lies, since in his opinion it was altogether void of probability.
+
+"In fine," he added, "you will obey my order to leave the town, and you
+must tell me where you are going."
+
+"I will tell you that when I have made up my mind to go."
+
+"What?  You dare to tell me that you will not obey?"
+
+"You yourself have said that if I do not go I shall be removed by force."
+
+"Very good.  I have heard you have a strong will, but here it will be of
+no use to you.  I advise you to go quietly, and so avoid harsh measures."
+
+"I request you to return me that document."
+
+"I will not do so.  Begone!"
+
+This was one of the most terrible moments of my life.  I shudder still
+when I think of it.  It was only a cowardly love of life that hindered me
+from running my sword through the body of the Statthalter, who had
+treated me as if he were a hangman and not a judge.
+
+As I went away I took it into my head to complain to Prince Kaunitz,
+though I had not the honour of knowing him.  I called at his house, and a
+man I met told me to stay in the ante-chamber, as the prince would pass
+through to go to dinner.
+
+It was five o'clock.  The prince appeared, followed by his guests,
+amongst whom was M. Polo Renieri, the Venetian ambassador.  The prince
+asked me what he could do for me, and I told my story in a loud voice
+before them all.
+
+"I have received my order to go, but I shall not obey.  I implore your
+highness to give me your protection, and to help me to bring my plea to
+the foot of the throne."
+
+"Write out your petition," he replied, "and I will see that the empress
+gets it.  But I advise you to ask her majesty for a respite, for if you
+say that you won't obey, she will be predisposed against you."
+
+"But if the royal grace does not place me in security, I shall be driven
+away by violence."
+
+"Then take refuge with the ambassador of your native country."
+
+"Alas, my lord, my country has forsaken me.  An act of legal though
+unconstitutional violence has deprived me of my rights as a citizen.  My
+name is Casanova, and my country is Venice."
+
+The prince looked astonished and turned to the Venetian ambassador, who
+smiled, and whispered to him for ten minutes.
+
+"It's a pity," said the prince, kindly, "that you cannot claim the
+protection of any ambassador."
+
+At these words a nobleman of colossal stature stepped forward and said I
+could claim his protection, as my whole family, myself included, had
+served the prince his master.  He spoke the truth, for he was the
+ambassador of Saxony.
+
+"That is Count Vitzthum," said the prince.  "Write to the empress, and I
+will forward your petition immediately.  If there is any delay in the
+answer, go to the count; you will be safe with him, until you like to
+leave Vienna."
+
+In the meanwhile the prince ordered writing materials to be brought me,
+and he and his guests passed into the dining-hall.
+
+I give here a copy of the petition, which I composed in less than ten
+minutes.  I made a fair copy for the Venetian ambassador to send home to
+the Senate:
+
+"MADAM,-- I am sure that if, as your royal and imperial highness were
+walking in your garden, an insect appealed plaintively to you not to
+crush it, you would turn aside, and so avoid doing the poor creature any
+hurt.
+
+"I, madam, am an insect, and I beg of you that you will order
+M. Statthalter Schrotembach to delay crushing me with your majesty's
+slipper for a week.  Possibly, after that time has elapsed, your majesty
+will not only prevent his crushing me, but will deprive him of that
+slipper, which was only meant to be the terror of rogues, and not of an
+humble Venetian, who is an honest man, though he escaped from The Leads.
+
+"In profound submission to your majesty's will,
+     "I remain,
+                              "CASANOVA.
+
+"Given at Vienna, January 21st, 1769."
+
+
+When I had finished the petition, I made a fair draft of it, and sent it
+in to the prince, who sent it back to me telling me that he would place
+it in the empress's hands immediately, but that he would be much obliged
+by my making a copy for his own use.
+
+I did so, and gave both copies to the valet de chambre, and went my way.
+I trembled like a paralytic, and was afraid that my anger might get me
+into difficulty.  By way of calming myself, I wrote out in the style of a
+manifesto the narrative I had given to the vile Schrotembach, and which
+that unworthy magistrate had refused to return to me.
+
+At seven o'clock Count Vitzthum came into my room.  He greeted me in a
+friendly manner and begged me to tell him the story of the girl I had
+gone to see, on the promise of the Latin quatrain referring to her
+accommodating disposition.  I gave him the address and copied out the
+verses, and he said that was enough to convince an enlightened judge that
+I had been slandered; but he, nevertheless, was very doubtful whether
+justice would be done me.
+
+"What! shall I be obliged to leave Vienna to-morrow?"
+
+"No, no, the empress cannot possibly refuse you the week's delay."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Oh! no one could refuse such an appeal as that.  Even the prince could
+not help smiling as he was reading it in his cold way.  After reading it
+he passed it on to me, and then to the Venetian ambassador, who asked him
+if he meant to give it to the empress as it stood.  'This petition,'
+replied the prince, 'might be sent to God, if one knew the way;' and
+forthwith he ordered one of his secretaries to fold it up and see that it
+was delivered.  We talked of you for the rest of dinner, and I had the
+pleasure of hearing the Venetian ambassador say that no one could
+discover any reason for your imprisonment under the Leads.  Your duel was
+also discussed, but on that point we only knew what has appeared in the
+newspapers.  Oblige me by giving me a copy of your petition; that phrase
+of Schrotembach and the slipper pleased me vastly."
+
+I copied out the document, and gave it him with a copy of my manifesto.
+Before he left me the count renewed the invitation to take refuge with
+him, if I did not hear from the empress before the expiration of the
+twenty-four hours.
+
+At ten o'clock I had a visit from the Comte de la Perouse, the Marquis de
+las Casas, and Signor Uccelli, the secretary of the Venetian embassy.
+The latter came to ask for a copy of my petition for his chief.  I
+promised he should have it, and I also sent a copy of my manifesto.  The
+only thing which rather interfered with the dignity of this latter piece,
+and gave it a somewhat comic air, were the four Latin verses, which might
+make people imagine that, after enjoying the girl as Hebe, I had gone in
+search of her as Ganymede.  This was not the case, but the empress
+understood Latin and was familiar with mythology, and if she had looked
+on it in the light I have mentioned I should have been undone.  I made
+six copies of the two documents before I went to bed; I was quite tired
+out, but the exertion had somewhat soothed me.  At noon the next day,
+young Hasse (son of the chapel-master and of the famous Trustina),
+secretary of legation to Count Vitzthum, came to tell me from the
+ambassador that nobody would attack me in my own house, nor in my
+carriage if I went abroad, but that it would be imprudent to go out on
+foot.  He added that his chief would have the pleasure of calling on me
+at seven o'clock.  I begged M. Hasse to let me have all this in writing,
+and after he had written it out he left me.
+
+Thus the order to leave Vienna had been suspended; it must have been done
+by the sovereign.
+
+"I have no time to lose," said I to myself, "I shall have justice done
+me, my assassins will be condemned, my purse will be returned with the
+two hundred ducats in it, and not in the condition in which it was shewn
+to me by the infamous Schrotembach, who will be punished by dismissal, at
+least."
+
+Such were my castles in Spain; who has not built such?  'Quod nimis
+miseri volunt hoc facile credunt', says Seneca.  The wish is father to
+the thought.
+
+Before sending my manifesto to the empress, Prince Kaunitz, and to all
+the ambassadors, I thought it would be well to call on the Countess of
+Salmor, who spoke to the sovereign early and late.  I had had a letter of
+introduction for her.
+
+She greeted me by saying that I had better give up wearing my arm in a
+sling, as it looked as ii I were a charlatan; my arm must be well enough
+after nine months.
+
+I was extremely astonished by this greeting, and replied that if it were
+not necessary I should not wear a sling, and that I was no charlatan.
+
+"However," I added, "I have come to see you on a different matter."
+
+"Yes, I know, but I will have nothing to do with it.  You are all as bad
+as Tomatis."
+
+I gave a turn round and left the room without taking any further notice
+of her.  I returned home feeling overwhelmed by the situation.  I had
+been robbed and insulted by a band of thorough-paced rascals;
+I could do nothing, justice was denied me, and now I had been made a mock
+of by a worthless countess.  If I had received such an insult from a man
+I would have soon made him feel the weight of one arm at all events.  I
+could not bear my arm without a sling for an hour; pain and swelling set
+in immediately.  I was not perfectly cured till twenty months after the
+duel.
+
+Count Vitzthum came to see me at seven o'clock.  He said the empress had
+told Prince Kaunitz that Schrotembach considered my narrative as pure
+romance.  His theory was that I had held a bank at faro with sharpers'
+cards, and had dealt with both hands the arm in the sling being a mere
+pretence.  I had then been taken in the act by one of the gamesters, and
+my unjust gains had been very properly taken from me.  My detector had
+then handed over my purse, containing forty ducats, to the police, and
+the money had of course been confiscated.  The empress had to choose
+between believing Schrotembach and dismissing him; and she was not
+inclined to do the latter, as it would be a difficult matter to find him
+a successor in his difficult and odious task of keeping Vienna clear of
+human vermin.
+
+"This is what Prince Kaunitz asked me to tell you.  But you need not be
+afraid of any violence, and you can go when you like."
+
+"Then I am to be robbed of two hundred ducats with impunity.  The empress
+might at least reimburse me if she does nothing more.  Please to ask the
+prince whether I can ask the sovereign to give me that satisfaction; the
+least I can demand."
+
+"I will tell him what you say."
+
+"If not, I shall leave; for what can I do in a town where I can only
+drive, and where the Government keeps assassins in its pay?"
+
+"You are right.  We are all sure that Pocchini has calumniated you.  The
+girl who recites Latin verses is well known, but none know her address.
+I must advise you not to publish your tale as long as you are in Vienna,
+as it places Schrotembach in a very bad light, and you see the empress
+has to support him in the exercise of his authority."
+
+"I see the force of your argument, and I shall have to devour my anger.
+I will leave Vienna as soon as the washerwoman sends home my linen, but I
+will have the story printed in all its black injustice."
+
+"The empress is prejudiced against you, I don't know by whom."
+
+"I know, though; it is that infernal old hag, Countess Salmor."
+
+The next day I received a letter from Count Vitzthum, in which he said
+that Prince Kaunitz advised me to forget the two hundred ducats, that the
+girl and her so-called mother had left Vienna to all appearance, as
+someone had gone to the address and had failed to find her.
+
+I saw that I could do nothing, and resolved to depart in peace, and
+afterwards to publish the whole story and to hang Pocchini with my own
+hands when next I met him.  I did neither the one nor the other.
+
+About that time a young lady of the Salis de Coire family arrived at
+Vienna without any companion.  The imperial hangman Schrotembach, ordered
+her to leave Vienna in two days.  She replied that she would leave
+exactly when she felt inclined.  The magistrate consigned her to
+imprisonment in a convent, and she was there still when I left.  The
+emperor went to see her, and the empress, his mother, asked him what he
+thought of her.  His answer was, "I thought her much more amusing than
+Schrotembach."
+
+Undoubtedly, every man worthy of the name longs to be free, but who is
+really free in this world?  No one.  The philosopher, perchance, may be
+accounted so, but it is at the cost of too precious sacrifices at the
+phantom shrine of Liberty.
+
+I left the use of my suite of rooms, for which I had paid a month in
+advance, to Campioni, promising to wait for him at Augsburg, where the
+Law alone is supreme.  I departed alone carrying with me the bitter
+regret that I had not been able to kill the monster, whose despotism had
+crushed me.  I stopped at Linz on purpose to write to Schrotembach even a
+more bitter letter than that which I had written to the Duke of
+Wurtemburg in 1760.  I posted it myself, and had it registered so as to
+be sure of its reaching the scoundrel to whom it had been addressed.  It
+was absolutely necessary for me to write this letter, for rage that has
+no vent must kill at last.  From Linz I had a three days' journey to
+Munich, where I called on Count Gaetan Zavoicki, who died at Dresden
+seven years ago.  I had known him at Venice when he was in want, and I
+had happily been useful to him.  On my relating the story of the robbery
+that had been committed on me, he no doubt imagined I was in want, and
+gave me twenty-five louis.  To tell the truth it was much less than what
+I had given him at Venice, and if he had looked upon his action as paying
+back a debt we should not have been quits; but as I had never wished him
+to think that I had lent, not given him money, I received the present
+gratefully.  He also gave me a letter for Count Maximilian Lamberg,
+marshal at the court of the Prince-Bishop of Augsburg, whose acquaintance
+I had the honour of having.
+
+There was no theatre then in Augsburg, but there were masked balls in
+which all classes mingled freely.  There were also small parties where
+faro was played for small stakes.  I was tired of the pleasure, the
+misfortune, and the griefs I had had in three capitals, and I resolved to
+spend four months in the free city of Augsburg, where strangers have the
+same privileges as the canons.  My purse was slender, but with the
+economical life I led I had nothing to fear on that score.  I was not far
+from Venice, where a hundred ducats were always at my service if I wanted
+them.  I played a little and waged war against the sharpers who have
+become more numerous of late than the dupes, as there are also more
+doctors than patients.  I also thought of getting a mistress, for what is
+life without love?  I had tried in vain to retrace Gertrude; the engraver
+was dead, and no one knew what had become of his daughter.
+
+Two or three days before the end of the carnival I went to a hirer of
+carriages, as I had to go to a ball at some distance from the town.
+While the horses were being put in, I entered the room to warm my hands,
+for the weather was very cold.  A girl came up and asked me if I would
+drink a glass of wine.
+
+"No," said I; and on the question being repeated, repeated the
+monosyllable somewhat rudely.  The girl stood still and began to laugh,
+and I was about to turn angrily away when she said,--
+
+"I see you do not remember me?"
+
+I looked at her attentively, and at last I discovered beneath her
+unusually ugly features the lineaments of Anna Midel, the maid in the
+engraver's house.
+
+"You remind me of Anna Midel," said I.
+
+"Alas, I was Anna Midel once.  I am no longer an object fit for love, but
+that is your fault."
+
+"Mine?"
+
+"Yes; the four hundred florins you gave me made Count Fugger's coachman
+marry me, and he not only abandoned me but gave me a disgusting disease,
+which was like to have been my death.  I recovered my health, but I never
+shall recover my good looks."
+
+"I am very sorry to hear all this; but tell me what has become of
+Gertrude?"
+
+"Then you don't know that you are going to a ball at her house to-night?"
+
+"Her house?"
+
+"Yes.  After her father's death she married a well-to-do and respectable
+man, and I expect you will be pleased with the entertainment"
+
+"Is she pretty still?"
+
+"She is just as she used to be, except that she is six years older and
+has had children."
+
+"Is she gallant?"
+
+"I don't think so."
+
+Anna had spoken the truth.  Gertrude was pleased to see me, and
+introduced me to her husband as one of her father's old lodgers, and I
+had altogether a pleasant welcome; but, on sounding her, I found she
+entertained those virtuous sentiments which might have been expected
+under the circumstances.
+
+Campioni arrived at Augsburg at the beginning of Lent.  He was in company
+with Binetti, who was going to Paris.  He had completely despoiled his
+wife, and had left her for ever.  Campioni told me that no one at Vienna
+doubted my story in the slightest degree.  Pocchini and the Sclav had
+disappeared a few days after my departure, and the Statthalter had
+incurred a great deal of odium by his treatment of me.  Campioni spent a
+month with me, and then went on to London.
+
+I called on Count Lamberg and his countess, who, without being beautiful,
+was an epitome of feminine charm and amiability.  Her name before
+marriage was Countess Dachsberg.  Three months after my arrival, this
+lady, who was enciente, but did not think her time was due, went with
+Count Fugger, dean of the chapter, to a party of pleasure at an inn three
+quarters of a league from Augsburg.  I was present; and in the course of
+the meal she was taken with such violent pains that she feared she would
+be delivered on the spot.  She did not like to tell the noble canon, and
+thinking that I was more likely to be acquainted with such emergencies
+she came up to me and told me all.  I ordered the coachman to put in his
+horses instantly, and when the coach was ready I took up the countess and
+carried her to it.  The canon followed us in blank astonishment, and
+asked me what was the matter.  I told him to bid the coachman drive fast
+and not to spare his horses.  He did so, but he asked again what was the
+matter.
+
+"The countess will be delivered of a child if we do not make haste."
+
+I thought I should be bound to laugh, in spite of my sympathies for the
+poor lady's pains, when I saw the dean turn green and white and purple,
+and look as if he were going into a fit, as he realized that the countess
+might be delivered before his eyes in his own carriage.  The poor man
+looked as grievously tormented as St. Laurence on his gridiron.  The
+bishop was at Plombieres; they would write and tell him!  It would be in
+all the papers!  "Quick!  coachman, quick!"
+
+We got to the castle before it was too late.  I carried the lady into her
+rook, and they ran for a surgeon and a midwife.  It was no good, however,
+for in five minutes the count came out and said the countess
+had just been happily delivered.  The dean looked as if a weight had
+been taken off his mind; however, he took the precaution of having
+himself blooded.
+
+I spent an extremely pleasant four months at Augsburg, supping twice or
+thrice a week at Count Lamberg's.  At these suppers I made the
+acquaintance of a very remarkable man--Count Thura and Valsamina, then a
+page in the prince-bishop's household, now Dean of Ratisbon.  He was
+always at the count's, as was also Dr. Algardi, of Bologna, the prince's
+physician and a delightful man.
+
+I often saw at the same house a certain Baron Sellenthin, a Prussian
+officer, who was always recruiting for his master at Augsburg.  He was a
+pleasant man, somewhat in the Gascon style, soft-spoken, and an expert
+gamester.  Five or six years ago I had a letter from him dated Dresden,
+in which he said that though he was old, and had married a rich wife, he
+repented of having married at all.  I should say the same if I had ever
+chanced to marry.
+
+During my stay at Augsburg several Poles, who had left their country on
+account of the troubles, came to see me.  Amongst others was Rzewuski,
+the royal Prothonotary, whom I had known at St. Petersburg as the lover
+of poor Madame Langlade.
+
+"What a diet!  What plots!  What counterplots!  What misfortunes!" said
+this honest Pole, to me.  "Happy are they who have nothing to do with
+it!"
+
+He was going to Spa, and he assured me that if I followed him I should
+find Prince Adam's sister, Tomatis, and Madame Catai, who had become the
+manager's wife.  I determined to go to Spa, and to take measures so that
+I might go there with three or four hundred ducats in my purse.  To this
+intent I wrote to Prince Charles of Courland, who was at Venice, to send
+me a hundred ducats, and in my letter I gave him an infallible receipt
+for the philosopher's stone.  The letter containing this vast secret was
+not in cypher, so I advised him to burn it after he had read it, assuring
+him that I possessed a copy.  He did not do so, and it was taken to Paris
+with his order papers when he was sent to the Bastile.
+
+If it had not been for the Revolution my letter would never have seen the
+light.  When the Bastille was destroyed, my letter was found and printed
+with other curious compositions, which were afterwards translated into
+German and English.  The ignorant fools that abound in the land where my
+fate wills that I should write down the chief events of my long and
+troublous life--these fools, I say, who are naturally my sworn foes (for
+the ass lies not down with the horse), make this letter an article of
+accusation against me, and think they can stop my mouth by telling me
+that the letter has been translated into German, and remains to my
+eternal shame.  The ignorant Bohemians are astonished when I tell them
+that I regard the letter as redounding to my glory, and that if their
+ears were not quite so long their blame would be turned into praise.
+
+I do not know whether my letter has been correctly translated, but since
+it has become public property I shall set it down here in homage to
+truth, the only god I adore.  I have before me an exact copy of the
+original written in Augsburg in the year 1767, and we are now in the year
+1798.
+
+It runs as follows:
+
+"MY LORD,--I hope your highness will either burn this letter after
+reading it, or else preserve it with the greatest care.  It will be
+better, however, to make a copy in cypher, and to burn the original.  My
+attachment to you is not my only motive in writing; I confess my interest
+is equally concerned.  Allow me to say that I do not wish your highness
+to esteem me alone for any qualities you may have observed in me; I wish
+you to become my debtor by the inestimable secret I am going to confide
+to you.  This secret relates to the making of gold, the only thing of
+which your highness stands in need.  If you had been miserly by nature
+you would be rich now; but you are generous, and will be poor all your
+days if you do not make use of my secret.
+
+"Your highness told me at Riga that you would like me to give you the
+secret by which I transmuted iron into copper; I never did so, but now I
+shall teach you how to make a much more marvellous transmutation.  I
+should point out to you, however, that you are not at present in a
+suitable place for the operation, although all the materials are easily
+procurable.  The operation necessitates my presence for the construction
+of a furnace, and for the great care necessary, far the least mistake
+will spoil all.  The transmutation of Mars is an easy and merely
+mechanical process, but that of gold is philosophical in the highest
+degree.  The gold produced will be equal to that used in the Venetian
+sequins.  You must reflect, my lord, that I am giving you information
+which will permit you to dispense with me, and you must also reflect that
+I am confiding to you my life and my liberty.
+
+"The step I am taking should insure your life-long protection, and should
+raise you above that prejudice which is entertained against the general
+mass of alchemists.  My vanity would be wounded if you refuse to
+distinguish me from the common herd of operators.  All I ask you is that
+you will wait till we meet before undertaking the process.  You cannot do
+it by yourself, and if you employ any other person but myself, you will
+betray the secret.  I must tell you that, using the same materials, and
+by the addition of mercury and nitre, I made the tree of projection for
+the Marchioness d'Urfe and the Princess of Anhalt.  Zerbst calculated the
+profit as fifty per cent.  My fortune would have been made long ago, if I
+had found a prince with the control of a mint whom I could trust.  Your
+character enables me to confide in you.  However, we will come to the
+point.
+
+"You must take four ounces of good silver, dissolve in aqua fortis,
+precipitate secundum artem with copper, then wash in lukewarm water to
+separate the acids; dry, mix with half an ounce of sal ammoniac, and
+place in a suitable vessel.  Afterwards you must take a pound of alum, a
+pound of Hungary crystals, four ounces of verdigris, four ounces of
+cinnabar, and two ounces of sulphur.  Pulverise and mix, and place in a
+retort of such size that the above matters will only half fill it.  This
+retort must be placed over a furnace with four draughts, for the heat
+must be raised to the fourth degree.  At first your fire must be slow so
+as to extract the gross phlegm of the matter, and when the spirit begins
+to appear, place the receiver under the retort, and Luna with the
+ammoniac salts will appear in it.  All the joinings must be luted with
+the Philosophical Luting, and as the spirit comes, so regulate your
+furnace, but do not let it pass the third degree of heat.
+
+"So soon as the sublimation begins then boldly open your forth vent, but
+take heed that that which is sublimed pass not into the receiver where is
+your Luna, and so you must shut, the mouth of the retort closely, and
+keep it so for twenty-four hours, and then take off your fastenings, and
+allow the distillation to go on.  Then you must increase your fire so
+that the spirits may pass, over, until the matter in the retort is quite
+desiccated.  After this operation has been performed three times, then
+you shall see, the gold appear in the retort.  Then draw it forth and
+melt it, adding your corpus perfectum.  Melt with it two ounces of gold,
+then lay it in water, and you shall find four ounces of pure gold.
+
+"Such my lord, is the gold mine for your mint of Mitau, by which, with
+the assistance of a manager and four men, you can assure yourself a
+revenue of a thousand ducats a week, and double, and quadruple that sum,
+if your highness chooses to increase the men and the furnaces.  I ask
+your highness to make me your manager.  But remember it must be a State
+secret, so burn this letter, and if your highness would give me any
+reward in advance, I only ask you to give me your affection and esteem.
+I shall be happy if I have reason to believe that my master will also be
+my friend.  My life, which this letter places in your power, is ever at
+your service, and I know not what I shall do if I ever have cause to
+repent having disclosed my secret.  I have the honour to be, etc."
+
+In whatever language this letter may have been translated, if its sense
+run not as above, it is not my letter, and I am ready to give the lie to
+all the Mirabeaus in the world.  I have been called an exile, but
+wrongfully, for a man who has to leave a country by virtue of a 'lettre
+de cachet' is no exile.  He is forced to obey a despotic monarch who
+looks upon his kingdom as his house, and turns out of doors anyone who
+meets with his displeasure.
+
+As soon as my purse swelled to a respectable size, I left Augsburg, The
+date of my departure was June 14th, 1767.  I was at Ulm when a courier of
+the Duke of Wurtemburg's passed through the town with the news that his
+highness would arrive from Venice in the course of five or six days.
+This courier had a letter for me.  It had been entrusted to him by Prince
+Charles of Courland, who had told the courier that he would find me at
+the "Hotel du Raisin," in Augsburg.  As it happened, I had left the day
+before, but knowing the way by which I had gone he caught me up at Ulm.
+He gave me the letter and asked me if I were the same Casanova who had
+been placed under arrest and had escaped, on account of some gambling
+dispute with three officers.  As I was never an adept in concealing the
+truth, I replied in the affirmative.  A Wurtemburg officer who was
+standing beside us observed to me in a friendly manner that he was at
+Stuttgart at the time, and that most people concurred in blaming the
+three officers for their conduct in the matter.
+
+Without making any reply I read the letter, which referred to our private
+affairs, but as I was reading it I resolved to tell a little lie--one of
+those lies which do nobody any harm.
+
+"Well, sir," I said to the officer, "his highness, your sovereign, has
+listened to reason at last, and this letter informs me of a reparation
+which is in every way satisfactory.  The duke has created me his private
+secretary, with a salary of twelve hundred a year.  But I have waited for
+it a long time.  God knows what has become of the three officers!"
+
+"They are all at Louisburg, and ------ is now a colonel."
+
+"Well, they will be surprised to hear my news, and they will hear it
+to-morrow, for I am leaving this place in an hour.  If they are at
+Louisburg, I shall have a triumph; but I am sorry not to be able to
+accompany you, however we shall see each other the day after tomorrow."
+
+I had an excellent night, and awoke with the beautiful idea of going to
+Louisburg, not to fight the three officers but to frighten them, triumph
+over them, and to enjoy a pleasant vengeance for the injury they had done
+me.  I should at the same time see a good many old friends; there was
+Madame Toscani, the duke's mistress; Baletti, and Vestri, who had married
+a former mistress of the duke's.  I had sounded the depths of the human
+heart, and knew I had nothing to fear.  The duke was on the point of
+returning, and nobody would dream of impugning the truth of my story.
+When he actually did arrive he would not find me, for as soon as the
+courier announced his approach I should go away, telling everybody that I
+had orders to precede his highness, and everybody would be duped.
+
+I never had so pleasant an idea before.  I was quite proud of it, and I
+should have despised myself if I had failed to carry it into effect.  It
+would be my vengeance on the duke, who could not have forgotten the
+terrible letter I had written him; for princes do not forget small
+injuries as they forget great services.
+
+I slept badly the following night, my anxiety was so great, and I reached
+Louisburg and gave my name at the town gates, without the addition of my
+pretended office, for my jest must be matured by degrees.  I went to stay
+at the posting-inn, and just as I was asking for the address of Madame
+Toscani, she and her husband appeared on the scene.  They both flung
+their arms around my neck, and overwhelmed me with compliments on my
+wounded arm and the victory I had achieved.
+
+"What victory?"
+
+"Your appearance here has filled the hearts of all your friends with
+joy."
+
+"Well, I certainly am in the duke's service, but how did you find it
+out?"
+
+"It's the common talk.  The courier who gave you the letter has spread it
+all abroad, and the officer who was present and arrived here yesterday
+morning confirmed it.  But you cannot imagine the consternation of your
+three foes.  However, we are afraid that you will have some trouble with
+them, as they have kept your letter of defiance given from Furstenberg."
+
+"Why didn't they meet me, then?"
+
+"Two of them could not go, and the third arrived too late."
+
+"Very good.  If the duke has no objection I shall be happy to meet them
+one after another, not three all at once.  Of course, the duel must be
+with pistols; a sword duel is out of the question with my arm in a
+sling."
+
+"We will speak of that again.  My daughter wants to make peace before the
+duke comes, and you had better consent to arrangements, for there are
+three of them, and it isn't likely that you could kill the whole three
+one after the other."
+
+"Your daughter must have grown into a beauty."
+
+"You must stop with us this evening; you will see her, for she is no
+longer the duke's mistress.  She is going to get married."
+
+"If your daughter can bring about an arrangement I would gladly fall in
+with it, provided it is an honourable one for me."
+
+"How is it that you are wearing the sling after all these months?"
+
+"I am quite cured, and yet my arm swells as soon as I let it swing loose.
+You shall see it after dinner, for you must dine with me if you want me
+to sup with you."
+
+Next came Vestri, whom I did not know, accompained by my beloved Baletti.
+With them was an officer who was in love with Madame Toscani's second
+daughter, and another of their circle, with whom I was also unacquainted.
+They all came to congratulate me on my honourable position in the duke's
+service.  Baletti was quite overcome with delight.  The reader will
+recollect that he was my chief assistant in my escape from Stuttgart, and
+that I was once going to marry his sister.  Baletti was a fine fellow,
+and the duke was very fond of him.  He had a little country house, with a
+spare room, which he begged me to accept, as he said he was only too
+proud that the duke should know him as my best friend.  When his highness
+came, of course I would have an apartment in the palace.  I accepted; and
+as it was still early, we all went to see the young Toscani.  I had loved
+her in Paris before her beauty had reached its zenith, and she was
+naturally proud to shew me how beautiful she had become.  She shewed me
+her house and her jewels, told me the story of her amours with the duke,
+of her breaking with him on account of his perpetual infidelities, and of
+her marriage with a man she despised, but who was forced on her by her
+position.
+
+At dinner-time we all went to the inn, where we met the offending
+colonel; he was the first to take off his hat, we returned the salute,
+and he passed on his way.
+
+The dinner was a pleasant one, and when it was over I proceeded to take
+up my quarters with Baletti.  In the evening we went to Madame Toscani's,
+where I saw two girls of ravishing beauty, Madame Toscani's daughter and
+Vestri's wife, of whom the duke had had two children.  Madame Vestri was
+a handsome woman, but her wit and the charm of her manner enchanted me
+still more.  She had only one fault--she lisped.
+
+There was a certain reserve about the manner of Mdlle. Toscani, so I
+chiefly addressed myself to Madame Vestri, whose husband was not jealous,
+for he neither cared for her nor she for him.  On the day of my arrival
+the manager had distributed the parts of a little play which was to be
+given in honour of the duke's arrival.  It had been written by a local
+author, in hopes of its obtaining the favour of the Court for him.
+
+After supper the little piece was discussed.  Madame Vestri played the
+principal part, which she was prevailed upon to recite.
+
+"Your elocution is admirable, and your expression full of spirit," I
+observed; "but what a pity it is that you do not pronounce the dentals."
+
+The whole table scouted my opinion.
+
+"It's a beauty, not a defect," said they.  "It makes her acting soft and
+delicate; other actresses envy her the privilege of what you call a
+defect."
+
+I made no answer, but looked at Madame Vestri.
+
+"Do you think I am taken in by all that?" said she.
+
+"I think you are much too sensible to believe such nonsense."
+
+"I prefer a man to say honestly, 'what a pity,' than to hear all that
+foolish flattery.  But I am sorry to say that there is no remedy for the
+defect."
+
+"No remedy?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Pardon me, I have an infallible remedy for your complaint.  You shall
+give me a good hearty blow if I do not make you read the part perfectly
+by to-morrow, but if I succeed in making you read it as your husband, for
+example's sake, might read it you shall permit me to give you a tender
+embrace."
+
+"Very good; but what must I do?"
+
+"You must let me weave a spell over your part, that is all.  Give it to
+me.  To-morrow morning at nine o'clock I will bring it to you to get my
+blow or my kiss, if your husband has no objection."
+
+"None whatever; but we do not believe in spells."
+
+"You are right, in a general way; but mine will not fail."
+
+"Very good."
+
+Madame Vestri left me the part, and the conversation turned on other
+subjects.  I was condoled with on my swollen hand, and I told the story
+of my duel.  Everybody seemed to delight in entertaining me and feasting
+me, and I went back to Baletti's in love with all the ladies, but
+especially with Madame Vestri and Mdlle. Toscani.
+
+Baletti had a beautiful little girl of three years old.
+
+"How did you get that angel?" I asked.
+
+"There's her mother; and, as a proof of my hospitality, she shall sleep
+with you to-night."
+
+"I accept your generous offer; but let it be to-morrow night."
+
+"And why not to-night?"
+
+"Because I shall be engaged all night in weaving my spell."
+
+"What do you mean?  I thought that was a joke."
+
+"No, I am quite serious."
+
+"Are you a little crazy?"
+
+"You shall see.  Do you go to bed, and leave me a light and writing
+materials."
+
+I spent six hours in copying out the part, only altering certain phrases.
+For all words in which the letter r appeared I substituted another.  It
+was a tiresome task, but I longed to embrace Madame Vestri before her
+husband.  I set about my task in the following manner:
+
+The text ran:
+
+"Les procedes de cet homme m'outragent et me deseparent, je dois penser a
+me debarrasser."
+
+For this I substituted:
+
+"Cet homme a des facons qui m'offensent et me desolent, il faut que je
+m'en defasse; " and so on throughout the piece.
+
+When I had finished I slept for three hours, and then rose and dressed.
+Baletti saw my spell, and said I had earned the curses of the young
+author, as Madame Vestri would no doubt make him write all
+parts for her without using the letter 'r'; and, indeed, that was just
+what she did.
+
+I called on the actress and found her getting up.  I gave her the part,
+and as soon as she saw what I had done she burst out into exclamations of
+delight; and calling her husband shewed him my contrivance, and said she
+would never play a part with an 'r' in it again.  I promised to copy them
+all out, and added that I had spent the whole night in amending the
+present part.  "The whole night!  Come and take your reward, for you are
+cleverer than any sorcerer.  We must have the author to dinner, and I
+shall make him promise to write all my parts without the 'r', or the duke
+will not employ him.  Indeed, I don't wonder the duke has made you his
+secretary.  I never thought it would be possible to do what you have
+done; but I suppose it was very difficult?"
+
+"Not at all.  If I were a pretty woman with the like defect I should take
+care to avoid all words with an 'r; in them."
+
+"Oh, that would be too much trouble."
+
+"Let us bet again, for a box or a kiss, that you can spend a whole day
+without using an 'r'.  Let us begin now."
+
+"All in good time," said she, "but we won't have any stake, as I think
+you are too greedy."
+
+The author came to dinner, and was duly attacked by Madame Vestri.  She
+began by saying that it was an author's duty to be polite to actresses,
+and if any of them spoke with a lisp the least he could do was to write
+their parts without the fatal letter.
+
+The young author laughed, and said it could not be done without spoiling
+the style.  Thereupon Madame Vestri gave him my version of her part,
+telling him to read it, and to say on his conscience whether the style
+had suffered.  He had to confess that my alterations were positive
+improvements, due to the great richness of the French language.  And he
+was right, for there is no language in the world that can compare in
+copiousness of expression with the French.
+
+This trifling subject kept us merry, but Madame Vestri expressed a devout
+wish that all authors would do for her what I had done.  At Paris, where
+I heard her playing well and lisping terribly, she did not find the
+authors so obliging, but she pleased the people.  She asked me if I would
+undertake to recompose Zaire, leaving out the r's.
+
+"Ah!" said I, "considering that it would have to be in verse, and in
+Voltairean verse, I would rather not undertake the task."
+
+With a view to pleasing the actress the young author asked me how I would
+tell her that she was charming without using an 'r'.
+
+"I should say that she enchanted me, made me in an ecstasy, that she is
+unique."
+
+She wrote me a letter, which I still keep, in which the 'r' does not
+appear.  If I could have stayed at Stuttgart, this device of mine might
+have won me her favours; but after a week of feasting and triumph the
+courier came one morning at ten o'clock and announced that his highness,
+the duke, would arrive at four.
+
+As soon as I heard the news I told Baletti with the utmost coolness that
+I thought it would be only polite to meet my lord, and swell his train on
+his entry into Louisburg; and as I wished to meet him at a distance of
+two stages I should have to go at once.  He thought my idea an excellent
+one, and went to order post-horses immediately; but when he saw me
+packing up all my belongings into my trunk, he guessed the truth and
+applauded the jest.  I embraced him and confessed my hardihood.  He was
+sorry to lose me, but he laughed when he thought of the feelings of the
+duke and of the three officers when they found out the trick.  He
+promised to write to me at Mannheim, where I had decided on spending a
+week to see my beloved Algardi, who was in the service of the Elector.  I
+had also letters for M. de Sickirigen and Baron Becker, one of the
+Elector's ministers.
+
+When the horses were put in I embraced Baletti, his little girl, and his
+pretty housekeeper, and ordered the postillion to drive to Mannheim.
+
+When we reached Mannheim I heard that the Court was at Schwetzingen, and
+I bade the postillion drive on.  I found everyone I had expected to see.
+Algardi had got married, M. de Sickingen was soliciting the position of
+ambassador to Paris, and Baron Becker introduced me to the Elector.  Five
+or six days after my arrival died Prince Frederic des Deux Ponts, and I
+will here relate an anecdote I heard the day before he died.
+
+Dr. Algardi had attended on the prince during his last illness.  I was
+supping with Veraci, the poet-laureate, on the eve of the prince's death,
+and in the course of supper Algardi came in.
+
+"How is the prince?" said I.
+
+"The poor prince--he cannot possibly live more than twenty-four hours."
+
+"Does he know it?"
+
+"No, he still hopes.  He grieved me to the heart by bidding me tell him
+the whole truth; he even bade me give my word of honour that I was
+speaking the truth.  Then he asked me if he were positively in danger of
+death."
+
+"And you told him the truth?"
+
+"Certainly not.  I told him his sickness was undoubtedly a mortal one,
+but that with the help of nature and art wonders might be worked."
+
+"Then you deceived him, and told a lie?"
+
+"I did not deceive him; his recovery comes under the category of the
+possible.  I did not want to leave him in despair, for despair would most
+certainly kill him."
+
+"Yes, yes; but you will confess that you told him a lie and broke your
+word of honour."
+
+"I told no lie, for I know that he may possibly be cured."
+
+"Then you lied just now?"
+
+"Not at all, for lie will die to-morrow."
+
+"It seems to me that your reasoning is a little Jesuitical."
+
+"No, it is not.  My duty was to prolong my patient's life and to spare
+him a sentence which would most certainly have shortened it, possibly by
+several hours; besides, it is not an absolute impossibility that he
+should recover, therefore I did not lie when I told him that he might
+recover, nor did I lie just now when I gave it as my opinion (the result
+of my experience) that he would die to-morrow.  I would certainly wager a
+million to one that he will die to-morrow, but I would not wager my
+life."
+
+"You are right, and yet for all that you deceived the poor man; for his
+intention in asking you the question was not to be told a commonplace
+which he knew as well as you, but to learn your true opinion as to his
+life or death.  But again I agree with you that as his physician you were
+quite right not to shorten his few remaining hours by telling him the
+terrible truth."
+
+After a fortnight I left Schwetzingen, leaving some of my belongings
+under the care of Veraci the poet, telling him I would call for them some
+day; but I never came, and after a lapse of thirty-one years Veraci keeps
+them still.  He was one of the strangest poets I have ever met.  He
+affected eccentricity to make himself notorious, and opposed the great
+Metastasio in everything, writing unwieldy verses which he said gave more
+scope for the person who set them to music.  He had got this extravagant
+notion from Jumelli.
+
+I traveled to Mayence and thence I sailed to Cologne, where I looked
+forward to the pleasure of meeting with the burgomaster's wife who
+disliked General Kettler, and had treated me so well seven years ago.
+But that was not the only reason which impelled me to visit that odious
+town.  When I was at Dresden I had read in a number of the Cologne
+Gazette that "Master Casanova has returned to Warsaw only to be sent
+about his business again.  The king has heard some stories of this famous
+adventurer, which compel him to forbid him his Court."
+
+I could not stomach language of this kind, and I resolved to pay Jacquet,
+the editor, a visit, and now my time had come.
+
+I made a hasty dinner and then called on the burgomaster, whom I found
+sitting at table with his fair Mimi.  They welcomed me warmly, and for
+two hours I told them the story of my adventures during the last seven
+years.  Mimi had to go out, and I was asked to dine with them the next
+day.
+
+I thought she looked prettier than ever, and my imagination promised me
+some delicious moments with her.  I spent an anxious and impatient night,
+and called on my Amphitryon at an early hour to have an opportunity of
+speaking to his dear companion.  I found her alone, and began with an
+ardent caress which she gently repelled, but her face froze my passion in
+its course.
+
+"Time is an excellent doctor," said she, "and it has cured me of a
+passion which left behind it the sting of remorse."
+
+"What!  The confessional .  .  .  ."
+
+"Should only serve as a place wherein to confess our sins of the past,
+and to implore grace to sin no more."
+
+"May the Lord save me from repentance, the only source of which is a
+prejudice!  I shall leave Cologne to-morrow."
+
+"I do not tell you to go."
+
+"If there is no hope, it is no place for me.  May I hope?"
+
+"Never."
+
+"She was delightful at table, but I was gloomy and distracted.  At seven
+o'clock next day I set out, and as soon as I had passed the Aix la
+Chapelle Gate, I told the postillion to stop and wait for me.  I then
+walked to Jacquet's, armed with a pistol and a cane, though I only meant
+to beat him.
+
+The servant shewed me into the room where he was working by himself.  It
+was on the ground floor, and the door was open for coolness' sake.
+
+He heard me coming in and asked what he could do for me.
+
+"You scoundrelly journalist."  I replied, "I am the adventurer Casanova
+whom you slandered in your miserable sheet four months ago."
+
+So saying I directed my pistol at his head, with my left hand, and lifted
+my cane with my right.  But the wretched scribbler fell on his knees
+before me with clasped hands and offered to shew me the signed letter he
+had received from Warsaw, which contained the statements he had inserted
+in his paper.
+
+"Where is this letter?"
+
+"You shall have it in a moment."
+
+I made way for him to search, but I locked and bolted the door to prevent
+his escaping.  The man trembled like a leaf and began to look for the
+letter amongst his Warsaw correspondence, which was in a disgraceful
+state of confusion.  I shewed him the date of the article in the paper,
+but the letter could not be found; and at the end of an hour he fell down
+again on his knees, and told me to do what I would to him.  I gave him a
+kick and told him to get up and follow me.  He made no reply, and
+followed me bareheaded till he saw me get into my chaise and drive off,
+and I have no doubt he gave thanks to God for his light escape.  In the
+evening, I reached Aix-la-Chapelle, where I found Princess Lubomirska,
+General Roniker, several other distinguished Poles, Tomatis and his wife,
+and many Englishmen of my acquaintance.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+My Stay at Spa--The Blow--The Sword--Della Croce--Charlotte; Her Lying-in
+and Death--A Lettre de Cachet Obliges Me to Leave Paris in the Course of
+Twenty-four Hours
+
+
+All my friends seemed delighted to see me, and I was well pleased to find
+myself in such good company.  People were on the point of leaving Aix for
+Spa.  Nearly everyone went, and those who stayed only did so because
+lodgings were not to be had at Spa.  Everybody assured me that this was
+the case, and many had returned after seeking in vain for a mere garret.
+I paid no attention to all this, and told the princess that if she would
+come with me I would find some lodging, were it only in my carriage.  We
+accordingly set out the next day, and got to Spa in good time, our
+company consisting of the princess, the prothonotary, Roniker, and the
+Tomatis.  Everyone except myself had taken rooms in advance, I alone knew
+not where to turn. I got out and prepared for the search, but before
+going along the streets I went into a shop and bought a hat, having lost
+mine on the way.  I explained my situation to the shopwoman, who seemed
+to take an interest in me, and began speaking to her husband in Flemish
+or Walloon, and finally informed me that if it were only for a few days
+she and her husband would sleep in the shop and give up their room to me.
+But she said that she had absolutely no room whatever for my man.
+
+"I haven't got one."
+
+"All the better.  Send away your carriage."
+
+"Where shall I send it?"
+
+"I will see that it is housed safely."
+
+"How much am I to pay?"
+
+"Nothing; and if you are not too particular, we should like you to share
+our meals."
+
+"I accept your offer thankfully."
+
+I went up a narrow staircase, and found myself in a pretty little room
+with a closet, a good bed, suitable furniture, and everything perfectly
+neat and clean.  I thought myself very lucky, and asked the good people
+why they would not sleep in the closet rather than the shop, and they
+replied with one breath that they would be in my way, while their niece
+would not interfere with me.
+
+This news about the niece was a surprise to me.  The closet had no door,
+and was not much bigger than the bed which it contained; it was, in fact,
+a mere alcove, without any window.
+
+I must note that my hostess and her husband, both of them from Liege,
+were perfect models of ugliness.
+
+"It's not within the limits of possibility," I said to myself, "for the
+niece to be uglier than they, but if they allow her to sleep thus in the
+same room with the first comer, she must be proof against all
+temptation."
+
+However, I gave no sign, and did not ask to see the niece for fear of
+offense, and I went out without opening my trunk.  I told them as I went
+out that I should not be back till after supper, and gave them some money
+to buy wax candles and night lights.
+
+I went to see the princess with whom I was to sup.  All the company
+congratulated me on my good fortune in finding a lodging.  I went to the
+concert, to the bank at faro, and to the other gaming saloons, and there
+I saw the so-called Marquis d'Aragon, who was playing at piquet with an
+old count of the Holy Roman Empire.  I was told about the duel he had had
+three weeks before with a Frenchman who had picked a quarrel with him;
+the Frenchman had been wounded in the chest, and was still ill.
+Nevertheless, he was only waiting for his cure to be completed to have
+his revenge, which he had demanded as he was taken off the field.  Such
+is the way of the French when a duel is fought for a trifling matter.
+They stop at the first blood, and fight the duel over and over again.  In
+Italy, on the other hand, duels are fought to the death.  Our blood burns
+to fire when our adversary's sword opens a vein.  Thus stabbing is common
+in Italy and rare in France; while duels are common in France, and rare
+in Italy.
+
+Of all the company at Spa, I was most pleased to see the Marquis
+Caraccioli, whom I had left in London.  His Court had given him leave of
+absence, and he was spending it at Spa.  He was brimful of wit and the
+milk of human kindness, compassionate for the weaknesses of others, and
+devoted to youth, no matter of what sex, but he knew well the virtue of
+moderation, and used all things without abusing them.  He never played,
+but he loved a good gamester and despised all dupes.  The worthy marquis
+was the means of making the fortune of the so-called Marquis d'Aragon by
+becoming surety for his nobility and bona fides to a wealthy English
+widow of fifty, who had taken a fancy to him, and brought him her fortune
+of sixty thousand pounds sterling.  No doubt the widow was taken with the
+gigantic form and the beautiful title of d'Aragon, for Dragon (as his
+name really was) was devoid of wit and manners, and his legs, which I
+suppose he kept well covered, bore disgusting marks of the libertine life
+he had led.  I saw the marquis some time afterwards at Marseilles, and a
+few years later he purchased two estates at Modena.  His wife died in due
+course, and according to the English law he inherited the whole of her
+property.
+
+I returned to my lodging in good time, and went to bed without seeing the
+niece, who was fast asleep.  I was waited on by the ugly aunt, who begged
+me not to take a servant while I remained in her house, for by her
+account all servants were thieves.
+
+When I awoke in the morning the niece had got up and gone down.  I
+dressed to go to the Wells, and warned my host and hostess that I should
+have the pleasure of dining with them.  The room I occupied was the only
+place in which they could take their meals, and I was astonished when
+they came and asked my permission to do so.  The niece had gone out, so I
+had to put my curiosity aside.  When I was out my acquaintances pointed
+out to me the chief beauties who then haunted the Wells.  The number of
+adventurers who flock to Spa during the season is something incredible,
+and they all hope to make their fortunes; and, as may be supposed, most
+of them go away as naked as they came, if not more so.  Money circulates
+with great freedom, but principally amongst the gamesters, shop-keepers,
+money-lenders, and courtezans.  The money which proceeds from the
+gaming-table has three issues: the first and smallest share goes to the
+Prince-Bishop of Liege; the second and larger portion, to the numerous
+amateur cheats who frequent the place; and by far the largest of all to
+the coffers of twelve sharpers, who keep the tables and are authorized by
+the sovereign.
+
+Thus goes the money.  It comes from the pockets of the dupes--poor moths
+who burn their wings at Spa!
+
+The Wells are a mere pretext for gaming, intriguing, and fortune-hunting.
+There are a few honest people who go for amusement, and a few for rest
+and relaxation after the toils of business.
+
+Living is cheap enough at Spa.  The table d'hote is excellent, and only
+costs a small French crown, and one can get good lodging for the like
+sum.
+
+I came home at noon having won a score of louis.  I went into the shop,
+intending to go to my room, but I was stopped short by seeing a handsome
+brunette, of nineteen or twenty, with great black eyes, voluptuous lips,
+and shining teeth, measuring out ribbon on the counter.  This, then, was
+the niece, whom I had imagined as so ugly.  I concealed my surprise and
+sat down in the shop to gaze at her and endeavour to make her
+acquaintance.  But she hardly seemed to see me, and only acknowledged my
+presence by a slight inclination of the head.  Her aunt came down to say
+that dinner was ready, and I went upstairs and found the table laid for
+four.  The servant brought in the soup, and then asked me very plainly to
+give her some money if I wanted any wine, as her master and mistress only
+drank beer.  I was delighted with her freedom, and gave her money to buy
+two bottles of Burgundy.
+
+The master came up and shewed me a gold repeater with a chain also of
+gold by a well-known modern maker.  He wanted to know how much it was
+worth.
+
+"Forty louis at the least."
+
+"A gentleman wants me to give him twenty louis for it, on the condition
+that I return it to-morrow if he brings me twenty-two."
+
+"Then I advise you to accept his offer."
+
+"I haven't got the money."
+
+"I will lend it you with pleasure."
+
+I gave him the twenty Louis, and placed the watch in my jewel-casket.  At
+table the niece sat opposite to me, but I took care not to look at her,
+and she, like a modest girl, did not say a score of words all through the
+meal.  The meal was an excellent one, consisting of soup, boiled beef, an
+entree, and a roast.  The mistress of the house told me that the roast
+was in my honour, "for," she said, "we are not rich people, and we only
+allow ourselves this Luxury on a Sunday."  I admired her delicacy, and
+the evident sincerity with which she spoke.  I begged my entertainers to
+help me with my wine, and they accepted the offer, saying they only
+wished they were rich enough to be able to drink half a bottle a day.
+
+"I thought trade was good with you."
+
+"The stuff is not ours, and we have debts; besides, the expenses are very
+great.  We have sold very little up to now."
+
+"Do you only sell hats?"
+
+"No, we have silk handkerchiefs, Paris stockings, and lace ruffs, but
+they say everything is too dear."
+
+"I will buy some things for you, and will send all my friends here.
+Leave it to me; I will see what I can do for you."
+
+"Mercy, fetch down one or two packets of those handkerchiefs and some
+stockings, large size, for the gentleman has a big leg."
+
+Mercy, as the niece was called, obeyed.  I pronounced the handkerchiefs
+superb and the stockings excellent.  I bought a dozen, and I promised
+them that they should sell out their whole stock.  They overwhelmed me
+with thanks, and promised to put themselves entirely in my hands.
+
+After coffee, which, like the roast, was in my honour, the aunt told her
+niece to take care to awake me in the morning when she got up.  She said
+she would not fail, but I begged her not to take too much trouble over
+me, as I was a very heavy sleeper.
+
+In the afternoon I went to an armourer's to buy a brace of pistols, and
+asked the man if he knew the tradesman with whom I was staying.
+
+"We are cousins-german," he replied.
+
+"Is he rich?"
+
+"Yes, in debts."
+
+Why?"
+
+"Because he is unfortunate, like most honest people."
+
+"How about his wife?"
+
+"Her careful economy keeps him above water."
+
+"Do you know the niece?"
+
+"Yes; she's a good girl, but very pious.  Her silly scruples keep
+customers away from the shop."
+
+"What do you think she should do to attract customers?"
+
+"She should be more polite, and not play the prude when anyone wants to
+give her a kiss."
+
+"She is like that, is she?"
+
+"Try her yourself and you will see.  Last week she gave an officer a box
+on the ear.  My cousin scolded her, and she wanted to go back to Liege;
+however, the wife soothed her again.  She is pretty enough, don't you
+think so?"
+
+"Certainly I do, but if she is as cross-grained as you say, the best
+thing will be to leave her alone."
+
+After what I had heard I made up my mind to change my room, for Mercy had
+pleased me in such a way that I was sure I should be obliged to pay her a
+call before long, and I detested Pamelas as heartily as Charpillons.
+
+In the afternoon I took Rzewuski and Roniker to the shop, and they bought
+fifty ducats' worth of goods to oblige me.  The next day the princess and
+Madame Tomatis bought all the handkerchiefs.
+
+I came home at ten o'clock, and found Mercy in bed as I had done the
+night before.  Next morning the watch was redeemed, and the hatter
+returned me twenty-two louis.  I made him a present of the two louis, and
+said I should always be glad to lend him money in that way--the profits
+to be his.  He left me full of gratitude.
+
+I was asked to dine with Madame Tomatis, so I told my hosts that I would
+have the pleasure of supping with them, the costs to be borne by me.  The
+supper was good and the Burgundy excellent, but Mercy refused to taste
+it.  She happened to leave the room for a moment at the close of the
+meal, and I observed to the aunt that her niece was charming, but it was
+a pity she was so sad.
+
+"She will have to change her ways, or I will keep her no longer."
+
+"Is she the same with all men?"
+
+"With all."
+
+"Then she has never been in love."
+
+"She says she has not, but I don't believe her."
+
+"I wonder she can sleep so comfortably with a man at a few feet distant."
+
+"She is not afraid."
+
+Mercy came in, bade us good night, and said she would go to bed.  I made
+as if I would give her a kiss, but she turned her back on me, and placed
+a chair in front of her closet so that I might not see her taking off her
+chemise.  My host and hostess then went to bed, and so did I, puzzling my
+head over the girl's behaviour which struck me as most extraordinary and
+unaccountable.  However, I slept peacefully, and when I awoke the bird
+had left the nest.  I felt inclined to have a little quiet argument with
+the girl, and to see what I could make of her; but I saw no chance of my
+getting an opportunity.  The hatter availed himself of my offer of purse
+to lend money on pledges, whereby he made a good profit.  There was no
+risk for me in the matter, and he and his wife declared that they blessed
+the day on which I had come to live with them.
+
+On the fifth or sixth day I awoke before Mercy, and only putting on my
+dressing-gown I came towards her bed.  She had a quick ear and woke up,
+and no sooner did she see me coming towards her than she asked me what I
+wanted.  I sat down on her bed and said gently that I only wanted to wish
+her a good day and to have a little talk.  It was hot weather, and she
+was only covered by a single sheet; and stretching out one arm I drew her
+towards me, and begged her to let me give her a kiss.  Her resistance
+made me angry; and passing an audacious hand under the sheet I discovered
+that she was made like other women; but just as my hand was on the spot,
+I received a fisticuff on the nose that made me see a thousand stars, and
+quite extinguished the fire of my concupiscence.  The blood streamed from
+my nose and stained the bed of the furious Mercy.  I kept my presence of
+mind and left her on the spot, as the blow she had given me was but a
+sample of what I might expect if I attempted reprisals.  I washed my face
+in cold water, and as I was doing so Mercy dressed herself and left the
+room.
+
+At last my blood ceased to flow, and I saw to my great annoyance that my
+nose was swollen in such a manner that my face was simply hideous.  I
+covered it up with a handkerchief and sent for the hairdresser to do my
+hair, and when this was done my landlady brought me up some fine trout,
+of which I approved; but as I was giving her the money she saw my face
+and uttered a cry of horror.  I told her the whole story, freely
+acknowledging that I was in the wrong, and begging her to say nothing to
+her niece.  Then heeding not her excuses I went out with my handkerchief
+before my face, and visited a house which the Duchess of Richmond had
+left the day before.
+
+Half of the suite she had abandoned had been taken in advance by an
+Italian marquis; I took the other half, hired a servant, and had my
+effects transported there from my old lodgings.  The tears and
+supplications of my landlady had no effect whatever upon me, I felt I
+could not bear the sight of Mercy any longer.
+
+In the house into which I had moved I found an Englishman who said he
+would bring down the bruise in one hour, and make the discoloration of
+the flesh disappear in twenty-four.  I let him do what he liked and he
+kept his word.  He rubbed the place with spirits of wine and some drug
+which is unknown to me; but being ashamed to appear in public in the
+state I was in, I kept indoors for the rest of the day.  At noon the
+distressed aunt brought me my trout, and said that Mercy was cut to the
+heart to have used me so, and that if I would come back I could do what I
+liked with her.
+
+"You must feel," I replied, "that if I complied with your request the
+adventure would become public to the damage of my honour and your
+business, and your niece would not be able to pass for a devotee any
+longer."
+
+I made some reflections on the blow she had given the officer, much to
+the aunt's surprise, for she could not think how I had heard of it; and I
+shewed her that, after having exposed me to her niece's brutality, her
+request was extremely out of place.  I concluded by saying that I could
+believe her to be an accomplice in the fact without any great stretch of
+imagination.  This made her burst into tears, and I had to apologize and
+to promise to continue forwarding her business by way of consolation, and
+so she left me in a calmer mood.  Half an hour afterwards her husband
+came with twenty-five Louis I had lent him on a gold snuff-box set with
+diamonds, and proposed that I should lend two hundred Louis on a ring
+worth four hundred.
+
+"It will be yours," he said, "if the owner does not bring me two hundred
+and twenty Louis in a week's time."
+
+I had the money and proceeded to examine the stone which seemed to be a
+good diamond, and would probably weigh six carats as the owner declared.
+The setting was in gold.
+
+"I consent to give the sum required if the owner is ready to give me a
+receipt."
+
+"I will do so myself in the presence of witnesses."
+
+"Very good.  You shall have the money in the course of an hour; I am
+going to have the stone taken out first.  That will make no difference to
+the owner, as I shall have it reset at my own expense.  If he redeems it,
+the twenty Louis shall be yours."
+
+"I must ask him whether he has any objection to the stone being taken
+out."
+
+"Very good, but you can tell him that if he will not allow it to be done
+he will get nothing for it."
+
+He returned before long with a jeweller who said he would guarantee the
+stone to be at least two grains over the six carats.
+
+"Have you weighed it?"
+
+"No, but I am quite sure it weighs over six carats."
+
+"Then you can lend the money on it?"
+
+"I cannot command such a sum."
+
+"Can you tell me why the owner objects to the stone being taken out and
+put in at my expense?"
+
+"No, I can't; but he does object."
+
+"Then he may take his ring somewhere else."
+
+They went away, leaving me well pleased at my refusal, for it was plain
+that the stone was either false or had a false bottom.
+
+I spent the rest of the day in writing letters and making a good supper,
+In the morning I was awoke by someone knocking at my door, and on my
+getting up to open it, what was my astonishment to find Mercy!
+
+I let her in, and went back to bed, and asked her what she wanted with me
+so early in the morning.  She sat down on the bed, and began to overwhelm
+me with apologies.  I replied by asking her why, if it was her principle
+to fly at her lovers like a tiger, she had slept almost in the same room
+as myself.
+
+"In sleeping in the closet," said she, "I obeyed my aunt's orders, and in
+striking you (for which I am very sorry) I was but defending my honour;
+and I cannot admit that every man who sees me is at liberty to lose his
+reason.  I think you will allow that your duty is to respect, and mine to
+defend, my honour."
+
+"If that is your line of argument, I acknowledge that you are right; but
+you had nothing to complain of, for I bore your blow in silence, and by
+my leaving the house you might know that it was my intention to respect
+you for the future.  Did you come to hear me say this?  If so, you are
+satisfied.  But you will not be offended if I laugh at your excuses, for
+after what you have said I cannot help thinking them very laughable."
+
+"What have I said?"
+
+"That you only did your duty in flattening my nose.  If so, do you think
+it is necessary to apologize for the performance of duty?"
+
+"I ought to have defended myself more gently.  But forget everything and
+forgive me; I will defend myself no more in any way.  I am yours and I
+love you, and I am ready to prove my love."
+
+She could not have spoken more plainly, and as she spoke the last words
+she fell on me with her face close to mine, which she bedewed with her
+tears.  I was ashamed of such an easy conquest, and I gently withdrew
+from her embrace, telling her to return after the bruise on my face had
+disappeared.  She left me deeply mortified.
+
+The Italian, who had taken half the suite of rooms, had arrived in the
+course of the night.  I asked his name, and was given a card bearing the
+name of The Marquis Don Antonio della Croce.
+
+Was it the Croce I knew?
+
+It was very possible.
+
+I asked what kind of an establishment he had, and was informed that the
+marchioness had a lady's maid, and the marquis a secretary and two
+servants.  I longed to see the nobleman in question.
+
+I had not long to wait, for as soon as he heard that I was his neighbour,
+he came to see me, and we spent two hours in telling each other our
+adventures since we had parted in Milan.  He had heard that I had made
+the fortune of the girl he had abandoned, and in the six years that had
+elapsed he had been travelling all over Europe, engaged in a constant
+strife with fortune.  At Paris and Brussels he had made a good deal of
+money, and in the latter town he had fallen in love with a young lady of
+rank, whom her father had shut up in a convent.  He had taken her away,
+and she it was whom he called the Marchioness della Croce, now six months
+with child.
+
+He made her pass for his wife, because, as he said, he meant to marry her
+eventually.
+
+"I have fifty thousand francs in gold," said he, "and as much again in
+jewellery and various possessions.  It is my intention to give suppers
+here and hold a bank, but if I play without correcting the freaks of
+fortune I am sure to lose."  He intended going to Warsaw, thinking I
+would give him introductions to all my friends there; but he made a
+mistake, and I did not even introduce him to my Polish friends at Spa.  I
+told him he could easily make their acquaintance by himself, and that I
+would neither make nor mar with him.
+
+I accepted his invitation to dinner for the same day.  His secretary, as
+he called him, was merely his confederate.  He was a clever Veronese
+named Conti, and his wife was an essential accomplice in Croce's designs.
+
+At noon my friend the hatter came again with the ring, followed by the
+owner, who looked like a bravo.  They were accompanied by the jeweller
+and another individual.  The owner asked me once more to lend him two
+hundred louis on the ring.
+
+My proper course would have been to beg to be excused, then I should have
+had no more trouble in the matter; but it was not to be.  I wanted to
+make him see that the objection he made to having the stone taken out was
+an insuperable obstacle to my lending him the money.
+
+"When the stone is removed," said I, "we shall see what it really is.
+Listen to my proposal: if it weighs twenty-six grains, I will give you,
+not two but three hundred louis, but in its present condition I shall
+give nothing at all."
+
+"You have no business to doubt my word; you insult me by doing so."
+
+"Not at all, I have no intentions of the kind.  I simply propose a wager
+to you.  If the stone be found to weigh twenty-six grains, I shall lose
+two hundred Louis, if it weighs much less you will lose the ring."
+
+"That's a scandalous proposal; it's as much as to tell me that I am a
+liar."
+
+I did not like the tone with which these words were spoken, and I went up
+to the chest of drawers where I kept my pistols, and bade him go and
+leave me in peace.
+
+Just then General Roniker came in, and the owner of the ring told him of
+the dispute between us.  The general looked at the ring, and said to
+him,--
+
+"If anyone were to give me the ring I should not have the stone taken
+out, because one should not look a gift horse in the mouth; but if it
+came to a question of buying or lending I would not give a crown for it,
+were the owner an emperor, before the stone was taken out; and I am very
+much surprised at your refusing to let this be done."
+
+Without a word the knave made for the door, and the ring remained in the
+hands of my late host.
+
+"Why didn't you give him his ring?" said I.
+
+"Because I have advanced him fifty Louis on it; but if he does not redeem
+it to-morrow I will have the stone taken out before a judge, and
+afterwards I shall sell it by auction."
+
+"I don't like the man's manners, and I hope you will never bring anyone
+to my rooms again."
+
+The affair came to the following conclusion: The impostor did not redeem
+the ring, and the Liege tradesman had the setting removed.  The diamond
+was found to be placed on a bed of rock crystal, which formed two-thirds
+of the whole bulk.  However, the diamond was worth fifty Louis, and an
+Englishman bought it.  A week afterwards the knave met me as I was
+walking by myself, and begged me to follow him to place where we should
+be free from observation, as his sword had somewhat to say to mine.
+Curiously enough I happened to be wearing my sword at the time.
+
+"I will not follow you," I replied; "the matter can be settled here?"
+
+"We are observed."
+
+"All the better.  Make haste and draw your sword first."
+
+"The advantage is with you."
+
+"I know it, and so it ought to be.  If you do not draw I will proclaim
+you to be the coward I am sure you are."
+
+At this he drew his sword rapidly and came on, but I was ready to receive
+him.  He began to fence to try my mettle, but I lunged right at his
+chest, and gave him three inches of cold steel.  I should have killed him
+on the spot if he had not lowered his sword, saying he would take his
+revenge at another time.  With this he went off, holding his hand to the
+wound.
+
+A score of people were close by, but no one troubled himself about the
+wounded man, as he was known to have been the aggressor.  The duel had no
+further consequences for me.  When I left Spa the man was still in the
+surgeon's hands.  He was something worse than an adventurer, and all the
+French at Spa disowned him.
+
+But to return to Croce and his dinner.
+
+The marchioness, his wife so-called, was a young lady of sixteen or
+seventeen, fair-complexioned and tall, with all the manners of the
+Belgian nobility.  The history of her escape is well known to her
+brothers and sisters, and as her family are still in existence my readers
+will be obliged to me for concealing her name.
+
+Her husband had told her about me, and she received me in the most
+gracious manner possible.  She shewed no signs of sadness or of
+repentance for the steps she had taken.  She was with child for some
+months, and seemed to be near her term, owing to the slimness of her
+figure.  Nevertheless she had the aspect of perfect health.  Her
+countenance expressed candour and frankness of disposition in a
+remarkable degree.  Her eyes were large and blue, her complexion a
+roseate hue, her small sweet mouth, her perfect teeth made her a beauty
+worthy of the brush of Albano.
+
+I thought myself skilled in physiognomy, and concluded that she was not
+only perfectly happy, but also the cause of happiness.  But here let me
+say how vain a thing it is for anyone to pronounce a man or woman to be
+happy or unhappy from a merely cursory inspection.
+
+The young marchioness had beautiful ear-rings, and two rings, which gave
+me a pretext for admiring the beauty of her hands.
+
+Conti's wife did not cut any figure at all, and I was all eyes for the
+marchioness, whose name was Charlotte.  I was profoundly impressed by her
+that I was quite abstracted during dinner.
+
+I sought in vain to discover by what merits Croce had been able to seduce
+two such superior women.  He was not a fine-looking man, he was not well
+educated, his manners were doubtful, and his way of speaking by no means
+seductive; in fine, I saw nothing captivating about him, and yet I could
+be a witness to his having made two girls leave their homes to follow
+him.  I lost myself in conjecture; but I had no premonition of what was
+to happen in the course of a few weeks.
+
+When dinner was over I took Croce apart, and talked seriously to him.  I
+impressed on him the necessity of circumspect conduct, as in my opinion
+he would be for ever infamous if the beautiful woman whom he had seduced
+was to become wretched by his fault.
+
+"For the future I mean to trust to my skill in play, and thus I am sure
+of a comfortable living."
+
+"Does she know, that your revenue is fed solely by the purses of dupes?"
+
+"She knows that I am a gamester; and as she adores me, her will is as
+mine.  I am thinking of marrying her at Warsaw before she is confined.
+If you are in any want of money, look upon my purse as your own."
+
+I thanked him, and once more pressed on him the duty of exercising
+extreme prudence.
+
+As a matter of fact, I had no need of money.  I had played with
+moderation, and my profits amounted to nearly four hundred louis.  When
+the luck turned against me I was wise enough to turn my back on the
+board.  Although the bruise that Mercy had given me was still apparent, I
+escorted the marchioness to the tables, and there she drew all eyes upon
+her.  She was fond of piquet, and we played together for small stakes for
+some time.  In the end she lost twenty crowns to me, and I was forced to
+take the money for fear of offending her.
+
+When we went back we met Croce and Conti, who had both won--Conti a score
+of louis at Faro, and Croce more than a hundred guineas at 'passe dix',
+which he had been playing at a club of Englishmen.  I was more lively at
+supper than dinner, and excited Charlotte to laughter by my wit.
+
+Henceforth the Poles and the Tomatis only saw me at intervals.  I was in
+love with the fair marchioness, and everybody said it was very natural.
+When a week had elapsed, Croce, finding that the pigeons would not come
+to be plucked, despite the suppers he gave, went to the public room, and
+lost continually.  He was as used to loss as to gain, and his spirits
+were unaltered; he was still gay, still ate well and drank better, and
+caressed his victim, who had no suspicions of what was going on.
+
+I loved her, but did not dare to reveal my passion, fearing lest it
+should be unrequited; and I was afraid to tell her of Croce's losses lest
+she should put down my action to some ulterior motive; in fine, I was
+afraid to lose the trust she had already begun to place in me.
+
+At the end of three weeks Conti, who had played with prudence and
+success, left Croce and set out for Verona with his wife and servant.  A
+few days later Charlotte dismissed her maid, sending her back to Liege,
+her native town.
+
+Towards the middle of September all the Polish party left the Spa for
+Paris, where I promised to rejoin them.  I only stayed for Charlotte's
+sake; I foresaw a catastrophe, and I would not abandon her.  Every day
+Croce lost heavily, and at last he was obliged to sell his jewellery.
+Then came Charlotte's turn; she had to give up her watches, ear-rings,
+her rings, and all the jewels she had.  He lost everything, but this
+wonderful girl was as affectionate as ever.  To make a finish he
+despoiled her of her lace and her best gowns, and then selling his own
+wardrobe he went to his last fight with fortune, provided with two
+hundred Louis.  He played like a madman, without common-sense or
+prudence, and lost all.
+
+His pockets were empty, and seeing me he beckoned to me, and I followed
+him out of the Spa.
+
+"My friend," he began, "I have two alternatives, I can kill myself this
+instant or I can fly without returning to the house.  I shall embrace the
+latter and go to Warsaw on foot, and I leave my wife in your hands, for I
+know you adore her.  It must be your task to give her the dreadful news
+of the pass to which I have come.  Have a care of her, she is too good by
+far for a poor wretch like me.  Take her to Paris and I will write to you
+there at your brother's address.  I know you have money, but I would die
+rather than accept a single louis from you.  I have still two or three
+pieces left, and I assure you that I am richer at the present moment than
+I was two months ago.  Farewell; once more I commend Charlotte to your
+care; I would that she had never known me."
+
+With these words he shed tears, and embracing me went his way.  I was
+stupefied at what lay before me.
+
+I had to inform a pregnant woman that the man she dearly loved had
+deserted her.  The only thought that supported me in that moment was that
+it would be done for love of her, and I felt thankful that I had
+sufficient means to secure her from privation.
+
+I went to the house and told her that we might dine at once, as the
+marquis would be engaged till the evening.  She sighed, wished him luck,
+and we proceeded to dine.  I disguised my emotions so well that she
+conceived no suspicion.  After the meal was over, I asked her to walk
+with me in the garden of the Capuchin Monastery, which was close at hand.
+To prepare her for the fatal news I asked her if she would approve of her
+lover exposing himself to assassination for the sake of bidding adieu to
+her rather than making his escape.
+
+"I should blame him for doing so," she replied.  "He ought to escape by
+all means, if only to save his life for my sake.  Has my husband done so?
+Speak openly to me.  My spirit is strong enough to resist even so fatal a
+blow, for I know I have a friend in you.  Speak."
+
+"Well, I will tell you all.  But first of all remember this; you must
+look upon me as a tender father who will never let you want, so long as
+life remains to him."
+
+"In that case I cannot be called unfortunate, for I have a true friend.
+Say on."
+
+I told all that Croce had told me, not omitting his last words: "I
+commend Charlotte to your care; I would that she had never known me."
+
+For a few minutes she remained motionless, as one turned into stone.  By
+her attitude, by her laboured and unequal breath, I could divine somewhat
+of the battle between love, and anger, and sorrow, and pity, that was
+raging in the noble breast.  I was cut to the heart.  At last she wiped
+away the big tears that began to trickle down her cheeks, and turning to
+me sighed and said,--
+
+"Dear friend, since I can count on you, I am far indeed from utter
+misery."
+
+"I swear to you, Charlotte, that I will never leave you till I place you
+again in your husband's hands, provided I do not die before."
+
+"That is enough.  I swear eternal gratitude, and to be as submissive to
+you as a good daughter ought to be."
+
+The religion and philosophy with which her heart and mind were fortified,
+though she made no parade of either, began to calm her spirit, and she
+proceeded to make some reflections on Croce's unhappy lot, but all in
+pity not in anger, excusing his inveterate passion for play.  She had
+often heard from Croce's lips the story of the Marseilles girl whom he
+had left penniless in an inn at Milan, commending her to my care.  She
+thought it something wonderful that I should again be intervening as the
+tutelary genius; but her situation was much the worse, for she was with
+child.
+
+"There's another difference," I added, "for I made the fortune of the
+first by finding her an honest husband, whereas I should never have the
+courage to adopt the same method with the second."
+
+"While Croce lives I am no man's wife but his, nevertheless I am glad to
+find myself free."
+
+When we were back in the house, I advised her to send away the servant
+and to pay his journey to Besanion, where she had taken him.  Thus all
+unpleasantness would be avoided.  I made her sell all that remained of
+her poor lover's wardrobe, as also his carriage, for mine was a better
+one.  She shewed me all she had left, which only amounted to some sets of
+linen and three or four dresses.
+
+We remained at Spa without going out of doors.  She could see that my
+love was a tenderer passion than the love of a father, and she told me
+so, and that she was obliged to me for the respect with which I treated
+her.  We sat together for hours, she folded in my arms, whilst I gently
+kissed her beautiful eyes, and asked no more.  I was happy in her
+gratitude and in my powers of self-restraint.  When temptation was too
+strong I left the beautiful girl till I was myself again, and such
+conquests made me proud.  In the affection between us there was somewhat
+of the purity of a man's first love.
+
+I wanted a small travelling cap, and the servant of the house went to my
+former lodging to order one.  Mercy brought several for me to choose
+from.  She blushed when she saw me, but I said nothing to her.  When she
+had gone I told Charlotte the whole story, and she laughed with all her
+heart when I reminded her of the bruise on my face when we first met, and
+informed her that Mercy had given it me.  She praised my firmness in
+rejecting her repentance, and agreed with me in thinking that the whole
+plan had been concerted between her and her aunt.
+
+We left Spa without any servant, and when we reached Liege we took the
+way of the Ardennes, as she was afraid of being recognized if we passed
+through Brussels.  At Luxemburg we engaged a servant, who attended on us
+till we reached Paris.  All the way Charlotte was tender and
+affectionate, but her condition prescribed limits to her love, and I
+could only look forward to the time after her delivery.  We got down at
+Paris at the "Hotel Montmorenci," in the street of the same name.
+
+Paris struck me quite as a new place.  Madame d'Urfe was dead, my friends
+had changed their houses and their fortunes; the poor had become rich and
+the rich poor, new streets and buildings were rising on all sides; I
+hardly knew my way about the town.  Everything was dearer; poverty was
+rampant, and luxury at it highest pitch.  Perhaps Paris is the only city
+where so great a change could take place in the course of five or six
+years.
+
+The first call I made was on Madame du Rumain, who was delighted to see
+me.  I repaid her the money she had so kindly lent me in the time of my
+distress.  She was well in health, but harassed by so many anxieties and
+private troubles that she said Providence must have sent me to her to
+relieve her of all her griefs by my cabala.  I told her that I would wait
+on her at any hour or hours; and this, indeed, was the least I could do
+for the woman who had been so kind to me.
+
+My brother had gone to live in the Faubourg St. Antoine.  Both he and his
+wife (who remained constant to him, despite his physical disability) were
+overjoyed to see me, and entreated me to come and stop with them.  I told
+them I should be glad to do so, as soon as the lady who had travelled
+with me had got over her confinement.  I did not think proper to tell
+them her story, and they had the delicacy to refrain from questioning me
+on the subject.  The same day I called on Princess Lubomirska and
+Tomatis, begging them not to take it amiss if my visits were few and far
+between, as the lady they had seen at Spa was approaching her
+confinement, and demanded all my care.
+
+After the discharge of these duties I remained constantly by Charlotte's
+side.  On October 8th I thought it would be well to take her to Madame
+Lamarre, a midwife, who lived in the Faubourg St. Denis, and Charlotte
+was of the same opinion.  We went together, she saw the room, the bed,
+and heard how she would be tended and looked after, for all of which I
+would pay.  At nightfall we drove to the place, with a trunk containing
+all her effects.
+
+As we were leaving the Rue Montmorenci our carriage was obliged to stop
+to allow the funeral of some rich man to go by.  Charlotte covered her
+face with her handkerchief, and whispered in my ear,
+"Dearest, I know it is a foolish superstition, but to a woman in my
+condition such a meeting is of evil omen."
+
+"What, Charlotte!  I thought you were too wise to have such silly fears.
+A woman in child-bed is not a sick woman, and no woman ever died of
+giving birth to a child except some other disease intervened."
+
+"Yes, my dear philosopher, it is like a duel; there are two men in
+perfect health, when all of a sudden there comes a sword-thrust, and one
+of them is dead."
+
+"That's a witty idea.  But bid all gloomy thoughts go by, and after your
+child is born, and we have placed it in good hands, you shall come with
+me to Madrid, and there I hope to see you happy and contented."
+
+All the way I did my best to cheer her, for I knew only too well the
+fatal effects of melancholy on a pregnant woman, especially in such a
+delicate girl as Charlotte.
+
+When I saw her completely settled I returned to the hotel, and the next
+day I took up my quarters with my brother.  However, as long as my
+Charlotte lived, I only slept at his house, for from nine in the morning
+till after midnight I was with my dear.
+
+On October 13th Charlotte was attacked with a fever which never left her.
+On the 17th she was happily delivered of a boy, which was immediately
+taken to the church and baptized at the express wishes of the mother.
+Charlotte wrote down what its name was to be--Jacques (after me), Charles
+(after her), son of Antonio della Croce and of Charlotte de (she gave her
+real name).  When it was brought from the church she told Madame Lamarre
+to carry it to the Foundling Hospital, with the certificate of baptism in
+its linen.  I vainly endeavoured to persuade her to leave the care of the
+child to me.  She said that if it lived the father could easily reclaim
+it.  On the same day, October 18th, the, midwife gave me the following
+certificate, which I still possess:
+
+It was worded as follows:
+
+"We, J. B. Dorival, Councillor to the King, Commissary of the Chatelet,
+formerly Superintendent of Police in the City of Paris, do certify that
+there has been taken to the Hospital for Children a male infant,
+appearing to be one day old, brought from the Faubourg St. Denis by the
+midwife Lamarre, and bearing a certificate of baptism to the effect that
+its name is Jacques Charles, son of Antonio della Croce and of Charlotte
+de ---- .  Wherefore, we have delivered the above certificate at our
+office in the City of Paris, this 18th day of October, in the year of our
+Lord, 1767, at seven o'clock in the afternoon.
+
+"DORIVAL."
+
+If any of my readers have any curiosity to know the real name of the
+mother, I have given them the means of satisfying it.
+
+After this I did not leave the bed of the invalid for a single instant.
+In spite of all the doctor's care the fever increased, and at five
+o'clock in the morning of October 26th, she succumbed to it.  An hour
+before she sighed her last, she bade me the last farewell in the presence
+of the venerable ecclesiastic who had confessed her at midnight.  The
+tears which gather fast as I write these words are probably the last
+honours I shall pay to this poor victim of a man who is still alive, and
+whose destiny seemed to be to make women unhappy.
+
+I sat weeping by the bed of her I loved so dearly, and in vain Madame
+Lamarre tried to induce me to come and sit with her.  I loved the poor
+corpse better than all the world outside.
+
+At noon my brother and his wife came to see me; they had not seen me for
+a week, and were getting anxious.  They saw the body lovely in death;
+they understood my tears, and mingled theirs with mine.  At last I asked
+them to leave me, and I remained all night by Charlotte's bed, resolved
+not to leave it till her body had been consigned to the grave.
+
+The day before this morning of unhappy memory my brother had given me
+several letters, but I had not opened any of them.  On my return from the
+funeral I proceeded to do so, and the first one was from M. Dandolo,
+announcing the death of M. de Bragadin; but I could not weep.  For
+twenty-two years M. de Bragadin had been as a father to me, living
+poorly, and even going into debt that I might have enough.  He could not
+leave me anything, as his property was entailed, while his furniture and
+his library would become the prey of his creditors.  His two friends, who
+were my friends also, were poor, and could give me nothing but their
+love.  The dreadful news was accompanied by a bill of exchange for a
+thousand crowns, which he had sent me twenty-four hours before his death,
+foreseeing that it would be the last gift he would ever make me.
+
+I was overwhelmed, and thought that Fortune had done her worst to me.
+
+I spent three days in my brother's house without going out.  On the
+fourth I began to pay an assiduous court to Princess Lubomirska, who had
+written the king, her brother, a letter that must have mortified him, as
+she proved beyond a doubt that the tales he had listened to against me
+were mere calumny.  But your kings do not allow so small a thing to vex
+or mortify them.  Besides, Stanislas Augustus had just received a
+dreadful insult from Russia.  Repnin's violence in kidnapping the three
+senators who had spoken their minds at the Diet was a blow which must
+have pierced the hapless king to the heart.
+
+The princess had left Warsaw more from hatred than love; though such was
+not the general opinion.  As I had decided to visit the Court of Madrid
+before going to Portugal, the princess gave me a letter of introduction
+to the powerful Count of Aranda; and the Marquis Caraccioli, who was
+still at Paris, gave me three letters, one for Prince de la Catolica, the
+Neapolitan ambassador at Madrid, one for the Duke of Lossada, the king's
+favourite and lord high steward, and a third for the Marquis Mora
+Pignatelli.
+
+On November 4th I went to a concert with a ticket that the princess had
+given me.  When the concert was half-way through I heard my name
+pronounced, accompanied by scornful laughter.  I turned round and saw the
+gentleman who was speaking contemptuously of me.  It was a tall young man
+sitting between two men advanced in years.  I stared him in the face, but
+he turned his head away and continued his impertinencies, saying, amongst
+other things, that I had robbed him of a million francs at least by my
+swindling his late aunt, the Marchioness d'Urfe.
+
+"You are an impudent liar," I said to him, "and if we were out of this
+room I would give you a kick to teach you to speak respectfully."
+
+With these words I made my way out of the hall, and on turning my head
+round I saw that the two elderly men were keeping the young blockhead
+back.  I got into my carriage and waited some time, and as he did not
+come I drove to the theatre and chanced to find myself in the same box as
+Madame Valville.  She informed me that she had left the boards, and was
+kept by the Marquis the Brunel.
+
+"I congratulate you, and wish you good luck."
+
+"I hope you will come to supper at my house."
+
+"I should be only too happy, but unfortunately I have an engagement; but
+I will come and see you if you will give me your address."
+
+So saying, I slipped into her hand a rouleau, it being the fifty louis I
+owed her.
+
+"What is this?"
+
+"The money you lent me so kindly at Konigsberg."
+
+"This is neither the time nor the place to return it.  I will only take
+it at my own house, so please do not insist."
+
+I put the money back into my pocket, she gave me her address, and I left
+her.  I felt too sad to visit her alone.
+
+Two days later, as I was at table with my brother, my sister-in-law, and
+some young Russians whom he was teaching to paint, I was told that a
+Chevalier of St. Louis wanted to speak to me in the antechamber.  I went
+out, and he handed me a paper without making any preface.  I opened the
+document, and found it was signed "Louis."  The great king ordered me to
+leave Paris in twenty-four hours and his realm of France within three
+weeks, and the reason assigned was: "It is our good pleasure."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+My Departure From Paris--My Journey to Madrid--The Count of Aranda
+--The Prince de la Catolica--The Duke of Lossada--Mengs--A Ball-- Madame
+Pichona--Donna Ignazia
+
+
+"Well, chevalier," I said, "I have read the little note, and I will try
+and oblige his majesty as soon as possible.  However, if I have not time
+to get away in twenty-four hours, his majesty must work his dread will on
+me."
+
+"My dear sir, the twenty-four hours are a mere formality.  Subscribe the
+order and give me a receipt for the lettre de cachet, and you can go at
+your convenience.  All I ask of you is that you give me your word of
+honour not to go to the theatres or public places of amusement on foot."
+
+"I give you my word with pleasure."
+
+I took the chevalier to my room and gave him the necessary
+acknowledgment, and with the observation that he would be glad to see my
+brother, whom he knew already, I led him into the dining-room, and
+explained with a cheerful face the purport of his visit.
+
+My brother laughed and said,--
+
+"But, M. Buhot, this news is like March in Lent, it was quite
+unnecessary; my brother was going in the course of a week."
+
+"All the better.  If the minister had been aware of that he would not
+have troubled himself about it."
+
+"Is the reason known?"
+
+"I have heard something about a proposal to kick a gentleman, who though
+young, is too exalted a person to be spoken to in such a manner."
+
+"Why, chevalier," said I, "the phrase is a mere formality like the
+twenty-four hours for if the impudent young rascal had come out he would
+have met me, and his sword should have been sufficient to ward off any
+kicks."
+
+I then told the whole story, and Buhot agreed that I was in the right
+throughout; adding that the police were also in the right to prevent any
+encounter between us.  He advised me to go next morning and tell the tale
+to M. de Sartine, who knew me, and would be glad to have the account from
+my own lips.  I said nothing, as I knew the famous superintendent of
+police to be a dreadful sermoniser.
+
+The lettre de cachet was dated November 6th, and I did not leave Paris
+till the 20th.
+
+I informed all my friends of the great honour his majesty had done me,
+and I would not hear of Madame du Rumain appealing to the king on my
+behalf, though she said she felt certain she could get the order revoked.
+The Duc de Choiseul gave me a posting passport dated November 19th, which
+I still preserve.
+
+I left Paris without any servant, still grieving, though quietly, over
+Charlotte's fate.  I had a hundred Louis in cash, and a bill of exchange
+on Bordeaux for eight thousand francs.  I enjoyed perfect health, and
+almost felt as if I had been rejuvenated.  I had need of the utmost
+prudence and discretion for the future.  The deaths of M.  de Bragadin
+and Madame d'Urfe had left me alone in the world, and I was slowly but
+steadily approaching what is called a certain age, when women begin to
+look on a man with coldness.
+
+I only called on Madame Valville on the eve of my departure: and found
+her in a richly-furnished house, and her casket well filled with
+diamonds.  When I proposed to return her the fifty louis, she asked me if
+I had got a thousand; and on learning that I had only five hundred she
+refused the money absolutely and offered me her purse, which I in my turn
+refused.  I have not seen the excellent creature since then, but before I
+left I gave her some excellent advice as to the necessity of saving her
+gains for the time of her old age, when her charms would be no more.  I
+hope she has profited by my counsel.  I bade farewell to my brother and
+my sister-in-law at six o'clock in the evening, and got into my chaise in
+the moonlight, intending to travel all night so as to dine next day at
+Orleans, where I wanted to see an old friend.  In half an hour I was at
+Bourg-la-Reine, and there I began to fall asleep.  At seven in the
+morning I reached Orleans.
+
+Fair and beloved France, that went so well in those days, despite lettres
+de cachet, despite corvees, despite the people's misery and the king's
+"good pleasure," dear France, where art thou now?  Thy sovereign is the
+people now, the most brutal and tyrannical sovereign in the world.  You
+have no longer to bear the "good pleasure" of the sovereign, but you have
+to endure the whims of the mob and the fancies of the Republic--the ruin
+of all good Government.  A republic presupposes self-denial and a
+virtuous people; it cannot endure long in our selfish and luxurious days.
+
+I went to see Bodin, a dancer, who had married Madame Joffroy, one of my
+thousand mistresses whom I had loved twenty-two years ago, and had seen
+later at Turin, Paris, and Vienna.  These meetings with old friends and
+sweethearts were always a weak or rather a strong point with me.  For a
+moment I seemed to be young again, and I fed once more on the delights of
+long ago.  Repentance was no part of my composition.
+
+Bodin and his wife (who was rather ugly than old-looking, and had become
+pious to suit her husband's tastes, thus giving to God the devil's
+leavings), Bodin, I say, lived on a small estate he had purchased, and
+attributed all the agricultural misfortunes he met with in the course of
+the year to the wrath of an avenging Deity.
+
+I had a fasting dinner with them, for it was Friday, and they strictly
+observed all the rules of the Church.  I told them of my adventures of
+the past years, and when I had finished they proceeded to make
+reflections on the faults and failings of men who have not God for a
+guide.  They told me what I knew already: that I had an immortal soul,
+that there was a God that judgeth righteously, and that it was high time
+for me to take example by them, and to renounce all the pomps and
+vanities of the world.
+
+"And turn Capuchin, I suppose?"
+
+"You might do much worse."
+
+"Very good; but I shall wait till my beard grows the necessary length in
+a single night."
+
+In spite of their silliness, I was not sorry to have spent six hours with
+these good creatures who seemed sincerely repentant and happy in their
+way, and after an affectionate embrace I took leave of them and travelled
+all night.  I stopped at Chanteloup to see the monument of the taste and
+magnificence of the Duc de Choiseul, and spent twenty-four hours there.
+A gentlemanly and polished individual, who did not know me, and for whom
+I had no introduction, lodged me in a fine suite of rooms, gave me
+supper, and would only sit down to table with me after I had used all my
+powers of persuasion.  The next day he treated me in the same way, gave
+me an excellent dinner, shewed me everything, and behaved as if I were
+some prince, though he did not even ask my name.  His attentions even
+extended to seeing that none of his servants were at hand when I got into
+my carriage and drove off.  This was to prevent my giving money to any of
+them.
+
+The castle on which the Duc de Choiseul had spent such immense sums had
+in reality cost him nothing.  It was all owing, but he did not trouble
+himself about that in the slightest degree, as he was a sworn foe to the
+principle of meum and tuum.  He never paid his creditors, and never
+disturbed his debtors.  He was a generous man; a lover of art and
+artists, to whom he liked to be of service, and what they did for him he
+looked upon as a grateful offering.  He was intellectual, but a hater of
+all detail and minute research, being of a naturally indolent and
+procrastinating disposition.  His favourite saying was,
+
+"There's time enough for that."
+
+When I got to Poitiers, I wanted to push on to Vivonne; it was seven
+o'clock in the evening, and two girls endeavoured to dissuade me from
+this course.
+
+"It's very cold," said they, "and the road is none of the best.  You are
+no courier, sup here, we will give you a good bed, and you shall start
+again in the morning."
+
+"I have made up my mind to go on, but if you will keep me company at
+supper I will stay."
+
+"That would cost you too dearly."
+
+"Never too dear.  Quick I make up your minds."
+
+"Well, we will sup with you."
+
+"Then lay the table for three; I must go on in an hour."
+
+"In an hour!  You mean three, sir; papa will take two hours to get you a
+good supper."
+
+"Then I will not go on, but you must keep me company all night."
+
+"We will do so, if papa does not object.  We will have your chaise put
+into the coach-house."
+
+These two minxes gave me an excellent supper, and were a match for me in
+drinking as well as eating.  The wine was delicious, and we stayed at
+table till midnight, laughing and joking together, though without
+overstepping the bounds of propriety.
+
+About midnight, the father came in jovially, and asked me how I had
+enjoyed my supper.
+
+"Very much," I answered, "but I have enjoyed still more the company of
+your charming daughters."
+
+"I am delighted to hear it.  Whenever you come this way they shall keep
+you company, but now it is past midnight, and time for them to go to
+bed."
+
+I nodded my head, for Charlotte's death was still too fresh in my memory
+to admit of my indulging in any voluptuous pleasures.  I wished the girls
+a pleasant sleep, and I do not think I should even have kissed them if
+the father had not urged me to do this honour to their charms.  However,
+my vanity made me put some fire into the embrace, and I have no doubt
+they thought me a prey to vain desires.
+
+When I was alone I reflected that if I did not forget Charlotte I was a
+lost man.  I slept till nine o'clock, and I told the servant that came to
+light my fire to get coffee for three, and to have my horses put in.
+
+The two pretty girls came to breakfast with me, and I thanked them for
+having made me stay the night.  I asked for the bill, and the eldest said
+it was in round figures a Louis apiece.  I shewed no sign of anger at
+this outrageous fleecing, but gave them three Louis with the best grace
+imaginable and went on my way.  When I reached Angouleme, where I
+expected to find Noel, the King of Prussia's cook, I only found his
+father, whose talents in the matter of pates was something prodigious.
+His eloquence was as fervent as his ovens.  He said he would send his
+pates all over Europe to any address I liked to give him.
+
+"What!  To Venice, London, Warsaw, St. Petersburg?"
+
+"To Constantinople, if you like.  You need only give me your address, and
+you need not pay me till you get the pates."
+
+I sent his pates to my friends in Venice, Warsaw, and Turin, and
+everybody thanked me for the delicious dish.
+
+Noel had made quite a fortune.  He assured me he had sent large
+consignments to America, and with the exception of some losses by
+shipwreck all the pates had arrived in excellent condition.  They were
+chiefly made of turkeys, partridges, and hare, seasoned with truffles,
+but he also made pates de foie gras of larks and of thrushes, according
+to the season.
+
+In two days I arrived at Bordeaux, a beautiful town coming only second to
+Paris, with respect to Lyons be it said.  I spent a week there, eating
+and drinking of the best, for the living there is the choicest in the
+world.
+
+I transferred my bill of exchange for eight thousand francs to a Madrid
+house, and crossed the Landes, passing by Mont de Marsan, Bayonne, and
+St. Jean de Luz, where I sold my post-chaise.  From St. Jean de Luz I
+went to Pampeluna by way of the Pyrenees, which I crossed on mule-back,
+my baggage being carried by another mule.  The mountains struck me as
+higher than the Alps.  In this I may possibly be wrong, but I am certain
+that the Pyrenees are the most picturesque, fertile, and agreeable of the
+two.
+
+At Pampeluna a man named Andrea Capello took charge of me and my luggage,
+and we set out for Madrid.  For the first twenty leagues the travelling
+was easy enough, and the roads as good as any in France.  These roads did
+honour to the memory of M. de Gages, who had administered Navarre after
+the Italian war, and had, as I was assured, made the road at his own
+expense.  Twenty years earlier I had been arrested by this famous
+general; but he had established a claim on posterity greater than any of
+his victories.  These laurels were dyed in blood, but the maker of a good
+road is a solid benefactor of all posterity.
+
+In time this road came to an end, and thenceforth it would be incorrect
+to say that the roads were bad, for, to tell the truth, there were no
+roads at all.  There were steep ascents and violent descents, but no
+traces of carriage wheels, and so it is throughout the whole of Old
+Castile.  There are no good inns, only miserable dens scarce good enough
+for the muleteers, who make their beds beside their animals.  Signor or
+rather Senor Andrea tried to choose the least wretched inns for me, and
+after having provided for the mules he would go round the entire village
+to get something for me to eat.  The landlord would not stir; he shewed
+me a room where I could sleep if I liked, containing a fire-place, in
+which I could light a fire if I thought fit, but as to procuring firewood
+or provisions, he left that all to me.  Wretched Spain!
+
+The sum asked for a night's accommodation was less than a farmer would
+ask in France or Germany for leave to sleep in his barn; but there was
+always an extra charge of a 'pizetta por el ruido'.  The pizetta is worth
+four reals; about twenty-one French sous.
+
+The landlord smoked his paper cigarette nonchalantly enough, blowing
+clouds of smoke into the air with immense dignity.  To him poverty was as
+good as riches; his wants were small, and his means sufficed for them.
+In no country in Europe do the lower orders live so contentedly on a very
+little as in Spain.  Two ounces of white bread, a handful of roast
+chestnuts or acorns (called bellotas in Spanish) suffice to keep a
+Spaniard for a day.  It is his glory to say when a stranger is departing
+from his abode,--
+
+"I have not given myself any trouble in waiting on him."
+
+This proceeds in part from idleness and in part from Castilian pride.  A
+Castilian should not lower himself, they say, by attending on a Gavacho,
+by which name the Spaniards know the French, and, indeed, all foreigners.
+It is not so offensive as the Turkish appellation of dog, or the damned
+foreigner of the English.  Of course, persons who have travelled or have
+had a liberal education do not speak in this way, and a respectable
+foreigner will find reasonable Spaniards as he will find reasonable Turks
+and Englishmen.
+
+On the second night of my journey I slept at Agreda, a small and ugly
+town, or rather village.  There Sister Marie d'Agreda became so crazy as
+to write a life of the Virgin, which she affirmed to have been dictated
+to her by the Mother of the Lord.  The State Inquisitors had given me
+this work to read when I was under the Leads, and it had nearly driven me
+mad.
+
+We did ten Spanish leagues a day, and long and weary leagues they seemed
+to me.  One morning I thought I saw a dozen Capuchins walking slowly in
+front of us, but when we caught them up I found they were women of all
+ages.
+
+"Are they mad?" I said to Senior Andrea.
+
+"Not at all.  They wear the Capuchin habit out of devotion, and you would
+not find a chemise on one of them."
+
+There was nothing surprising in their not having chemises, for the
+chemise is a scarce article in Spain, but the idea of pleasing God by
+wearing a Capuchin's habit struck me as extremely odd.  I will here
+relate an amusing adventure which befell me on my way.
+
+At the gate of a town not far from Madrid I was asked for my passport.  I
+handed it over, and got down to amuse myself.  I found the chief of the
+customs' house engaged in an argument with a foreign priest who was on
+his way to Madrid, and had no passport for the capital.  He skewed one he
+had had for Bilbao, but the official was not satisfied.  The priest was a
+Sicilian, and I asked him why he had exposed himself to being placed in
+this disagreeable predicament.  He said he thought it was unnecessary to
+have a passport in Spain when one had once journeyed in the country.
+
+"I want to go to Madrid," said he to me, "and hope to obtain a chaplaincy
+in the house of a grandee.  I have a letter for him."
+
+"Shew it; they will let you pass then."
+
+"You are right."
+
+The poor priest drew out the letter and skewed it to the official, who
+opened it, looked at the signature, and absolutely shrieked when he saw
+the name Squillace.
+
+"What, senor abbe!  you are going to Madrid with a letter from Squillace,
+and you dare to skew it?"
+
+The clerks, constables, and hangers-on, hearing that the hated Squillace,
+who would have been stoned to death if it had not been for the king's
+protection, was the poor abbe's only patron, began to beat him violently,
+much to the poor Sicilian's astonishment.
+
+I interposed, however, and after some trouble I succeeded in rescuing the
+priest, who was then allowed to pass, as I believe, as a set-off against
+the blows he had received.
+
+Squillace was sent to Venice as Spanish ambassador, and in Venice he died
+at an advanced age.  He was a man designed to be an object of intense
+hatred to the people; he was simply ruthless in his taxation.
+
+The door of my room had a lock on the outside but none on the inside.
+For the first and second night I let it pass, but on the third I told
+Senor Andrea that I must have it altered.
+
+"Senor Don Jacob, you must bear with it in Spain, for the Holy
+Inquisition must always be at liberty to inspect the rooms of
+foreigners."
+
+"But what in the devil's name does your cursed Inquisition want....?"
+
+"For the love of God, Senor Jacob, speak not thus! if you were overheard
+we should both be undone."
+
+"Well, what can the Holy Inquisition want to know?"
+
+"Everything.  It wants to know whether you eat meat on fast days, whether
+persons of opposite sexes sleep together, if so, whether they are
+married, and if not married it will cause both parties to be imprisoned;
+in fine, Senor Don Jaimo, the Holy inquisition is continually watching
+over our souls in this country."
+
+When we met a priest bearing the viaticum to some sick man, Senor Andrea
+would tell me imperatively to get out of my carriage, and then there was
+no choice but to kneel in the mud or dust as the case might be.  The
+chief subject of dispute at that time was the fashion of wearing
+breeches.  Those who wore 'braguettes' were imprisoned, and all tailors
+making breeches with 'braguettes' were severely punished.  Nevertheless,
+people persisted in wearing them, and the priests and monks preached in
+vain against the indecency of such a habit.  A revolution seemed
+imminent, but the matter was happily settled without effusion of blood.
+An edict was published and affixed to the doors of all the churches, in
+which it was declared that breeches with braguettes were only to be worn
+by the public hangmen.  Then the fashion passed away; for no one cared to
+pass for the public executioner.
+
+By little and little I got an insight into the manners of the Spanish
+nation as I passed through Guadalaxara and Alcala, and at length arrived
+at Madrid.
+
+Guadalaxara, or Guadalajara, is pronounced by the Spaniards with a strong
+aspirate, the x and j having the same force.  The vowel d, the queen of
+letters, reigns supreme in Spain; it is a relic of the old Moorish
+language.  Everyone knows that the Arabic abounds in d's, and perhaps the
+philologists are right in calling it the most ancient of languages, since
+the a is the most natural and easy to pronounce of all the letters.  It
+seems to me very mistaken to call such words as Achald, Ayanda, Almanda,
+Acard, Agracaramba, Alcantara, etc., barbarous, for the sonorous ring
+with which they are pronounced renders the Castilian the richest of all
+modern languages.  Spanish is undoubtedly one of the finest, most
+energetic, and most majestic languages in the world.  When it is
+pronounced 'ore rotundo' it is susceptible of the most poetic harmony.
+It would be superior to the Italian, if it were not for the three
+guttural letters, in spite of what the Spaniards say to the contrary.  It
+is no good remonstrating with them.
+
+'Quisquis amat ranam, ranam purat esse Dianam'.
+
+As I was entering the Gate of Alcala, my luggage was searched, and the
+clerks paid the greatest attention to my books, and they were very
+disappointed only to find the "Iliad" in Greek, and a Latin Horace.  They
+were taken away, but three days after, they were returned to me at my
+lodging in the Rue de la Croix where I had gone in spite of Senor Andrea,
+who had wanted to take me elsewhere.  A worthy man whom I had met in
+Bordeaux had given me the address.  One of the ceremonies I had to
+undergo at the Gate of Alcala displeased me in the highest degree.  A
+clerk asked me for a pinch of snuff, so I took out my snuff-box and gave
+it him, but instead of taking a pinch he snatched it out of my hands and
+said,--
+
+"Senor, this snuff will not pass in Spain" (it was French rappee); and
+after turning it out on the ground he gave me back the box.
+
+The authorities are most rigorous on the matter of this innocent powder,
+and in consequence an immense contraband trade is carried on.  The spies
+employed by the Spanish snuff-makers are always on the look-out after
+foreign snuff, and if they detect anyone carrying it they make him pay
+dearly for the luxury.  The ambassadors of foreign powers are the only
+persons exempted from the prohibitions.  The king who stuffs into his
+enormous nose one enormous pinch as he rises in the morning wills that
+all his subjects buy their snuff of the Spanish manufacturers.  When
+Spanish snuff is pure it is very good, but at the time I was in Spain the
+genuine article could hardly be bought for its weight in gold.  By reason
+of the natural inclination towards forbidden fruit, the Spaniards are
+extremely fond of foreign snuff, and care little for their own; thus
+snuff is smuggled to an enormous extent.
+
+My lodging was comfortable enough, but I felt the want of a fire as the
+cold was more trying than that of Paris, in spite of the southern
+latitude.  The cause of this cold is that Madrid is the highest town in
+Europe.  From whatever part of the coast one starts, one has to mount to
+reach the capital.  The town is also surrounded by mountains and hills,
+so that the slightest touch of wind from the north makes the cold
+intense.  The air of Madrid is not healthy for strangers, especially for
+those of a full habit of body; the Spaniards it suits well enough, for
+they are dry and thin, and wear a cloak even in the dog days.
+
+The men of Spain dwell mentally in a limited horizon, bounded by
+prejudice on every side; but the women, though ignorant, are usually
+intelligent; while both sexes are the prey of desires, as lively as their
+native air, as burning as the sun that shines on them.  Every Spaniard
+hates a foreigner, simply because he is a foreigner, but the women avenge
+us by loving us, though with great precautions, for your Spaniard is
+intensely jealous.  They watch most jealously over the honour of their
+wives and daughters.  As a rule the men are ugly, though there are
+numerous exceptions; while the women are pretty, and beauties are not
+uncommon.  The southern blood in their veins inclines them to love, and
+they are always ready to enter into an intrigue and to deceive the spies
+by whom they are surrounded.  The lover who runs the greatest dangers is
+always the favourite.  In the public walks, the churches, the theatres,
+the Spanish women are always speaking the language of the eyes.  If the
+person to whom it is addressed knows how to seize the instant, he may be
+sure of success, but if not, the opportunity will never be offered him
+again.
+
+I required some kind of heat in my room, and could not bear a charcoal
+brazier, so I incited an ingenious tin-smith to make me a stove with a
+pipe going out of the window.  However, he was so proud of his success
+that he made me pay dearly.
+
+Before the stove was ready I was told where I might go and warm myself an
+hour before noon, and stay till dinner-time.  It is called La Pueyta del
+Sol, "The Gate of the Sun."  It is not a gate, but it takes its name from
+the manner in which the source of all heat lavishes his treasures there,
+and warms all who come and bask in his rays.  I found a numerous company
+promenading there, walking and talking, but it was not much to my taste.
+
+I wanted a servant who could speak French, and I had the greatest
+difficulty in getting one, and had to pay dearly, for in Madrid the kind
+of man I wanted was called a page.  I could not compel him to mount
+behind my carriage, nor to carry a package, nor to light me by night with
+a torch or lantern.
+
+My page was a man of thirty, and terribly ugly; but this was a
+recommendation, as his ugliness secured him from the jealous suspicions
+of husbands.  A woman of rank will not drive out without one of these
+pages seated in the forepart of her carriage.  They are said to be more
+difficult to seduce than the strictest of duennas.
+
+I was obliged to take one of these rascally tribe into my service, and I
+wish he had broken his leg on his way to my house.
+
+I delivered all my introductions, beginning with the letter from Princess
+Lubomirska to the Count of Aranda.  The count had covered himself with
+glory by driving the Jesuits out of Spain.  He was more powerful than the
+king himself, and never went out without a number of the royal guardsmen
+about him, whom he made to sit down at his table.  Of course all the
+Spaniards hated him, but he did not seem to care much for that.  A
+profound politician, and absolutely resolute and firm, he privately
+indulged in every luxury that he forbade to others, and did not care
+whether people talked of it or not.
+
+He was a rather ugly man, with a disagreeable squint.  His reception of
+me was far from cordial.
+
+"What do you want in Spain?" he began.
+
+"To add fresh treasures to my store of experience, by observing the
+manners and the customs of the country, and if possible to serve the
+Government with such feeble, talents as I may possess."
+
+"Well, you have no need of my protection.  If you do not infringe the
+laws, no one will disturb you.  As to your obtaining employment, you had
+better go to the representative of your country; he will introduce you at
+Court, and make you known."
+
+"My lord, the Venetian ambassador will do nothing for me; I am in
+disgrace with the Government.  He will not even receive me at the
+embassy."
+
+"Then I would advise you to give up all hopes of employment, for the king
+would begin by asking your ambassador about you, and his answer would be
+fatal.  You will do well to be satisfied with amusing yourself."
+
+After this I called on the Neapolitan ambassador, who talked in much the
+same way.  Even the Marquis of Moras, one of the most pleasant men in
+Spain, did not hold out any hopes.  The Duke of Lossada, the high steward
+and favourite of his Catholic majesty, was sorry to be disabled from
+doing me any service, in spite of his good will, and advised me, in some
+way or other, to get the Venetian ambassador to give me a good word, in
+spite of my disgrace.  I determined to follow his advice, and wrote to M.
+Dandolo, begging him to get the ambassador to favour me at the Spanish
+Court in spite of my quarrel with the Venetian Government.  I worded my
+letter in such a way that it might be read by the Inquisitors themselves,
+and calculated on its producing a good impression.
+
+After I had written this letter I went to the lodging of the Venetian
+ambassador, and presented myself to the secretary, Gaspar Soderini, a
+worthy and intelligent man.  Nevertheless, he dared to tell me that he
+was astonished at my hardihood in presenting myself at the embassy.
+
+"I have presented myself, sir, that my enemies may never reproach me for
+not having done so; I am not aware that I have ever done anything which
+makes me too infamous to call on my ambassador.  I should have credited
+myself with much greater hardihood if I had left without fulfilling this
+duty; but I shall be sorry if the ambassador views my proceedings in the
+same light as yourself, and puts down to temerity what was meant for a
+mark of respect.  I shall be none the less astonished if his excellency
+refuses to receive me on account of a private quarrel between myself and
+the State Inquisitors, of which he knows no more than I do, and I know
+nothing.  You will excuse my saying that he is not the ambassador of the
+State Inquisitors, but of the Republic of which I am a subject; for I
+defy him and I defy the Inquisitors to tell me what crime I have
+committed that I am to be deprived of my rights as a Venetian citizen.  I
+think that, while it is my duty to reverence my prince in the person of
+my ambassador, it is his duty to afford me his protection."
+
+This speech had made Soderini blush, and he replied,--
+
+"Why don't you write a letter to the ambassador, with the arguments you
+have just used to me?"
+
+"I could not write to him before I know whether he will receive me or
+not.  But now, as I have reason to suppose that his opinions are much the
+same as your own, I will certainly write to him."
+
+"I do not know whether his excellency thinks as I do or not, and, in
+spite of what I said to you, it is just possible that you do not know my
+own opinions on the question; but write to him, and he may possibly give
+you an audience."
+
+"I shall follow your advice, for which I am much obliged."
+
+When I got home I wrote to his excellency all I had said to the
+secretary, and the next day I had a visit from Count Manucci.  The count
+proved to be a fine-looking young man of an agreeable presence.  He said
+that he lived in the embassy, that his excellency had read my letter, and
+though he grieved not to receive me publicly he should be delighted to
+see me in private, for he both knew and esteemed me.
+
+Young Manucci told me that he was a Venetian, and that he knew me by
+name, as he often heard his father and mother lamenting my fortune.
+Before long it dawned upon me that this Count Manucci was the son of that
+Jean Baptiste Manucci who had served as the spy of the State Inquisitors
+and had so adroitly managed to get possession of my books of magic, which
+were in all probability the chief corpus delicti.
+
+I did not say anything to him, but I was certain that my guess was
+correct.  His mother was the daughter of a valet de chambre, and his
+father was a poor mechanic.  I asked the young man if he were called
+count at the embassy, and he said he bore the title in virtue of a
+warrant from the elector-palatine.  My question skewed him that I knew
+his origin, and he began to speak openly to me; and knowing that I was
+acquainted with the peculiar tastes of M. de Mocenigo, the ambassador, he
+informed me laughingly that he was his pathic.
+
+"I will do my best for you," he added; and I was glad to hear him say so,
+for an Alexis should be able to obtain almost anything from his Corydon.
+We embraced, and he told me as we parted that he would expect me at the
+embassy in the afternoon, to take coffee in his room; the ambassador, he
+said, would certainly come in as soon as he heard of my presence.
+
+I went to the embassy, and had a very kind reception from the ambassador,
+who said he was deeply grieved not to be able to receive me publicly.  He
+admitted that he might present me at Court without compromising himself,
+but he was afraid of making enemies.
+
+"I hope soon to receive a letter from a friend of mine, which will
+authorise your excellency producing me."
+
+"I shall be delighted, in that case, to present you to all the Spanish
+ministers."
+
+This Mocenigo was the same that acquired such a reputation at Paris by
+his leanings to pederasty, a vice or taste which the French hold in
+horror.  Later on, Mocenigo was condemned by the Council of Ten to ten
+years' imprisonment for having started on an embassy to Vienna without
+formal permission.  Maria Theresa had intimated to the Venetian
+Government that she would not receive such a character, as his habits
+would be the scandal of her capital.  The Venetian Government had some
+trouble with Mocenigo, and as he attempted to set out for Vienna they
+exiled him and chose another ambassador, whose morals were as bad, save
+that the new ambassador indulged himself with Hebe and not Ganymede,
+which threw a veil of decency over his proceedings.
+
+In spite of his reputation for pederasty, Mocenigo was much liked at
+Madrid.  On one occasion I was at a ball, and a Spaniard noticing me with
+Manucci, came up to me, and told me with an air of mystery that that
+young man was the ambassador's wife.  He did not know that the ambassador
+was Manucci's wife; in fact, he did not understand the arrangement at
+all.  "Where ignorance is bliss!" etc.  However, in spite of the
+revolting nature of this vice, it has been a favourite one with several
+great men.  It was well-known to the Ancients, and those who indulged in
+it were called Hermaphrodites, which symbolises not a man of two sexes
+but a man with the passions of the two sexes.
+
+I had called two or three times on the painter Mengs, who had been
+painter in ordinary to his Catholic majesty for six years, and had an
+excellent salary.  He gave me some good dinners.  His wife and family
+were at Rome, while he basked in the royal favours at Madrid, enjoying
+the unusual privilege of being able to speak to the king whenever he
+would.  At Mengs's house I trade the acquaintance of the architect
+Sabatini, an extremely able man whom the king had summoned from Naples to
+cleanse Madrid, which was formerly the dirtiest and most stinking town in
+Europe, or, for the matter of that, in the world.  Sabatini had become a
+rich man by constructing drains, sewers, and closets for a city of
+fourteen thousand houses.  He had married by proxy the daughter of
+Vanvitelli, who was also an architect at Naples, but he had never seen
+her.  She came to Madrid about the same time as myself.  She was a beauty
+of eighteen, and no sooner did she see her husband than she declared she
+would never be his wife.  Sabatini was neither a young man nor a handsome
+one, but he was kind-hearted and distinguished; and when he told his
+young wife that she would have to choose between him and a nunnery, she
+determined to make the best of what she thought a bad bargain.  However,
+she had no reason to repent of her choice; her husband was rich,
+affectionate, and easygoing, and gave her everything she wanted.  I
+sighed and burned for her in silence, not daring to declare my love, for
+while the wound of the death of Charlotte was still bleeding I also began
+to find that women were beginning to give me the cold shoulder.
+
+By way of amusing myself I began to go to the theatre, and the masked
+balls to which the Count of Aranda had established.  They were held in a
+room built for the purpose, and named 'Los Scannos del Peral'.  A Spanish
+play is full of absurdities, but I rather relished the representations.
+The 'Autos Sacramentales' were still represented; they were afterwards
+prohibited.  I could not help remarking the strange way in which the
+boxes are constructed by order of the wretched police.  Instead of being
+boarded in front they are perfectly open, being kept up by small pillars.
+A devotee once said to me at the theatre that this was a very wise
+regulation, and he was surprised that it was not carried into force in
+Italy.
+
+"Why so?"
+
+"Because lovers, who feel sure that no one in the pit can see them, may
+commit improprieties."
+
+I only answered with a shrug of the shoulders.
+
+In a large box opposite to the stage sat 'los padres' of the Holy
+Inquisition to watch over the morals of actors and audience.  I was
+gazing on them when of a sudden the sentinel at the door of the pit
+called out "Dios!" and at this cry all the actors and all the audience,
+men and women, fell down on their knees, and remained kneeling till the
+sound of a bell in the street ceased to be heard.  This bell betokened
+that a priest was passing by carrying the viaticum to some sick man.  I
+felt very much inclined to laugh, but I had seen enough of Spanish
+manners to refrain.  All the religion of the Spaniard is in outward show
+and ceremony.  A profligate woman before yielding to the desires of her
+lover covers the picture of Christ, or the Virgin, with a veil.  If the
+lover laughed at this absurdity he would run a risk of being denounced as
+an Atheist, and most probably by the wretched woman who had sold him her
+charms.
+
+In Madrid, and possibly all over Spain, a gentleman who takes a lady to a
+private room in an inn must expect to have a servant in the room the
+whole of the time, that he may be able to swear that the couple took no
+indecent liberties with each other.  In spite of all, profligacy is
+rampant at Madrid, and also the most dreadful hypocrisy, which is more
+offensive to true piety than open sin.  Men and women seemed to have come
+to an agreement to set the whole system of surveillance utterly at
+nought.  However, commerce with women is not without its dangers; whether
+it be endemic or a result of dirty habits, one has often good reason to
+repent the favours one has obtained.
+
+The masked ball quite captivated me.  The first time I went to see what
+it was like and it only cost me a doubloon (about eleven francs), but
+ever after it cost me four doubloons, for the following reason:
+
+An elderly gentleman, who sat next me at supper, guessed I was a
+foreigner by my difficulty in making myself understood by the waiter, and
+asked me where, I had left my lady friend.
+
+"I have not got one; I came by myself to enjoy this delightful and
+excellently-managed entertainment."
+
+"Yes, but you ought to come with a companion; then you could dance.  At
+present you cannot do so, as every lady has her partner, who will not
+allow her to dance with anyone else."
+
+"Then I must be content not to dance, for, being a stranger, I do not
+know any lady whom I can ask to come with me."
+
+"As a stranger you would have much less difficulty in securing a partner
+than a citizen of Madrid.  Under the new fashion, introduced by the Count
+of Aranda, the masked ball has become the rage of all the women in the
+capital.  You see there are about two hundred of them on the floor to-
+night; well, I think there are at least four thousand girls in Madrid who
+are sighing for someone to take them to the ball, for, as you may know,
+no woman is allowed to come by herself.  You would only have to go to any
+respectable people, give your name and address, and ask to have the
+pleasure of taking their daughter to the ball.  You would have to send
+her a domino, mask, and gloves; and you would take her and bring her back
+in your carriage."
+
+"And if the father and mother refused?"
+
+"Then you would make your bow and go, leaving them to repent of their
+folly, for the girl would sigh, and weep, and moan, bewail parental
+tyranny, call Heaven to witness the innocency of going to a ball, and
+finally go into convulsions."
+
+This oration, which was uttered in the most persuasive style, made me
+quite gay, for I scented an intrigue from afar.  I thanked the masked
+(who spoke Italian very well) and promised to follow his advice and to
+let him know the results.
+
+"I shall be delighted to hear of your success, and you will find me in
+the box, where I shall be glad if you will follow me now, to be
+introduced to the lady who is my constant companion."
+
+I was astonished at so much politeness, and told him my name and followed
+him.  He took me into a box where there were two ladies and an elderly
+man.  They were talking about the ball, so I put in a remark or two on
+the same topic, which seemed to meet with approval.  One of the two
+ladies, who retained some traces of her former beauty, asked me, in
+excellent French, what circles I moved in.
+
+"I have only been a short time in Madrid, and not having been presented
+at Court I really know no one."
+
+"Really!  I quite pity you.  Come and see me, you will be welcome.  My
+name is Pichona, and anybody will tell you where I live."
+
+"I shall be delighted to pay my respects to you, madam."
+
+What I liked best about the spectacle was a wonderful and fantastic dance
+which was struck up at midnight.  It was the famous fandango, of which I
+had often heard, but of which I had absolutely no idea.
+I had seen it danced on the stage in France and Italy, but the actors
+were careful not to use those voluptuous gestures which make it the most
+seductive in the world.  It cannot be described.  Each couple only dances
+three steps, but the gestures and the attitudes are the most lascivious
+imaginable.  Everything is represented, from the sigh of desire to the
+final ecstasy; it is a very history of love.  I could not conceive a
+woman refusing her partner anything after this dance, for it seemed made
+to stir up the senses.  I was so excited at this Bacchanalian spectacle
+that I burst out into cries of delight.  The masker who had taken me to
+his box told me that I should see the fandango danced by the Gitanas with
+good partners.
+
+"But," I remarked, "does not the Inquisition object to this dance?"
+
+Madame Pichona told me that it was absolutely forbidden, and would not be
+danced unless the Count of Aranda had given permission.
+
+I heard afterwards that, on the count forbidding the fandango, the ball-
+room was deserted with bitter complaints, and on the prohibition being
+withdrawn everyone was loud in his praise.
+
+The next day I told my infamous page to get me a Spaniard who would teach
+me the fandango.  He brought me an actor, who also gave me Spanish
+lessons, for he pronounced the language admirably.  In the course of
+three days the young actor taught me all the steps so well that, by the
+confession of the Spaniards themselves, I danced it to perfection.
+
+For the next ball I determined to carry the masker's advice into effect,
+but I did not want to take a courtesan or a married woman with me, and I
+could not reasonably expect that any young lady of family would accompany
+me.
+
+It was St. Anthony's Day, and passing the Church of the Soledad I went
+in, with the double motive of hearing mass and of procuring a partner for
+the next day's ball.
+
+I noticed a fine-looking girl coming out of the confessional, with
+contrite face and lowered eyes, and I noted where she went.  She knelt
+down in the middle of the church, and I was so attracted by her
+appearance that I registered a mental vow to the effect that she should
+be my first partner.  She did not look like a person of condition, nor,
+so far as I could see, was she rich, and nothing about her indicated the
+courtesan, though women of that class go to confession in Madrid like
+everybody else.  When mass was ended, the priest distributed the
+Eucharist, and I saw her rise and approach humbly to the holy table, and
+there receive the communion.  She then returned to the church to finish
+her devotions, and I was patient enough to wait till they were over.
+
+At last she left, in company with another girl, and I followed her at a
+distance.  At the end of a street her companion left her to go into her
+house, and she, retracing her steps, turned into another street and
+entered a small house, one story high.  I noted the house and the street
+(Calle des Desinjano) and then walked up and down for half an hour, that
+I might not be suspected of following her.  At last I took courage and
+walked in, and, on my ringing a bell, I heard a voice,
+
+"Who is there?"
+
+"Honest folk," I answered, according to the custom of the country; and
+the door was opened.  I found myself in the presence of a man, a woman,
+the young devotee I had followed, and another girl, somewhat ugly.
+
+My Spanish was bad, but still it was good enough to express my meaning,
+and, hat in hand, I informed the father that, being a stranger, and
+having no partner to take to the ball, I had come to ask him to give me
+his daughter for my partner, supposing he had a daughter.  I assured him
+that I was a man of honour, and that the girl should be returned to him
+after the ball in the same condition as when she started.
+
+"Senor," said he, "there is my daughter, but I don't know you, and I
+don't know whether she wants to go."
+
+"I should like to go, if my parents will allow me."
+
+"Then you know this gentleman?"
+
+"I have never seen him, and I suppose he has never seen me."
+
+"You speak the truth, senora."
+
+The father asked me my name and address, and promised I should have a
+decisive answer by dinner-time, if I dined at home.  I begged him to
+excuse the liberty I had taken, and to let me know his answer without
+fail, so that I might have time to get another partner if it were
+unfavourable to me.
+
+Just as I was beginning to dine my man appeared.  I asked him to sit
+down, and he informed me that his daughter would accept my offer, but
+that her mother would accompany her and sleep in the carriage.  I said
+that she might do so if she liked, but I should be sorry for her on
+account of the cold.  "She shall have a good cloak," said he; and he
+proceeded to inform me that he was a cordwainer.
+
+"Then I hope you will take my measure for a pair of shoes."
+
+"I daren't do that; I'm an hidalgo, and if I were to take anyone's
+measure I should have to touch his foot, and that would be a degradation.
+I am a cobbler, and that is not inconsistent with my nobility."
+
+"Then, will you mend me these boots?"
+
+"I will make them like new; but I see they want a lot of work; it will
+cost you a pezzo duro, about five francs."
+
+I told him that I thought his terms very reasonable, and he went out with
+a profound bow, refusing absolutely to dine with me.
+
+Here was a cobbler who despised bootmakers because they had to touch the
+foot, and they, no doubt, despised him because he touched old leather.
+Unhappy pride how many forms it assumes, and who is without his own
+peculiar form of it?
+
+The next day I sent to the gentleman-cobbler's a tradesman with dominos,
+masks, and gloves; but I took care not to go myself nor to send my page,
+for whom I had an aversion which almost amounted to a presentiment.  I
+hired a carriage to seat four, and at nightfall I drove to the house of
+my pious partner, who was quite ready for me.  The happy flush on her
+face was a sufficient index to me of the feelings of her heart.  We got
+into the carriage with the mother, who was wrapped up in a vast cloak,
+and at the door of the dancing-room we descended, leaving the mother in
+the carriage.  As soon as we were alone my fair partner told me that her
+name was Donna Ignazia.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+My Amours With Donna Ignazia--My Imprisonment At Buen Retiro--My Triumph
+--I Am Commended to the Venetian Ambassador by One of the State
+Inquisitors
+
+
+We entered the ball-room and walked round several times.  Donna Ignazia
+was in such a state of ecstasy that I felt her trembling, and augured
+well for my amorous projects.  Though liberty, nay, license, seemed to
+reign supreme, there was a guard of soldiers ready to arrest the first
+person who created any disturbance.  We danced several minuets and square
+dances, and at ten o'clock we went into the supper-room, our conversation
+being very limited all the while, she not speaking for fear of
+encouraging me too much, and I on account of my poor knowledge of the
+Spanish language.  I left her alone for a moment after supper, and went
+to the box, where I expected to find Madame Pichona, but it was occupied
+by maskers, who were unknown to me, so I rejoined my partner, and we went
+on dancing the minuets and quadrilles till the fandango was announced.  I
+took my place with my partner, who danced it admirably, and seemed
+astonished to find herself so well supported by a foreigner.  This dance
+had excited both of us, so, after taking her to the buffet and giving her
+the best wines and liqueurs procurable, I asked her if she were content
+with me.  I added that I was so deeply in love with her that unless she
+found some means of making me happy I should undoubtedly die of love.  I
+assured her that I was ready to face all hazards.
+
+"By making you happy," she replied, "I shall make myself happy, too.  I
+will write to you to-morrow, and you will find the letter sewn into the
+hood of my domino."
+
+"You will find me ready to do anything, fair Ignazia, if you will give me
+hope."
+
+At last the ball was over, and we went out and got into the carriage.
+The mother woke up, and the coachman drove off, and I, taking the girl's
+hands, would have kissed them.  However, she seemed to suspect that I had
+other intentions, and held my hands clasped so tightly that I believe I
+should have found it a hard task to pull them away.  In this position
+Donna Ignazia proceeded to tell her mother all about the ball, and the
+delight it had given her.  She did not let go my hands till we got to the
+corner of their street, when the mother called out to the coachman to
+stop, not wishing to give her neighbours occasion for slander by stopping
+in front of their own house.
+
+The next day I sent for the domino, and in it I found a letter from Donna
+Ignazia, in which she told me that a Don Francisco de Ramos would call on
+me, that he was her lover, and that he would inform me how to render her
+and myself happy.
+
+Don Francisco wasted no time, for the next morning at eight o'clock my
+page sent in his name.  He told me that Donna Ignazia, with whom he spoke
+every night, she being at her window and he in the street, had informed
+him that she and I had been at the ball together.  She had also told him
+that she felt sure I had conceived a fatherly affection for her, and she
+had consequently prevailed upon him to call on me, being certain that I
+would treat him as my own son.  She had encouraged him to ask me to lend
+him a hundred doubloons which would enable them to get married before the
+end of the carnival.
+
+"I am employed at the Mint," he added, "but my present salary is a very
+small one.  I hope I shall get an increase before long, and then I shall
+be in a position to make Ignazia happy.  All my relations live at Toledo,
+and I have no friends at Madrid, so when we set up our only friends will
+be the father and mother of my wife and yourself, for I am sure you love
+her like a daughter."
+
+"You have probed my heart to its core," I replied, "but just now I am
+awaiting remittances, and have very little money about me.  You may count
+on my discretion, and I shall be delighted to see you whenever you care
+to call on me."
+
+The gallant made me a bow, and took his departure in no good humour.  Don
+Francisco was a young man of twenty-two, ugly and ill-made.  I resolved
+to nip the intrigue in the bud, for my inclination for Donna Ignazia was
+of the lightest description; and I went to call on Madame Pichona, who
+had given me such a polite invitation to come and see her.  I had made
+enquiries about her, and had found out that she was an actress and had
+been made rich by the Duke of Medina-Celi.  The duke had paid her a visit
+in very cold weather, and finding her without a fire, as she was too poor
+to buy coals, had sent her the next day a silver stove, which he had
+filled with a hundred thousand pezzos duros in gold, amounting to three
+hundred thousand francs in French money.  Since then Madame Pichona lived
+at her ease and received good company.
+
+She gave me a warm reception when I called on her, but her looks were
+sad.  I began by saying that as I had not found her in her box on the
+last ball night I had ventured to come to enquire after her health.
+
+"I did not go," said she, "for on that day died my only friend the Duke
+of Medina-Celi.  He was ill for three days."
+
+"I sympathise with you.  Was the duke an old man?"
+
+"Hardly sixty.  You have seen him; he did not look his age."
+
+"Where have I seen him?"
+
+"Did he not bring you to my box?"
+
+"You don't say so!  He did not tell me his name and I never saw him
+before."
+
+I was grieved to hear of his death; it was in all probability a
+misfortune for me as well as Madame Pichona.  All the duke's estate
+passed to a son of miserly disposition, who in his turn had a son who was
+beginning to evince the utmost extravagance.
+
+I was told that the family of Medina-Celi enjoys thirty titles of
+nobility.
+
+One day a young man called on me to offer me, as a foreigner, his
+services in a country which he knew thoroughly.
+
+"I am Count Marazzini de Plaisance," he began, "I am not rich and I have
+come to Madrid to try and make my fortune.  I hope to enter the bodyguard
+of his Catholic majesty.  I have been indulging in the amusements of the
+town ever since I came.  I saw you at the ball with an unknown beauty.  I
+don't ask you to tell me her name, but if you are fond of novelty I can
+introduce you to all the handsomest girls in Madrid."
+
+If my experience had taught me such wholesome lessons as I might have
+expected, I should have shown the impudent rascal the door.  Alas!
+I began to be weary of my experience and the fruits of it; I began to
+feel the horrors of a great void; I had need of some slight passion to
+wile away the dreary hours.  I therefore made this Mercury welcome, and
+told him I should be obliged by his presenting me to some beauties,
+neither too easy nor too difficult to access.
+
+"Come with me to the ball," he rejoined, "and I will shew you some women
+worthy of your attention."
+
+The ball was to take place the same evening, and I agreed; he asked me to
+give him some dinner, and I agreed to that also.  After dinner he told me
+he had no money, and I was foolish enough to give him a doubloon.  The
+fellow, who was ugly, blind of one eye, and full of impudence, shewed me
+a score of pretty women, whose histories he told me, and seeing me to be
+interested in one of them he promised to bring her to a procuress.  He
+kept his word, but he cost me dear; for the girl only served for an
+evening's amusement.
+
+Towards the end of the carnival the noble Don Diego, the father of Donna
+Ignazia, brought me my boots, and the thanks of his wife and himself for
+the pleasure I had given her at the ball.
+
+"She is as good as she is beautiful," said I, "she deserves to prosper,
+and if I have not called on her it is only that I am anxious to do
+nothing which could injure her reputation."
+
+"Her reputation, Senor Caballero, is above all reproach, and I shall be
+delighted to see you whenever you honour me with a call."
+
+"The carnival draws near to its end," I replied, "and if Donna Ignazia
+would like to go to another ball I shall be happy to take her again."
+
+"You must come and ask her yourself."
+
+"I will not fail to do so."
+
+I was anxious to see how the pious girl, who had tried to make me pay a
+hundred doubloons for the chance of having her after her marriage, would
+greet me, so I called the same day.  I found her with her mother, rosary
+in hand, while her noble father was botching old boots.  I laughed
+inwardly at being obliged to give the title of don to a cobbler who would
+not make boots because he was an hidalgo.  Hidalgo, meaning noble, is
+derived from 'higo de albo', son of somebody, and the people, whom the
+nobles call 'higos de nade', sons of nobody, often revenge themselves by
+calling the nobles hideputas, that is to say, sons of harlots.
+
+Donna Ignazia rose politely from the floor, where she was sitting cross-
+legged, after the Moorish fashion.  I have seen exalted ladies in this
+position at Madrid, and it is very common in the antechambers of the
+Court and the palace of the Princess of the Asturias.  The Spanish women
+sit in church in the same way, and the rapidity with which they can
+change this posture to a kneeling or a standing one is something amazing.
+
+Donna Ignazia thanked me for honouring her with a visit, adding that she
+would never have gone to the ball if it had not been for me, and that she
+never hoped to go to it again, as I had doubtless found someone else more
+worthy of my attentions.
+
+"I have not found anyone worthy to be preferred before you," I replied,
+"and if you would like to go to the ball again I should be most happy to
+take you."
+
+The father and mother were delighted with the pleasure I was about to
+give to their beloved daughter.  As the ball was to take place the same
+evening, I gave the mother a doubloon to get a mask and domino.  She went
+on her errand, and, as Don Diego also went out on some business, I found
+myself alone with the girl.  I took the opportunity of telling her that
+if she willed I would be hers, as I adored her, but that I could not sigh
+for long.
+
+"What can you ask, and what can I offer, since I must keep myself pure
+for my husband?"
+
+"You should abandon yourself to me without reserve, and you may be sure
+that I should respect your innocence."
+
+I then proceeded to deliver a gentle attack, which she repulsed, with a
+serious face.  I stopped directly, telling her that she would find me
+polite and respectful, but not in the least affectionate, for the rest of
+the evening.
+
+Her face had blushed a vivid scarlet, and she replied that her sense of
+duty obliged her to repulse me in spite of herself.
+
+I liked this metaphysical line of argument.  I saw that I had only to
+destroy the idea of duty in her and all the rest would follow.  What I
+had to do was to enter into an argument, and to bear away the prize
+directly I saw her at a loss for an answer.
+
+"If your duty," I began, "forces you to repulse me in spite of yourself,
+your duty is a burden on you.  If it is a burden on you, it is your
+enemy, and if it is your enemy why do you suffer it thus lightly to gain
+the victory?  If you were your own friend, you would at once expel this
+insolent enemy from your coasts."
+
+"That may not be."
+
+"Yes, it may.  Only shut your eyes."
+
+"Like that?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+I immediately laid hands on a tender place; she repulsed me, but more
+gently and not so seriously as before.
+
+"You may, of course, seduce me," she said, "but if you really love me you
+will spare me the shame."
+
+"Dearest Ignazia, there is no shame in a girl giving herself up to the
+man she loves.  Love justifies all things.  If you do not love me I ask
+nothing of you."
+
+"But how shall I convince you that I am actuated by love and not by
+complaisance?"
+
+"Leave me to do what I like, and my self-esteem will help me to believe
+you."
+
+"But as I cannot be certain that you will believe me, my duty plainly
+points to a refusal."
+
+"Very good, but you will make me sad and cold."
+
+"Then I shall be sad, too."
+
+At these encouraging words I embraced her, and obtained some solid
+favours with one hardy hand.  She made no opposition, and I was well
+pleased with what I had got; and for a first attempt I could not well
+expect more.
+
+At this juncture the mother came in with the dominos and gloves.  I
+refused to accept the change, and went away to return in my carriage, as
+before.
+
+Thus the first step had been taken, and Donna Ignazia felt it would be
+ridiculous not to join in with my conversation at the ball which all
+tended to procuring the pleasure of spending our nights together.  She
+found me affectionate all the evening, and at supper I did my best to get
+her everything she liked.  I made her see that the part she had at last
+taken was worthy of praise, and not blame.  I filled her pockets with
+sweets, and put into my own pockets two bottles of ratafia, which I
+handed over to the mother, who was asleep in the carriage.  Donna Ignazia
+gratefully refused the quadruple I wished to give her, saying that if it
+were in my power to make such presents, I might give the money to her
+lover whenever he called on me.
+
+"Certainly," I answered, "but what shall I say to prevent his taking
+offence?"
+
+"Tell him that it is on account of what he asked you.  He is poor, and I
+am sure he is in despair at not seeing me in the window to-night.  I
+shall tell him I only went to the ball with you to please my father."
+
+Donna Ignazia, a mixture of voluptuousness and piety, like most Spanish
+women, danced the fandango with so much fire that no words could have
+expressed so well the Joys that were in store for me.  What a dance it
+is!  Her bosom was heaving and her blood all aflame, and yet I was told
+that for the greater part of the company the dance was wholly innocent,
+and devoid of any intention.  I pretended to believe it, but I certainly
+did not.  Ignazia begged me to come to mass at the Church of the Soledad
+the next day at eight o'clock.  I had not yet told her that it was there
+I had seen her first.  She also asked me to come and see her in the
+evening, and said she would send me a letter if we were not left alone
+together.
+
+I slept till noon, and was awoke by Marazzini, who came to ask me to give
+him some dinner.  He told me he had seen me with my fair companion the
+night before, and that he had vainly endeavoured to find out who she was.
+I bore with this singularly misplaced curiosity, but when it came to his
+saying that he would have followed us if he had had any money, I spoke to
+him in a manner that made him turn pale.  He begged pardon, and promised
+to bridle his curiosity for the future.  He proposed a party of pleasure
+with the famous courtezan Spiletta, whose favours were dear, but I
+declined, for my mind was taken up with the fair Ignazia, whom I
+considered a worthy successor to Charlotte.
+
+I went to the church, and she saw me when she came in, followed by the
+same companion as before.
+
+She knelt down at two or three paces from me, but did not once look in my
+direction.  Her friend, on the other hand, inspected me closely; she
+seemed about the same age as Ignazia, but she was ugly.  I also noticed
+Don Francisco, and as I was going out of the church my rival followed me,
+and congratulated me somewhat bitterly on my good fortune in having taken
+his mistress a second time to the ball.  He confessed that he had been on
+our track the whole evening, and that he should have gone away well
+enough pleased if it had not been for the way in which we dance the
+fandango.  I felt this was an occasion for a little gentle management,
+and I answered good-humouredly that the love he thought he noticed was
+wholly imaginary, and that he was wrong to entertain any suspicions as to
+so virtuous a girl as Donna Ignazia.  At the same time I placed an ounce
+in his hand, begging him to take it on account.  He did so with an
+astonished stare, and, calling me his father and guardian angel, swore an
+eternal gratitude.
+
+In the evening I called on Don Diego, where I was regaled with the
+excellent ratafia I had given the mother, and the whole family began to
+speak of the obligations Spain owed to the Count of Aranda.
+
+"No exercise is more healthful than dancing," said Antonia, the mother,
+"and before his time balls were strictly forbidden.  In spite of that he
+is hated for having expelled 'los padres de la compagnia de Jesus', and
+for his sumptuary regulations.  But the poor bless his name, for all the
+money produced by the balls goes to them."
+
+"And thus," said the father, "to go to the ball is to do a pious work."
+
+"I have two cousins," said Ignazia, "who are perfect angels of goodness.
+I told them that you had taken me to the ball; but they are so poor that
+they have no hope of going.  If you like you can make them quite happy by
+taking them on the last day of the carnival.  The ball closes at
+midnight, so as not to profane Ash Wednesday."
+
+"I shall be happy to oblige you, all the more as your lady mother will
+not be obliged to wait for us in the carriage."
+
+"You are very kind; but I shall have to introduce you to my aunt; she is
+so particular.  When she knows you, I am sure she will consent, for you
+have all the air of discretion.  Go and see her to-day; she lives in the
+next street, and over her door you will see a notice that lace is washed
+within.  Tell her that my mother gave you the address.  To-morrow
+morning, after mass, I will see to everything else, and you must come
+here at noon to agree as to our meeting on the last day of the carnival."
+
+I did all this, and the next day I heard that it was settled.
+
+"I will have the dominos ready at my house," I said, "and you must come
+in at the back door.  We will dine in my room, mask, and go to the ball.
+The eldest of your cousins must be disguised as a man."
+
+"I won't tell her anything about that, for fear she might think it a sin,
+but once in your house you will have no difficulty in managing her."
+
+The younger of the two cousins was ugly, but looked like a woman, where
+as the elder looked like an ugly dressed man in woman's clothes.  She
+made an amusing contrast with Donna Ignazia, who looked most seductive
+when she laid aside her air of piety.
+
+I took care that everything requisite for our disguises should be at hand
+in a neighbouring closet, unbeknown to my rascally page.  I gave him a
+piece of money in the morning, and told him to spend the last day of the
+carnival according to his own taste, as I should not require his services
+till noon the day after.
+
+I ordered a good dinner, and a waiter to serve it, at the tavern, and got
+rid of Marazzini by giving him a doubloon.  I took great pains over the
+entertainment I was to give the two cousins and the fair Ignazia, whom I
+hoped that day to make my mistress.  It was all quite a novelty for me; I
+had to do with three devotees, two hideous and the third ravishingly
+beautiful, who had already had a foretaste of the joys in store for her.
+
+They came at noon, and for an hour I discoursed to them in a moral and
+unctuous manner.  I had taken care to provide myself with some excellent
+wine, which did not fail to take effect on the three girls, who were not
+accustomed to a dinner that lasted two hours.  They were not exactly
+inebriated, but their spirits were worked up to a pitch they had never
+attained before.
+
+I told the elder cousin, who might be twenty-five years old, that I was
+going to disguise her as a man; consternation appeared on her features,
+but I had expected as much, and Donna Ignazia told her she was only too
+lucky, and her sister observed that she did not think it could be a sin.
+
+"If it were a sin," said I, "do you suppose that I should have suggested
+it to your virtuous sister."
+
+Donna Ignazia, who knew the Legendarium by heart, corroborated my
+assertion by saying that the blessed St. Marina had passed her whole life
+in man's clothes; and this settled the matter.
+
+I then burst into a very high-flown eulogium of her intellectual
+capacity, so as to enlist her vanity in the good cause.
+
+"Come with me," said I, "and do you ladies wait here; I want to enjoy
+your surprise when you see her in man's clothes."
+
+The ugly cousin made a supreme effort and followed me, and when she had
+duly inspected her disguise I told her to take off her boots and to put
+on white stockings and shoes, of which I had provided several pairs.  I
+sat down before her, and told her that if she suspected me of any
+dishonourable intentions she would commit a mortal sin, as I was old
+enough to be her father.  She replied that she was a good Christian, but
+not a fool.  I fastened her garters for her, saying that I should never
+have supposed she had so well-shapen and so white a leg, which compliment
+made her smile in a satisfied manner.
+
+Although I had a fine view of her thighs, I observed no traces of a blush
+on her face.  I then gave her a pair, of my breeches, which fitted her
+admirably, though I was five inches taller than she, but this difference
+was compensated by the posterior proportions, with which, like most
+women, she was bountifully endowed.  I turned away to let her put them on
+in freedom, and, having given her a linen shirt, she told me she had
+finished before she had buttoned it at the neck.  There may possibly have
+been a little coquetry in this, as I buttoned the shirt for her, and was
+thus gratified with a sight of her splendid breast.  I need not say
+whether she was pleased or not at my refraining from complimenting her
+upon her fine proportions.  When her toilette was finished I surveyed her
+from head to foot, and pronounced her to be a perfect man, with the
+exception of one blemish.
+
+"I am sorry for that."
+
+"Will you allow me to arrange your shirt so as to obviate it?"
+
+"I shall be much obliged, as I have never dressed in man's clothes
+before."
+
+I then sat down in front of her, and, after unbuttoning the fly, arranged
+the shirt in a proper manner.  In doing so I allowed myself some small
+liberties, but I toyed with such a serious air that she seemed to take it
+all as a matter of course.
+
+When I had put on her domino and mask I led her forth, and her sister and
+Donna Ignazia congratulated her on her disguise, saying that anybody
+would take her for a man.
+
+"Now it's your turn," I said to the younger one.
+
+"Go with him," said the elder, "Don Jaime is as honest a man as you will
+find in Spain."
+
+There was really not much to be done to the younger sister, her disguise
+being simply a mask and domino, but as I wanted to keep Ignazia a long
+time I made her put on white stockings, change her kerchief, and a dozen
+other trifles.  When she was ready I brought her forth, and Donna Ignazia
+noticing that she had changed her stockings and kerchief, asked her
+whether I were as expert at dressing a lady as at turning a lady into a
+gentleman.
+
+"I don't know," she replied, "I did everything for myself."
+
+Next came the turn of Don Diego's daughter, and as soon as I had her in
+the closet I did my pleasure on her, she submitting with an air that
+seemed to say, "I only give in because I can't resist."  Wishing to save
+her honour I withdrew in time, but in the second combat I held her for
+half an hour to my arms.  However, she was naturally of a passionate
+disposition, and nature had endowed her with a temperament able to resist
+the most vigorous attacks.  When decency made us leave the closet, she
+remarked to her cousins,
+
+"I thought I should never have done; I had to alter the whole fit of the
+domino."
+
+I admired her presence of mind.
+
+At nightfall we went to the ball, at which the fandango might be danced
+ad libitum by a special privilege, but the crowd was so great that
+dancing was out of the question.  At ten we had supper, and then walked
+up and down, till all at once the two orchestras became silent.  We heard
+the church clocks striking midnight the carnival was over, and Lent had
+begun.
+
+This rapid transition from wantonness to devotion, from paganism to
+Christianity, has something startling and unnatural about it.  At fifty-
+nine minutes past eleven the senses are all aglow; midnight sounds, and
+in a minute they are supposed to be brought low, and the heart to be full
+of humble repentance; it is an absurdity, an impossibility.
+
+I took the three girls to my house to take off their dominos, and we then
+escorted the two cousins home.  When we had left them for a few minutes
+Donna Ignazia told me that she would like a little coffee.  I understood
+her, and took her to my house, feeling sure of two hours of mutual
+pleasure.
+
+I took her to my room, and was just going out to order the coffee when I
+met Don Francisco, who asked me plainly to let him come up, as he had
+seen Donna Ignazia go in with me.  I had sufficient strength of mind to
+conceal my rage and disappointment, and told him to come in, adding that
+his mistress would be delighted at this unexpected visit.  I went
+upstairs, and he followed me, and I shewed him into the room,
+congratulating the lady on the pleasant surprise.
+
+I expected that she would play her part as well as I had played mine, but
+I was wrong.  In her rage she told him that she would never have asked me
+to give her a cup of coffee if she had foreseen this piece of
+importunity, adding that if he had been a gentleman he would have known
+better than to intrude himself at such an hour.
+
+In spite of my own anger I felt that I must take the poor devil's part;
+he looked like a dog with a tin kettle tied to his tail.  I tried to calm
+Donna Ignazia, telling her that Don Francisco had seen us by a mere
+accident, and that it was I who had asked him to come upstairs, in the
+hope of pleasing her.
+
+Donna Ignazia feigned to be persuaded and asked her lover to sit down,
+but she did not speak another word to him, confining her remarks to me,
+saying how much she had enjoyed the ball, and how kind I had been to take
+her cousins.
+
+After he had taken a cup of coffee, Don Francisco bade us a good night.
+I told him I hoped he would come and see me before Lent was over, but
+Donna Ignazia only vouchsafed him a slight nod.  When he had gone she
+said, sadly enough, that she was sorry he had deprived us both of our
+pleasure, and that she was sure Don Francisco was still hanging about the
+place, and that she dared not expose herself to his vengeance.  "So take
+me home, but if you love me come and see me again.  The trick the stupid
+fellow has played me shall cost him dear.  Are you sure I don't love
+him?"
+
+"Quite certain, for you love me too well to love anybody else."
+
+Donna Ignazia gave me a hasty proof of her affection, and I escorted her
+home, assuring her that she would be the sole object of my thoughts as
+long as I stayed at Madrid.
+
+The next day I dined with Mengs, and the day after that I was accosted in
+the street by an ill-looking fellow, who bade me follow him to a
+cloister, as he had something of importance to communicate to me.
+
+As soon as he saw that we were unobserved, he told me that the Alcalde
+Messa was going to pay me a visit that same night with a band of police,
+"of whom," he added, "I am one.  He knows you have concealed weapons in
+your room.  He knows, or thinks he knows, certain other things which
+authorize him to seize your person and to take you to the prison where
+persons destined for the galleys are kept.  I give you all this warning
+because I believe you to be a man of honour.  Despise not my advice, but
+look to yourself, and get into some place of security."
+
+I credited what he told me, as the circumstance of my having arms was
+perfectly true, so I gave the man a doubloon, and, instead of calling on
+Donna Ignazia, as I intended, I went back to my lodging, and after
+putting the weapons under my cloak I went to Mengs's, leaving word at the
+caf‚ to send me my page as soon as he came back.  In Mengs's house I was
+safe, as it belonged to the king.
+
+The painter was an honest fellow, but proud and suspicious in excess.  He
+did not refuse me an asylum for the night, but he told me that I must
+look out for some other refuge, as the alcalde must have some other
+accusation against me, and that knowing nothing of the merits or demerits
+of the case he could not take any part in it.  He gave me a room and we
+supped together, discussing the matter all the time, I persisting that
+the possession of arms was my only offence, and he replying that if it
+were so I should have awaited the alcalde fearlessly, as it stood to
+reason that a man had a right to keep defensive weapons in his own room.
+To this I answered that I had only come to him to avoid passing the night
+in prison, as I was certain that the man had told me the truth.
+
+"To-morrow I shall look out for another lodging."
+
+I confessed, however, that it would have been wiser of me to leave my
+pistols and musket in my room.
+
+"Yes, and you might have remained there yourself.  I did not think you
+were so easily frightened."
+
+As we were arguing it over my landlord came and said that the alcalde
+with thirty constables had been to my apartment and had broken open the
+door.  He had searched everything, but unsuccessfully, and had gone away
+after sealing the room and its contents.  He had arrested and imprisoned
+my page on the charge of having warned me, "for otherwise," he said, "the
+Venetian gentleman would never have gone to the house of Chevalier Mengs,
+where he is out of my power."
+
+At this Mengs agreed that I had been right in believing my informant's
+tale, and he added that the first thing in the morning I should go and
+protest my innocence before the Count of Aranda, but he especially urged
+on me the duty of defending the poor page.  My landlord went his way, and
+we continued the discussion, Mengs insisting on the page's innocence,
+till at last I lost all patience, and said,--
+
+"My page must be a thorough-paced scoundrel; the magistrate's arresting
+him for warning me is an absolute proof that he knew of my approaching
+arrest.  What is a servant who does not warn his master under such
+circumstances but a rascal?  Indeed I am absolutely certain that he was
+the informer, for he was the only person who knew where the arms were
+concealed."
+
+Mengs could find no answer to this, and left to go to bed.  I did the
+same and had an excellent night.
+
+Early the next morning the great Mengs sent me linen and all the
+requisites of the toilette.  His maid brought me a cup of chocolate, and
+his cook came to ask if I had permission to eat flesh-meat.  In such ways
+a prince welcomes a guest, and bids him stay, but such behaviour in a
+private person is equivalent to a hint to go.  I expressed my gratitude,
+and only accepted a cup of chocolate and one handkerchief.
+
+My carriage was at the door, and I was just taking leave of Mengs when an
+officer appeared on the scene, and asked the painter if the Chevalier de
+Casanova was in his house.
+
+"I am the Chevalier de Casanova," said I.
+
+"Then I hope you will follow me of your own free will to the prison of
+Buen Retiro.  I cannot use force here, for this house is the king's, but
+I warn you that in less than an hour the Chevalier Mengs will have orders
+to turn you out, and then you will be dragged to prison, which would be
+unpleasant for you.  I therefore advise you to follow me quietly, and to
+give up such weapons as you may possess."
+
+"The Chevalier Mengs will give you the weapons in question.  I have
+carried them with me for eleven years; they are meant to protect me on
+the highways.  I am ready to follow you, but first allow me to write four
+notes; I shall not be half an hour."
+
+"I can neither allow you to wait nor to write, but you will be at liberty
+to do so after you have reached the prison."
+
+"Very good; then I am ready to follow you, for I have no choice.  I shall
+remember Spanish justice!"
+
+I embraced Mengs, had the weapons put into my carriage, and got in with
+the officer, who seemed a perfect gentleman.
+
+He took me to the Castle of Buen Retiro, formerly a royal palace, and now
+a prison.  When my conductor had consigned me to the officer of the watch
+I was handed over to a corporal, who led me into a vast hall on the
+ground floor of the building.  The stench was dreadful, and the prisoners
+were about thirty, ten of them being soldiers.  There were ten or twelve
+large beds, some benches, no tables, and no chairs.
+
+I asked a guard to get me some pens, ink, and paper, and gave him a duro
+for the purpose.  He took the coin smilingly, and went away, but he did
+not return.  When I asked his brethren what had become of him they
+laughed in my face.  But what surprised me the most was the sight of my
+page and Marazzini, who told me in Italian that he had been there for
+three days, and that he had not written to me as he had a presentiment
+that we should soon meet.  He added that in a fortnight's time we should
+be sent off under a heavy escort to work in some fortress, though we
+might send our pleas to the Government, and might possibly be let out
+after three or four years' imprisonment.
+
+"I hope," he said, "not to be condemned before I am heard.  The alcalde
+will come and interrogate you tomorrow, and your answers will be taken
+down; that's all.  You may then be sent to hard labour in Africa."
+
+"Has your case been heard yet?"
+
+"They were at me about it for three hours yesterday."
+
+"What kind of questions did they ask you?"
+
+"They wished to know what banker furnished me with money for my expenses.
+I told them I had not got a banker, and that I lived by borrowing from my
+friends, in the expectation of becoming one of the king's body-guard.
+They then asked me how it was that the Parmese ambassador knew nothing
+about me, and I replied that I had never been presented to him.
+
+"'Without the favour of your ambassador,' they objected, 'you could never
+join the royal guard, and you must be aware of that, but the king's
+majesty shall give you employment where you will stand in need of no
+commendation;' and so the alcalde left me.  If the Venetian ambassador
+does not interpose in your behalf you will be treated in the same way."
+
+I concealed my rage, and sat down on a bed, which I left after three
+hours, as I found myself covered with the disgusting vermin which seem
+endemic in Spain.  The very sight of them made me sick.  I stood upright,
+motionless, and silent, devouring the bile which consumed me.
+
+There was no good in talking; I must write; but where was I to find
+writing materials?  However, I resolved to wait in silence; my time must
+come, sooner or later.
+
+At noon Marazzini told me that he knew a soldier for whose
+trustworthiness he would answer, and who would get me my dinner if I gave
+him the money.
+
+"I have no appetite," I replied, "and I am not going to give a farthing
+to anyone till the stolen crown is restored to me."
+
+He made an uproar over this piece of cheating, but the soldiers only
+laughed at him.  My page then asked him to intercede with me, as he was
+hungry, and had no money wherewith to buy food.
+
+"I will not give him a farthing; he is no longer in my service, and would
+to God I had never seen him!"
+
+My companions in misery proceeded to dine on bad garlic soup and wretched
+bread, washed down by plain water, two priests and an individual who was
+styled corregidor excepted, and they seemed to fare very well.
+
+At four o'clock one of Mengs's servants brought me a dinner which would
+have sufficed for four.  He wanted to leave me the dinner and come for
+the plates in the evening; but not caring to share the meal with the vile
+mob around me I made him wait till I had done and come again at the same
+time the next day, as I did not require any supper.  The servant obeyed.
+Marazzini said rudely that I might at least have kept the bottle of wine;
+but I gave him no answer.
+
+At five o'clock Manucci appeared, accompanied by a Spanish officer.
+After the usual compliments had passed between us I asked the officer if
+I might write to my friends, who would not allow me to stay much longer
+in prison if they were advised of my arrest.
+
+"We are no tyrants," he replied; "you can write what letters you like."
+
+"Then," said I, "as this is a free country, is it allowable for a soldier
+who has received certain moneys to buy certain articles to pocket the
+money and appropriate it to his own use?"
+
+"What is his name?"
+
+The guard had been relieved, and no one seemed to know who or where he
+was.
+
+"I promise you, sir," said the officer, "that the soldier shall be
+punished and your money restored to you; and in the meanwhile you shall
+have pens, ink, paper, a table, and a candle, immediately."
+
+"And I," added Manucci, "promise you that one of the ambassador's
+servants shall wait on you at eight o'clock to deliver any letters you
+may write.
+
+I took three crowns from my pocket, and told my fellow-prisoners that the
+first to name the soldier who had deceived me should have the money;
+Marazzini was the first to do so.  The officer made a note of the man's
+name with a smile; he was beginning to know me; I had spent three crowns
+to get back one, and could not be very avaricious.
+
+Manucci whispered to me that the ambassador would do his best in a
+confidential way to get my release, and that he had no doubt of his
+success.
+
+When my visitors were gone I sat down to write, but I had need of all my
+patience.  The rascally prisoners crowded round me to read what I was
+writing, and when they could not understand it they were impudent enough
+to ask me to explain it to them.  Under the pretext of snuffing the
+candle, they put it out.  However, I bore with it all.  One of the
+soldiers said he would keep them quiet for a crown, but I gave him no
+answer.  In spite of the hell around me, I finished my letters and sealed
+them up.  They were no studied or rhetorical epistles, but merely the
+expression of the fury with which I was consumed.
+
+I told Mocenigo that it was his duty to defend a subject of his prince,
+who had been arrested and imprisoned by a foreign power on an idle
+pretext.  I shewed him that he must give me his protection unless I was
+guilty, and that I had committed no offence against the law of the land.
+I reminded him that I was a Venetian, in spite of my persecution at the
+hands of the State Inquisitors, and that being a Venetian I had a right
+to count on his protection.
+
+To Don Emmanuel de Roda, a learned scholar, and the minister of justice,
+I wrote that I did not ask any favour but only simple justice.
+
+"Serve God and your master," said I.  "Let his Catholic majesty save me
+from the hands of the infamous alcalde who has arrested me, an honest and
+a law-abiding man, who came to Spain trusting in his own innocence and
+the protection of the laws.  The person who writes to you, my lord, has a
+purse full of doubloons in his pocket; he has already been robbed, and
+fears assassination in the filthy den in which he has been imprisoned."
+
+I wrote to the Duke of Lossada, requesting him to inform the king that
+his servants had subjected to vile treatment a man whose only fault was
+that he had a little money.  I begged him to use his influence with his
+Catholic majesty to put a stop to these infamous proceedings.
+
+But the most vigorous letter of all was the one I addressed to the Count
+of Aranda.  I told him plainly that if this infamous action went on I
+should be forced to believe that it was by his orders, since I had stated
+in vain that I came to Madrid with an introduction to him from a
+princess.
+
+"I have committed no crime," I said; "what compensation am I to have when
+I am released from this filthy and abominable place?  Set me at liberty
+at once, or tell your hangmen to finish their work, for I warn you that
+no one shall take me to the galleys alive."
+
+According to my custom I took copies of all the letters, and I sent them
+off by the servant whom the all-powerful Manucci despatched to the
+prison.  I passed such a night as Dante might have imagined in his Vision
+of Hell.  All the beds were full, and even if there had been a spare
+place I would not have occupied it.  I asked in vain for a mattress, but
+even if they had brought me one, it would have been of no use, for the
+whole floor was inundated.  There were only two or three chamber utensils
+for all the prisoners, and everyone discharged his occasions on the
+floor.
+
+I spent the night on a narrow bench without a back, resting my head on my
+hands.
+
+At seven o'clock the next morning Manucci came to see me; I looked upon
+him as my Providence.  I begged him to take me down to the guard-room,
+and give me some refreshment, for I felt quite exhausted.  My request was
+granted, and as I told my sufferings I had my hair done by a barber.
+
+Manucci told me that my letters would be delivered in the course of the
+day, and observed, smilingly, that my epistle to the ambassador was
+rather severe.  I shewed him copies of the three others I had written,
+and the inexperienced young man told me that gentleness was the best way
+to obtain favours.  He did not know that there are circumstances in which
+a man's pen must be dipped in gall.  He told me confidentially that the
+ambassador dined with Aranda that day, and would speak in my favour as a
+private individual, adding that he was afraid my letter would prejudice
+the proud Spaniard against me.
+
+"All I ask of you," said I, "is not to tell the ambassador that you have
+seen the letter I wrote to the Count of Aranda."
+
+He promised he would keep the secret.
+
+An hour after his departure I saw Donna Ignazia and her father coming in,
+accompanied by the officer who had treated me with such consideration.
+Their visit cut me to the quick; nevertheless, I felt grateful, for it
+shewed me the 'goodness of Don Diego's heart and the love of the fair
+devotee.
+
+I gave them to understand, in my bad Spanish, that I was grateful for the
+honour they had done me in visiting me in this dreadful situation.  Donna
+Ignazia did not speak, she only wept in silence; but Don Diego gave me
+clearly to understand that he would never have come to see me unless he
+had felt certain that my accusation was a mistake or an infamous calumny.
+He told me he was sure I should be set free, and that proper satisfaction
+would be given me.
+
+"I hope so," I replied, "for I am perfectly innocent of any offence."
+I was greatly touched when the worthy man slipped into my hands a
+rouleau, telling me it contained twelve quadruples, which I could repay
+at my convenience.
+
+It was more than a thousand francs, and my hair stood on end.  I pressed
+his hand warmly, and whispered to him that I had fifty in my pocket,
+which I was afraid to shew him, for fear the rascals around might rob me.
+He put back his rouleau, and bade me farewell in tears, and I promised to
+come and see him as soon as I should be set at liberty.
+
+He had not sent in his name, and as he was very well dressed he was taken
+for a man of importance.  Such characters are not altogether exceptional
+in heroic Spain; it is a land of extremes.
+
+At noon Mengs's servant came with a dinner that was choicer than before,
+but not so plentiful.  This was just what I liked.  He waited for me to
+finish, and went away with the plates, carrying my heartiest thanks to
+his master.
+
+At one o'clock an individual came up to me and bade me follow him.
+He took me to a small room, where I saw my carbine and pistols.  In front
+of me was the Alcalde Messa, seated at a table covered with documents,
+and a policeman stood on each side of him.  The alcalde told me to sit
+down, and to answer truly such questions as might be put to me, warning
+me that my replies would be taken down.
+
+"I do not understand Spanish well, and I shall only give written answers
+to any questions that may be asked of me, in Italian, French, or Latin."
+
+This reply, which I uttered in a firm and determined voice, seemed tp
+astonish him.  He spoke to me for an hour, and I understood him very
+well, but he only got one reply:
+
+"I don't understand what you say.  Get a judge who understands one of the
+languages I have named, and I will write down my answers."
+
+The alcalde was enraged, but I did not let his ill-humour or his threats
+disturb me.
+
+Finally he gave me a pen, and told me to write my name, profession, and
+business in Spain in Italian.  I could not refuse him this pleasure, so I
+wrote as follows:
+
+"My name is Jacques Casanova; I am a subject of the Republic of Venice,
+by profession a man of letters, and in rank a Knight of the Golden Spur.
+I have sufficient means, and I travel for my pleasure.  I am known to the
+Venetian ambassador, the Count of Aranda, the Prince de la Catolica, the
+Marquis of Moras, and the Duke of Lossada.  I have offended in no manner
+against the laws of his Catholic majesty, but in spite of my innocence I
+have been cast into a den of thieves and assassins by magistrates who
+deserve a ten times greater punishment.  Since I have not infringed the
+laws, his Catholic majesty must know that he has only one right over me,
+and that is to order me to leave his realms, which order I am ready to
+obey.  My arms, which I see before me, have travelled with me for the
+last eleven years; I carry them to defend myself against highwaymen.
+They were seen when my effects were examined at the Gate of Alcala, and
+were not confiscated; which makes it plain that they have served merely
+as a pretext for the infamous treatment to which I have been subjected."
+
+After I had written out this document I gave it to the alcalde, who
+called for an interpreter.  When he had had it read to him he rose
+angrily and said to me,--
+
+"Valga me Dios!  You shall suffer for your insolence."
+
+With this threat he went away, ordering that I should be taken back to
+prison.
+
+At eight o'clock Manucci called and told me that the Count of Aranda had
+been making enquiries about me of the Venetian ambassador, who had spoken
+very highly in my favour, and expressed his regret that he could not take
+my part officially on account of my being in disgrace with the State
+Inquisitors.
+
+"He has certainly been shamefully used," said the count, "but an
+intelligent man should not lose his head.  I should have known nothing
+about it, but for a furious letter he has written me; and Don
+Emmanuel de Roda and the Duke of Lossada have received epistles in the
+same style.  Casanova is in the right, but that is not the way to address
+people."
+
+"If he really said I was in the right, that is sufficient."
+
+"He said it, sure enough."
+
+"Then he must do me justice, and as to my style everyone has a style of
+their own.  I am furious, and I wrote furiously.  Look at this place; I
+have no bed, the floor is covered with filth, and I am obliged to sleep
+on a narrow bench.  Don't you think it is natural that I should desire to
+eat the hearts of the scoundrels who have placed me here?  If I do not
+leave this hell by tomorrow, I shall kill myself, or go mad."
+
+Manucci understood the horrors of my situation.  He promised to come
+again early the next day, and advised me to see what money would do
+towards procuring a bed, but I would not listen to him, for I was
+suffering from injustice, and was therefore obstinate.  Besides, the
+thought of the vermin frightened me, and I was afraid for my purse and
+the jewels I had about me.
+
+I spent a second night worse than the first, going to sleep from sheer
+exhaustion, only to awake and find myself slipping off the bench.
+
+Manucci came before eight o'clock, and my aspect shocked him.  He had
+come in his carriage, bringing with him some excellent chocolate, which
+in some way restored my spirits.  As I was finishing it, an officer of
+high rank, accompanied by two other officers, came in and called out,--
+
+"M. de Casanova!"
+
+I stepped forward and presented myself.
+
+"Chevalier," he began, "the Count of Aranda is at the gate of the prison;
+he is much grieved at the treatment you have received.  He only heard
+about it through the letter you wrote him yesterday, and if you had
+written sooner your pains would have been shorter."
+
+"Such was my intention, colonel, but a soldier .  .  .  ."
+
+I proceeded to tell him the story of the swindling soldier, and on
+hearing his name the colonel called the captain of the guard, reprimanded
+him severely, and ordered him to give me back the crown himself.  I took
+the money laughingly, and the colonel then ordered the captain to fetch
+the offending soldier, and to give him a flogging before me.
+
+This officer, the emissary of the all-powerful Aranda, was Count Royas,
+commanding the garrison of Buen Retiro.  I told him all the circumstances
+of my arrest, and of my imprisonment in that filthy place.  I told him
+that if I did not get back that day my arms, my liberty, and my honour, I
+should either go mad or kill myself.
+
+"Here," I said, "I can neither rest nor sleep, and a man needs sleep
+every night.  If you had come a little earlier you would have seen the
+disgusting filth with which the floor was covered."
+
+The worthy man was taken aback with the energy with which I spoke.  I saw
+his feelings, and hastened to say,--
+
+"You must remember, colonel, that I am suffering from injustice, and am
+in a furious rage.  I am a man of honour, like yourself, and you can
+imagine the effect of such treatment on me."
+
+Manucci told him, in Spanish, that in my normal state I was a good fellow
+enough.  The colonel expressed his pity for me, and assured me that my
+arms should be restored to me, and my liberty too, in the course of the
+day.
+
+"Afterwards," said he, "you must go and thank his excellency the Count of
+Aranda, who came here expressly for your sake.  He bade me tell you that
+your release would be delayed till the afternoon, that you may have full
+satisfaction for the affront you have received, if it is an affront, for
+the penalties of the law only dishonour the guilty.  In this instance the
+Alcalde Messa has been deceived by the rascal who was in your service."
+
+"There he is," said I.  "Be good enough to have him removed, or else, in
+my indignation, I might kill him."
+
+"He shall be taken away this moment," he replied.
+
+The colonel went out, and two minutes later two soldiers came in and took
+the rogue away between them.  I never saw him again, and never troubled
+myself to enquire what had become of him.
+
+The colonel begged me to accompany him to the guard-room, to see the
+thieving soldier flogged.  Manucci was at my side, and at some little
+distance stood the Count of Aranda, surrounded by officers, and
+accompanied by a royal guard.
+
+The business kept us there for a couple of hours.  Before leaving me the
+colonel begged me to meet Mengs at dinner at his house.
+
+When I returned to my filthy prison I found a clean arm-chair, which I
+was informed had been brought in for me.  I sat down in it immediately,
+and Manucci left me, after embracing me again and again.  He was my
+sincere friend, and I can never forgive myself the stupidity which made
+me offend him grievously.  He never forgave me, at which I am not
+surprised, but I believe my readers will agree with me in thinking that
+he carried his vengeance too far.
+
+After the scene which had taken place, the vile crowd of prisoners stood
+gazing at me in stupid silence, and Marazzini came up to me and begged me
+to use my offices for him.
+
+Dinner was brought me as usual, and at three o'clock the Alcalde Messa
+appeared and begged me to follow him, as he had received orders to take
+me back to my lodging, where he hoped I should find everything in perfect
+order.  At the same time he shewed me my arms, which one of his men was
+going to bring to my house.  The officer of the guard returned me my
+sword, the alcalde, who was in his black cloak, put himself on my left
+hand, and thus I was escorted home with a guard of thirty constables.
+The seals were removed from my apartment, and after a brief inspection I
+pronounced that everything was in perfect order.
+
+"If you had not a rascal and a traitor (who shall end his days in the
+galleys) in your service, Senor Caballero, you would never have written
+down the servants of his Catholic majesty as scoundrels."
+
+"Senor Alcalde, my indignation made me write the same sentence to four of
+his majesty's ministers.  Then I believed what I wrote, but I do so no
+longer.  Let us forget and forgive; but you must confess that if I had
+not known how to write a letter you would have sent me to the galleys."
+
+"Alas! it is very likely."
+
+I need not say that I hastened to remove all traces of the vile prison
+where I had suffered so much.  When I was ready to go out my first
+grateful visit was paid to the noble cobbler.  The worthy man was proud
+of the fulfilment of his prophecy, and glad to see me again.  Donna
+Ignazia was wild with delight--perhaps she had not been so sure of my
+release--and when Don Diego heard of the satisfaction that had been given
+me he said that a grandee of Spain could not have asked for more.  I
+begged the worthy people to come and dine with me, telling them that I
+would name the day another time, and they accepted gladly.
+
+I felt that my love for Donna Ignazia had increased immensely since our
+last meeting.
+
+Afterwards I called on Mengs, who with his knowledge of Spanish law
+expected nothing less than to see me.  When he heard of my triumphant
+release he overwhelmed me with congratulations.  He was in his Court
+dress--an unusual thing with him, and on my asking him the reason he told
+me that he had been to Don Emmanuel de Roda's to speak on my behalf, but
+had not succeeded in obtaining an audience.  He gave me a Venetian letter
+which had just arrived for me.  I opened it, and found it was from M.
+Dandolo, and contained an enclosure for M. de Mocenigo.  M. Dandolo said
+that on reading the enclosed letter the ambassador would have no more
+scruples about introducing me, as it contained a recommendation from one
+of the Inquisitors on behalf of the three.
+
+When I told Mengs of this he said it was now in my power to make my
+fortune in Spain, and that now was the time when all the ministers would
+be only too anxious to do something for me to make me forget the wrongs I
+had received.
+
+"I advise you," he said, "to take the letter to the ambassador
+immediately.  Take my carriage; after what you have undergone for the
+last few days you cannot be in a walking humour."
+
+I had need of rest, and told Mengs that I would not sup with him that
+night, but would dine with him the next day.  The ambassador was out, so
+I left the letter with Manucci, and then drove home and slept profoundly
+for twelve hours.
+
+Manucci came to see me the next day in high spirits, and told me that M.
+Girolamo Zulian had written to the ambassador on behalf of M. du Mula,
+informing him that he need not hesitate to countenance me, as any
+articles the Tribunal might have against me were in no degree prejudicial
+to my honour.
+
+"The ambassador," he continued, "proposes to introduce you at Court next
+week, and he wants you to dine with him to-day; there will be a numerous
+company at dinner."
+
+"I am engaged to Mengs."
+
+"No matter, he shall be asked as well; you must come.  Consider the
+effect of your presence at the ambassador's the day after your triumph."
+
+"You are right.  Go and ask Mengs, and tell the ambassador that I have
+much pleasure in accepting his invitation."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+Campomanes--Olavides--Sierra Morena--Aranjuez--Mengs--The Marquis
+Grimaldi--Toledo--Madame Pelliccia--My Return to Madrid
+
+
+Different circumstances in my life seem to have combined to render me
+somewhat superstitious; it is a humiliating confession, and yet I make
+it.  But who could help it?  A man who abandons himself to his whims and
+fancies is like a child playing with a billiard cue.  It may make a
+stroke that would be an honour to the most practised and scientific
+player; and such are the strange coincidences of life which, as I have
+said, have caused me to become superstitious.
+
+Fortune, which under the humbler name of luck seems but a word, is a very
+divinity when it guides the most important actions of a man's life.
+Always it has seemed to me that this divinity is not blind, as the
+mythologists affirm; she had brought me low only to exalt me, and I found
+myself in high places, only, as it seems, to be cast into the depths.
+Fortune has done her best to make me regard her as a reasoning, almighty
+power; she has made me feel that the strength of my will is as nothing
+before this mysterious power, which takes my will and moulds it, and
+makes it a mere instrument for the accomplishment of its decrees.
+
+I could not possibly have done anything in Spain without the help of the
+representative of my country, and he would not have dared to do anything
+for me without the letter I had just given him.  This letter, in its
+turn, would probably have had but slight effect if it had not come to
+hand so soon after my imprisonment, which had become the talk of the
+town, through the handsome satisfaction the Count of Aranda had given me.
+
+The letter made the ambassador sorry that he had not interposed on my
+behalf, but he hoped people would believe that the count would not have
+acted as he did if it had not been for his interposition.  His favourite,
+Count Manucci, had come to ask me to dinner; as it happened I was engaged
+to Mengs, which obtained an invitation for the painter, and flattered his
+vanity excessively.  He fancied that the invitation proceeded from
+gratitude, and it certainly smoothed away the mortification he had felt
+at seeing me arrested in his house.  He immediately wrote to the effect
+that he would call upon me with his carriage.
+
+I called on the Count of Aranda, who kept me waiting for a quarter of an
+hour, and then came in with some papers in his hand.  He smiled when he
+saw me, and said,--
+
+"Your business is done.  Stay, here are four letters; take them and read
+them over again."
+
+"Why should I read them again?  This is the document I gave the alcalde."
+
+"I know that.  Read, and confess that you should not have written so
+violently, in spite of the wrongs that vexed you."
+
+"I crave your pardon, my lord, but a man who meditates suicide does not
+pick terms.  I believed that your excellency was at the bottom of it
+all."
+
+"Then you don't know me.  Go and thank Don Emmanuel de Roda, who wants to
+know you, and I shall be glad if you will call once on the alcalde, not
+to make him an apology, for you owe him none, but as an act of politeness
+to salve over the hard things you said of him.  If you write the history
+of Princess Lubomirska, I hope you will tell her that I did my best for
+you."
+
+I then called on Colonel Royas, who told me that I had made a great
+mistake in saying that I was satisfied.
+
+"What could I claim?"
+
+"Everything.  Dismissal of the alcalde and compensation to the tune of
+fifty thousand duros.  Spain is a country where a man may speak out save
+in the matters which the Holy Inquisition looks after."
+
+This colonel, now a general, is one of the pleasantest Spaniards I have
+ever met.
+
+I had not long returned to my lodging when Mengs called for me in his
+carriage.  The ambassador gave me a most gracious reception, and
+overwhelmed Mengs with compliments for having endeavoured to shelter me.
+At dinner I told the story of my sufferings at Buen Retiro, and the
+conversation I had just had with the Count of Aranda, who had returned me
+my letters.  The company expressed a desire to see them, and everyone
+gave an opinion on the matter.
+
+The guests were Abbe Bigliardi, the French consul, Don Rodrigues de
+Campomanes, and the famous Don Pablo d'Olavides.  Everyone spoke his
+mind, and the ambassador condemned the letters as too ferocious.  On the
+other hand, Campomanes approved them, saying that they were not abusive,
+and were wonderfully adapted to my purpose, namely, to force the reader
+to do me prompt justice, were the reader to be the king himself.
+Olavides and Bigliardi echoed this sentiment.  Mengs sided with the
+ambassador, and begged me to come and live with him, so as not to be
+liable to any more inconveniences from spying servants.  I did not accept
+this invitation till I had been pressed for some time, and I noted the
+remark of the ambassador, who said I owed Mengs this reparation for the
+indirect affront he had received.
+
+I was delighted to make the acquaintance of Campomanes and Olavides, men
+of intellect and of a stamp very rare in Spain.  They were not exactly
+men of learning, but they were above religious prejudices, and were not
+only fearless in throwing public scorn upon them but even laboured openly
+for their destruction.  It was Campomanes who had furnished Aranda with
+all the damaging matter against the Jesuits.  By a curious coincidence,
+Campomanes, the Count of Aranda, and the General of the Jesuits, were all
+squint-eyed.  I asked Campomanes why he hated the Jesuits so bitterly,
+and he replied that he looked upon them in the same light as the other
+religious orders, whom he considered a parasitical and noxious race, and
+would gladly banish them all, not only from the peninsula but from the
+face of the earth.
+
+He was the author of all the pamphlets that had been written on the
+subject of mortmain; and as he was an intimate friend of the
+ambassador's, M. Mocenigo had furnished him with an account of the
+proceedings of the Venetian Republic against the monks.  He might have
+dispensed with this source of information if he had read the writings of
+Father Paul Sarpi on the same subject.  Quick-sighted, firm, with the
+courage of his opinions, Campomanes was the fiscal of the Supreme Council
+of Castille, of which Aranda was president.  Everyone knew him to be a
+thoroughly honest man, who acted solely for the good of the State.  Thus
+statesmen and officials had warm feelings of respect for him, while the
+monks and bigots hated the sound of his name, and the Inquisition had
+sworn to be his ruin.  It was said openly that he would either become a
+bishop or perish in the cells of the holy brotherhood.  The prophecy was
+only partly fulfilled.  Four years after my visit to Spain he was
+incarcerated in the dungeons of the Inquisition, but he obtained his
+release after three years' confinement by doing public penance.  The
+leprosy which eats out the heart of Spain is not yet cured.  Olavides was
+still more harshly treated, and even Aranda would have fallen a victim if
+he had not had the good sense to ask the king to send him to France as
+his ambassador.  The king was very glad to do so, as otherwise he would
+have been forced to deliver him up to the infuriated monks.
+Charles III. (who died a madman) was a remarkable character.  He was as
+obstinate as a mule, as weak as a woman, as gross as a Dutchman, and a
+thorough-paced bigot.  It was no wonder that he became the tool of his
+confessor.
+
+At the time of which I am speaking the cabinet of Madrid was occupied in
+a curious scheme.  A thousand Catholic families had been enticed from
+Switzerland to form a colony in the beautiful but deserted region called
+the Sierra Morena, well known all over Europe by its mention in Don
+Quixote.  Nature seemed there to have lavished all her gifts; the climate
+was perfect, the soil fertile, and streams of all kinds watered the land,
+but in spite of all it was almost depopulated.
+
+Desiring to change this state of things, his Catholic majesty had decided
+to make a present of all the agricultural products for a certain number
+of years to industrious colonists.  He had consequently invited the Swiss
+Catholics, and had paid their expenses for the journey.  The Swiss
+arrived, and the Spanish government did its best to provide them with
+lodging and spiritual and temporal superintendence.  Olavides was the
+soul of this scheme.  He conferred with the ministers to provide the new
+population with magistrates, priests, a governor, craftsmen of all kinds
+to build churches and houses, and especially a bull-ring, a necessity for
+the Spaniards, but a perfectly useless provision as far as the simple
+Swiss were concerned.
+
+In the documents which Don Pablo Olavides had composed on the subject he
+demonstrated the inexpediency of establishing any religious orders in the
+new colony, but if he could have proved his opinion to be correct with
+foot and rule he would none the less have drawn on his head the
+implacable hatred of the monks, and of the bishop in whose diocese the
+new colony was situated.  The secular clergy supported Olavides, but the
+monks cried out against his impiety, and as the Inquisition was eminently
+monkish in its sympathies persecution had already begun, and this was one
+of the subjects of conversation at the dinner at which I was present.
+
+I listened to the arguments, sensible and otherwise, which were advanced,
+and I finally gave my opinion, as modestly as I could, that in a few
+years the colony would banish like smoke; and this for several reasons.
+
+"The Swiss," I said, "are a very peculiar people; if you transplant them
+to a foreign shore, they languish and die; they become a prey to home-
+sickness.  When this once begins in a Switzer, the only thing is to take
+him home to the mountain, the lake, or the valley, where he was born, or
+else he will infallibly die."
+
+"It would be wise, I think," I continued, "to endeavour to combine a
+Spanish colony with the Swiss colony, so as to effect a mingling of
+races.  At first, at all events, their rules, both spiritual and
+temporal, should be Swiss, and, above all, you would have to insure them
+complete immunity from the Inquisition.  The Swiss who has been
+bred in the country has peculiar customs and manners of love-making, of
+which the Spanish Church might not exactly approve; but the least attempt
+to restrain their liberty in this respect would immediately bring about a
+general home-sickness."
+
+At first Olavides thought I was joking, but he soon found out that my
+remarks had some sense in them.  He begged me to write out my opinions on
+the subject, and to give him the benefit of my knowledge.  I promised to
+do so, and Mengs fixed a day for him to come and dine with me at his
+house.
+
+The next day I moved my household goods to Mengs's house, and began my
+philosophical and physiological treatise on the colony.
+
+I called on Don Emmanuel de Roda, who was a man of letters, a 'rara aves'
+in Spain.  He liked Latin poetry, had read some Italian, but very
+naturally gave the palm to the Spanish poets.  He welcomed me warmly,
+begged me to come and see him again, and told me how sorry he had been at
+my unjust imprisonment.
+
+The Duke of Lossada congratulated me on the way in which the Venetian
+ambassador spoke of me everywhere, and encouraged me in my idea of
+getting some place under Government, promising to give me his support in
+the matter.
+
+The Prince della Catolica, invited me to dinner with the Venetian
+ambassador; and in the course of three weeks I had made a great number of
+valuable acquaintances.  I thought seriously of seeking employment in
+Spain, as not having heard from Lisbon I dared not go there on the chance
+of finding something to do.  I had not received any letters from Pauline
+of late, and had no idea as to what had become of her.
+
+I passed a good many of my evenings with a Spanish lady, named Sabatini,
+who gave 'tertullas' or assemblies, frequented chiefly by fifth-rate
+literary men.  I also visited the Duke of Medina-Sidonia, a well-read and
+intelligent man, to whom I had been presented by Don Domingo Varnier, one
+of the gentlemen of the king's chamber, whom I had met at Mengs's house.
+I paid a good many visits to Donna Ignazia, but as I was never left alone
+with her these visits became tiresome.  When I suggested a party of
+pleasure with her and her cousins, she replied that she would like it as
+much as I, but as it was Lent and near Holy Week, in which God died for
+our salvation, it was more fit to think of penance than pleasure.  After
+Easter, she said, we might consider the matter.  Ignazia was a perfect
+example of the young Spanish devotee.
+
+A fortnight after, the King and Court left Madrid for Aranjuez.
+M. de Mocenigo asked me to come and stay with him, as he would be able to
+present me at Court.  As may be imagined, I should have been only too
+glad to accept, but on the eve of my departure, as I was driving with
+Mengs, I was suddenly seized with a fever, and was convulsed so violently
+that my head was dashed against the carriage window, which it shivered to
+fragments.  Mengs ordered the coachman to drive home, and I was put to
+bed.  In four hours I was seized with a sweating fit, which lasted for
+ten or twelve hours.  The bed and two mattresses were soaked through with
+my perspiration, which dripped on to the floor beneath.  The fever abated
+in forty-eight hours, but left me in such a state of weakness that I was
+kept to my bed for a whole week, and could not go to Aranjuez till Holy
+Saturday.  The ambassador welcomed me warmly, but on the night I arrived
+a small lump which I had felt in the course of the day grew as large as
+an egg, and I was unable to go to mass on Easter Day.
+
+In five days the excrescence became as large as an average melon, much to
+the amazement of Manucci and the ambassador, and even of the king's
+surgeon, a Frenchman who declared he had never seen the like before.  I
+was not alarmed personally, for, as I suffered no pain and the lump was
+quite soft, I guessed it was only a collection of lymph, the remainder of
+the evil humours which I had sweated away in the fever.  I told the
+surgeon the history of the fever and begged him to lance the abscess,
+which he did, and for four days the opening discharged an almost
+incredible amount of matter.  On the fifth day the wound was almost
+healed, but the exhaustion had left me so weak that I could not leave my
+bed.
+
+Such was my situation when I received a letter from Mengs.  It is before
+me at the present moment, and I give below a true copy:
+
+"Yesterday the rector of the parish in which I reside affixed to the
+church-door a list of those of his parishioners who are Atheists and have
+neglected their Easter duties.  Amongst them your name figures in full,
+and the aforesaid rector has reproached me bitterly for harbouring a
+heretic.  I did not know what answer to make, for I feel sure that you
+could have stopped in Madrid a day longer to discharge the duties of a
+Christian, even if it were only out of regard for me.  The duty I owe to
+the king, my master, the care I am bound to take of my reputation, and my
+fears of being molested, all make me request you to look upon my house as
+yours no longer.  When you return to Madrid you may go where you will,
+and my servants shall transport your effects to your new abode.
+
+"I am, etc.,
+
+"ANTONIO RAPHAEL MENGS."
+
+
+I was so annoyed by this rude, brutal, and ungrateful letter, that if I
+had not been seven leagues from Madrid, and in a state of the utmost
+weakness, Mengs should have suffered for his insolence.  I told the
+messenger who had brought it to begone, but he replied that he had orders
+to await my reply.  I crushed the letter in my hand and flung it at his
+face, saying,--
+
+"Go and tell your unworthy master what I did with his letter, and tell
+him that is the only answer that such a letter deserves."
+
+The innocent messenger went his way in great amazement.
+
+My anger gave me strength, and having dressed myself and summoned a
+sedan-chair I went to church, and was confessed by a Grey Friar, and at
+six o'clock the next morning I received the Sacrament.
+
+My confessor was kind enough to give me a certificate to the effect that
+I had been obliged to keep my bed since my arrival 'al sitio', and that
+in spite of my extreme weakness I had gone to church, and had confessed
+and communicated like a good Christian.  He also told me the name of the
+priest who had affixed the paper containing my name to the door of the
+church.
+
+When I returned to the ambassador's house I wrote to this priest, telling
+him that the certificate enclosed would inform him as to my reasons for
+not communicating.  I expressed a hope that, being satisfied of my
+orthodoxy, he would not delay in removing my name from his church-doors,
+and I concluded by begging him to hand the enclosed letter to the
+Chevalier Mengs.
+
+To the painter I wrote that I felt that I had deserved the shameful
+insult he had given me by my great mistake in acceding to his request to
+honour him by staying in his house.  However, as a good Christian who had
+just received the Holy Communion, I told him that his brutal behaviour
+was forgiven; but I bade him to take to heart the line, well known to all
+honest people, and doubtless unknown to him:
+
+'Turpius ejicitur quam non admittitur hospes.'
+
+After sending the letter I told the ambassador what had happened, to
+which he replied,--
+
+"I am not at all surprised at what you tell me.  Mengs is only liked for
+his talents in painting; in everything else he is well known to be little
+better than a fool."
+
+As a matter of fact he had only asked me to stay with him to gratify his
+own vanity.  He knew that all the town was talking of my imprisonment and
+of the satisfaction the Count of Aranda had accorded me, and he wanted
+people to think that his influence had obtained the favour that had been
+shewn me.  Indeed, he had said in a moment of exaltation that I should
+have compelled the Alcade Messa to escort me not to my own house but to
+his, as it was in his house that I had been arrested.
+
+Mengs was an exceedingly ambitious and a very jealous man; he hated all
+his brother painters.  His colour and design were excellent, but his
+invention was very weak, and invention is as necessary to a great painter
+as a great poet.
+
+I happened to say to him one day, "Just as every poet should be a
+painter, so every painter should be a poet;" and he got quite angry,
+thinking that I was alluding to his weakness of imagination, which he
+felt but would not acknowledge.
+
+He was an ignorant man, and liked to pass for a scholar; he sacrificed to
+Bacchus and Comus, and would fain be thought sober; he was lustful, bad-
+tempered, envious, and miserly, but yet would be considered a virtuous
+man.  He loved hard work, and this forced him to abstain, as a rule, from
+dinner, as he drank so inordinately at that meal that he could do nothing
+after it.  When he dined out he had to drink nothing but water, so as not
+to compromise his reputation for temperance.  He spoke four languages,
+and all badly, and could not even write his native tongue with
+correctness; and yet he claimed perfection for his grammar and
+orthography, as for all his other qualities.  While I was staying with
+him I became acquainted with some of his weak points, and endeavoured to
+correct them, at which he took great offence.  The fellow writhed under a
+sense of obligation to me.  Once I prevented his sending a petition to
+the Court, which the king would have seen, and which would have made
+Mengs ridiculous.  In signing his name he had written 'el mas inclito',
+wishing to say your most humble.  I pointed out to him that 'el mas
+inclito' meant the most illustrious, and that the Spanish for the
+expression he wanted was 'el mas humilde'.  The proud fool was quite
+enraged, telling me that he knew Spanish better than I, but when the
+dictionary was searched he had to swallow the bitter pill of confessing
+himself in the wrong.
+
+Another time I suppressed a heavy and stupid criticism of his on someone
+who had maintained that there were no monuments still existing of the
+antediluvian period.  Mengs thought he would confound the author by
+citing the remains of the Tower of Babel--a double piece of folly, for in
+the first place there are no such remains, and in the second, the Tower
+of Babel was a post-diluvian building.
+
+He was also largely given to the discussion of metaphysical questions, on
+which his knowledge was simply nil, and a favourite pursuit of his was
+defining beauty in the abstract, and when he was on this topic the
+nonsense he talked was something dreadful.
+
+Mengs was a very passionate man, and would sometimes beat his children
+most cruelly.  More than once I have rescued his poor sons from his
+furious hands.  He boasted that his father, a bad Bohemian artist, had
+brought him up with the stick.  Thus, he said, he had become a great
+painter, and he wished his own children to enjoy the same advantages.
+
+He was deeply offended when he received a letter, of which the address
+omitted his title of chevalier, and his name, Rafael.  One day I ventured
+to say that these things were but trifles after all, and that I had taken
+no offence at his omitting the chevalier on the letters he had written to
+me, though I was a knight of the same order as himself.  He very wisely
+made no answer; but his objection to the omission of his baptismal name
+was a very ridiculous one.  He said he was called Antonio after Antonio
+Correggio, and Rafael after Rafael da Urbino, and that those who omitted
+these names, or either of them, implicitly denied his possession of the
+qualities of both these great painters.
+
+Once I dared to tell him that he had made a mistake in the hand of one of
+his figures, as the ring finger was shorter than the index.  He replied
+sharply that it was quite right, and shewed me his hand by way of proof.
+I laughed, and shewed him my hand in return, saying that I was certain
+that my hand was made like that of all the descendants of Adam.
+
+"Then whom do you think that I am descended from?"
+
+"I don't know, but you are certainly not of the same species as myself."
+
+"You mean you are not of my species; all well-made hands of men, and
+women too, are like mine and not like yours."
+
+"I'll wager a hundred doubloons that you are in the wrong."
+
+He got up, threw down brushes and palette, and rang up his servants,
+saying,--
+
+"We shall see which is right."
+
+The servants came, and on examination he found that I was right.  For
+once in his life, he laughed and passed it off as a joke, saying,--
+
+"I am delighted that I can boast of being unique in one particular, at
+all events."
+
+Here I must note another very sensible remark of his.
+
+He had painted a Magdalen, which was really wonderfully beautiful.  For
+ten days he had said every morning, "The picture will be finished to-
+night."  At last I told him that he had made a mistake in saying it would
+be finished, as he was still working on it.
+
+"No, I have not," he replied, "ninety-nine connoisseurs out of a hundred
+would have pronounced it finished long ago, but I want the praise of the
+hundredth man.  There's not a picture in the world that can be called
+finished save in a relative sense; this Magdalen will not be finished
+till I stop working at it, and then it will be only finished relatively,
+for if I were to give another day's work to it it would be more finished
+still.  Not one of Petrarch's sonnets is a really finished production;
+no, nor any other man's sonnets.  Nothing that the mind of man can
+conceive is perfect, save it be a mathematical theorem."
+
+I expressed my warm approval of the excellent way in which he had spoken.
+He was not so sensible another time when he expressed a wish to have been
+Raphael.
+
+"He was such a great painter."
+
+"Certainly," said I, "but what can you mean by wishing you had been
+Raphael?  This is not sense; if you had been Raphael, you would no longer
+be existing.  But perhaps you only meant to express a wish that you were
+tasting the joys of Paradise; in that case I will say no more."
+
+"No, no; I mean I would have liked to have been Raphael without troubling
+myself about existing now, either in soul or body."
+
+"Really such a desire is an absurdity; think it over, and you will see it
+for yourself."
+
+He flew into a rage, and abused me so heartily that I could not help
+laughing.
+
+Another time he made a comparison between a tragic author and a painter,
+of course to the advantage of the latter.
+
+I analysed the matter calmly, shewing him that the painter's labour is to
+a great extent purely mechanical, and can be done whilst engaged in
+casual talk; whilst a well-written tragedy is the work of genius pure and
+simple.  Therefore, the poet must be immeasurably superior to the
+painter.
+
+"Find me if you can," said I, "a poet who can order his supper between
+the lines of his tragedy, or discuss the weather whilst he is composing
+epic verses."
+
+When Mengs was beaten in an argument, instead of acknowledging his
+defeat, he invariably became brutal and insulting.  He died at the age of
+fifty, and is regarded by posterity as a Stoic philosopher, a scholar,
+and a compendium of all the virtues; and this opinion must be ascribed to
+a fine biography of him in royal quarto, choicely printed, and dedicated
+to the King of Spain.  This panegyric is a mere tissue of lies.  Mengs
+was a great painter, and nothing else; and if he had only produced the
+splendid picture which hangs over the high altar of the chapel royal at
+Dresden, he would deserve eternal fame, though indeed he is indebted to
+the great Raphael for the idea of the painting.
+
+We shall hear more of Mengs when I describe my meeting with him at Rome,
+two or three years later.
+
+I was still weak and confined to my room when Manucci came to me, and
+proposed that I should go with him to Toledo.
+
+"The ambassador," he said, "is going to give a grand official dinner to
+the ambassadors of the other powers, and as I have not been presented at
+Court I am excluded from being present.  However, if I travel, my absence
+will not give rise to any remarks.  We shall be back in five or six
+days."
+
+I was delighted to have the chance of seeing Toledo, and of making the
+journey in a comfortable carriage, so I accepted.  We started the next
+morning, and reached Toledo in the evening of the same day.  For Spain we
+were lodged comfortably enough, and the next day we went out under the
+charge of a cicerone, who took us to the Alcazar, the Louvre of Toledo,
+formerly the palace of the Moorish kings.  Afterwards we inspected the
+cathedral, which is well worthy of a visit, on account of the riches it
+contains.  I saw the great tabernacle used on Corpus Christi.  It is made
+of silver, and is so heavy that it requires thirty strong men to lift it.
+The Archbishop of Toledo has three hundred thousand duros a year, and his
+clergy have four hundred thousand, amounting to two million francs in
+French money.  One of the canons, as he was shewing me the urns
+containing the relics, told me that one of them contained the thirty
+pieces of silver for which Judas betrayed our Lord.  I begged him to let
+me see them, to which he replied severely that the king himself would not
+have dared to express such indecent curiosity.
+
+I hastened to apologise, begging him not to take offence at a stranger's
+heedless questions; and this seemed to calm his anger.
+
+The Spanish priests are a band of knaves, but one has to treat them with
+more respect than one would pay to honest men elsewhere.  The following
+day we were shewn the museum of natural history.  It was rather a dull
+exhibition; but, at all events, one could laugh at it without exciting
+the wrath of the monks and the terrors of the Inquisition.  We were
+shewn, amongst other wonders, a stuffed dragon, and the man who exhibited
+it said,--
+
+"This proves, gentlemen, that the dragon is not a fabulous animal;" but I
+thought there was more of art than nature about the beast.  He then
+shewed us a basilisk, but instead of slaying us with a glance it only
+made us laugh.  The greatest wonder of all, however, was nothing else
+than a Freemason's apron, which, as the curator very sagely declared,
+proved the existence of such an order, whatever some might say.
+
+The journey restored me to health, and when I returned to Aranjuez, I
+proceeded to pay my court to all the ministers.  The ambassador presented
+me to Marquis Grimaldi, with whom I had some conversations on the subject
+of the Swiss colony, which was going on badly.  I reiterated my opinion
+that the colony should be composed of Spaniards.
+
+"Yes," said he, "but Spain is thinly peopled everywhere, and your plan
+would amount to impoverishing one district to make another rich."
+
+"Not at all, for if you took ten persons who are dying of poverty in the
+Asturias, and placed them in the Sierra Morena, they would not die till
+they had begotten fifty children.  This fifty would beget two hundred and
+so on."
+
+My scheme was laid before a commission, and the marquis promised that I
+should be made governor of the colony if the plan was accepted.
+
+An Italian Opera Comique was then amusing the Court, with the exception
+of the king, who had no taste for music.  His majesty bore a considerable
+resemblance to a sheep in the face, and it seemed as if the likeness went
+deeper, for sheep have not the slightest idea of sound.  His favourite
+pursuit was sport, and the reason will be given later on.
+
+An Italian musician at the Court desired to compose some music for a new
+opera, and as there was no time to send to Italy I offered to compose the
+libretto.  My offer was accepted, and by the next day the first act was
+ready.  The music was composed in four days, and the Venetian ambassador
+invited all the ministers to the rehearsal in the grand hall of his
+palace.  The music was pronounced exquisite; the two other acts were
+written, and in a fortnight the opera was put upon the stage.  The
+musician was rewarded handsomely, but I was considered too grand to work
+for money and my reward was paid me in the Court money of compliments.
+However, I was glad to see that the ambassador was proud of me and that
+the minister's esteem for me seemed increased.
+
+In writing the libretto I had become acquainted with the actresses.  The
+chief of them was a Roman named Pelliccia, neither pretty nor ugly, with
+a slight squint, and but moderate talents.  Her younger sister was pretty
+if not handsome; but no one cared for the younger, while the elder was a
+universal favourite.  Her expression was pleasant, her smile delightful,
+and her manners most captivating.  Her husband was an indifferent
+painter, plain-looking, and more like her servant than her husband.  He
+was indeed her very humble servant, and she treated him with great
+kindness.  The feelings she inspired me with were not love, but a sincere
+respect and friendship.  I used to visit her every day, and wrote verses
+for her to sing to the Roman airs she delivered so gracefully.
+
+On one of the days of rehearsals I was pointing out to her the various
+great personages who were present.  The manager of the company,
+Marescalchi by name, had entered into an arrangement with the Governor of
+Valentia to bring the company there in September to play comic opera in a
+small theatre which had been built on purpose.  Italian opera had
+hitherto never been presented at Valentia, and Marecalchi hoped to make a
+good deal of money there.  Madame Pelliccia knew nobody in Valentia, and
+wanted a letter of introduction to someone there.  She asked me if I
+thought she could venture to ask the Venetian ambassador to do her the
+favour, but I advised her to try the Duke of Arcos.
+
+"Where is he?"
+
+"That gentleman who is looking in your direction now."
+
+"How can I dare to ask him?"
+
+"He is a true nobleman, and I am sure he will be only too happy to oblige
+you.  Go and ask him now; you will not be denied."
+
+"I haven't the courage to do so.  Come with me and introduce me."
+
+"That would spoil everything; he must not even think that I am your
+adviser in the matter.  I am just going to leave you; you must make your
+request directly afterwards."
+
+I walked towards the orchestra, and looking round I saw that the duke was
+approaching the actress.
+
+"The thing's as good as done," I said to myself.
+
+After the rehearsal was over Madame Pelliccia came and told me that the
+Duke would give her the letter on the day on which the opera was
+produced.  He kept his word, and she received a sealed letter for a
+merchant and banker, Don Diego Valencia.
+
+It was then May, and she was not to go to Valentia till September, so we
+shall hear what the letter contained later on.
+
+I often saw the king's gentleman of the chamber, Don Domingo Varnier,
+another 'gentleman in the service of the Princess of the Asturias, and
+one of the princess's bed-chamber women.  This most popular princess
+succeeded in suppressing a good deal of the old etiquette, and the tone
+of her Court had lost the air of solemnity common in Spanish society.  It
+was a strange thing to see the King of Spain always dining at eleven
+o'clock, like the Parisian cordwainers in the seventeenth century.  His
+meal always consisted of the same dishes, he always went out hunting at
+the same hour, coming back in the evening thoroughly fatigued.
+
+The king was ugly, but everything is relative, he was handsome compared
+with his brother, who was terrifically ugly.
+
+This brother never went anywhere without a picture of the Virgin, which
+Mengs had painted for him.  It was two feet high by three and a half
+broad.  The figure was depicted as seated on the grass with legs crossed
+after the Eastern fashion, and uncovered up to the knees.  It was, in
+reality, a voluptuous painting; and the prince mistook for devotion that
+which was really a sinful passion, for it was impossible to look upon the
+figure without desiring to have the original within one's arms.  However,
+the prince did not see this, and was delighted to find himself in love
+with the mother of the Saviour.  In this he was a true Spaniard; they
+only love pictures of this kind, and interpret the passions they excite
+in the most favourable sense.
+
+At Madrid I had, seen a picture of the Madonna with the child at her
+breast.  It was the altarpiece of a chapel in the Calle St. Jeronimo.
+The place was filled all day by the devout, who came to adore the Mother
+of God, whose figure was only interesting by reason of her magnificent
+breast.  The alms given at this chapel were so numerous, that in the
+hundred and fifty years, since the picture had been placed there, the
+clergy had been able to purchase numerous lamps and candlesticks of
+silver, and vessels of silver gilt, and even of gold.  The doorway was
+always blocked by carriages, and a sentinel was placed there to keep
+order amongst the coachmen; no nobleman would pass by without going in to
+pray to the Virgin, and to contemplate those 'beata ubera, quae
+lactaverunt aeterni patris filium'.  But there came a change.
+
+When I returned to Madrid I wanted to pay a visit to the Abbe Pico, and
+told my coachman to take another way so as to avoid the crush in front of
+the chapel.
+
+"It is not so frequented now, senor," said he, "I can easily get by it."
+
+He went on his way, and I found the entrance to the chapel deserted.  As
+I was getting out of the carriage I asked my coachman what was the reason
+of the change, and he replied,--
+
+"Oh, senor! men are getting more wicked every day,"
+
+This reason did not satisfy me, and when I had taken my chocolate with
+the abbe, an intelligent and venerable old man, I asked him why the
+chapel in question had lost its reputation.
+
+He burst out laughing, and replied,--
+
+"Excuse me, I really cannot tell you.  Go and see for yourself; your
+curiosity will soon be satisfied."
+
+As soon as I left him I went to the chapel, and the state of the picture
+told me all.  The breast of the Virgin had disappeared under a kerchief
+which some profane brush had dared to paint over it.  The beautiful
+picture was spoilt; the magic and fascination had disappeared.  Even the
+teat had been painted out; the Child held on to nothing, and the head of
+the Virgin no longer appeared natural.
+
+This disaster had taken place at the end of the Carnival of 1768.  The
+old chaplain died, and the Vandal who succeeded him pronounced the
+painting to be a scandalous one, and robbed it of all its charm.
+
+He may have been in the right as a fool, but as a Christian and a
+Spaniard he was certainly in the wrong, and he was probably soon
+convinced of the mistake he had made by the diminution in the offerings
+of the faithful.
+
+My interest in the study of human nature made me call on this priest,
+whom I expected to find a stupid old man.
+
+I went one morning, but instead of being old, the priest was an active,
+clever-looking man of thirty, who immediately offered me chocolate with
+the best grace imaginable.  I refused, as was my duty as a stranger, and
+indeed the Spaniards offer visitors chocolate so frequently at all hours,
+that if one accepted it all one would be choked.
+
+I lost no time in exordiums, but came to the point at once, by saying
+that as a lover of paintings I had been grieved at finding the
+magnificent Madonna spoilt.
+
+"Very likely," he replied, "but it was exactly the physical beauty of the
+picture that rendered it in my eyes unfit to represent one whose aspect
+should purify and purge the senses, instead of exciting them.  Let all
+the pictures in the world be destroyed, if they be found to have caused
+the commission of one mortal sin."
+
+"Who allowed you to commit this mutilation?  The Venetian State
+Inquisitors, even M.  Barberigo, though he is a devout man, would have
+put you under the Leads for such a deed.  The love of Paradise should not
+be allowed to interfere with the fine arts, and I am sure that St. Luke
+himself (who was a painter, as you know) would condemn you if he could
+come to life again."
+
+"Sir, I needed no one's leave or license.  I have to say mass at that
+altar every day, and I am not ashamed to tell you that I was unable to
+consecrate.  You are a man and a Christian, you can excuse my weakness.
+That voluptuous picture drew away my thoughts from holy things."
+
+"Who obliged you to look at it?"
+
+"I did not look at it; the devil, the enemy of God, made me see it in
+spite of myself."
+
+"Then you should have mutilated yourself like Origen.  Your generative
+organs, believe me, are not so valuable as the picture you have ruined."
+
+"Sir, you insult me."
+
+"Not at all, I have no intention of doing so."
+
+That young priest shewed me the door with such brusqueness that I felt
+sure he would inform against me to the Inquisition.  I knew he would have
+no difficulty in finding out my name, so I resolved to be beforehand with
+him.
+
+Both my fear and my resolve were inspired by an incident which I shall
+mention as an episode.
+
+A few days before, I had met a Frenchman named Segur, who had just come
+out of the prisons of the Inquisition.  He had been shut up for three
+years for committing the following crime:
+
+In the hall of his house there was a fountain, composed of a marble basin
+and the statue of a naked child, who discharged the water in the same way
+as the well-known statue of Brussels, that is to say, by his virile
+member.  The child might be a Cupid or an Infant Jesus, as you pleased,
+but the sculptor had adorned the head with a kind of aureole; and so the
+fanatics declared that it was a mocking of God.
+
+Poor Segur was accused of impiety, and the Inquisition dealt with him
+accordingly.
+
+I felt that my fault might be adjudged as great as Segur's, and not
+caring to run the risk of a like punishment I called on the bishop, who
+held the office of Grand Inquisitor, and told him word for word the
+conversation I had had with the iconoclast chaplain.  I ended by craving
+pardon, if I had offended the chaplain, as I was a good Christian, and
+orthodox on all points.
+
+I had never expected to find the Grand Inquisitor of Madrid a kindly and
+intelligent, though ill-favoured, prelate; but so it was, and he did
+nothing but laugh from the beginning to the end of my story, for he would
+not let me call it a confession.
+
+"The chaplain," he said, "is himself blameworthy and unfit for his
+position, in that he has adjudged others to be as weak as himself; in
+fact, he has committed a wrong against religion.  Nevertheless, my dear
+son, it was not wise of you to go and irritate him."
+As I had told him my name he shewed me, smilingly, an accusation against
+me, drawn up by someone who had witnessed the fact.  The good bishop
+gently chid me for having called the friar-confessor of the Duke of
+Medina an ignoramus.  He had refused to admit that a priest might say
+mass a second time on a high festival, after breaking his fast, on the
+command of his sovereign prince, who, by the hypothesis, had not heard
+mass before.
+
+"You were quite right in your contention," said the Inquisitor, "but yet
+every truth is not good to utter, and it was wrong to call the man an
+ignoramus in his presence.  For the future you would do well to avoid all
+idle discussion on religious matters, both on dogma and discipline.  And
+I must also tell you, in order that you may not leave Spain with any
+harsh ideas on the Inquisition, that the priest who affixed your name to
+the church-door amongst the excommunicated has been severely reprimanded.
+He ought to have given you a fatherly admonition, and, above all,
+enquired as to your health, as we know that you were seriously ill at the
+time."
+
+Thereupon I knelt down and kissed his hand, and went my way, well pleased
+with my call.
+
+To go back to Aranjuez.  As soon as I heard that the ambassador could not
+put me up at Madrid, I wrote to the worthy cobbler, Don Diego, that I
+wanted a well-furnished room, a closet, a good bed, and an honest
+servant.  I informed him how much I was willing to spend a month, and
+said I would leave Aranjuez as soon as I heard that everything was ready.
+
+I was a good deal occupied with the question of colonising the Sierra
+Morena; I wrote principally on the subject of the civil government, a
+most important item in a scheme for a new colony.  My articles pleased
+the Marquis Grimaldi and flattered Mocenigo; for the latter hoped that I
+should become governor of the colony, and that his embassy would thereby
+shine with a borrowed light.
+
+My labours did not prevent my amusing myself, and I frequented the
+society of those about the Court who could tell me most of the king and
+royal family.  Don Varnier, a man of much frankness and intelligence, was
+my principal source of information.
+
+I asked him one day whether the king was fond of Gregorio Squillace only
+because he had been once his wife's lover.
+
+"That's an idle calumny," he replied.  "If the epithet of 'chaste' can be
+applied to any monarch, Charles III. certainly deserves it better than
+any other.  He has never touched any woman in his life except his wife,
+not only out of respect or the sanctity of marriage, but also as a good
+Christian.  He has avoided this sin that his soul may remain pure, and so
+as not to have the shame of confessing it to his chaplain.  He enjoys an
+iron constitution, sickness is unknown to him, and he is a thorough
+Spaniard in temperament.  Ever since his marriage he has paid his duty to
+his wife every day, except when the state of her health compelled her to
+call for a truce.  In such seasons this chaste husband brought down his
+fleshly desires by the fatigue of hunting and by abstinence.  You can
+imagine his distress at being left a widower, for he would rather die
+than take a mistress.  His only resource was in hunting, and in so
+planning out his day that he should have no time left wherein to think of
+women.  It was a difficult matter, for he cares neither for reading nor
+writing, music wearies him, and conversation of a lively turn inspires
+him with disgust.
+
+"He has adopted the following plan, in which he will preserve till his
+dying day: He dresses at seven, then goes into his closet and has his
+hair dressed.  At eight o'clock he says his prayers, then hears mass, and
+when this is over he takes chocolate and an enormous pinch of snuff, over
+which his big nose ruminates for some minutes; this is his only pinch in
+the whole day.  At nine o'clock he sees his ministers, and works with
+them till eleven.  Then comes dinner, which he always takes alone, then a
+short visit to the Princess of the Austurias, and at twelve sharp he gets
+into his carriage and drives to the hunting-grounds.  At seven o'clock he
+takes a morsel wherever he happens to be, and at eight o'clock he comes
+home, so tired that he often goes to sleep before he can get his clothes
+off.  Thus he keeps down the desires of the flesh."
+
+"Poor voluntary martyr!"
+
+"He thought of marrying a second time, but when Adelaide of France saw
+his portrait she was quite frightened and refused him.  He was very
+mortified, and renounced all thoughts of marriage; and woe to the
+courtier who should advise him to get a mistress!"
+
+In further speaking of his character Don Domingo told me that the
+ministers had good cause for making him inaccessible, as whenever anyone
+did succeed in getting at him and asked a favour, he made a point of
+granting it, as it was at such times that he felt himself really a king.
+
+"Then he is not a hard man, as some say?"
+
+"Not at all.  Kings seldom have the reputation they deserve.  The most
+accessible monarchs are the least generous; they are overwhelmed with
+importunate requests, and their first instinct is always to refuse."
+
+"But as Charles III. is so inaccessible he can have no opportunity of
+either granting or refusing."
+
+"People catch him when he is hunting; he is usually in a good humour
+then.  His chief defect is his obstinacy; when he has once made up his
+mind there is no changing it.
+
+"He has the greatest liking for his brother, and can scarce refuse him
+anything, though he must be master in all things.  It is thought he will
+give him leave to marry for the sake of his salvation; the king has the
+greatest horror of illegitimate children, and his brother has three
+already."
+
+There were an immense number of persons at Aranjuez, who persecuted the
+ministers in the hope of getting employment.
+
+"They will go back as they come," said Don Domingo, "and that is empty-
+handed."
+
+"Then they ask impossibilities?"
+
+"They don't ask anything.  'What do you want?' says a minister.
+
+"'What your excellency will let me have.'
+
+"'What can you do?'
+
+"'I am ready to do whatever your excellency pleases to think best for me'
+
+"'Please leave me.  I have no time to waste.'"
+
+That is always the way.  Charles III. died a madman; the Queen of
+Portugal is mad; the King of England has been mad, and, as some say, is
+not really cured.  There is nothing astonishing in it; a king who tries
+to do his duty is almost forced into madness by his enormous task.
+
+I took leave of M. Mocenigo three days before he left Aranjuez, and I
+embraced Manucci affectionately.  He had been most kind to me throughout
+my stay.
+
+My cobbler had written to tell me that for the sum I had mentioned he
+could provide me with a Biscayan maid who could cook.  He sent me the
+address of my new lodging in the Calle Alcala.  I arrived there in the
+afternoon, having started from Aranjuez in the morning.
+
+I found that the Biscayan maid could speak French; my room was a very
+pleasant one, with another chamber annexed where I could lodge a friend.
+After I had had my effects carried up I saw my man, whose face pleased
+me.
+
+I was anxious to test the skill of my cook, so I ordered her to get a
+good supper for me, and I gave her some money.
+
+"I have some money," she replied, "and I will let you have the bill to-
+morrow."
+
+After taking away whatever I had left with Mengs I went to Don Diego's
+house, and to my astonishment found it empty.  I went back and asked
+Philippe, my man, where Don Diego was staying.
+
+"It's some distance, sir; I will take you there tomorrow."
+
+"Where is my landlord?"
+
+"In the floor above; but they are very quiet people."
+
+"I should like to see him."
+
+"He is gone out and won't be home till ten."
+
+At nine o'clock I was told that my supper was ready.  I was very hungry,
+and the neatness with which the table was laid was a pleasant surprise in
+Spain.  I was sorry that I had had no opportunity of expressing my
+satisfaction to Don Diego, but I sat down to supper.  Then indeed I
+thought the cobbler a hero; the Biscayan maid might have entered into
+rivalry with the best cook in France.  There were five dishes, including
+my favourite delicacy 'las criadillas', and everything was exquisite.  My
+lodging was dear enough, but the cook made the whole arrangement a
+wonderful bargain.
+
+Towards the end of supper Philippe told me that the landlord had come in,
+and that with my leave he would wish me a good evening.
+
+"Shew him in by all means."
+
+I saw Don Diego and his charming daughter enter; he had rented the house
+on purpose to be my landlord.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+My Amours With Donna Ignazia--Return of M. de Mocenino to Madrid
+
+
+All you barons, counts, and marquises who laugh at an untitled man who
+calls himself a gentleman, pause and reflect, spare your disdain till you
+have degraded him; allow him a gentle title so long as he does gentle
+deeds.  Respect the man that defines nobility in a new way, which you
+cannot understand.  With him nobility is not a series of descents from
+father to son; he laughs at pedigrees, in which no account is taken of
+the impure blood introduced by wifely infidelities; he defines a nobleman
+as one who does noble deeds, who neither lies nor cheats, who prefers his
+honour to his life.
+
+This latter part of the definition should make you tremble for your
+lives, if you meditate his dishonour.  From imposture comes contempt,
+from contempt hatred, from hatred homicide, which takes out the blot of
+dishonour.
+
+The cobbler Don Diego might have feared, perhaps, that I should laugh at
+him, when he told me he was noble; but feeling himself to be really so he
+had done his best to prove it to me.  The fineness of his behaviour when
+I was in prison had given me some idea of the nobility of his soul, but
+he was not content with this. On the receipt of my letter, he had taken a
+new house only to give up the best part of it to me.  No doubt he
+calculated on not losing in the long run, as after I had left he would
+probably have no difficulty in letting the apartment, but his chief
+motive was to oblige me.
+
+He was not disappointed; henceforth I treated him entirely as an equal.
+Donna Ignazia was delighted at what her father had done for me.  We
+talked an hour, settling our business relations over a bottle of
+excellent wine.  I succeeded in my contention that the Biscayan cook
+should be kept at my expense.  All the same, I wanted the girl to think
+that she was in Don Diego's service, so I begged him to pay her every
+day, as I should take all my meals at home, at all events, till the
+return of the ambassador.  I also told him that it was a penance to me to
+eat alone, and begged him to keep me company at dinner and supper every
+day.  He tried to excuse himself, and at last gave in on the condition
+that his daughter should take his place when he had too much work to do.
+As may be imagined I had anticipated this condition, and made no
+difficulty about it.
+
+The next morning, feeling curious to see the way in which my landlord was
+lodged, I paid him a visit.  I went into the little room sacred to Donna
+Ignazia.  A bed, a chest, and a chair made up the whole furniture; but
+beside the bed was a desk before a picture, four feet high, representing
+St. Ignatius de Loyola as a fine young man, more calculated to irritate
+the sense than to arouse devotion.
+
+My cobbler said to me,
+
+"I have a much better lodging than I had before; and the rent of your
+room pays me for the house four times over."
+
+"How about the furniture and the linen?"
+
+"It will all be paid in the course of four years.  I hope this house will
+be the dower of my daughter.  It is an excellent speculation, and I have
+to thank you for it."
+
+"I am glad to hear it; but what is this, you seem to be making new
+boots?"
+
+"Quite so; but if you look you will see that I am working on a last which
+has been given me.  In this way I have not to put them on, nor need I
+trouble myself whether they fit well or ill."
+
+"How much do you get?"
+
+"Thirty reals."
+
+"That's a larger price than usual."
+
+"Yes, but there's a great difference between my work and my leather, and
+the usual work and leather of the bootmakers."
+
+"Then I will have a last made, and you shall make me a pair of shoes, if
+you will; but I warn you they must be of the finest skin, and the soles
+of morocco."
+
+"They will cost more, and not last so long."
+
+"I can't help that; I can't bear any but the lightest boots."
+
+Before I left him he said his daughter should dine with me that day as he
+was very busy.
+
+I called on the Count of Aranda, who received me coldly, but with great
+politeness.  I told him how I had been treated by my parish priest and by
+Mengs.
+
+"I heard about it; this was worse than your imprisonment, and I don't
+know what I could have done for you if you had not communicated, and
+obliged the priest to take out your name.  Just now they are trying to
+annoy me with posters on the walls, but I take no notice."
+
+"What do they want your excellency to do?"
+
+To allow long cloaks and low-crowned hats; you must know all about it."
+
+"I only arrived at Madrid yesterday evening."
+
+"Very good.  Don't come here on Sunday, as my house is to be blown up."
+
+"I should like to see that, my lord, so I will be in your hall at noon."
+
+"I expect you will be in good company."
+
+I duly went, and never had I seen it so full.  The count was addressing
+the company, under the last poster threatening him with death, two very
+energetic lines were inscribed by the person who put up the poster,
+knowing that he was at the same time running his head into the noose:
+
+          Si me cogen, me horqueran,
+          Pero no me cogeran.
+
+     "If they catch me, they will hang me,
+     So I shall not let them catch me."
+
+At dinner Donna Ignazia told me how glad she was to have me in the house,
+but she did not respond to all my amorous speeches after Philippe had
+left the room.  She blushed and sighed, and then being obliged to say
+something, begged me to forget everything that had passed between us.  I
+smiled, and said that I was sure she knew she was asking an
+impossibility.  I added that even if I could forget the past I would not
+do so.
+
+I knew that she was neither false nor hypocritical, and felt sure that
+her behaviour proceeded from devotion; but I knew this could not last
+long.  I should have to conquer her by slow degrees.  I had had to do so
+with other devotees who had loved me less than she, nevertheless, they
+had capitulated.  I was therefore sure of Donna Ignazia.
+
+After dinner she remained a quarter of an hour with me, but I refrained
+from any amorous attempts.
+
+After my siesta I dressed, and went out without seeing her.  In the
+evening when she came in for her father, who had supped with me, I
+treated her with the greatest politeness without shewing any ill-humour.
+The following day I behaved in the same manner.  At dinner she told me
+she had broken with her lover at the beginning of Lent, and begged me not
+to see him if he called on me.
+
+On Whit Sunday I called on the Count of Aranda, and Don Diego, who was
+exquisitely dressed, dined with me.  I saw nothing of his daughter.  I
+asked after her, and Don Diego replied, with a smile, that she had shut
+herself up in her room to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost.  He
+pronounced these words in a manner and with a smile that he would not
+have dared to use if he had been speaking to a fellow-Spaniard.  He added
+that she would, no doubt, come down and sup with me, as he was going to
+sup with his brother.
+
+"My dear Don Diego, don't let there be any false compliments between us.
+Before you go out, tell your daughter not to put herself out for me, and
+that I do not pretend to put my society in comparison with that of God.
+Tell her to keep her room to-night, and she can sup with me another time.
+I hope you will take my message to her."
+
+"As you will have it so, you shall be obeyed."
+
+After my siesta, the worthy man said that Donna Ignazia thanked me and
+would profit by my kindness, as she did not want to see anyone on that
+holy day.
+
+"I am very glad she has taken me at my word, and to-morrow I will thank
+her for it."
+
+I had some difficulty in shaping my lips to this reply; for this excess
+of devotion displeased me, and even made me tremble for her love.  I
+could not help laughing, however, when Don Diego said that a wise father
+forgives an ecstasy of love.  I had not expected such a philosophic
+remark from the mouth of a Spaniard.
+
+The weather was unpleasant, so I resolved to stay indoors.  I told
+Philippe that I should not want the carriage, and that he could go out.
+I told my Biscayan cook that I should not sup till ten.  When I was alone
+I wrote for some time, and in the evening the mother lit my candles,
+instead of the daughter, so in the end I went to bed without any supper.
+At nine o'clock next morning, just as I was awaking, Donna Ignazia
+appeared, to my great astonishment, telling me how sorry she was to hear
+that I had not taken any supper.
+
+"Alone, sad, and unhappy," I replied, "I felt that abstinence was the
+best thing for me."
+
+"You look downcast."
+
+"You alone can make me look cheerful."
+
+Here my barber came in, and she left me.  I then went to mass at the
+Church of the Good Success, where I saw all the handsome courtezans in
+Madrid.  I dined with Don Diego, and when his daughter came in with
+dessert he told her that it was her fault I had gone supperless to bed.
+
+"It shall not happen again," said she.
+
+"Would you like to come with me to our Lady of Atocha?" said I.
+
+"I should like it very much," she replied, with a side-glance at her
+father.
+
+"My girl," said Don Diego, "true devotion and merriment go together, and
+the reason is that the truly devout person has trust in God and in the
+honesty of all men.  Thus you can trust in Don Jaime as an honest man,
+though he has not the good fortune to be born in Spain."
+
+I could not help laughing at this last sentence, but Don Diego was not
+offended.  Donna Ignazia kissed her father's hands, and asked if she
+might bring her cousin too.
+
+"What do you want to take the cousin for?" said Don Diego; "I will answer
+for Don Jaime."
+
+"You are very kind, Don Diego, but if Ignazia likes her cousin to come I
+shall be delighted, provided it be the elder cousin, whom I like better
+than the younger."
+
+After this arrangement the father went his way, and I sent Philippe to
+the stables to put in four mules.
+
+When we were alone Ignazia asked me repentantly to forgive her.
+
+"Entirely, if you will forgive me for loving you."
+
+"Alas, dearest!  I think I shall go mad if I keep up the battle any
+longer."
+
+"There needs no battle, dearest Ignazia, either love me as I love you, or
+tell me to leave the house, and see you no more.  I will obey you, but
+that will not make you happy."
+
+"I know that.  No, you shall not go from your own house.  But allow me to
+tell you that you are mistaken in your estimate of my cousins'
+characters.  I know what influenced you, but you do not know all.  The
+younger is a good girl, and though she is ugly, she too has succumbed to
+love.  But the elder, who is ten times uglier, is mad with rage at never
+having had a lover.  She thought she had made you in love with her, and
+yet she speaks evil of you.  She reproaches me for having yielded so
+easily.  and boasts that she would never have gratified your passion."
+
+"Say no more, we must punish her; and the younger shall come."
+
+"I am much obliged to you."
+
+"Does she know that we love each other?"
+
+"I have never told her, but she has guessed it, and pities me.  She wants
+me to join her in a devotion to Our Lady de la Soledad, the effect of
+which would be a complete cure for us both."
+
+"Then she is in love, too?"
+
+"Yes; and she is unhappy in her love, for it is not returned.  That must
+be a great grief."
+
+"I pity her, and yet, with such a face, I do not know any man who would
+take compassion on her.  The poor girl would do well to leave love alone.
+But as to you.  .  .  ."
+
+"Say nothing about me: my danger is greater than hers.  I am forced to
+defend myself or to give in, and God knows there are some men whom it is
+impossible to ward off!  God is my witness that in Holy Week I went to a
+poor girl with the smallpox, and touched her in the hope of catching it,
+and so losing my beauty; but God would not have it so, and my confessor
+blamed me, bidding me to do a penance I had never expected."
+
+"Tell me what it is?"
+
+"He told me that a handsome face is the index of a handsome soul, and is
+a gift of God, for which a woman should render thanks continually; that
+in attempting to destroy this beauty I had sinned, for I had endeavoured
+to destroy God's handiwork.  After a good deal of rebuke in this style,
+he ordered me to put a little rouge on my cheeks whenever I felt myself
+looking pale.  I had to submit, and I have bought a pot of rouge, but
+hitherto I have not felt obliged to use it.  Indeed, my father might
+notice it, and I should not like to tell him that it is done by way of
+penance."
+
+"Is your confessor a young man?"
+
+"He is an old man of seventy."
+
+"Do you tell him all your sins without reserve?"
+
+"Certainly, for the smallest circumstance may be really a great sin."
+
+"Does he ask you questions?"
+
+"No, for he sees that I am telling him the whole truth.  It is a great
+trial, but I have to submit to it."
+
+"Have you had this confessor for long?"
+
+"For two years.  Before him I had a confessor who was quite unbearable.
+He asked me questions which made me quite indignant."
+
+"What questions were these?"
+
+"You must please excuse me telling you."
+
+"Why do you go to confession so often?"
+
+"Why?  Would to God I had not good cause! but after all I only go once a
+week."
+
+"That's too often."
+
+"Not so, for when I am in mortal sin I cannot sleep at night.  I am
+afraid of dying in my sleep."
+
+"I pity you, dearest; I have a consolation which is denied you.  I have
+an infinite trust in the infinite mercy of God."
+
+The cousin arrived and we set out.  We found a good many carriages in
+front of the church-door, and the church itself was full of devotees,
+both male and female.  Amongst others I saw the Duchess of Villadorias,
+notorious for her andromania.  When the 'furor uterinus' seized her,
+nothing could keep her back.  She would rush at the man who had excited
+her, and he had no choice but to satisfy her passion.  This had happened
+several times in public assemblies, and had given rise to some
+extraordinary scenes.  I had seen her at a ball; she was still both young
+and pretty.  As I entered the church I saw her kneeling on the stones of
+the church floor.  She lifted her eyes, and gazed at me, as if doubtful
+whether she knew me or not, as she had only seen me in domino.  After my
+devotees had prayed for half an hour, they rose to go, and the duchess
+rose also; and as soon as we were out of the church she asked me if I
+knew her.  I replied in the affirmative, and she asked why I had not been
+to see her, and if I visited the Duchess of Benevento.  I told her that I
+did not visit her grace, and that I should have the honour of paying her
+a call before long.
+
+On our way I explained to my two companions the nature of the duchess's
+malady.  Donna Ignazia asked me anxiously if I really meant to go and see
+her.  She seemed reassured when I replied in the negative.
+
+A common and to my mind a ridiculous question is which of the two sexes
+enjoys the generative act the more.  Homer gives us Jupiter and Juno
+disputing on this point.  Tiresias, who was once a woman, has given a
+correct though amusing decision on the point.  A laconic answer has it
+that a woman enjoys the act the most because with her it is sharper,
+repeated more frequently, and finally because the battle is fought in her
+field.  She is at the same time an active and passive agent, while action
+is indispensable to the pleasure of the man.  But the most conclusive
+reason is that if the woman's pleasure were not the greater nature would
+be unjust, and she never is or can be unjust.  Nothing in this universe
+is without its use, and no pleasure or pain is without its compensation
+or balance.  If woman had not more pleasure than man she would not have
+more organs than he.  The greater nervous power planted in the female
+organ is demonstrated by the andromania to which some women are subject,
+and which makes them either Messalines or martyrs.  Men have nothing at
+all similar to this.
+
+Nature has given to women this special enjoyment to compensate for the
+pains they have to undergo.  What man would expose himself, for the
+pleasure he enjoys, to the pains of pregnancy and the dangers of
+childbed?  But women will do so again and again; so it must be concluded
+that they believe the pleasure to outbalance the pain; and so it is
+clearly the woman who has the better share in the enjoyment.
+In spite of this, if I had the choice of being born again as a woman, I
+should say no; for in spite of my voluptuousness, a man has pleasures
+which a woman cannot enjoy.  Though, indeed, rather than not be born
+again, I would be a woman, and even a brute, provided always that I had
+my memory, for without it I should no longer be myself.
+
+We had some ices, and my two companions returned home with me, well
+pleased with the enjoyment I had given them without offending God.
+Donna Ignazia, who was delighted with my continence during the day, and
+apparently afraid of its not lasting, begged me to invite her cousin to
+supper.  I agreed, and even did so with pleasure.
+
+The cousin was ugly, and also a fool, but she had a great heart and was
+sympathetic.  I knew that Donna Ignazia had told her all, and as
+she was no restraint on me I did not mind her being at supper, while
+Ignazia looked upon her as a safeguard.
+
+The table had been laid for three, when I heard a step coming up the
+stairs.  It was the father, and I asked him to sup with us.  Don Diego
+was a pleasant man, as I have said, but what amused me most of all about
+him was his moral maxims.  He knew or suspected that I was fond of his
+daughter, though in an honourable way; he thought my honour or his
+daughter's piety would be a sufficient safeguard.  If he had suspected
+what had really happened, I do not think he would ever have allowed us to
+be together.
+
+He sat beside his niece and facing his daughter, and did most of the
+talking, for your Spaniard, though grave, is eloquent, and fond of
+hearing the fine harmonies of his native tongue.
+
+It was very hot, so I asked him to take off his waistcoat, and to tell
+his daughter to do just as she would if only he and his wife had been
+present.
+
+Donna Ignazia had not to be entreated long before she took off her
+kerchief, but the poor cousin did not like having to shew us her bones
+and swarthy skin.
+
+Donna Ignazia told her father how much she had enjoyed herself, and how
+they had seen the Duchess of Villadorias, who had asked me to come and
+see her.
+
+The good man began to philosophise and to jest on her malady, and he told
+me some stories, germane to the question, which the girls pretended not
+to understand.
+
+The good wine of La Mancha kept us at table till a late hour, and the
+time seemed to pass very quickly.  Don Diego told his niece that she
+could sleep with his daughter, in the room we were in, as the bed was big
+enough for two.  I hastened to add that if the ladies would do so I
+should be delighted; but Donna Ignazia blushed and said it would not do,
+as the room was only separated from mine by a glass door.
+At this I smiled at Don Diego, who proceeded to harangue his daughter in
+a manner which amused me extremely.  He told her that I was at least
+twenty years older than herself, and that in suspecting me she had
+committed a greater sin than if she allowed me to take some slight
+liberty.
+
+"I am sure," he added, "that when you go to confession next Sunday you
+will forget to accuse yourself of having wrongfully suspected Don Jaime
+of a dishonourable action."
+
+Donna Ignazia looked at me affectionately, asked my pardon, and said she
+would do whatever her father liked.  The cousin said nothing, and the
+father kissed his daughter, bade me a good night, and went away well
+pleased with the harangue he had delivered.
+
+I suspected that Donna Ignazia expected me to make some attempt on her
+honour, and feeling sure that she would resist for the sake of
+appearance, I determined to leave her in peace.  Next morning I got up
+and went into their room in the hope of playing some trick on them.
+However, the birds were flown, and I had no doubt that they had gone to
+hear mass.
+
+Donna Ignazia came home by herself at ten o'clock.  She found me alone,
+dressed, and writing.  She told me she had been in the church for three
+hours.
+
+"You have been to confession, I suppose?"
+
+"No; I went last Sunday, and I shall wait till next Sunday."
+
+"I am very glad that your confession will not be lengthened by any sins I
+have helped you to commit."
+
+"You are wrong."
+
+"Wrong?  I understand; but you must know that I am not going to be damned
+for mere desires.  I do not wish to torment you or to become a martyr
+myself.  What you granted me has made me fall deeply in love with you,
+and it makes me shudder when I imagine that our love has become a subject
+of repentance with you.  I have had a bad night; and it is time for me to
+think of my health.  I must forget you, but to bring about that effect I
+will see you no longer.  I will keep on the house, but I will not live in
+it.  If your religion is an intelligent one, you will approve of my idea.
+Tell your confessor of it next Sunday, and you will see that he will
+approve it."
+
+"You are right, but I cannot agree to it.  You can go away if you like,
+and I shall say nothing, but I shall be the most unhappy girl in all
+Madrid."
+
+As she spoke these words, two big tears rolled down her cheeks, and her
+face dropped; I was profoundly moved.
+
+"I love you, dearest Ignazia, and I hope not to be damned for my love.  I
+cannot see you without loving you and to this love some positive proof is
+essential; otherwise, I am unhappy.  If I go you say you will be unhappy,
+and if I stay it is I that will be unhappy, my health will be ruined.
+But tell me which I shall do stay or go?  Say."
+
+"Stay."
+
+"Then you must be as loving and tender as you were before."
+
+"Alas! I promised to commit that sin no more.  I tell you to stay,
+because I am sure that in eight or ten days we shall have become so
+accustomed to one another that I shall be able to love you like a father,
+and you will be able to take me in your arms without any amorous
+sentiments."
+
+"Are you sure of this?"
+
+"Yes, dearest, quite sure."
+
+"You make a mistake."
+
+"Let me be mistaken, and believe me I shall be glad to be mistaken."
+
+"Unhappy devotee!"
+
+"Why unhappy?"
+
+"Nothing, nothing.  I may be too long, I shall endanger .  .  . let
+us say no more about it.  I will stay."
+
+I went out more pained with her state than my own, and I felt that the
+best thing I could do would be to forget her, "for," said I to myself,
+"even if I do enjoy her once, Sunday will come again; she will confess,
+repent, and I shall have to begin all over again.  She confessed her
+love, and flatters herself that she will be able to subdue it--a foolish
+hope, which could only exist in a mind under the dominion of prejudice."
+
+I came home at noon, and Don Diego dined with me; his daughter did not
+appear till the dessert.  I begged her to sit down, politely, but coldly.
+Her father asked her jestingly if I had paid her a visit in the night.
+
+"I never suspected Don Jaime of such a thing," she replied, "and I only
+objected out of shyness."
+
+I interrupted her by praising her modesty, and telling her that she would
+have done quite right to beware of me, if my sense of duty had not been
+stronger than any voluptuous desires inspired by her charms.
+
+Don Diego pronounced this declaration of love as good as anything to be
+found in the "Morte d'Arthur."
+
+His daughter said I was laughing at her, but Don Diego said he was
+certain that I was in earnest, and that I had known her before taking her
+to the ball.
+
+"You are utterly mistaken," said Donna Ignazia, with some degree of fire.
+
+"Your father is wiser than you, senora," I replied.
+
+"What!  How and when did you see me?"
+
+"At the church where I heard mass, and you communicated, when you went
+out with your cousin.  I followed you at some distance; you can guess the
+rest."
+
+She was speechless, and her father enjoyed the consciousness of his
+superior intellect.
+
+"I am going to see the bull fight," said he; "it's a fine day, and all
+Madrid will be there, so one must go early to get a good place.  I advise
+you to go, as you have never seen a bull fight; ask Don Jaime to take you
+with him, Ignazia."
+
+"Would you like to have my companionship?" said she, tenderly.
+
+"Certainly I would, but you must bring your cousin, as I am in love with
+her."
+
+Don Diego burst out laughing, but Ignazia said, slyly,
+
+"It is not so impossible after all."
+
+We went to see the splendid but barbarous spectacle in which Spaniards
+take so much delight.  The two girls placed themselves in front of the
+only vacant box, and I sat behind on the second bench, which was a foot
+and a half higher than the first.  There were already two ladies there,
+and much to my amusement one of them was the famous Duchess of
+Villadorias.  She was in front of me, and sat in such a position that her
+head was almost between my legs.  She recognized me, and said we were
+fortunate in meeting one another; and then noticing Donna Ignazia, who
+was close to her, she congratulated me in French on her charms, and asked
+me whether she was my mistress or my wife.  I replied that she was a
+beauty before whom I sighed in vain.  She replied, with a smile, that she
+was rather a sceptical person; and turning to Donna Ignazia began a
+pleasant and amorous discourse, thinking the girl to be as learned in the
+laws of love as herself.  She whispered something in her ear which made
+Ignazia blush, and the duchess, becoming enthusiastic, told me I had
+chosen the handsomest girl in Madrid, and that she would be delighted to
+see us both at her country house.
+
+I promised to come, as I was obliged to do, but I begged to be excused
+naming the day.  Nevertheless, she made me promise to call on her at four
+o'clock the next day, telling me, much to my terror, that she would be
+alone.  She was pretty enough, but too notorious a character; and such a
+visit would have given rise to talk.
+
+Happily the fight began, and silence became general, for the Spaniards
+are passionately devoted of bull fighting.
+
+So much has been written on the subject that my readers will pardon my
+giving a detailed account of the fight.  I may say that the sport is, in
+my opinion, a most barbarous one, and likely to operate unfavourably on
+the national morals; the arena is sometimes drenched in the blood of
+bulls, horses, and even of the unfortunate picadores and matadores, whose
+sole defence is the red rag with which they irritate the bull.
+
+When it was over I escorted the girls--who had enjoyed themselves
+immensely--back to the house, and made the ugly cousin stay to supper, as
+I foresaw that they would again sleep together.
+
+We supped together, but it was a melancholy affair, for Don Diego was
+away, and I did not feel in the humour to amuse my company.
+
+Donna Ignazia became pensive when, in reply to a question of hers, I said
+that it would be absolutely rude of me not to go to the duchess's.
+
+"You will come with me some day," I added, "to dine at her country
+house."
+
+"You need not look for that."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because she is a madwoman.  She talked to me in a way that would have
+offended me if I did not know that she fancied she was honouring me by
+laying aside her rank."
+
+We rose from table, and after I had dismissed my man we sat on the
+balcony to wait for Don Diego and to enjoy the delicious evening breezes.
+
+As we sat near to each other in the twilight, so favourable to lovers'
+vows, I looked into Donna Ignazia's eyes, and saw there that my hour had
+come.  I clasped her to me with one arm, I clung with my lips to hers,
+and by the way she trembled I guessed the flame which consumed her.
+
+"Will you go and see the duchess?"
+
+"No, if you will promise me not to go to confession next Sunday."
+
+"But what will he say if I do not go?"
+
+"Nothing at all, if he understands his business.  But let us talk it over
+a little."
+
+We were so tightly clasped together that the cousin, like a good girl,
+left us, and went to the other end of the balcony, taking care to look
+away from us.
+
+Without changing my position, in spite of the temptation to do so, I
+asked her if she felt in the humour to repent of the sin she was ready to
+commit.
+
+"I was not thinking of repentance just then, but as you remind me of it,
+I must tell you that I shall certainly go to confession."
+
+"And after you have been to confession will you love me as you love me
+now?"
+
+"I hope God will give me strength to offend Him no more."
+
+"I assure you that if you continue loving me God will not give you grace,
+yet I feel sure that on Sunday evening you will refuse me that which you
+are now ready to grant."
+
+"Indeed I will, sweetheart; but why should we talk of that now?"
+
+"Because if I abandon myself to pleasure now I shall be more in love with
+you than ever, and consequently more unhappy than ever, when the day of
+your repentance comes.  So promise me that you will not go to confession
+whilst I remain at Madrid, or give the fatal order now, and bid me leave
+you.  I cannot abandon myself to love to-day knowing that it will be
+refused me on Sunday."
+
+As I remonstrated thus, I clasped her affectionately in my arms,
+caressing her most ardently; but before coming to the decisive action I
+asked her again whether she would promise not to go to confession next
+Sunday.
+
+"You are cruel," said she, "I cannot make you that promise for my
+conscience sake."
+
+At this reply, which I had quite expected, I remained motionless, feeling
+sure that she must be in a state of desperate irritation at the work half
+begun and not concluded.  I, too, suffered, for I was at the door of the
+sanctuary, and a slight movement would have sent me into the inmost
+shrine; but I knew that her torments must be greater than mine, and that
+she could not resist long.
+
+Donna Ignazia was indeed in a terrible state; I had not repulsed her, but
+I was perfectly inactive.  Modesty prevented her asking me openly to
+continue, but she redoubled her caresses, and placed herself in an easier
+position, reproaching me with my cruelty.  I do not know whether I could
+have held out much longer, but just then the cousin turned round and told
+us that Don Diego was coming in.
+
+We hastened to arrange our toilette, and to sit in a decent position.
+The cousin came up to us, and Don Diego, after making a few remarks, left
+us on the balcony, wishing us a good night.  I might have begun over
+again, but I clung to my system of repression, and after wishing the
+girls good night with a melancholy air, I went to bed.
+
+I hoped Donna Ignazia would repent and come and keep me company, but I
+was disappointed.  They left their room early in the morning, and at noon
+Don Diego came to dine with me, saying his daughter had such a bad
+headache that she had not even gone to mass.
+
+"We must get her to eat something."
+
+"No, I think abstinence will do her good, and in the evening I daresay
+she will be able to sup with you."
+
+I went to keep her company by her bedside after I had taken my siesta.
+I did my best for three hours to convince her of her folly; but she kept
+her eyes closed, and said nothing, only sighing when I said something
+very touching.
+
+I left her to walk in St. Jerome's Park, and told her that if she did not
+sup with me I should understand that she did not wish to see me again.
+This threat had its effect.  She came to table at supper-time, but she
+looked pale and exhausted.  She ate little, and said nothing, for she
+knew not what to say.  I saw that she was suffering, and I pitied her
+from my heart.
+
+Before going to bed she asked me if I had been to see the duchess.  She
+seemed somewhat cheered when I answered in the negative.  I told her that
+she might satisfy herself of the truth of my reply by asking Philippe,
+who had taken my note begging her grace to excuse me for that day.
+
+"But will you go another day?"
+
+"No, dearest, because I see it would grieve you."
+
+She gave a sigh of content, and I embraced her gently, and she left me as
+sad as I was.
+
+I could see that what I asked of her was a great deal; but I had good
+grounds for hope, as I knew her ardent disposition.  It was not God and I
+that were disputing for her, but her confessor and I.  If she had not
+been a Catholic I should have won her the first day.
+
+She had told me that she would get into trouble with her confessor if she
+did not go to him as usual; she had too much of fine Spanish honour in
+her to tell him what was not true, or to endeavour to combine her love
+with her religion.
+
+The Friday and the Saturday passed without any events of consequence.
+Her father, who could not blind himself to our love any longer, trusted,
+I suppose, to his daughter's virtue, and made her dine and sup with me
+every day.  On Saturday evening Donna Ignazia left me sadder than ever,
+and turned her head away when I would have kissed her as usual.
+I saw what was the matter; she was going to communicate the next day.
+I admired her consistency, in spite of myself, and pitied her heartily;
+for I could guess the storm that must be raging in her breast.  I began
+to repent having demanded all, and wished I had been contented with a
+little.
+
+I wished to be satisfied with my own eyes, and got up early on Sunday
+morning and followed her.  I knew that she would call for her cousin, so
+I went on to the church.  I placed myself by the sacristy-door, where I
+could see without being seen.
+
+I waited a quarter of an hour, then they came in, and after kneeling down
+for a few moments, separated, each going to her own confessor.
+
+I only noticed Donna Ignazia; I saw her going to the confessional, and
+the confessor turning towards her.
+
+I waited patiently.  I thought the confession would never come to an end.
+"What is he saying?" I repeated to myself as I saw the confessor speaking
+to her now and again.
+
+I could bear it no longer, and I was on the point of going away when I
+saw her rise from her knees.
+
+Donna Ignazia, looking like a saint, came to kneel in the church, but out
+of my sight.  I thought she would come forward to receive the Holy
+Communion at the end of the Mass that was being said, but instead of that
+she went towards the door, rejoined her cousin and they left the church.
+I was astonished.  My heart was seized with a pang of remorse.
+
+"It's all over," I said to myself.  "The poor girl has made a sincere and
+full confession, she has avowed her love, and the priest's cruel duty has
+made him refuse her absolution.
+
+"All is lost.  What will come of it?"
+
+"My peace of mind and hers require me to leave her.
+
+"Wretch that I am, to have lost all for all! I should have made allowance
+for the peculiar Spanish character.
+
+"I might have enjoyed her by surprise now and again; the difficulty would
+have added piquancy to the intrigue.  I have behaved as if I were once
+more twenty, and I have lost all.
+
+"At dinner she will be all sad and tearful.  I must find some way out of
+this terrible situation."
+
+Thus soliloquising, I came home ill pleased with the line of conduct I
+had adopted.
+
+My hairdresser was waiting for me, but I sent him away, and told my cook
+not to serve my dinner till I ordered it; then, feeling the need of rest,
+I flung myself on my bed and slept profoundly till one o'clock.
+
+I got up and ordered dinner to be brought in, and sent a message to the
+father and daughter that I was expecting them.
+
+My surprise may be imagined when Donna Ignazia appeared in a costume of
+black velvet, adorned with ribbons and lace.  In my opinion there is no
+more seductive costume in Europe when the wearer is pretty.
+
+I also noticed that every feature of her face breathed peace and calm; I
+had never seen her looking so well, and I could not help congratulating
+her.  She replied with a smile, and I gave her a kiss, which she took as
+meekly as a lamb.
+
+Philippe arrived, and we sat down to table.  I saw that my fair
+sweetheart had crossed the Rubicon; the day was won.
+
+"I am going to be happy," said she, "but let us say nothing, and it will
+come of itself."
+
+However, I did not conceal my bliss, and made love to her whenever the
+servant was out of the room.  She was not only submissive, but even
+ardent.
+
+Before we left the table she asked me if I still loved her.
+
+"More than ever, darling; I adore you."
+
+"Then take me to the bull fight."
+
+"Quick!  Fetch the hairdresser."
+
+When my hair was done I made an elaborate toilette, and burning with
+impatience we set out on foot, as I was afraid we should not secure a
+good place if we waited till the carriage was ready.  We found a fine box
+with only two persons in it, and Ignazia, after glancing round, said she
+was glad that the detestable duchess was not anywhere near us.
+
+After some fine sport my mistress begged me to take her to the Prado,
+where all the best people in Madrid are to be seen.
+
+Donna Ignazia leant on my arm, seemed proud to be thought mine, and
+filled me with delight.
+
+All at once we met the Venetian ambassador and his favourite, Manucci.
+They had just arrived from Aranjuez.  We greeted each other with due
+Spanish politeness, and the ambassador paid me a high compliment on the
+beauty of my companion.  Donna Ignazia pretended not to understand, but
+she pressed my arm with Spanish delicacy.
+
+After walking a short distance with us M. de Mocenigo said he hoped I
+would dine with him on the following day, and after I had nodded
+acquiescence in the French style we parted.
+
+Towards the evening we took some ices and returned home, and the gentle
+pressure of my arm on the way prepared me for the bliss I was to enjoy.
+
+We found Don Diego on the balcony waiting for us.  He congratulated his
+daughter on her pleasant appearance and the pleasure she must have taken
+in my society.
+
+Charmed with papa's good humour, I asked him to sup with us, and he
+accepted, and amused us with his witty conversation and a multitude of
+little tales that pleased me exceedingly.  He made the following speech
+on leaving us, which I give word for word, but I cannot give the reader
+any idea of the inimitable Spanish gravity with which it was delivered.
+
+"Amigo Senior Don Jaime, I leave you here to enjoy the cool air with my
+daughter.  I am delighted at your loving her, and you may be assured that
+I shall place no obstacle in the way of your becoming my son-in-law as
+soon as you can shew your titles of nobility."
+
+When he was gone, I said to his daughter,--
+
+"I should be only too happy, if it could be managed; but you must know
+that in my country they only are called nobles who have an hereditary
+right to rule the state.  If I had been born in Spain I should be noble,
+but as it is I adore you, and I hope you will make me happy."
+
+"Yes, dearest, but we must be happy together; I cannot suffer any
+infidelity."
+
+"I give you my word of honour that I will be wholly faithful to you."
+
+"Come then, 'corazon mio', let us go in."
+
+"No, let us put out the lights, and stay here a quarter of an hour.  Tell
+me, my angel, whence comes this unexpected happiness?"
+
+"You owe it to a piece of tyranny which drove me to desperation.  God is
+good, and I am sure He would not have me become my own executioner.  When
+I told my confessor that I could not help loving you, but that I could
+restrain myself from all excess of love, he replied that this self-
+confidence was misplaced, as I had already fallen.  He wanted me to
+promise never to be alone with you again, and on my refusing to do so he
+would not give me absolution.
+
+I have never had such a piece of shame cast on me, but I laid it all in
+the hands of God, and said, 'Thy will be done.'
+
+"Whilst I heard mass my mind was made up, and as long as you love me I
+shall be yours, and yours only.  When you leave Spain and abandon me to
+despair, I shall find another confessor.  My conscience holds me
+guiltless; this is my comfort.  My cousin, whom I have told all, is
+astonished, but then she is not very clever."
+
+After this declaration, which put me quite at my ease, and would have
+relieved me of any scruples if I had had them, I took her to my bed.  In
+the morning, she left me tired out, but more in love with her than ever.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of this Project Gutenberg Etext of MEMOIRES OF JACQUES CASANOVA
+SPANISH PASSIONS, Vol. 6a, SPAIN, by Jacques Casanova de Seingalt
+
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+The Project Gutenberg Etext of Spain, by Jacques Casanova de Seingalt
+#26 in our series by Jacques Casanova de Seingalt
+
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+Title: Spain, Casanova, v26
+
+Author: Jacques Casanova de Seingalt
+
+Release Date: December, 2001 [Etext #2976]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[Most recently updated: December 10, 2001]
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+The Project Gutenberg Etext of Spain, by Jacques Casanova de Seingalt
+********This file should be named jcspn11.txt or jcspn11.zip*********
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+
+MEMOIRS OF JACQUES CASANOVA de SEINGALT 1725-1798
+SPANISH PASSIONS, Volume 6a--SPAIN
+
+
+THE MEMOIRS OF JACQUES CASANOVA DE SEINGALT
+
+THE RARE UNABRIDGED LONDON EDITION OF 1894 TRANSLATED BY ARTHUR MACHEN TO
+WHICH HAS BEEN ADDED THE CHAPTERS DISCOVERED BY ARTHUR SYMONS.
+
+
+
+
+SPAIN
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+I Am Ordered to Leave Vienna--The Empress Moderates but Does Not Annul
+the Order--Zavoiski at Munich--My Stay at Augsburg--Gasconnade at
+Louisburg--The Cologne Newspaper--My Arrival at Aix-la-Chapelle
+
+
+The greatest mistake a man that punishes a knave can commit is to leave
+the said rogue alive, for he is certain to take vengeance.
+If I had had my sword in the den of thieves, I should no doubt have
+defended myself, but it would have gone ill with me, three against one,
+and I should probably have been cut to pieces, while the murderers would
+have escaped unpunished.
+
+At eight o'clock Campioni came to see me in my bed, and was astonished at
+my adventure.  Without troubling himself to compassionate me, we both
+began to think how we could get back my purse; but we came to the
+conclusion that it would be impossible, as I had nothing more than my
+mere assertion to prove the case.  In spite of that, however, I wrote out
+the whole story, beginning with the girl who recited the Latin verses.  I
+intended to bring the document before the police; however, I had not time
+to do so.
+
+I was just sitting down to dinner, when an agent of the police came and
+gave me an order to go and speak to Count Schrotembach, the Statthalter.
+I told him to instruct my coachman, who was waiting at the door, and that
+I would follow him shortly.
+
+When I called on the Statthalter, I found him to be a thick-set
+individual; he was standing up, and surrounded by men who seemed ready to
+execute his orders.  When he saw me, he shewed me a watch, and requested
+me to note the hour.
+
+"I see it."
+
+"If you are at Vienna at that time to-morrow I shall have you expelled
+from the city."
+
+"Why do you give me such an unjust order?"
+
+"In the first place, I am not here to give you accounts or reasons for my
+actions.  However, I may tell you that you are expelled for playing at
+games of chance, which are forbidden by the laws under pain of the
+galleys.  Do you recognize that purse and these cards?"
+
+I did not know the cards, but I knew the purse which had been stolen from
+me.  I was in a terrible rage, and I only replied by presenting the
+magistrate with the truthful narrative of what had happened to me.  He
+read it, and then said with a laugh that I was well known to be a man of
+parts, that my character was known, that I had been expelled from Warsaw,
+and that as for the document before him he judged it to be a pack of
+lies, since in his opinion it was altogether void of probability.
+
+"In fine," he added, "you will obey my order to leave the town, and you
+must tell me where you are going."
+
+"I will tell you that when I have made up my mind to go."
+
+"What?  You dare to tell me that you will not obey?"
+
+"You yourself have said that if I do not go I shall be removed by force."
+
+"Very good.  I have heard you have a strong will, but here it will be of
+no use to you.  I advise you to go quietly, and so avoid harsh measures."
+
+"I request you to return me that document."
+
+"I will not do so.  Begone!"
+
+This was one of the most terrible moments of my life.  I shudder still
+when I think of it.  It was only a cowardly love of life that hindered me
+from running my sword through the body of the Statthalter, who had
+treated me as if he were a hangman and not a judge.
+
+As I went away I took it into my head to complain to Prince Kaunitz,
+though I had not the honour of knowing him.  I called at his house, and a
+man I met told me to stay in the ante-chamber, as the prince would pass
+through to go to dinner.
+
+It was five o'clock.  The prince appeared, followed by his guests,
+amongst whom was M. Polo Renieri, the Venetian ambassador.  The prince
+asked me what he could do for me, and I told my story in a loud voice
+before them all.
+
+"I have received my order to go, but I shall not obey.  I implore your
+highness to give me your protection, and to help me to bring my plea to
+the foot of the throne."
+
+"Write out your petition," he replied, "and I will see that the empress
+gets it.  But I advise you to ask her majesty for a respite, for if you
+say that you won't obey, she will be predisposed against you."
+
+"But if the royal grace does not place me in security, I shall be driven
+away by violence."
+
+"Then take refuge with the ambassador of your native country."
+
+"Alas, my lord, my country has forsaken me.  An act of legal though
+unconstitutional violence has deprived me of my rights as a citizen.  My
+name is Casanova, and my country is Venice."
+
+The prince looked astonished and turned to the Venetian ambassador, who
+smiled, and whispered to him for ten minutes.
+
+"It's a pity," said the prince, kindly, "that you cannot claim the
+protection of any ambassador."
+
+At these words a nobleman of colossal stature stepped forward and said I
+could claim his protection, as my whole family, myself included, had
+served the prince his master.  He spoke the truth, for he was the
+ambassador of Saxony.
+
+"That is Count Vitzthum," said the prince.  "Write to the empress, and I
+will forward your petition immediately.  If there is any delay in the
+answer, go to the count; you will be safe with him, until you like to
+leave Vienna."
+
+In the meanwhile the prince ordered writing materials to be brought me,
+and he and his guests passed into the dining-hall.
+
+I give here a copy of the petition, which I composed in less than ten
+minutes.  I made a fair copy for the Venetian ambassador to send home to
+the Senate:
+
+"MADAM,--I am sure that if, as your royal and imperial highness were
+walking in your garden, an insect appealed plaintively to you not to
+crush it, you would turn aside, and so avoid doing the poor creature any
+hurt.
+
+"I, madam, am an insect, and I beg of you that you will order
+M. Statthalter Schrotembach to delay crushing me with your majesty's
+slipper for a week.  Possibly, after that time has elapsed, your majesty
+will not only prevent his crushing me, but will deprive him of that
+slipper, which was only meant to be the terror of rogues, and not of an
+humble Venetian, who is an honest man, though he escaped from The Leads.
+
+"In profound submission to your majesty's will,
+     "I remain,
+                              "CASANOVA.
+
+"Given at Vienna, January 21st, 1769."
+
+
+When I had finished the petition, I made a fair draft of it, and sent it
+in to the prince, who sent it back to me telling me that he would place
+it in the empress's hands immediately, but that he would be much obliged
+by my making a copy for his own use.
+
+I did so, and gave both copies to the valet de chambre, and went my way.
+I trembled like a paralytic, and was afraid that my anger might get me
+into difficulty.  By way of calming myself, I wrote out in the style of a
+manifesto the narrative I had given to the vile Schrotembach, and which
+that unworthy magistrate had refused to return to me.
+
+At seven o'clock Count Vitzthum came into my room.  He greeted me in a
+friendly manner and begged me to tell him the story of the girl I had
+gone to see, on the promise of the Latin quatrain referring to her
+accommodating disposition.  I gave him the address and copied out the
+verses, and he said that was enough to convince an enlightened judge that
+I had been slandered; but he, nevertheless, was very doubtful whether
+justice would be done me.
+
+"What! shall I be obliged to leave Vienna to-morrow?"
+
+"No, no, the empress cannot possibly refuse you the week's delay."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Oh! no one could refuse such an appeal as that.  Even the prince could
+not help smiling as he was reading it in his cold way.  After reading it
+he passed it on to me, and then to the Venetian ambassador, who asked him
+if he meant to give it to the empress as it stood.  'This petition,'
+replied the prince, 'might be sent to God, if one knew the way;' and
+forthwith he ordered one of his secretaries to fold it up and see that it
+was delivered.  We talked of you for the rest of dinner, and I had the
+pleasure of hearing the Venetian ambassador say that no one could
+discover any reason for your imprisonment under the Leads.  Your duel was
+also discussed, but on that point we only knew what has appeared in the
+newspapers.  Oblige me by giving me a copy of your petition; that phrase
+of Schrotembach and the slipper pleased me vastly."
+
+I copied out the document, and gave it him with a copy of my manifesto.
+Before he left me the count renewed the invitation to take refuge with
+him, if I did not hear from the empress before the expiration of the
+twenty-four hours.
+
+At ten o'clock I had a visit from the Comte de la Perouse, the Marquis de
+las Casas, and Signor Uccelli, the secretary of the Venetian embassy.
+The latter came to ask for a copy of my petition for his chief.  I
+promised he should have it, and I also sent a copy of my manifesto.  The
+only thing which rather interfered with the dignity of this latter piece,
+and gave it a somewhat comic air, were the four Latin verses, which might
+make people imagine that, after enjoying the girl as Hebe, I had gone in
+search of her as Ganymede.  This was not the case, but the empress
+understood Latin and was familiar with mythology, and if she had looked
+on it in the light I have mentioned I should have been undone.  I made
+six copies of the two documents before I went to bed; I was quite tired
+out, but the exertion had somewhat soothed me.  At noon the next day,
+young Hasse (son of the chapel-master and of the famous Trustina),
+secretary of legation to Count Vitzthum, came to tell me from the
+ambassador that nobody would attack me in my own house, nor in my
+carriage if I went abroad, but that it would be imprudent to go out on
+foot.  He added that his chief would have the pleasure of calling on me
+at seven o'clock.  I begged M. Hasse to let me have all this in writing,
+and after he had written it out he left me.
+
+Thus the order to leave Vienna had been suspended; it must have been done
+by the sovereign.
+
+"I have no time to lose," said I to myself, "I shall have justice done
+me, my assassins will be condemned, my purse will be returned with the
+two hundred ducats in it, and not in the condition in which it was shewn
+to me by the infamous Schrotembach, who will be punished by dismissal, at
+least."
+
+Such were my castles in Spain; who has not built such?  'Quod nimis
+miseri volunt hoc facile credunt', says Seneca.  The wish is father to
+the thought.
+
+Before sending my manifesto to the empress, Prince Kaunitz, and to all
+the ambassadors, I thought it would be well to call on the Countess of
+Salmor, who spoke to the sovereign early and late.  I had had a letter of
+introduction for her.
+
+She greeted me by saying that I had better give up wearing my arm in a
+sling, as it looked as ii I were a charlatan; my arm must be well enough
+after nine months.
+
+I was extremely astonished by this greeting, and replied that if it were
+not necessary I should not wear a sling, and that I was no charlatan.
+
+"However," I added, "I have come to see you on a different matter."
+
+"Yes, I know, but I will have nothing to do with it.  You are all as bad
+as Tomatis."
+
+I gave a turn round and left the room without taking any further notice
+of her.  I returned home feeling overwhelmed by the situation.  I had
+been robbed and insulted by a band of thorough-paced rascals;
+I could do nothing, justice was denied me, and now I had been made a mock
+of by a worthless countess.  If I had received such an insult from a man
+I would have soon made him feel the weight of one arm at all events.  I
+could not bear my arm without a sling for an hour; pain and swelling set
+in immediately.  I was not perfectly cured till twenty months after the
+duel.
+
+Count Vitzthum came to see me at seven o'clock.  He said the empress had
+told Prince Kaunitz that Schrotembach considered my narrative as pure
+romance.  His theory was that I had held a bank at faro with sharpers'
+cards, and had dealt with both hands the arm in the sling being a mere
+pretence.  I had then been taken in the act by one of the gamesters, and
+my unjust gains had been very properly taken from me.  My detector had
+then handed over my purse, containing forty ducats, to the police, and
+the money had of course been confiscated.  The empress had to choose
+between believing Schrotembach and dismissing him; and she was not
+inclined to do the latter, as it would be a difficult matter to find him
+a successor in his difficult and odious task of keeping Vienna clear of
+human vermin.
+
+"This is what Prince Kaunitz asked me to tell you.  But you need not be
+afraid of any violence, and you can go when you like."
+
+"Then I am to be robbed of two hundred ducats with impunity.  The empress
+might at least reimburse me if she does nothing more.  Please to ask the
+prince whether I can ask the sovereign to give me that satisfaction; the
+least I can demand."
+
+"I will tell him what you say."
+
+"If not, I shall leave; for what can I do in a town where I can only
+drive, and where the Government keeps assassins in its pay?"
+
+"You are right.  We are all sure that Pocchini has calumniated you.  The
+girl who recites Latin verses is well known, but none know her address.
+I must advise you not to publish your tale as long as you are in Vienna,
+as it places Schrotembach in a very bad light, and you see the empress
+has to support him in the exercise of his authority."
+
+"I see the force of your argument, and I shall have to devour my anger.
+I will leave Vienna as soon as the washerwoman sends home my linen, but I
+will have the story printed in all its black injustice."
+
+"The empress is prejudiced against you, I don't know by whom."
+
+"I know, though; it is that infernal old hag, Countess Salmor."
+
+The next day I received a letter from Count Vitzthum, in which he said
+that Prince Kaunitz advised me to forget the two hundred ducats, that the
+girl and her so-called mother had left Vienna to all appearance, as
+someone had gone to the address and had failed to find her.
+
+I saw that I could do nothing, and resolved to depart in peace, and
+afterwards to publish the whole story and to hang Pocchini with my own
+hands when next I met him.  I did neither the one nor the other.
+
+About that time a young lady of the Salis de Coire family arrived at
+Vienna without any companion.  The imperial hangman Schrotembach, ordered
+her to leave Vienna in two days.  She replied that she would leave
+exactly when she felt inclined.  The magistrate consigned her to
+imprisonment in a convent, and she was there still when I left.  The
+emperor went to see her, and the empress, his mother, asked him what he
+thought of her.  His answer was, "I thought her much more amusing than
+Schrotembach."
+
+Undoubtedly, every man worthy of the name longs to be free, but who is
+really free in this world?  No one.  The philosopher, perchance, may be
+accounted so, but it is at the cost of too precious sacrifices at the
+phantom shrine of Liberty.
+
+I left the use of my suite of rooms, for which I had paid a month in
+advance, to Campioni, promising to wait for him at Augsburg, where the
+Law alone is supreme.  I departed alone carrying with me the bitter
+regret that I had not been able to kill the monster, whose despotism had
+crushed me.  I stopped at Linz on purpose to write to Schrotembach even a
+more bitter letter than that which I had written to the Duke of
+Wurtemburg in 1760.  I posted it myself, and had it registered so as to
+be sure of its reaching the scoundrel to whom it had been addressed.  It
+was absolutely necessary for me to write this letter, for rage that has
+no vent must kill at last.  From Linz I had a three days' journey to
+Munich, where I called on Count Gaetan Zavoicki, who died at Dresden
+seven years ago.  I had known him at Venice when he was in want, and I
+had happily been useful to him.  On my relating the story of the robbery
+that had been committed on me, he no doubt imagined I was in want, and
+gave me twenty-five louis.  To tell the truth it was much less than what
+I had given him at Venice, and if he had looked upon his action as paying
+back a debt we should not have been quits; but as I had never wished him
+to think that I had lent, not given him money, I received the present
+gratefully.  He also gave me a letter for Count Maximilian Lamberg,
+marshal at the court of the Prince-Bishop of Augsburg, whose acquaintance
+I had the honour of having.
+
+There was no theatre then in Augsburg, but there were masked balls in
+which all classes mingled freely.  There were also small parties where
+faro was played for small stakes.  I was tired of the pleasure, the
+misfortune, and the griefs I had had in three capitals, and I resolved to
+spend four months in the free city of Augsburg, where strangers have the
+same privileges as the canons.  My purse was slender, but with the
+economical life I led I had nothing to fear on that score.  I was not far
+from Venice, where a hundred ducats were always at my service if I wanted
+them.  I played a little and waged war against the sharpers who have
+become more numerous of late than the dupes, as there are also more
+doctors than patients.  I also thought of getting a mistress, for what is
+life without love?  I had tried in vain to retrace Gertrude; the engraver
+was dead, and no one knew what had become of his daughter.
+
+Two or three days before the end of the carnival I went to a hirer of
+carriages, as I had to go to a ball at some distance from the town.
+While the horses were being put in, I entered the room to warm my hands,
+for the weather was very cold.  A girl came up and asked me if I would
+drink a glass of wine.
+
+"No," said I; and on the question being repeated, repeated the
+monosyllable somewhat rudely.  The girl stood still and began to laugh,
+and I was about to turn angrily away when she said,--
+
+"I see you do not remember me?"
+
+I looked at her attentively, and at last I discovered beneath her
+unusually ugly features the lineaments of Anna Midel, the maid in the
+engraver's house.
+
+"You remind me of Anna Midel," said I.
+
+"Alas, I was Anna Midel once.  I am no longer an object fit for love, but
+that is your fault."
+
+"Mine?"
+
+"Yes; the four hundred florins you gave me made Count Fugger's coachman
+marry me, and he not only abandoned me but gave me a disgusting disease,
+which was like to have been my death.  I recovered my health, but I never
+shall recover my good looks."
+
+"I am very sorry to hear all this; but tell me what has become of
+Gertrude?"
+
+"Then you don't know that you are going to a ball at her house to-night?"
+
+"Her house?"
+
+"Yes.  After her father's death she married a well-to-do and respectable
+man, and I expect you will be pleased with the entertainment"
+
+"Is she pretty still?"
+
+"She is just as she used to be, except that she is six years older and
+has had children."
+
+"Is she gallant?"
+
+"I don't think so."
+
+Anna had spoken the truth.  Gertrude was pleased to see me, and
+introduced me to her husband as one of her father's old lodgers, and I
+had altogether a pleasant welcome; but, on sounding her, I found she
+entertained those virtuous sentiments which might have been expected
+under the circumstances.
+
+Campioni arrived at Augsburg at the beginning of Lent.  He was in company
+with Binetti, who was going to Paris.  He had completely despoiled his
+wife, and had left her for ever.  Campioni told me that no one at Vienna
+doubted my story in the slightest degree.  Pocchini and the Sclav had
+disappeared a few days after my departure, and the Statthalter had
+incurred a great deal of odium by his treatment of me.  Campioni spent a
+month with me, and then went on to London.
+
+I called on Count Lamberg and his countess, who, without being beautiful,
+was an epitome of feminine charm and amiability.  Her name before
+marriage was Countess Dachsberg.  Three months after my arrival, this
+lady, who was enciente, but did not think her time was due, went with
+Count Fugger, dean of the chapter, to a party of pleasure at an inn three
+quarters of a league from Augsburg.  I was present; and in the course of
+the meal she was taken with such violent pains that she feared she would
+be delivered on the spot.  She did not like to tell the noble canon, and
+thinking that I was more likely to be acquainted with such emergencies
+she came up to me and told me all.  I ordered the coachman to put in his
+horses instantly, and when the coach was ready I took up the countess and
+carried her to it.  The canon followed us in blank astonishment, and
+asked me what was the matter.  I told him to bid the coachman drive fast
+and not to spare his horses.  He did so, but he asked again what was the
+matter.
+
+"The countess will be delivered of a child if we do not make haste."
+
+I thought I should be bound to laugh, in spite of my sympathies for the
+poor lady's pains, when I saw the dean turn green and white and purple,
+and look as if he were going into a fit, as he realized that the countess
+might be delivered before his eyes in his own carriage.  The poor man
+looked as grievously tormented as St. Laurence on his gridiron.  The
+bishop was at Plombieres; they would write and tell him!  It would be in
+all the papers!  "Quick!  coachman, quick!"
+
+We got to the castle before it was too late.  I carried the lady into her
+rook, and they ran for a surgeon and a midwife.  It was no good, however,
+for in five minutes the count came out and said the countess
+had just been happily delivered.  The dean looked as if a weight had
+been taken off his mind; however, he took the precaution of having
+himself blooded.
+
+I spent an extremely pleasant four months at Augsburg, supping twice or
+thrice a week at Count Lamberg's.  At these suppers I made the
+acquaintance of a very remarkable man--Count Thura and Valsamina, then a
+page in the prince-bishop's household, now Dean of Ratisbon.  He was
+always at the count's, as was also Dr. Algardi, of Bologna, the prince's
+physician and a delightful man.
+
+I often saw at the same house a certain Baron Sellenthin, a Prussian
+officer, who was always recruiting for his master at Augsburg.  He was a
+pleasant man, somewhat in the Gascon style, soft-spoken, and an expert
+gamester.  Five or six years ago I had a letter from him dated Dresden,
+in which he said that though he was old, and had married a rich wife, he
+repented of having married at all.  I should say the same if I had ever
+chanced to marry.
+
+During my stay at Augsburg several Poles, who had left their country on
+account of the troubles, came to see me.  Amongst others was Rzewuski,
+the royal Prothonotary, whom I had known at St. Petersburg as the lover
+of poor Madame Langlade.
+
+"What a diet!  What plots!  What counterplots!  What misfortunes!" said
+this honest Pole, to me.  "Happy are they who have nothing to do with
+it!"
+
+He was going to Spa, and he assured me that if I followed him I should
+find Prince Adam's sister, Tomatis, and Madame Catai, who had become the
+manager's wife.  I determined to go to Spa, and to take measures so that
+I might go there with three or four hundred ducats in my purse.  To this
+intent I wrote to Prince Charles of Courland, who was at Venice, to send
+me a hundred ducats, and in my letter I gave him an infallible receipt
+for the philosopher's stone.  The letter containing this vast secret was
+not in cypher, so I advised him to burn it after he had read it, assuring
+him that I possessed a copy.  He did not do so, and it was taken to Paris
+with his order papers when he was sent to the Bastile.
+
+If it had not been for the Revolution my letter would never have seen the
+light.  When the Bastille was destroyed, my letter was found and printed
+with other curious compositions, which were afterwards translated into
+German and English.  The ignorant fools that abound in the land where my
+fate wills that I should write down the chief events of my long and
+troublous life--these fools, I say, who are naturally my sworn foes (for
+the ass lies not down with the horse), make this letter an article of
+accusation against me, and think they can stop my mouth by telling me
+that the letter has been translated into German, and remains to my
+eternal shame.  The ignorant Bohemians are astonished when I tell them
+that I regard the letter as redounding to my glory, and that if their
+ears were not quite so long their blame would be turned into praise.
+
+I do not know whether my letter has been correctly translated, but since
+it has become public property I shall set it down here in homage to
+truth, the only god I adore.  I have before me an exact copy of the
+original written in Augsburg in the year 1767, and we are now in the year
+1798.
+
+It runs as follows:
+
+"MY LORD,--I hope your highness will either burn this letter after
+reading it, or else preserve it with the greatest care.  It will be
+better, however, to make a copy in cypher, and to burn the original.  My
+attachment to you is not my only motive in writing; I confess my interest
+is equally concerned.  Allow me to say that I do not wish your highness
+to esteem me alone for any qualities you may have observed in me; I wish
+you to become my debtor by the inestimable secret I am going to confide
+to you.  This secret relates to the making of gold, the only thing of
+which your highness stands in need.  If you had been miserly by nature
+you would be rich now; but you are generous, and will be poor all your
+days if you do not make use of my secret.
+
+"Your highness told me at Riga that you would like me to give you the
+secret by which I transmuted iron into copper; I never did so, but now I
+shall teach you how to make a much more marvellous transmutation.  I
+should point out to you, however, that you are not at present in a
+suitable place for the operation, although all the materials are easily
+procurable.  The operation necessitates my presence for the construction
+of a furnace, and for the great care necessary, far the least mistake
+will spoil all.  The transmutation of Mars is an easy and merely
+mechanical process, but that of gold is philosophical in the highest
+degree.  The gold produced will be equal to that used in the Venetian
+sequins.  You must reflect, my lord, that I am giving you information
+which will permit you to dispense with me, and you must also reflect that
+I am confiding to you my life and my liberty.
+
+"The step I am taking should insure your life-long protection, and should
+raise you above that prejudice which is entertained against the general
+mass of alchemists.  My vanity would be wounded if you refuse to
+distinguish me from the common herd of operators.  All I ask you is that
+you will wait till we meet before undertaking the process.  You cannot do
+it by yourself, and if you employ any other person but myself, you will
+betray the secret.  I must tell you that, using the same materials, and
+by the addition of mercury and nitre, I made the tree of projection for
+the Marchioness d'Urfe and the Princess of Anhalt.  Zerbst calculated the
+profit as fifty per cent.  My fortune would have been made long ago, if I
+had found a prince with the control of a mint whom I could trust.  Your
+character enables me to confide in you.  However, we will come to the
+point.
+
+"You must take four ounces of good silver, dissolve in aqua fortis,
+precipitate secundum artem with copper, then wash in lukewarm water to
+separate the acids; dry, mix with half an ounce of sal ammoniac, and
+place in a suitable vessel.  Afterwards you must take a pound of alum, a
+pound of Hungary crystals, four ounces of verdigris, four ounces of
+cinnabar, and two ounces of sulphur.  Pulverise and mix, and place in a
+retort of such size that the above matters will only half fill it.  This
+retort must be placed over a furnace with four draughts, for the heat
+must be raised to the fourth degree.  At first your fire must be slow so
+as to extract the gross phlegm of the matter, and when the spirit begins
+to appear, place the receiver under the retort, and Luna with the
+ammoniac salts will appear in it.  All the joinings must be luted with
+the Philosophical Luting, and as the spirit comes, so regulate your
+furnace, but do not let it pass the third degree of heat.
+
+"So soon as the sublimation begins then boldly open your forth vent, but
+take heed that that which is sublimed pass not into the receiver where is
+your Luna, and so you must shut, the mouth of the retort closely, and
+keep it so for twenty-four hours, and then take off your fastenings, and
+allow the distillation to go on.  Then you must increase your fire so
+that the spirits may pass, over, until the matter in the retort is quite
+desiccated.  After this operation has been performed three times, then
+you shall see, the gold appear in the retort.  Then draw it forth and
+melt it, adding your corpus perfectum.  Melt with it two ounces of gold,
+then lay it in water, and you shall find four ounces of pure gold.
+
+"Such my lord, is the gold mine for your mint of Mitau, by which, with
+the assistance of a manager and four men, you can assure yourself a
+revenue of a thousand ducats a week, and double, and quadruple that sum,
+if your highness chooses to increase the men and the furnaces.  I ask
+your highness to make me your manager.  But remember it must be a State
+secret, so burn this letter, and if your highness would give me any
+reward in advance, I only ask you to give me your affection and esteem.
+I shall be happy if I have reason to believe that my master will also be
+my friend.  My life, which this letter places in your power, is ever at
+your service, and I know not what I shall do if I ever have cause to
+repent having disclosed my secret.  I have the honour to be, etc."
+
+In whatever language this letter may have been translated, if its sense
+run not as above, it is not my letter, and I am ready to give the lie to
+all the Mirabeaus in the world.  I have been called an exile, but
+wrongfully, for a man who has to leave a country by virtue of a 'lettre
+de cachet' is no exile.  He is forced to obey a despotic monarch who
+looks upon his kingdom as his house, and turns out of doors anyone who
+meets with his displeasure.
+
+As soon as my purse swelled to a respectable size, I left Augsburg, The
+date of my departure was June 14th, 1767.  I was at Ulm when a courier of
+the Duke of Wurtemburg's passed through the town with the news that his
+highness would arrive from Venice in the course of five or six days.
+This courier had a letter for me.  It had been entrusted to him by Prince
+Charles of Courland, who had told the courier that he would find me at
+the "Hotel du Raisin," in Augsburg.  As it happened, I had left the day
+before, but knowing the way by which I had gone he caught me up at Ulm.
+He gave me the letter and asked me if I were the same Casanova who had
+been placed under arrest and had escaped, on account of some gambling
+dispute with three officers.  As I was never an adept in concealing the
+truth, I replied in the affirmative.  A Wurtemburg officer who was
+standing beside us observed to me in a friendly manner that he was at
+Stuttgart at the time, and that most people concurred in blaming the
+three officers for their conduct in the matter.
+
+Without making any reply I read the letter, which referred to our private
+affairs, but as I was reading it I resolved to tell a little lie--one of
+those lies which do nobody any harm.
+
+"Well, sir," I said to the officer, "his highness, your sovereign, has
+listened to reason at last, and this letter informs me of a reparation
+which is in every way satisfactory.  The duke has created me his private
+secretary, with a salary of twelve hundred a year.  But I have waited for
+it a long time.  God knows what has become of the three officers!"
+
+"They are all at Louisburg, and ------ is now a colonel."
+
+"Well, they will be surprised to hear my news, and they will hear it
+to-morrow, for I am leaving this place in an hour.  If they are at
+Louisburg, I shall have a triumph; but I am sorry not to be able to
+accompany you, however we shall see each other the day after tomorrow."
+
+I had an excellent night, and awoke with the beautiful idea of going to
+Louisburg, not to fight the three officers but to frighten them, triumph
+over them, and to enjoy a pleasant vengeance for the injury they had done
+me.  I should at the same time see a good many old friends; there was
+Madame Toscani, the duke's mistress; Baletti, and Vestri, who had married
+a former mistress of the duke's.  I had sounded the depths of the human
+heart, and knew I had nothing to fear.  The duke was on the point of
+returning, and nobody would dream of impugning the truth of my story.
+When he actually did arrive he would not find me, for as soon as the
+courier announced his approach I should go away, telling everybody that I
+had orders to precede his highness, and everybody would be duped.
+
+I never had so pleasant an idea before.  I was quite proud of it, and I
+should have despised myself if I had failed to carry it into effect.  It
+would be my vengeance on the duke, who could not have forgotten the
+terrible letter I had written him; for princes do not forget small
+injuries as they forget great services.
+
+I slept badly the following night, my anxiety was so great, and I reached
+Louisburg and gave my name at the town gates, without the addition of my
+pretended office, for my jest must be matured by degrees.  I went to stay
+at the posting-inn, and just as I was asking for the address of Madame
+Toscani, she and her husband appeared on the scene.  They both flung
+their arms around my neck, and overwhelmed me with compliments on my
+wounded arm and the victory I had achieved.
+
+"What victory?"
+
+"Your appearance here has filled the hearts of all your friends with
+joy."
+
+"Well, I certainly am in the duke's service, but how did you find it
+out?"
+
+"It's the common talk.  The courier who gave you the letter has spread it
+all abroad, and the officer who was present and arrived here yesterday
+morning confirmed it.  But you cannot imagine the consternation of your
+three foes.  However, we are afraid that you will have some trouble with
+them, as they have kept your letter of defiance given from Furstenberg."
+
+"Why didn't they meet me, then?"
+
+"Two of them could not go, and the third arrived too late."
+
+"Very good.  If the duke has no objection I shall be happy to meet them
+one after another, not three all at once.  Of course, the duel must be
+with pistols; a sword duel is out of the question with my arm in a
+sling."
+
+"We will speak of that again.  My daughter wants to make peace before the
+duke comes, and you had better consent to arrangements, for there are
+three of them, and it isn't likely that you could kill the whole three
+one after the other."
+
+"Your daughter must have grown into a beauty."
+
+"You must stop with us this evening; you will see her, for she is no
+longer the duke's mistress.  She is going to get married."
+
+"If your daughter can bring about an arrangement I would gladly fall in
+with it, provided it is an honourable one for me."
+
+"How is it that you are wearing the sling after all these months?"
+
+"I am quite cured, and yet my arm swells as soon as I let it swing loose.
+You shall see it after dinner, for you must dine with me if you want me
+to sup with you."
+
+Next came Vestri, whom I did not know, accompained by my beloved Baletti.
+With them was an officer who was in love with Madame Toscani's second
+daughter, and another of their circle, with whom I was also unacquainted.
+They all came to congratulate me on my honourable position in the duke's
+service.  Baletti was quite overcome with delight.  The reader will
+recollect that he was my chief assistant in my escape from Stuttgart, and
+that I was once going to marry his sister.  Baletti was a fine fellow,
+and the duke was very fond of him.  He had a little country house, with a
+spare room, which he begged me to accept, as he said he was only too
+proud that the duke should know him as my best friend.  When his highness
+came, of course I would have an apartment in the palace.  I accepted; and
+as it was still early, we all went to see the young Toscani.  I had loved
+her in Paris before her beauty had reached its zenith, and she was
+naturally proud to shew me how beautiful she had become.  She shewed me
+her house and her jewels, told me the story of her amours with the duke,
+of her breaking with him on account of his perpetual infidelities, and of
+her marriage with a man she despised, but who was forced on her by her
+position.
+
+At dinner-time we all went to the inn, where we met the offending
+colonel; he was the first to take off his hat, we returned the salute,
+and he passed on his way.
+
+The dinner was a pleasant one, and when it was over I proceeded to take
+up my quarters with Baletti.  In the evening we went to Madame Toscani's,
+where I saw two girls of ravishing beauty, Madame Toscani's daughter and
+Vestri's wife, of whom the duke had had two children.  Madame Vestri was
+a handsome woman, but her wit and the charm of her manner enchanted me
+still more.  She had only one fault--she lisped.
+
+There was a certain reserve about the manner of Mdlle. Toscani, so I
+chiefly addressed myself to Madame Vestri, whose husband was not jealous,
+for he neither cared for her nor she for him.  On the day of my arrival
+the manager had distributed the parts of a little play which was to be
+given in honour of the duke's arrival.  It had been written by a local
+author, in hopes of its obtaining the favour of the Court for him.
+
+After supper the little piece was discussed.  Madame Vestri played the
+principal part, which she was prevailed upon to recite.
+
+"Your elocution is admirable, and your expression full of spirit," I
+observed; "but what a pity it is that you do not pronounce the dentals."
+
+The whole table scouted my opinion.
+
+"It's a beauty, not a defect," said they.  "It makes her acting soft and
+delicate; other actresses envy her the privilege of what you call a
+defect."
+
+I made no answer, but looked at Madame Vestri.
+
+"Do you think I am taken in by all that?" said she.
+
+"I think you are much too sensible to believe such nonsense."
+
+"I prefer a man to say honestly, 'what a pity,' than to hear all that
+foolish flattery.  But I am sorry to say that there is no remedy for the
+defect."
+
+"No remedy?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Pardon me, I have an infallible remedy for your complaint.  You shall
+give me a good hearty blow if I do not make you read the part perfectly
+by to-morrow, but if I succeed in making you read it as your husband, for
+example's sake, might read it you shall permit me to give you a tender
+embrace."
+
+"Very good; but what must I do?"
+
+"You must let me weave a spell over your part, that is all.  Give it to
+me.  To-morrow morning at nine o'clock I will bring it to you to get my
+blow or my kiss, if your husband has no objection."
+
+"None whatever; but we do not believe in spells."
+
+"You are right, in a general way; but mine will not fail."
+
+"Very good."
+
+Madame Vestri left me the part, and the conversation turned on other
+subjects.  I was condoled with on my swollen hand, and I told the story
+of my duel.  Everybody seemed to delight in entertaining me and feasting
+me, and I went back to Baletti's in love with all the ladies, but
+especially with Madame Vestri and Mdlle. Toscani.
+
+Baletti had a beautiful little girl of three years old.
+
+"How did you get that angel?" I asked.
+
+"There's her mother; and, as a proof of my hospitality, she shall sleep
+with you to-night."
+
+"I accept your generous offer; but let it be to-morrow night."
+
+"And why not to-night?"
+
+"Because I shall be engaged all night in weaving my spell."
+
+"What do you mean?  I thought that was a joke."
+
+"No, I am quite serious."
+
+"Are you a little crazy?"
+
+"You shall see.  Do you go to bed, and leave me a light and writing
+materials."
+
+I spent six hours in copying out the part, only altering certain phrases.
+For all words in which the letter r appeared I substituted another.  It
+was a tiresome task, but I longed to embrace Madame Vestri before her
+husband.  I set about my task in the following manner:
+
+The text ran:
+
+"Les procedes de cet homme m'outragent et me deseparent, je dois penser a
+me debarrasser."
+
+For this I substituted:
+
+"Cet homme a des facons qui m'offensent et me desolent, il faut que je
+m'en defasse;" and so on throughout the piece.
+
+When I had finished I slept for three hours, and then rose and dressed.
+Baletti saw my spell, and said I had earned the curses of the young
+author, as Madame Vestri would no doubt make him write all
+parts for her without using the letter 'r'; and, indeed, that was just
+what she did.
+
+I called on the actress and found her getting up.  I gave her the part,
+and as soon as she saw what I had done she burst out into exclamations of
+delight; and calling her husband shewed him my contrivance, and said she
+would never play a part with an 'r' in it again.  I promised to copy them
+all out, and added that I had spent the whole night in amending the
+present part.  "The whole night!  Come and take your reward, for you are
+cleverer than any sorcerer.  We must have the author to dinner, and I
+shall make him promise to write all my parts without the 'r', or the duke
+will not employ him.  Indeed, I don't wonder the duke has made you his
+secretary.  I never thought it would be possible to do what you have
+done; but I suppose it was very difficult?"
+
+"Not at all.  If I were a pretty woman with the like defect I should take
+care to avoid all words with an 'r; in them."
+
+"Oh, that would be too much trouble."
+
+"Let us bet again, for a box or a kiss, that you can spend a whole day
+without using an 'r'.  Let us begin now."
+
+"All in good time," said she, "but we won't have any stake, as I think
+you are too greedy."
+
+The author came to dinner, and was duly attacked by Madame Vestri.  She
+began by saying that it was an author's duty to be polite to actresses,
+and if any of them spoke with a lisp the least he could do was to write
+their parts without the fatal letter.
+
+The young author laughed, and said it could not be done without spoiling
+the style.  Thereupon Madame Vestri gave him my version of her part,
+telling him to read it, and to say on his conscience whether the style
+had suffered.  He had to confess that my alterations were positive
+improvements, due to the great richness of the French language.  And he
+was right, for there is no language in the world that can compare in
+copiousness of expression with the French.
+
+This trifling subject kept us merry, but Madame Vestri expressed a devout
+wish that all authors would do for her what I had done.  At Paris, where
+I heard her playing well and lisping terribly, she did not find the
+authors so obliging, but she pleased the people.  She asked me if I would
+undertake to recompose Zaire, leaving out the r's.
+
+"Ah!" said I, "considering that it would have to be in verse, and in
+Voltairean verse, I would rather not undertake the task."
+
+With a view to pleasing the actress the young author asked me how I would
+tell her that she was charming without using an 'r'.
+
+"I should say that she enchanted me, made me in an ecstasy, that she is
+unique."
+
+She wrote me a letter, which I still keep, in which the 'r' does not
+appear.  If I could have stayed at Stuttgart, this device of mine might
+have won me her favours; but after a week of feasting and triumph the
+courier came one morning at ten o'clock and announced that his highness,
+the duke, would arrive at four.
+
+As soon as I heard the news I told Baletti with the utmost coolness that
+I thought it would be only polite to meet my lord, and swell his train on
+his entry into Louisburg; and as I wished to meet him at a distance of
+two stages I should have to go at once.  He thought my idea an excellent
+one, and went to order post-horses immediately; but when he saw me
+packing up all my belongings into my trunk, he guessed the truth and
+applauded the jest.  I embraced him and confessed my hardihood.  He was
+sorry to lose me, but he laughed when he thought of the feelings of the
+duke and of the three officers when they found out the trick.  He
+promised to write to me at Mannheim, where I had decided on spending a
+week to see my beloved Algardi, who was in the service of the Elector.  I
+had also letters for M. de Sickirigen and Baron Becker, one of the
+Elector's ministers.
+
+When the horses were put in I embraced Baletti, his little girl, and his
+pretty housekeeper, and ordered the postillion to drive to Mannheim.
+
+When we reached Mannheim I heard that the Court was at Schwetzingen, and
+I bade the postillion drive on.  I found everyone I had expected to see.
+Algardi had got married, M. de Sickingen was soliciting the position of
+ambassador to Paris, and Baron Becker introduced me to the Elector.  Five
+or six days after my arrival died Prince Frederic des Deux Ponts, and I
+will here relate an anecdote I heard the day before he died.
+
+Dr. Algardi had attended on the prince during his last illness.  I was
+supping with Veraci, the poet-laureate, on the eve of the prince's death,
+and in the course of supper Algardi came in.
+
+"How is the prince?" said I.
+
+"The poor prince--he cannot possibly live more than twenty-four hours."
+
+"Does he know it?"
+
+"No, he still hopes.  He grieved me to the heart by bidding me tell him
+the whole truth; he even bade me give my word of honour that I was
+speaking the truth.  Then he asked me if he were positively in danger of
+death."
+
+"And you told him the truth?"
+
+"Certainly not.  I told him his sickness was undoubtedly a mortal one,
+but that with the help of nature and art wonders might be worked."
+
+"Then you deceived him, and told a lie?"
+
+"I did not deceive him; his recovery comes under the category of the
+possible.  I did not want to leave him in despair, for despair would most
+certainly kill him."
+
+"Yes, yes; but you will confess that you told him a lie and broke your
+word of honour."
+
+"I told no lie, for I know that he may possibly be cured."
+
+"Then you lied just now?"
+
+"Not at all, for lie will die to-morrow."
+
+"It seems to me that your reasoning is a little Jesuitical."
+
+"No, it is not.  My duty was to prolong my patient's life and to spare
+him a sentence which would most certainly have shortened it, possibly by
+several hours; besides, it is not an absolute impossibility that he
+should recover, therefore I did not lie when I told him that he might
+recover, nor did I lie just now when I gave it as my opinion (the result
+of my experience) that he would die to-morrow.  I would certainly wager a
+million to one that he will die to-morrow, but I would not wager my
+life."
+
+"You are right, and yet for all that you deceived the poor man; for his
+intention in asking you the question was not to be told a commonplace
+which he knew as well as you, but to learn your true opinion as to his
+life or death.  But again I agree with you that as his physician you were
+quite right not to shorten his few remaining hours by telling him the
+terrible truth."
+
+After a fortnight I left Schwetzingen, leaving some of my belongings
+under the care of Veraci the poet, telling him I would call for them some
+day; but I never came, and after a lapse of thirty-one years Veraci keeps
+them still.  He was one of the strangest poets I have ever met.  He
+affected eccentricity to make himself notorious, and opposed the great
+Metastasio in everything, writing unwieldy verses which he said gave more
+scope for the person who set them to music.  He had got this extravagant
+notion from Jumelli.
+
+I traveled to Mayence and thence I sailed to Cologne, where I looked
+forward to the pleasure of meeting with the burgomaster's wife who
+disliked General Kettler, and had treated me so well seven years ago.
+But that was not the only reason which impelled me to visit that odious
+town.  When I was at Dresden I had read in a number of the Cologne
+Gazette that "Master Casanova has returned to Warsaw only to be sent
+about his business again.  The king has heard some stories of this famous
+adventurer, which compel him to forbid him his Court."
+
+I could not stomach language of this kind, and I resolved to pay Jacquet,
+the editor, a visit, and now my time had come.
+
+I made a hasty dinner and then called on the burgomaster, whom I found
+sitting at table with his fair Mimi.  They welcomed me warmly, and for
+two hours I told them the story of my adventures during the last seven
+years.  Mimi had to go out, and I was asked to dine with them the next
+day.
+
+I thought she looked prettier than ever, and my imagination promised me
+some delicious moments with her.  I spent an anxious and impatient night,
+and called on my Amphitryon at an early hour to have an opportunity of
+speaking to his dear companion.  I found her alone, and began with an
+ardent caress which she gently repelled, but her face froze my passion in
+its course.
+
+"Time is an excellent doctor," said she, "and it has cured me of a
+passion which left behind it the sting of remorse."
+
+"What!  The confessional .  .  .  ."
+
+"Should only serve as a place wherein to confess our sins of the past,
+and to implore grace to sin no more."
+
+"May the Lord save me from repentance, the only source of which is a
+prejudice!  I shall leave Cologne to-morrow."
+
+"I do not tell you to go."
+
+"If there is no hope, it is no place for me.  May I hope?"
+
+"Never."
+
+She was delightful at table, but I was gloomy and distracted.  At seven
+o'clock next day I set out, and as soon as I had passed the Aix la
+Chapelle Gate, I told the postillion to stop and wait for me.  I then
+walked to Jacquet's, armed with a pistol and a cane, though I only meant
+to beat him.
+
+The servant shewed me into the room where he was working by himself.  It
+was on the ground floor, and the door was open for coolness' sake.
+
+He heard me coming in and asked what he could do for me.
+
+"You scoundrelly journalist."  I replied, "I am the adventurer Casanova
+whom you slandered in your miserable sheet four months ago."
+
+So saying I directed my pistol at his head, with my left hand, and lifted
+my cane with my right.  But the wretched scribbler fell on his knees
+before me with clasped hands and offered to shew me the signed letter he
+had received from Warsaw, which contained the statements he had inserted
+in his paper.
+
+"Where is this letter?"
+
+"You shall have it in a moment."
+
+I made way for him to search, but I locked and bolted the door to prevent
+his escaping.  The man trembled like a leaf and began to look for the
+letter amongst his Warsaw correspondence, which was in a disgraceful
+state of confusion.  I shewed him the date of the article in the paper,
+but the letter could not be found; and at the end of an hour he fell down
+again on his knees, and told me to do what I would to him.  I gave him a
+kick and told him to get up and follow me.  He made no reply, and
+followed me bareheaded till he saw me get into my chaise and drive off,
+and I have no doubt he gave thanks to God for his light escape.  In the
+evening, I reached Aix-la-Chapelle, where I found Princess Lubomirska,
+General Roniker, several other distinguished Poles, Tomatis and his wife,
+and many Englishmen of my acquaintance.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+My Stay at Spa--The Blow--The Sword--Della Croce--Charlotte; Her Lying-in
+and Death--A Lettre de Cachet Obliges Me to Leave Paris in the Course of
+Twenty-four Hours
+
+
+All my friends seemed delighted to see me, and I was well pleased to find
+myself in such good company.  People were on the point of leaving Aix for
+Spa.  Nearly everyone went, and those who stayed only did so because
+lodgings were not to be had at Spa.  Everybody assured me that this was
+the case, and many had returned after seeking in vain for a mere garret.
+I paid no attention to all this, and told the princess that if she would
+come with me I would find some lodging, were it only in my carriage.  We
+accordingly set out the next day, and got to Spa in good time, our
+company consisting of the princess, the prothonotary, Roniker, and the
+Tomatis.  Everyone except myself had taken rooms in advance, I alone knew
+not where to turn. I got out and prepared for the search, but before
+going along the streets I went into a shop and bought a hat, having lost
+mine on the way.  I explained my situation to the shopwoman, who seemed
+to take an interest in me, and began speaking to her husband in Flemish
+or Walloon, and finally informed me that if it were only for a few days
+she and her husband would sleep in the shop and give up their room to me.
+But she said that she had absolutely no room whatever for my man.
+
+"I haven't got one."
+
+"All the better.  Send away your carriage."
+
+"Where shall I send it?"
+
+"I will see that it is housed safely."
+
+"How much am I to pay?"
+
+"Nothing; and if you are not too particular, we should like you to share
+our meals."
+
+"I accept your offer thankfully."
+
+I went up a narrow staircase, and found myself in a pretty little room
+with a closet, a good bed, suitable furniture, and everything perfectly
+neat and clean.  I thought myself very lucky, and asked the good people
+why they would not sleep in the closet rather than the shop, and they
+replied with one breath that they would be in my way, while their niece
+would not interfere with me.
+
+This news about the niece was a surprise to me.  The closet had no door,
+and was not much bigger than the bed which it contained; it was, in fact,
+a mere alcove, without any window.
+
+I must note that my hostess and her husband, both of them from Liege,
+were perfect models of ugliness.
+
+"It's not within the limits of possibility," I said to myself, "for the
+niece to be uglier than they, but if they allow her to sleep thus in the
+same room with the first comer, she must be proof against all
+temptation."
+
+However, I gave no sign, and did not ask to see the niece for fear of
+offense, and I went out without opening my trunk.  I told them as I went
+out that I should not be back till after supper, and gave them some money
+to buy wax candles and night lights.
+
+I went to see the princess with whom I was to sup.  All the company
+congratulated me on my good fortune in finding a lodging.  I went to the
+concert, to the bank at faro, and to the other gaming saloons, and there
+I saw the so-called Marquis d'Aragon, who was playing at piquet with an
+old count of the Holy Roman Empire.  I was told about the duel he had had
+three weeks before with a Frenchman who had picked a quarrel with him;
+the Frenchman had been wounded in the chest, and was still ill.
+Nevertheless, he was only waiting for his cure to be completed to have
+his revenge, which he had demanded as he was taken off the field.  Such
+is the way of the French when a duel is fought for a trifling matter.
+They stop at the first blood, and fight the duel over and over again.  In
+Italy, on the other hand, duels are fought to the death.  Our blood burns
+to fire when our adversary's sword opens a vein.  Thus stabbing is common
+in Italy and rare in France; while duels are common in France, and rare
+in Italy.
+
+Of all the company at Spa, I was most pleased to see the Marquis
+Caraccioli, whom I had left in London.  His Court had given him leave of
+absence, and he was spending it at Spa.  He was brimful of wit and the
+milk of human kindness, compassionate for the weaknesses of others, and
+devoted to youth, no matter of what sex, but he knew well the virtue of
+moderation, and used all things without abusing them.  He never played,
+but he loved a good gamester and despised all dupes.  The worthy marquis
+was the means of making the fortune of the so-called Marquis d'Aragon by
+becoming surety for his nobility and bona fides to a wealthy English
+widow of fifty, who had taken a fancy to him, and brought him her fortune
+of sixty thousand pounds sterling.  No doubt the widow was taken with the
+gigantic form and the beautiful title of d'Aragon, for Dragon (as his
+name really was) was devoid of wit and manners, and his legs, which I
+suppose he kept well covered, bore disgusting marks of the libertine life
+he had led.  I saw the marquis some time afterwards at Marseilles, and a
+few years later he purchased two estates at Modena.  His wife died in due
+course, and according to the English law he inherited the whole of her
+property.
+
+I returned to my lodging in good time, and went to bed without seeing the
+niece, who was fast asleep.  I was waited on by the ugly aunt, who begged
+me not to take a servant while I remained in her house, for by her
+account all servants were thieves.
+
+When I awoke in the morning the niece had got up and gone down.  I
+dressed to go to the Wells, and warned my host and hostess that I should
+have the pleasure of dining with them.  The room I occupied was the only
+place in which they could take their meals, and I was astonished when
+they came and asked my permission to do so.  The niece had gone out, so I
+had to put my curiosity aside.  When I was out my acquaintances pointed
+out to me the chief beauties who then haunted the Wells.  The number of
+adventurers who flock to Spa during the season is something incredible,
+and they all hope to make their fortunes; and, as may be supposed, most
+of them go away as naked as they came, if not more so.  Money circulates
+with great freedom, but principally amongst the gamesters, shop-keepers,
+money-lenders, and courtezans.  The money which proceeds from the
+gaming-table has three issues: the first and smallest share goes to the
+Prince-Bishop of Liege; the second and larger portion, to the numerous
+amateur cheats who frequent the place; and by far the largest of all to
+the coffers of twelve sharpers, who keep the tables and are authorized by
+the sovereign.
+
+Thus goes the money.  It comes from the pockets of the dupes--poor moths
+who burn their wings at Spa!
+
+The Wells are a mere pretext for gaming, intriguing, and fortune-hunting.
+There are a few honest people who go for amusement, and a few for rest
+and relaxation after the toils of business.
+
+Living is cheap enough at Spa.  The table d'hote is excellent, and only
+costs a small French crown, and one can get good lodging for the like
+sum.
+
+I came home at noon having won a score of louis.  I went into the shop,
+intending to go to my room, but I was stopped short by seeing a handsome
+brunette, of nineteen or twenty, with great black eyes, voluptuous lips,
+and shining teeth, measuring out ribbon on the counter.  This, then, was
+the niece, whom I had imagined as so ugly.  I concealed my surprise and
+sat down in the shop to gaze at her and endeavour to make her
+acquaintance.  But she hardly seemed to see me, and only acknowledged my
+presence by a slight inclination of the head.  Her aunt came down to say
+that dinner was ready, and I went upstairs and found the table laid for
+four.  The servant brought in the soup, and then asked me very plainly to
+give her some money if I wanted any wine, as her master and mistress only
+drank beer.  I was delighted with her freedom, and gave her money to buy
+two bottles of Burgundy.
+
+The master came up and shewed me a gold repeater with a chain also of
+gold by a well-known modern maker.  He wanted to know how much it was
+worth.
+
+"Forty louis at the least."
+
+"A gentleman wants me to give him twenty louis for it, on the condition
+that I return it to-morrow if he brings me twenty-two."
+
+"Then I advise you to accept his offer."
+
+"I haven't got the money."
+
+"I will lend it you with pleasure."
+
+I gave him the twenty Louis, and placed the watch in my jewel-casket.  At
+table the niece sat opposite to me, but I took care not to look at her,
+and she, like a modest girl, did not say a score of words all through the
+meal.  The meal was an excellent one, consisting of soup, boiled beef, an
+entree, and a roast.  The mistress of the house told me that the roast
+was in my honour, "for," she said, "we are not rich people, and we only
+allow ourselves this Luxury on a Sunday."  I admired her delicacy, and
+the evident sincerity with which she spoke.  I begged my entertainers to
+help me with my wine, and they accepted the offer, saying they only
+wished they were rich enough to be able to drink half a bottle a day.
+
+"I thought trade was good with you."
+
+"The stuff is not ours, and we have debts; besides, the expenses are very
+great.  We have sold very little up to now."
+
+"Do you only sell hats?"
+
+"No, we have silk handkerchiefs, Paris stockings, and lace ruffs, but
+they say everything is too dear."
+
+"I will buy some things for you, and will send all my friends here.
+Leave it to me; I will see what I can do for you."
+
+"Mercy, fetch down one or two packets of those handkerchiefs and some
+stockings, large size, for the gentleman has a big leg."
+
+Mercy, as the niece was called, obeyed.  I pronounced the handkerchiefs
+superb and the stockings excellent.  I bought a dozen, and I promised
+them that they should sell out their whole stock.  They overwhelmed me
+with thanks, and promised to put themselves entirely in my hands.
+
+After coffee, which, like the roast, was in my honour, the aunt told her
+niece to take care to awake me in the morning when she got up.  She said
+she would not fail, but I begged her not to take too much trouble over
+me, as I was a very heavy sleeper.
+
+In the afternoon I went to an armourer's to buy a brace of pistols, and
+asked the man if he knew the tradesman with whom I was staying.
+
+"We are cousins-german," he replied.
+
+"Is he rich?"
+
+"Yes, in debts."
+
+Why?"
+
+"Because he is unfortunate, like most honest people."
+
+"How about his wife?"
+
+"Her careful economy keeps him above water."
+
+"Do you know the niece?"
+
+"Yes; she's a good girl, but very pious.  Her silly scruples keep
+customers away from the shop."
+
+"What do you think she should do to attract customers?"
+
+"She should be more polite, and not play the prude when anyone wants to
+give her a kiss."
+
+"She is like that, is she?"
+
+"Try her yourself and you will see.  Last week she gave an officer a box
+on the ear.  My cousin scolded her, and she wanted to go back to Liege;
+however, the wife soothed her again.  She is pretty enough, don't you
+think so?"
+
+"Certainly I do, but if she is as cross-grained as you say, the best
+thing will be to leave her alone."
+
+After what I had heard I made up my mind to change my room, for Mercy had
+pleased me in such a way that I was sure I should be obliged to pay her a
+call before long, and I detested Pamelas as heartily as Charpillons.
+
+In the afternoon I took Rzewuski and Roniker to the shop, and they bought
+fifty ducats' worth of goods to oblige me.  The next day the princess and
+Madame Tomatis bought all the handkerchiefs.
+
+I came home at ten o'clock, and found Mercy in bed as I had done the
+night before.  Next morning the watch was redeemed, and the hatter
+returned me twenty-two louis.  I made him a present of the two louis, and
+said I should always be glad to lend him money in that way--the profits
+to be his.  He left me full of gratitude.
+
+I was asked to dine with Madame Tomatis, so I told my hosts that I would
+have the pleasure of supping with them, the costs to be borne by me.  The
+supper was good and the Burgundy excellent, but Mercy refused to taste
+it.  She happened to leave the room for a moment at the close of the
+meal, and I observed to the aunt that her niece was charming, but it was
+a pity she was so sad.
+
+"She will have to change her ways, or I will keep her no longer."
+
+"Is she the same with all men?"
+
+"With all."
+
+"Then she has never been in love."
+
+"She says she has not, but I don't believe her."
+
+"I wonder she can sleep so comfortably with a man at a few feet distant."
+
+"She is not afraid."
+
+Mercy came in, bade us good night, and said she would go to bed.  I made
+as if I would give her a kiss, but she turned her back on me, and placed
+a chair in front of her closet so that I might not see her taking off her
+chemise.  My host and hostess then went to bed, and so did I, puzzling my
+head over the girl's behaviour which struck me as most extraordinary and
+unaccountable.  However, I slept peacefully, and when I awoke the bird
+had left the nest.  I felt inclined to have a little quiet argument with
+the girl, and to see what I could make of her; but I saw no chance of my
+getting an opportunity.  The hatter availed himself of my offer of purse
+to lend money on pledges, whereby he made a good profit.  There was no
+risk for me in the matter, and he and his wife declared that they blessed
+the day on which I had come to live with them.
+
+On the fifth or sixth day I awoke before Mercy, and only putting on my
+dressing-gown I came towards her bed.  She had a quick ear and woke up,
+and no sooner did she see me coming towards her than she asked me what I
+wanted.  I sat down on her bed and said gently that I only wanted to wish
+her a good day and to have a little talk.  It was hot weather, and she
+was only covered by a single sheet; and stretching out one arm I drew her
+towards me, and begged her to let me give her a kiss.  Her resistance
+made me angry; and passing an audacious hand under the sheet I discovered
+that she was made like other women; but just as my hand was on the spot,
+I received a fisticuff on the nose that made me see a thousand stars, and
+quite extinguished the fire of my concupiscence.  The blood streamed from
+my nose and stained the bed of the furious Mercy.  I kept my presence of
+mind and left her on the spot, as the blow she had given me was but a
+sample of what I might expect if I attempted reprisals.  I washed my face
+in cold water, and as I was doing so Mercy dressed herself and left the
+room.
+
+At last my blood ceased to flow, and I saw to my great annoyance that my
+nose was swollen in such a manner that my face was simply hideous.  I
+covered it up with a handkerchief and sent for the hairdresser to do my
+hair, and when this was done my landlady brought me up some fine trout,
+of which I approved; but as I was giving her the money she saw my face
+and uttered a cry of horror.  I told her the whole story, freely
+acknowledging that I was in the wrong, and begging her to say nothing to
+her niece.  Then heeding not her excuses I went out with my handkerchief
+before my face, and visited a house which the Duchess of Richmond had
+left the day before.
+
+Half of the suite she had abandoned had been taken in advance by an
+Italian marquis; I took the other half, hired a servant, and had my
+effects transported there from my old lodgings.  The tears and
+supplications of my landlady had no effect whatever upon me, I felt I
+could not bear the sight of Mercy any longer.
+
+In the house into which I had moved I found an Englishman who said he
+would bring down the bruise in one hour, and make the discoloration of
+the flesh disappear in twenty-four.  I let him do what he liked and he
+kept his word.  He rubbed the place with spirits of wine and some drug
+which is unknown to me; but being ashamed to appear in public in the
+state I was in, I kept indoors for the rest of the day.  At noon the
+distressed aunt brought me my trout, and said that Mercy was cut to the
+heart to have used me so, and that if I would come back I could do what I
+liked with her.
+
+"You must feel," I replied, "that if I complied with your request the
+adventure would become public to the damage of my honour and your
+business, and your niece would not be able to pass for a devotee any
+longer."
+
+I made some reflections on the blow she had given the officer, much to
+the aunt's surprise, for she could not think how I had heard of it; and I
+shewed her that, after having exposed me to her niece's brutality, her
+request was extremely out of place.  I concluded by saying that I could
+believe her to be an accomplice in the fact without any great stretch of
+imagination.  This made her burst into tears, and I had to apologize and
+to promise to continue forwarding her business by way of consolation, and
+so she left me in a calmer mood.  Half an hour afterwards her husband
+came with twenty-five Louis I had lent him on a gold snuff-box set with
+diamonds, and proposed that I should lend two hundred Louis on a ring
+worth four hundred.
+
+"It will be yours," he said, "if the owner does not bring me two hundred
+and twenty Louis in a week's time."
+
+I had the money and proceeded to examine the stone which seemed to be a
+good diamond, and would probably weigh six carats as the owner declared.
+The setting was in gold.
+
+"I consent to give the sum required if the owner is ready to give me a
+receipt."
+
+"I will do so myself in the presence of witnesses."
+
+"Very good.  You shall have the money in the course of an hour; I am
+going to have the stone taken out first.  That will make no difference to
+the owner, as I shall have it reset at my own expense.  If he redeems it,
+the twenty Louis shall be yours."
+
+"I must ask him whether he has any objection to the stone being taken
+out."
+
+"Very good, but you can tell him that if he will not allow it to be done
+he will get nothing for it."
+
+He returned before long with a jeweller who said he would guarantee the
+stone to be at least two grains over the six carats.
+
+"Have you weighed it?"
+
+"No, but I am quite sure it weighs over six carats."
+
+"Then you can lend the money on it?"
+
+"I cannot command such a sum."
+
+"Can you tell me why the owner objects to the stone being taken out and
+put in at my expense?"
+
+"No, I can't; but he does object."
+
+"Then he may take his ring somewhere else."
+
+They went away, leaving me well pleased at my refusal, for it was plain
+that the stone was either false or had a false bottom.
+
+I spent the rest of the day in writing letters and making a good supper,
+In the morning I was awoke by someone knocking at my door, and on my
+getting up to open it, what was my astonishment to find Mercy!
+
+I let her in, and went back to bed, and asked her what she wanted with me
+so early in the morning.  She sat down on the bed, and began to overwhelm
+me with apologies.  I replied by asking her why, if it was her principle
+to fly at her lovers like a tiger, she had slept almost in the same room
+as myself.
+
+"In sleeping in the closet," said she, "I obeyed my aunt's orders, and in
+striking you (for which I am very sorry) I was but defending my honour;
+and I cannot admit that every man who sees me is at liberty to lose his
+reason.  I think you will allow that your duty is to respect, and mine to
+defend, my honour."
+
+"If that is your line of argument, I acknowledge that you are right; but
+you had nothing to complain of, for I bore your blow in silence, and by
+my leaving the house you might know that it was my intention to respect
+you for the future.  Did you come to hear me say this?  If so, you are
+satisfied.  But you will not be offended if I laugh at your excuses, for
+after what you have said I cannot help thinking them very laughable."
+
+"What have I said?"
+
+"That you only did your duty in flattening my nose.  If so, do you think
+it is necessary to apologize for the performance of duty?"
+
+"I ought to have defended myself more gently.  But forget everything and
+forgive me; I will defend myself no more in any way.  I am yours and I
+love you, and I am ready to prove my love."
+
+She could not have spoken more plainly, and as she spoke the last words
+she fell on me with her face close to mine, which she bedewed with her
+tears.  I was ashamed of such an easy conquest, and I gently withdrew
+from her embrace, telling her to return after the bruise on my face had
+disappeared.  She left me deeply mortified.
+
+The Italian, who had taken half the suite of rooms, had arrived in the
+course of the night.  I asked his name, and was given a card bearing the
+name of The Marquis Don Antonio della Croce.
+
+Was it the Croce I knew?
+
+It was very possible.
+
+I asked what kind of an establishment he had, and was informed that the
+marchioness had a lady's maid, and the marquis a secretary and two
+servants.  I longed to see the nobleman in question.
+
+I had not long to wait, for as soon as he heard that I was his neighbour,
+he came to see me, and we spent two hours in telling each other our
+adventures since we had parted in Milan.  He had heard that I had made
+the fortune of the girl he had abandoned, and in the six years that had
+elapsed he had been travelling all over Europe, engaged in a constant
+strife with fortune.  At Paris and Brussels he had made a good deal of
+money, and in the latter town he had fallen in love with a young lady of
+rank, whom her father had shut up in a convent.  He had taken her away,
+and she it was whom he called the Marchioness della Croce, now six months
+with child.
+
+He made her pass for his wife, because, as he said, he meant to marry her
+eventually.
+
+"I have fifty thousand francs in gold," said he, "and as much again in
+jewellery and various possessions.  It is my intention to give suppers
+here and hold a bank, but if I play without correcting the freaks of
+fortune I am sure to lose."  He intended going to Warsaw, thinking I
+would give him introductions to all my friends there; but he made a
+mistake, and I did not even introduce him to my Polish friends at Spa.  I
+told him he could easily make their acquaintance by himself, and that I
+would neither make nor mar with him.
+
+I accepted his invitation to dinner for the same day.  His secretary, as
+he called him, was merely his confederate.  He was a clever Veronese
+named Conti, and his wife was an essential accomplice in Croce's designs.
+
+At noon my friend the hatter came again with the ring, followed by the
+owner, who looked like a bravo.  They were accompanied by the jeweller
+and another individual.  The owner asked me once more to lend him two
+hundred louis on the ring.
+
+My proper course would have been to beg to be excused, then I should have
+had no more trouble in the matter; but it was not to be.  I wanted to
+make him see that the objection he made to having the stone taken out was
+an insuperable obstacle to my lending him the money.
+
+"When the stone is removed," said I, "we shall see what it really is.
+Listen to my proposal: if it weighs twenty-six grains, I will give you,
+not two but three hundred louis, but in its present condition I shall
+give nothing at all."
+
+"You have no business to doubt my word; you insult me by doing so."
+
+"Not at all, I have no intentions of the kind.  I simply propose a wager
+to you.  If the stone be found to weigh twenty-six grains, I shall lose
+two hundred Louis, if it weighs much less you will lose the ring."
+
+"That's a scandalous proposal; it's as much as to tell me that I am a
+liar."
+
+I did not like the tone with which these words were spoken, and I went up
+to the chest of drawers where I kept my pistols, and bade him go and
+leave me in peace.
+
+Just then General Roniker came in, and the owner of the ring told him of
+the dispute between us.  The general looked at the ring, and said to
+him,--
+
+"If anyone were to give me the ring I should not have the stone taken
+out, because one should not look a gift horse in the mouth; but if it
+came to a question of buying or lending I would not give a crown for it,
+were the owner an emperor, before the stone was taken out; and I am very
+much surprised at your refusing to let this be done."
+
+Without a word the knave made for the door, and the ring remained in the
+hands of my late host.
+
+"Why didn't you give him his ring?" said I.
+
+"Because I have advanced him fifty Louis on it; but if he does not redeem
+it to-morrow I will have the stone taken out before a judge, and
+afterwards I shall sell it by auction."
+
+"I don't like the man's manners, and I hope you will never bring anyone
+to my rooms again."
+
+The affair came to the following conclusion: The impostor did not redeem
+the ring, and the Liege tradesman had the setting removed.  The diamond
+was found to be placed on a bed of rock crystal, which formed two-thirds
+of the whole bulk.  However, the diamond was worth fifty Louis, and an
+Englishman bought it.  A week afterwards the knave met me as I was
+walking by myself, and begged me to follow him to place where we should
+be free from observation, as his sword had somewhat to say to mine.
+Curiously enough I happened to be wearing my sword at the time.
+
+"I will not follow you," I replied; "the matter can be settled here?"
+
+"We are observed."
+
+"All the better.  Make haste and draw your sword first."
+
+"The advantage is with you."
+
+"I know it, and so it ought to be.  If you do not draw I will proclaim
+you to be the coward I am sure you are."
+
+At this he drew his sword rapidly and came on, but I was ready to receive
+him.  He began to fence to try my mettle, but I lunged right at his
+chest, and gave him three inches of cold steel.  I should have killed him
+on the spot if he had not lowered his sword, saying he would take his
+revenge at another time.  With this he went off, holding his hand to the
+wound.
+
+A score of people were close by, but no one troubled himself about the
+wounded man, as he was known to have been the aggressor.  The duel had no
+further consequences for me.  When I left Spa the man was still in the
+surgeon's hands.  He was something worse than an adventurer, and all the
+French at Spa disowned him.
+
+But to return to Croce and his dinner.
+
+The marchioness, his wife so-called, was a young lady of sixteen or
+seventeen, fair-complexioned and tall, with all the manners of the
+Belgian nobility.  The history of her escape is well known to her
+brothers and sisters, and as her family are still in existence my readers
+will be obliged to me for concealing her name.
+
+Her husband had told her about me, and she received me in the most
+gracious manner possible.  She shewed no signs of sadness or of
+repentance for the steps she had taken.  She was with child for some
+months, and seemed to be near her term, owing to the slimness of her
+figure.  Nevertheless she had the aspect of perfect health.  Her
+countenance expressed candour and frankness of disposition in a
+remarkable degree.  Her eyes were large and blue, her complexion a
+roseate hue, her small sweet mouth, her perfect teeth made her a beauty
+worthy of the brush of Albano.
+
+I thought myself skilled in physiognomy, and concluded that she was not
+only perfectly happy, but also the cause of happiness.  But here let me
+say how vain a thing it is for anyone to pronounce a man or woman to be
+happy or unhappy from a merely cursory inspection.
+
+The young marchioness had beautiful ear-rings, and two rings, which gave
+me a pretext for admiring the beauty of her hands.
+
+Conti's wife did not cut any figure at all, and I was all eyes for the
+marchioness, whose name was Charlotte.  I was profoundly impressed by her
+that I was quite abstracted during dinner.
+
+I sought in vain to discover by what merits Croce had been able to seduce
+two such superior women.  He was not a fine-looking man, he was not well
+educated, his manners were doubtful, and his way of speaking by no means
+seductive; in fine, I saw nothing captivating about him, and yet I could
+be a witness to his having made two girls leave their homes to follow
+him.  I lost myself in conjecture; but I had no premonition of what was
+to happen in the course of a few weeks.
+
+When dinner was over I took Croce apart, and talked seriously to him.  I
+impressed on him the necessity of circumspect conduct, as in my opinion
+he would be for ever infamous if the beautiful woman whom he had seduced
+was to become wretched by his fault.
+
+"For the future I mean to trust to my skill in play, and thus I am sure
+of a comfortable living."
+
+"Does she know, that your revenue is fed solely by the purses of dupes?"
+
+"She knows that I am a gamester; and as she adores me, her will is as
+mine.  I am thinking of marrying her at Warsaw before she is confined.
+If you are in any want of money, look upon my purse as your own."
+
+I thanked him, and once more pressed on him the duty of exercising
+extreme prudence.
+
+As a matter of fact, I had no need of money.  I had played with
+moderation, and my profits amounted to nearly four hundred louis.  When
+the luck turned against me I was wise enough to turn my back on the
+board.  Although the bruise that Mercy had given me was still apparent, I
+escorted the marchioness to the tables, and there she drew all eyes upon
+her.  She was fond of piquet, and we played together for small stakes for
+some time.  In the end she lost twenty crowns to me, and I was forced to
+take the money for fear of offending her.
+
+When we went back we met Croce and Conti, who had both won--Conti a score
+of louis at Faro, and Croce more than a hundred guineas at 'passe dix',
+which he had been playing at a club of Englishmen.  I was more lively at
+supper than dinner, and excited Charlotte to laughter by my wit.
+
+Henceforth the Poles and the Tomatis only saw me at intervals.  I was in
+love with the fair marchioness, and everybody said it was very natural.
+When a week had elapsed, Croce, finding that the pigeons would not come
+to be plucked, despite the suppers he gave, went to the public room, and
+lost continually.  He was as used to loss as to gain, and his spirits
+were unaltered; he was still gay, still ate well and drank better, and
+caressed his victim, who had no suspicions of what was going on.
+
+I loved her, but did not dare to reveal my passion, fearing lest it
+should be unrequited; and I was afraid to tell her of Croce's losses lest
+she should put down my action to some ulterior motive; in fine, I was
+afraid to lose the trust she had already begun to place in me.
+
+At the end of three weeks Conti, who had played with prudence and
+success, left Croce and set out for Verona with his wife and servant.  A
+few days later Charlotte dismissed her maid, sending her back to Liege,
+her native town.
+
+Towards the middle of September all the Polish party left the Spa for
+Paris, where I promised to rejoin them.  I only stayed for Charlotte's
+sake; I foresaw a catastrophe, and I would not abandon her.  Every day
+Croce lost heavily, and at last he was obliged to sell his jewellery.
+Then came Charlotte's turn; she had to give up her watches, ear-rings,
+her rings, and all the jewels she had.  He lost everything, but this
+wonderful girl was as affectionate as ever.  To make a finish he
+despoiled her of her lace and her best gowns, and then selling his own
+wardrobe he went to his last fight with fortune, provided with two
+hundred Louis.  He played like a madman, without common-sense or
+prudence, and lost all.
+
+His pockets were empty, and seeing me he beckoned to me, and I followed
+him out of the Spa.
+
+"My friend," he began, "I have two alternatives, I can kill myself this
+instant or I can fly without returning to the house.  I shall embrace the
+latter and go to Warsaw on foot, and I leave my wife in your hands, for I
+know you adore her.  It must be your task to give her the dreadful news
+of the pass to which I have come.  Have a care of her, she is too good by
+far for a poor wretch like me.  Take her to Paris and I will write to you
+there at your brother's address.  I know you have money, but I would die
+rather than accept a single louis from you.  I have still two or three
+pieces left, and I assure you that I am richer at the present moment than
+I was two months ago.  Farewell; once more I commend Charlotte to your
+care; I would that she had never known me."
+
+With these words he shed tears, and embracing me went his way.  I was
+stupefied at what lay before me.
+
+I had to inform a pregnant woman that the man she dearly loved had
+deserted her.  The only thought that supported me in that moment was that
+it would be done for love of her, and I felt thankful that I had
+sufficient means to secure her from privation.
+
+I went to the house and told her that we might dine at once, as the
+marquis would be engaged till the evening.  She sighed, wished him luck,
+and we proceeded to dine.  I disguised my emotions so well that she
+conceived no suspicion.  After the meal was over, I asked her to walk
+with me in the garden of the Capuchin Monastery, which was close at hand.
+To prepare her for the fatal news I asked her if she would approve of her
+lover exposing himself to assassination for the sake of bidding adieu to
+her rather than making his escape.
+
+"I should blame him for doing so," she replied.  "He ought to escape by
+all means, if only to save his life for my sake.  Has my husband done so?
+Speak openly to me.  My spirit is strong enough to resist even so fatal a
+blow, for I know I have a friend in you.  Speak."
+
+"Well, I will tell you all.  But first of all remember this; you must
+look upon me as a tender father who will never let you want, so long as
+life remains to him."
+
+"In that case I cannot be called unfortunate, for I have a true friend.
+Say on."
+
+I told all that Croce had told me, not omitting his last words: "I
+commend Charlotte to your care; I would that she had never known me."
+
+For a few minutes she remained motionless, as one turned into stone.  By
+her attitude, by her laboured and unequal breath, I could divine somewhat
+of the battle between love, and anger, and sorrow, and pity, that was
+raging in the noble breast.  I was cut to the heart.  At last she wiped
+away the big tears that began to trickle down her cheeks, and turning to
+me sighed and said,--
+
+"Dear friend, since I can count on you, I am far indeed from utter
+misery."
+
+"I swear to you, Charlotte, that I will never leave you till I place you
+again in your husband's hands, provided I do not die before."
+
+"That is enough.  I swear eternal gratitude, and to be as submissive to
+you as a good daughter ought to be."
+
+The religion and philosophy with which her heart and mind were fortified,
+though she made no parade of either, began to calm her spirit, and she
+proceeded to make some reflections on Croce's unhappy lot, but all in
+pity not in anger, excusing his inveterate passion for play.  She had
+often heard from Croce's lips the story of the Marseilles girl whom he
+had left penniless in an inn at Milan, commending her to my care.  She
+thought it something wonderful that I should again be intervening as the
+tutelary genius; but her situation was much the worse, for she was with
+child.
+
+"There's another difference," I added, "for I made the fortune of the
+first by finding her an honest husband, whereas I should never have the
+courage to adopt the same method with the second."
+
+"While Croce lives I am no man's wife but his, nevertheless I am glad to
+find myself free."
+
+When we were back in the house, I advised her to send away the servant
+and to pay his journey to Besanion, where she had taken him.  Thus all
+unpleasantness would be avoided.  I made her sell all that remained of
+her poor lover's wardrobe, as also his carriage, for mine was a better
+one.  She shewed me all she had left, which only amounted to some sets of
+linen and three or four dresses.
+
+We remained at Spa without going out of doors.  She could see that my
+love was a tenderer passion than the love of a father, and she told me
+so, and that she was obliged to me for the respect with which I treated
+her.  We sat together for hours, she folded in my arms, whilst I gently
+kissed her beautiful eyes, and asked no more.  I was happy in her
+gratitude and in my powers of self-restraint.  When temptation was too
+strong I left the beautiful girl till I was myself again, and such
+conquests made me proud.  In the affection between us there was somewhat
+of the purity of a man's first love.
+
+I wanted a small travelling cap, and the servant of the house went to my
+former lodging to order one.  Mercy brought several for me to choose
+from.  She blushed when she saw me, but I said nothing to her.  When she
+had gone I told Charlotte the whole story, and she laughed with all her
+heart when I reminded her of the bruise on my face when we first met, and
+informed her that Mercy had given it me.  She praised my firmness in
+rejecting her repentance, and agreed with me in thinking that the whole
+plan had been concerted between her and her aunt.
+
+We left Spa without any servant, and when we reached Liege we took the
+way of the Ardennes, as she was afraid of being recognized if we passed
+through Brussels.  At Luxemburg we engaged a servant, who attended on us
+till we reached Paris.  All the way Charlotte was tender and
+affectionate, but her condition prescribed limits to her love, and I
+could only look forward to the time after her delivery.  We got down at
+Paris at the "Hotel Montmorenci," in the street of the same name.
+
+Paris struck me quite as a new place.  Madame d'Urfe was dead, my friends
+had changed their houses and their fortunes; the poor had become rich and
+the rich poor, new streets and buildings were rising on all sides; I
+hardly knew my way about the town.  Everything was dearer; poverty was
+rampant, and luxury at it highest pitch.  Perhaps Paris is the only city
+where so great a change could take place in the course of five or six
+years.
+
+The first call I made was on Madame du Rumain, who was delighted to see
+me.  I repaid her the money she had so kindly lent me in the time of my
+distress.  She was well in health, but harassed by so many anxieties and
+private troubles that she said Providence must have sent me to her to
+relieve her of all her griefs by my cabala.  I told her that I would wait
+on her at any hour or hours; and this, indeed, was the least I could do
+for the woman who had been so kind to me.
+
+My brother had gone to live in the Faubourg St. Antoine.  Both he and his
+wife (who remained constant to him, despite his physical disability) were
+overjoyed to see me, and entreated me to come and stop with them.  I told
+them I should be glad to do so, as soon as the lady who had travelled
+with me had got over her confinement.  I did not think proper to tell
+them her story, and they had the delicacy to refrain from questioning me
+on the subject.  The same day I called on Princess Lubomirska and
+Tomatis, begging them not to take it amiss if my visits were few and far
+between, as the lady they had seen at Spa was approaching her
+confinement, and demanded all my care.
+
+After the discharge of these duties I remained constantly by Charlotte's
+side.  On October 8th I thought it would be well to take her to Madame
+Lamarre, a midwife, who lived in the Faubourg St. Denis, and Charlotte
+was of the same opinion.  We went together, she saw the room, the bed,
+and heard how she would be tended and looked after, for all of which I
+would pay.  At nightfall we drove to the place, with a trunk containing
+all her effects.
+
+As we were leaving the Rue Montmorenci our carriage was obliged to stop
+to allow the funeral of some rich man to go by.  Charlotte covered her
+face with her handkerchief, and whispered in my ear,
+"Dearest, I know it is a foolish superstition, but to a woman in my
+condition such a meeting is of evil omen."
+
+"What, Charlotte!  I thought you were too wise to have such silly fears.
+A woman in child-bed is not a sick woman, and no woman ever died of
+giving birth to a child except some other disease intervened."
+
+"Yes, my dear philosopher, it is like a duel; there are two men in
+perfect health, when all of a sudden there comes a sword-thrust, and one
+of them is dead."
+
+"That's a witty idea.  But bid all gloomy thoughts go by, and after your
+child is born, and we have placed it in good hands, you shall come with
+me to Madrid, and there I hope to see you happy and contented."
+
+All the way I did my best to cheer her, for I knew only too well the
+fatal effects of melancholy on a pregnant woman, especially in such a
+delicate girl as Charlotte.
+
+When I saw her completely settled I returned to the hotel, and the next
+day I took up my quarters with my brother.  However, as long as my
+Charlotte lived, I only slept at his house, for from nine in the morning
+till after midnight I was with my dear.
+
+On October 13th Charlotte was attacked with a fever which never left her.
+On the 17th she was happily delivered of a boy, which was immediately
+taken to the church and baptized at the express wishes of the mother.
+Charlotte wrote down what its name was to be--Jacques (after me), Charles
+(after her), son of Antonio della Croce and of Charlotte de (she gave her
+real name).  When it was brought from the church she told Madame Lamarre
+to carry it to the Foundling Hospital, with the certificate of baptism in
+its linen.  I vainly endeavoured to persuade her to leave the care of the
+child to me.  She said that if it lived the father could easily reclaim
+it.  On the same day, October 18th, the, midwife gave me the following
+certificate, which I still possess:
+
+It was worded as follows:
+
+"We, J. B. Dorival, Councillor to the King, Commissary of the Chatelet,
+formerly Superintendent of Police in the City of Paris, do certify that
+there has been taken to the Hospital for Children a male infant,
+appearing to be one day old, brought from the Faubourg St. Denis by the
+midwife Lamarre, and bearing a certificate of baptism to the effect that
+its name is Jacques Charles, son of Antonio della Croce and of Charlotte
+de ---- .  Wherefore, we have delivered the above certificate at our
+office in the City of Paris, this 18th day of October, in the year of our
+Lord, 1767, at seven o'clock in the afternoon.
+
+"DORIVAL."
+
+If any of my readers have any curiosity to know the real name of the
+mother, I have given them the means of satisfying it.
+
+After this I did not leave the bed of the invalid for a single instant.
+In spite of all the doctor's care the fever increased, and at five
+o'clock in the morning of October 26th, she succumbed to it.  An hour
+before she sighed her last, she bade me the last farewell in the presence
+of the venerable ecclesiastic who had confessed her at midnight.  The
+tears which gather fast as I write these words are probably the last
+honours I shall pay to this poor victim of a man who is still alive, and
+whose destiny seemed to be to make women unhappy.
+
+I sat weeping by the bed of her I loved so dearly, and in vain Madame
+Lamarre tried to induce me to come and sit with her.  I loved the poor
+corpse better than all the world outside.
+
+At noon my brother and his wife came to see me; they had not seen me for
+a week, and were getting anxious.  They saw the body lovely in death;
+they understood my tears, and mingled theirs with mine.  At last I asked
+them to leave me, and I remained all night by Charlotte's bed, resolved
+not to leave it till her body had been consigned to the grave.
+
+The day before this morning of unhappy memory my brother had given me
+several letters, but I had not opened any of them.  On my return from the
+funeral I proceeded to do so, and the first one was from M. Dandolo,
+announcing the death of M. de Bragadin; but I could not weep.  For
+twenty-two years M. de Bragadin had been as a father to me, living
+poorly, and even going into debt that I might have enough.  He could not
+leave me anything, as his property was entailed, while his furniture and
+his library would become the prey of his creditors.  His two friends, who
+were my friends also, were poor, and could give me nothing but their
+love.  The dreadful news was accompanied by a bill of exchange for a
+thousand crowns, which he had sent me twenty-four hours before his death,
+foreseeing that it would be the last gift he would ever make me.
+
+I was overwhelmed, and thought that Fortune had done her worst to me.
+
+I spent three days in my brother's house without going out.  On the
+fourth I began to pay an assiduous court to Princess Lubomirska, who had
+written the king, her brother, a letter that must have mortified him, as
+she proved beyond a doubt that the tales he had listened to against me
+were mere calumny.  But your kings do not allow so small a thing to vex
+or mortify them.  Besides, Stanislas Augustus had just received a
+dreadful insult from Russia.  Repnin's violence in kidnapping the three
+senators who had spoken their minds at the Diet was a blow which must
+have pierced the hapless king to the heart.
+
+The princess had left Warsaw more from hatred than love; though such was
+not the general opinion.  As I had decided to visit the Court of Madrid
+before going to Portugal, the princess gave me a letter of introduction
+to the powerful Count of Aranda; and the Marquis Caraccioli, who was
+still at Paris, gave me three letters, one for Prince de la Catolica, the
+Neapolitan ambassador at Madrid, one for the Duke of Lossada, the king's
+favourite and lord high steward, and a third for the Marquis Mora
+Pignatelli.
+
+On November 4th I went to a concert with a ticket that the princess had
+given me.  When the concert was half-way through I heard my name
+pronounced, accompanied by scornful laughter.  I turned round and saw the
+gentleman who was speaking contemptuously of me.  It was a tall young man
+sitting between two men advanced in years.  I stared him in the face, but
+he turned his head away and continued his impertinencies, saying, amongst
+other things, that I had robbed him of a million francs at least by my
+swindling his late aunt, the Marchioness d'Urfe.
+
+"You are an impudent liar," I said to him, "and if we were out of this
+room I would give you a kick to teach you to speak respectfully."
+
+With these words I made my way out of the hall, and on turning my head
+round I saw that the two elderly men were keeping the young blockhead
+back.  I got into my carriage and waited some time, and as he did not
+come I drove to the theatre and chanced to find myself in the same box as
+Madame Valville.  She informed me that she had left the boards, and was
+kept by the Marquis the Brunel.
+
+"I congratulate you, and wish you good luck."
+
+"I hope you will come to supper at my house."
+
+"I should be only too happy, but unfortunately I have an engagement; but
+I will come and see you if you will give me your address."
+
+So saying, I slipped into her hand a rouleau, it being the fifty louis I
+owed her.
+
+"What is this?"
+
+"The money you lent me so kindly at Konigsberg."
+
+"This is neither the time nor the place to return it.  I will only take
+it at my own house, so please do not insist."
+
+I put the money back into my pocket, she gave me her address, and I left
+her.  I felt too sad to visit her alone.
+
+Two days later, as I was at table with my brother, my sister-in-law, and
+some young Russians whom he was teaching to paint, I was told that a
+Chevalier of St. Louis wanted to speak to me in the antechamber.  I went
+out, and he handed me a paper without making any preface.  I opened the
+document, and found it was signed "Louis."  The great king ordered me to
+leave Paris in twenty-four hours and his realm of France within three
+weeks, and the reason assigned was: "It is our good pleasure."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+My Departure From Paris--My Journey to Madrid--The Count of Aranda
+--The Prince de la Catolica--The Duke of Lossada--Mengs--A Ball--Madame
+Pichona--Donna Ignazia
+
+
+"Well, chevalier," I said, "I have read the little note, and I will try
+and oblige his majesty as soon as possible.  However, if I have not time
+to get away in twenty-four hours, his majesty must work his dread will on
+me."
+
+"My dear sir, the twenty-four hours are a mere formality.  Subscribe the
+order and give me a receipt for the lettre de cachet, and you can go at
+your convenience.  All I ask of you is that you give me your word of
+honour not to go to the theatres or public places of amusement on foot."
+
+"I give you my word with pleasure."
+
+I took the chevalier to my room and gave him the necessary
+acknowledgment, and with the observation that he would be glad to see my
+brother, whom he knew already, I led him into the dining-room, and
+explained with a cheerful face the purport of his visit.
+
+My brother laughed and said,--
+
+"But, M. Buhot, this news is like March in Lent, it was quite
+unnecessary; my brother was going in the course of a week."
+
+"All the better.  If the minister had been aware of that he would not
+have troubled himself about it."
+
+"Is the reason known?"
+
+"I have heard something about a proposal to kick a gentleman, who though
+young, is too exalted a person to be spoken to in such a manner."
+
+"Why, chevalier," said I, "the phrase is a mere formality like the
+twenty-four hours for if the impudent young rascal had come out he would
+have met me, and his sword should have been sufficient to ward off any
+kicks."
+
+I then told the whole story, and Buhot agreed that I was in the right
+throughout; adding that the police were also in the right to prevent any
+encounter between us.  He advised me to go next morning and tell the tale
+to M. de Sartine, who knew me, and would be glad to have the account from
+my own lips.  I said nothing, as I knew the famous superintendent of
+police to be a dreadful sermoniser.
+
+The lettre de cachet was dated November 6th, and I did not leave Paris
+till the 20th.
+
+I informed all my friends of the great honour his majesty had done me,
+and I would not hear of Madame du Rumain appealing to the king on my
+behalf, though she said she felt certain she could get the order revoked.
+The Duc de Choiseul gave me a posting passport dated November 19th, which
+I still preserve.
+
+I left Paris without any servant, still grieving, though quietly, over
+Charlotte's fate.  I had a hundred Louis in cash, and a bill of exchange
+on Bordeaux for eight thousand francs.  I enjoyed perfect health, and
+almost felt as if I had been rejuvenated.  I had need of the utmost
+prudence and discretion for the future.  The deaths of M.  de Bragadin
+and Madame d'Urfe had left me alone in the world, and I was slowly but
+steadily approaching what is called a certain age, when women begin to
+look on a man with coldness.
+
+I only called on Madame Valville on the eve of my departure: and found
+her in a richly-furnished house, and her casket well filled with
+diamonds.  When I proposed to return her the fifty louis, she asked me if
+I had got a thousand; and on learning that I had only five hundred she
+refused the money absolutely and offered me her purse, which I in my turn
+refused.  I have not seen the excellent creature since then, but before I
+left I gave her some excellent advice as to the necessity of saving her
+gains for the time of her old age, when her charms would be no more.  I
+hope she has profited by my counsel.  I bade farewell to my brother and
+my sister-in-law at six o'clock in the evening, and got into my chaise in
+the moonlight, intending to travel all night so as to dine next day at
+Orleans, where I wanted to see an old friend.  In half an hour I was at
+Bourg-la-Reine, and there I began to fall asleep.  At seven in the
+morning I reached Orleans.
+
+Fair and beloved France, that went so well in those days, despite lettres
+de cachet, despite corvees, despite the people's misery and the king's
+"good pleasure," dear France, where art thou now?  Thy sovereign is the
+people now, the most brutal and tyrannical sovereign in the world.  You
+have no longer to bear the "good pleasure" of the sovereign, but you have
+to endure the whims of the mob and the fancies of the Republic--the ruin
+of all good Government.  A republic presupposes self-denial and a
+virtuous people; it cannot endure long in our selfish and luxurious days.
+
+I went to see Bodin, a dancer, who had married Madame Joffroy, one of my
+thousand mistresses whom I had loved twenty-two years ago, and had seen
+later at Turin, Paris, and Vienna.  These meetings with old friends and
+sweethearts were always a weak or rather a strong point with me.  For a
+moment I seemed to be young again, and I fed once more on the delights of
+long ago.  Repentance was no part of my composition.
+
+Bodin and his wife (who was rather ugly than old-looking, and had become
+pious to suit her husband's tastes, thus giving to God the devil's
+leavings), Bodin, I say, lived on a small estate he had purchased, and
+attributed all the agricultural misfortunes he met with in the course of
+the year to the wrath of an avenging Deity.
+
+I had a fasting dinner with them, for it was Friday, and they strictly
+observed all the rules of the Church.  I told them of my adventures of
+the past years, and when I had finished they proceeded to make
+reflections on the faults and failings of men who have not God for a
+guide.  They told me what I knew already: that I had an immortal soul,
+that there was a God that judgeth righteously, and that it was high time
+for me to take example by them, and to renounce all the pomps and
+vanities of the world.
+
+"And turn Capuchin, I suppose?"
+
+"You might do much worse."
+
+"Very good; but I shall wait till my beard grows the necessary length in
+a single night."
+
+In spite of their silliness, I was not sorry to have spent six hours with
+these good creatures who seemed sincerely repentant and happy in their
+way, and after an affectionate embrace I took leave of them and travelled
+all night.  I stopped at Chanteloup to see the monument of the taste and
+magnificence of the Duc de Choiseul, and spent twenty-four hours there.
+A gentlemanly and polished individual, who did not know me, and for whom
+I had no introduction, lodged me in a fine suite of rooms, gave me
+supper, and would only sit down to table with me after I had used all my
+powers of persuasion.  The next day he treated me in the same way, gave
+me an excellent dinner, shewed me everything, and behaved as if I were
+some prince, though he did not even ask my name.  His attentions even
+extended to seeing that none of his servants were at hand when I got into
+my carriage and drove off.  This was to prevent my giving money to any of
+them.
+
+The castle on which the Duc de Choiseul had spent such immense sums had
+in reality cost him nothing.  It was all owing, but he did not trouble
+himself about that in the slightest degree, as he was a sworn foe to the
+principle of meum and tuum.  He never paid his creditors, and never
+disturbed his debtors.  He was a generous man; a lover of art and
+artists, to whom he liked to be of service, and what they did for him he
+looked upon as a grateful offering.  He was intellectual, but a hater of
+all detail and minute research, being of a naturally indolent and
+procrastinating disposition.  His favourite saying was,
+
+"There's time enough for that."
+
+When I got to Poitiers, I wanted to push on to Vivonne; it was seven
+o'clock in the evening, and two girls endeavoured to dissuade me from
+this course.
+
+"It's very cold," said they, "and the road is none of the best.  You are
+no courier, sup here, we will give you a good bed, and you shall start
+again in the morning."
+
+"I have made up my mind to go on, but if you will keep me company at
+supper I will stay."
+
+"That would cost you too dearly."
+
+"Never too dear.  Quick I make up your minds."
+
+"Well, we will sup with you."
+
+"Then lay the table for three; I must go on in an hour."
+
+"In an hour!  You mean three, sir; papa will take two hours to get you a
+good supper."
+
+"Then I will not go on, but you must keep me company all night."
+
+"We will do so, if papa does not object.  We will have your chaise put
+into the coach-house."
+
+These two minxes gave me an excellent supper, and were a match for me in
+drinking as well as eating.  The wine was delicious, and we stayed at
+table till midnight, laughing and joking together, though without
+overstepping the bounds of propriety.
+
+About midnight, the father came in jovially, and asked me how I had
+enjoyed my supper.
+
+"Very much," I answered, "but I have enjoyed still more the company of
+your charming daughters."
+
+"I am delighted to hear it.  Whenever you come this way they shall keep
+you company, but now it is past midnight, and time for them to go to
+bed."
+
+I nodded my head, for Charlotte's death was still too fresh in my memory
+to admit of my indulging in any voluptuous pleasures.  I wished the girls
+a pleasant sleep, and I do not think I should even have kissed them if
+the father had not urged me to do this honour to their charms.  However,
+my vanity made me put some fire into the embrace, and I have no doubt
+they thought me a prey to vain desires.
+
+When I was alone I reflected that if I did not forget Charlotte I was a
+lost man.  I slept till nine o'clock, and I told the servant that came to
+light my fire to get coffee for three, and to have my horses put in.
+
+The two pretty girls came to breakfast with me, and I thanked them for
+having made me stay the night.  I asked for the bill, and the eldest said
+it was in round figures a Louis apiece.  I shewed no sign of anger at
+this outrageous fleecing, but gave them three Louis with the best grace
+imaginable and went on my way.  When I reached Angouleme, where I
+expected to find Noel, the King of Prussia's cook, I only found his
+father, whose talents in the matter of pates was something prodigious.
+His eloquence was as fervent as his ovens.  He said he would send his
+pates all over Europe to any address I liked to give him.
+
+"What!  To Venice, London, Warsaw, St. Petersburg?"
+
+"To Constantinople, if you like.  You need only give me your address, and
+you need not pay me till you get the pates."
+
+I sent his pates to my friends in Venice, Warsaw, and Turin, and
+everybody thanked me for the delicious dish.
+
+Noel had made quite a fortune.  He assured me he had sent large
+consignments to America, and with the exception of some losses by
+shipwreck all the pates had arrived in excellent condition.  They were
+chiefly made of turkeys, partridges, and hare, seasoned with truffles,
+but he also made pates de foie gras of larks and of thrushes, according
+to the season.
+
+In two days I arrived at Bordeaux, a beautiful town coming only second to
+Paris, with respect to Lyons be it said.  I spent a week there, eating
+and drinking of the best, for the living there is the choicest in the
+world.
+
+I transferred my bill of exchange for eight thousand francs to a Madrid
+house, and crossed the Landes, passing by Mont de Marsan, Bayonne, and
+St. Jean de Luz, where I sold my post-chaise.  From St. Jean de Luz I
+went to Pampeluna by way of the Pyrenees, which I crossed on mule-back,
+my baggage being carried by another mule.  The mountains struck me as
+higher than the Alps.  In this I may possibly be wrong, but I am certain
+that the Pyrenees are the most picturesque, fertile, and agreeable of the
+two.
+
+At Pampeluna a man named Andrea Capello took charge of me and my luggage,
+and we set out for Madrid.  For the first twenty leagues the travelling
+was easy enough, and the roads as good as any in France.  These roads did
+honour to the memory of M. de Gages, who had administered Navarre after
+the Italian war, and had, as I was assured, made the road at his own
+expense.  Twenty years earlier I had been arrested by this famous
+general; but he had established a claim on posterity greater than any of
+his victories.  These laurels were dyed in blood, but the maker of a good
+road is a solid benefactor of all posterity.
+
+In time this road came to an end, and thenceforth it would be incorrect
+to say that the roads were bad, for, to tell the truth, there were no
+roads at all.  There were steep ascents and violent descents, but no
+traces of carriage wheels, and so it is throughout the whole of Old
+Castile.  There are no good inns, only miserable dens scarce good enough
+for the muleteers, who make their beds beside their animals.  Signor or
+rather Senor Andrea tried to choose the least wretched inns for me, and
+after having provided for the mules he would go round the entire village
+to get something for me to eat.  The landlord would not stir; he shewed
+me a room where I could sleep if I liked, containing a fire-place, in
+which I could light a fire if I thought fit, but as to procuring firewood
+or provisions, he left that all to me.  Wretched Spain!
+
+The sum asked for a night's accommodation was less than a farmer would
+ask in France or Germany for leave to sleep in his barn; but there was
+always an extra charge of a 'pizetta por el ruido'.  The pizetta is worth
+four reals; about twenty-one French sous.
+
+The landlord smoked his paper cigarette nonchalantly enough, blowing
+clouds of smoke into the air with immense dignity.  To him poverty was as
+good as riches; his wants were small, and his means sufficed for them.
+In no country in Europe do the lower orders live so contentedly on a very
+little as in Spain.  Two ounces of white bread, a handful of roast
+chestnuts or acorns (called bellotas in Spanish) suffice to keep a
+Spaniard for a day.  It is his glory to say when a stranger is departing
+from his abode,--
+
+"I have not given myself any trouble in waiting on him."
+
+This proceeds in part from idleness and in part from Castilian pride.  A
+Castilian should not lower himself, they say, by attending on a Gavacho,
+by which name the Spaniards know the French, and, indeed, all foreigners.
+It is not so offensive as the Turkish appellation of dog, or the damned
+foreigner of the English.  Of course, persons who have travelled or have
+had a liberal education do not speak in this way, and a respectable
+foreigner will find reasonable Spaniards as he will find reasonable Turks
+and Englishmen.
+
+On the second night of my journey I slept at Agreda, a small and ugly
+town, or rather village.  There Sister Marie d'Agreda became so crazy as
+to write a life of the Virgin, which she affirmed to have been dictated
+to her by the Mother of the Lord.  The State Inquisitors had given me
+this work to read when I was under the Leads, and it had nearly driven me
+mad.
+
+We did ten Spanish leagues a day, and long and weary leagues they seemed
+to me.  One morning I thought I saw a dozen Capuchins walking slowly in
+front of us, but when we caught them up I found they were women of all
+ages.
+
+"Are they mad?" I said to Senior Andrea.
+
+"Not at all.  They wear the Capuchin habit out of devotion, and you would
+not find a chemise on one of them."
+
+There was nothing surprising in their not having chemises, for the
+chemise is a scarce article in Spain, but the idea of pleasing God by
+wearing a Capuchin's habit struck me as extremely odd.  I will here
+relate an amusing adventure which befell me on my way.
+
+At the gate of a town not far from Madrid I was asked for my passport.  I
+handed it over, and got down to amuse myself.  I found the chief of the
+customs' house engaged in an argument with a foreign priest who was on
+his way to Madrid, and had no passport for the capital.  He skewed one he
+had had for Bilbao, but the official was not satisfied.  The priest was a
+Sicilian, and I asked him why he had exposed himself to being placed in
+this disagreeable predicament.  He said he thought it was unnecessary to
+have a passport in Spain when one had once journeyed in the country.
+
+"I want to go to Madrid," said he to me, "and hope to obtain a chaplaincy
+in the house of a grandee.  I have a letter for him."
+
+"Shew it; they will let you pass then."
+
+"You are right."
+
+The poor priest drew out the letter and skewed it to the official, who
+opened it, looked at the signature, and absolutely shrieked when he saw
+the name Squillace.
+
+"What, senor abbe!  you are going to Madrid with a letter from Squillace,
+and you dare to skew it?"
+
+The clerks, constables, and hangers-on, hearing that the hated Squillace,
+who would have been stoned to death if it had not been for the king's
+protection, was the poor abbe's only patron, began to beat him violently,
+much to the poor Sicilian's astonishment.
+
+I interposed, however, and after some trouble I succeeded in rescuing the
+priest, who was then allowed to pass, as I believe, as a set-off against
+the blows he had received.
+
+Squillace was sent to Venice as Spanish ambassador, and in Venice he died
+at an advanced age.  He was a man designed to be an object of intense
+hatred to the people; he was simply ruthless in his taxation.
+
+The door of my room had a lock on the outside but none on the inside.
+For the first and second night I let it pass, but on the third I told
+Senor Andrea that I must have it altered.
+
+"Senor Don Jacob, you must bear with it in Spain, for the Holy
+Inquisition must always be at liberty to inspect the rooms of
+foreigners."
+
+"But what in the devil's name does your cursed Inquisition want....?"
+
+"For the love of God, Senor Jacob, speak not thus! if you were overheard
+we should both be undone."
+
+"Well, what can the Holy Inquisition want to know?"
+
+"Everything.  It wants to know whether you eat meat on fast days, whether
+persons of opposite sexes sleep together, if so, whether they are
+married, and if not married it will cause both parties to be imprisoned;
+in fine, Senor Don Jaimo, the Holy inquisition is continually watching
+over our souls in this country."
+
+When we met a priest bearing the viaticum to some sick man, Senor Andrea
+would tell me imperatively to get out of my carriage, and then there was
+no choice but to kneel in the mud or dust as the case might be.  The
+chief subject of dispute at that time was the fashion of wearing
+breeches.  Those who wore 'braguettes' were imprisoned, and all tailors
+making breeches with 'braguettes' were severely punished.  Nevertheless,
+people persisted in wearing them, and the priests and monks preached in
+vain against the indecency of such a habit.  A revolution seemed
+imminent, but the matter was happily settled without effusion of blood.
+An edict was published and affixed to the doors of all the churches, in
+which it was declared that breeches with braguettes were only to be worn
+by the public hangmen.  Then the fashion passed away; for no one cared to
+pass for the public executioner.
+
+By little and little I got an insight into the manners of the Spanish
+nation as I passed through Guadalaxara and Alcala, and at length arrived
+at Madrid.
+
+Guadalaxara, or Guadalajara, is pronounced by the Spaniards with a strong
+aspirate, the x and j having the same force.  The vowel d, the queen of
+letters, reigns supreme in Spain; it is a relic of the old Moorish
+language.  Everyone knows that the Arabic abounds in d's, and perhaps the
+philologists are right in calling it the most ancient of languages, since
+the a is the most natural and easy to pronounce of all the letters.  It
+seems to me very mistaken to call such words as Achald, Ayanda, Almanda,
+Acard, Agracaramba, Alcantara, etc., barbarous, for the sonorous ring
+with which they are pronounced renders the Castilian the richest of all
+modern languages.  Spanish is undoubtedly one of the finest, most
+energetic, and most majestic languages in the world.  When it is
+pronounced 'ore rotundo' it is susceptible of the most poetic harmony.
+It would be superior to the Italian, if it were not for the three
+guttural letters, in spite of what the Spaniards say to the contrary.  It
+is no good remonstrating with them.
+
+'Quisquis amat ranam, ranam purat esse Dianam'.
+
+As I was entering the Gate of Alcala, my luggage was searched, and the
+clerks paid the greatest attention to my books, and they were very
+disappointed only to find the "Iliad" in Greek, and a Latin Horace.  They
+were taken away, but three days after, they were returned to me at my
+lodging in the Rue de la Croix where I had gone in spite of Senor Andrea,
+who had wanted to take me elsewhere.  A worthy man whom I had met in
+Bordeaux had given me the address.  One of the ceremonies I had to
+undergo at the Gate of Alcala displeased me in the highest degree.  A
+clerk asked me for a pinch of snuff, so I took out my snuff-box and gave
+it him, but instead of taking a pinch he snatched it out of my hands and
+said,--
+
+"Senor, this snuff will not pass in Spain" (it was French rappee); and
+after turning it out on the ground he gave me back the box.
+
+The authorities are most rigorous on the matter of this innocent powder,
+and in consequence an immense contraband trade is carried on.  The spies
+employed by the Spanish snuff-makers are always on the look-out after
+foreign snuff, and if they detect anyone carrying it they make him pay
+dearly for the luxury.  The ambassadors of foreign powers are the only
+persons exempted from the prohibitions.  The king who stuffs into his
+enormous nose one enormous pinch as he rises in the morning wills that
+all his subjects buy their snuff of the Spanish manufacturers.  When
+Spanish snuff is pure it is very good, but at the time I was in Spain the
+genuine article could hardly be bought for its weight in gold.  By reason
+of the natural inclination towards forbidden fruit, the Spaniards are
+extremely fond of foreign snuff, and care little for their own; thus
+snuff is smuggled to an enormous extent.
+
+My lodging was comfortable enough, but I felt the want of a fire as the
+cold was more trying than that of Paris, in spite of the southern
+latitude.  The cause of this cold is that Madrid is the highest town in
+Europe.  From whatever part of the coast one starts, one has to mount to
+reach the capital.  The town is also surrounded by mountains and hills,
+so that the slightest touch of wind from the north makes the cold
+intense.  The air of Madrid is not healthy for strangers, especially for
+those of a full habit of body; the Spaniards it suits well enough, for
+they are dry and thin, and wear a cloak even in the dog days.
+
+The men of Spain dwell mentally in a limited horizon, bounded by
+prejudice on every side; but the women, though ignorant, are usually
+intelligent; while both sexes are the prey of desires, as lively as their
+native air, as burning as the sun that shines on them.  Every Spaniard
+hates a foreigner, simply because he is a foreigner, but the women avenge
+us by loving us, though with great precautions, for your Spaniard is
+intensely jealous.  They watch most jealously over the honour of their
+wives and daughters.  As a rule the men are ugly, though there are
+numerous exceptions; while the women are pretty, and beauties are not
+uncommon.  The southern blood in their veins inclines them to love, and
+they are always ready to enter into an intrigue and to deceive the spies
+by whom they are surrounded.  The lover who runs the greatest dangers is
+always the favourite.  In the public walks, the churches, the theatres,
+the Spanish women are always speaking the language of the eyes.  If the
+person to whom it is addressed knows how to seize the instant, he may be
+sure of success, but if not, the opportunity will never be offered him
+again.
+
+I required some kind of heat in my room, and could not bear a charcoal
+brazier, so I incited an ingenious tin-smith to make me a stove with a
+pipe going out of the window.  However, he was so proud of his success
+that he made me pay dearly.
+
+Before the stove was ready I was told where I might go and warm myself an
+hour before noon, and stay till dinner-time.  It is called La Pueyta del
+Sol, "The Gate of the Sun."  It is not a gate, but it takes its name from
+the manner in which the source of all heat lavishes his treasures there,
+and warms all who come and bask in his rays.  I found a numerous company
+promenading there, walking and talking, but it was not much to my taste.
+
+I wanted a servant who could speak French, and I had the greatest
+difficulty in getting one, and had to pay dearly, for in Madrid the kind
+of man I wanted was called a page.  I could not compel him to mount
+behind my carriage, nor to carry a package, nor to light me by night with
+a torch or lantern.
+
+My page was a man of thirty, and terribly ugly; but this was a
+recommendation, as his ugliness secured him from the jealous suspicions
+of husbands.  A woman of rank will not drive out without one of these
+pages seated in the forepart of her carriage.  They are said to be more
+difficult to seduce than the strictest of duennas.
+
+I was obliged to take one of these rascally tribe into my service, and I
+wish he had broken his leg on his way to my house.
+
+I delivered all my introductions, beginning with the letter from Princess
+Lubomirska to the Count of Aranda.  The count had covered himself with
+glory by driving the Jesuits out of Spain.  He was more powerful than the
+king himself, and never went out without a number of the royal guardsmen
+about him, whom he made to sit down at his table.  Of course all the
+Spaniards hated him, but he did not seem to care much for that.  A
+profound politician, and absolutely resolute and firm, he privately
+indulged in every luxury that he forbade to others, and did not care
+whether people talked of it or not.
+
+He was a rather ugly man, with a disagreeable squint.  His reception of
+me was far from cordial.
+
+"What do you want in Spain?" he began.
+
+"To add fresh treasures to my store of experience, by observing the
+manners and the customs of the country, and if possible to serve the
+Government with such feeble, talents as I may possess."
+
+"Well, you have no need of my protection.  If you do not infringe the
+laws, no one will disturb you.  As to your obtaining employment, you had
+better go to the representative of your country; he will introduce you at
+Court, and make you known."
+
+"My lord, the Venetian ambassador will do nothing for me; I am in
+disgrace with the Government.  He will not even receive me at the
+embassy."
+
+"Then I would advise you to give up all hopes of employment, for the king
+would begin by asking your ambassador about you, and his answer would be
+fatal.  You will do well to be satisfied with amusing yourself."
+
+After this I called on the Neapolitan ambassador, who talked in much the
+same way.  Even the Marquis of Moras, one of the most pleasant men in
+Spain, did not hold out any hopes.  The Duke of Lossada, the high steward
+and favourite of his Catholic majesty, was sorry to be disabled from
+doing me any service, in spite of his good will, and advised me, in some
+way or other, to get the Venetian ambassador to give me a good word, in
+spite of my disgrace.  I determined to follow his advice, and wrote to M.
+Dandolo, begging him to get the ambassador to favour me at the Spanish
+Court in spite of my quarrel with the Venetian Government.  I worded my
+letter in such a way that it might be read by the Inquisitors themselves,
+and calculated on its producing a good impression.
+
+After I had written this letter I went to the lodging of the Venetian
+ambassador, and presented myself to the secretary, Gaspar Soderini, a
+worthy and intelligent man.  Nevertheless, he dared to tell me that he
+was astonished at my hardihood in presenting myself at the embassy.
+
+"I have presented myself, sir, that my enemies may never reproach me for
+not having done so; I am not aware that I have ever done anything which
+makes me too infamous to call on my ambassador.  I should have credited
+myself with much greater hardihood if I had left without fulfilling this
+duty; but I shall be sorry if the ambassador views my proceedings in the
+same light as yourself, and puts down to temerity what was meant for a
+mark of respect.  I shall be none the less astonished if his excellency
+refuses to receive me on account of a private quarrel between myself and
+the State Inquisitors, of which he knows no more than I do, and I know
+nothing.  You will excuse my saying that he is not the ambassador of the
+State Inquisitors, but of the Republic of which I am a subject; for I
+defy him and I defy the Inquisitors to tell me what crime I have
+committed that I am to be deprived of my rights as a Venetian citizen.  I
+think that, while it is my duty to reverence my prince in the person of
+my ambassador, it is his duty to afford me his protection."
+
+This speech had made Soderini blush, and he replied,--
+
+"Why don't you write a letter to the ambassador, with the arguments you
+have just used to me?"
+
+"I could not write to him before I know whether he will receive me or
+not.  But now, as I have reason to suppose that his opinions are much the
+same as your own, I will certainly write to him."
+
+"I do not know whether his excellency thinks as I do or not, and, in
+spite of what I said to you, it is just possible that you do not know my
+own opinions on the question; but write to him, and he may possibly give
+you an audience."
+
+"I shall follow your advice, for which I am much obliged."
+
+When I got home I wrote to his excellency all I had said to the
+secretary, and the next day I had a visit from Count Manucci.  The count
+proved to be a fine-looking young man of an agreeable presence.  He said
+that he lived in the embassy, that his excellency had read my letter, and
+though he grieved not to receive me publicly he should be delighted to
+see me in private, for he both knew and esteemed me.
+
+Young Manucci told me that he was a Venetian, and that he knew me by
+name, as he often heard his father and mother lamenting my fortune.
+Before long it dawned upon me that this Count Manucci was the son of that
+Jean Baptiste Manucci who had served as the spy of the State Inquisitors
+and had so adroitly managed to get possession of my books of magic, which
+were in all probability the chief corpus delicti.
+
+I did not say anything to him, but I was certain that my guess was
+correct.  His mother was the daughter of a valet de chambre, and his
+father was a poor mechanic.  I asked the young man if he were called
+count at the embassy, and he said he bore the title in virtue of a
+warrant from the elector-palatine.  My question skewed him that I knew
+his origin, and he began to speak openly to me; and knowing that I was
+acquainted with the peculiar tastes of M. de Mocenigo, the ambassador, he
+informed me laughingly that he was his pathic.
+
+"I will do my best for you," he added; and I was glad to hear him say so,
+for an Alexis should be able to obtain almost anything from his Corydon.
+We embraced, and he told me as we parted that he would expect me at the
+embassy in the afternoon, to take coffee in his room; the ambassador, he
+said, would certainly come in as soon as he heard of my presence.
+
+I went to the embassy, and had a very kind reception from the ambassador,
+who said he was deeply grieved not to be able to receive me publicly.  He
+admitted that he might present me at Court without compromising himself,
+but he was afraid of making enemies.
+
+"I hope soon to receive a letter from a friend of mine, which will
+authorise your excellency producing me."
+
+"I shall be delighted, in that case, to present you to all the Spanish
+ministers."
+
+This Mocenigo was the same that acquired such a reputation at Paris by
+his leanings to pederasty, a vice or taste which the French hold in
+horror.  Later on, Mocenigo was condemned by the Council of Ten to ten
+years' imprisonment for having started on an embassy to Vienna without
+formal permission.  Maria Theresa had intimated to the Venetian
+Government that she would not receive such a character, as his habits
+would be the scandal of her capital.  The Venetian Government had some
+trouble with Mocenigo, and as he attempted to set out for Vienna they
+exiled him and chose another ambassador, whose morals were as bad, save
+that the new ambassador indulged himself with Hebe and not Ganymede,
+which threw a veil of decency over his proceedings.
+
+In spite of his reputation for pederasty, Mocenigo was much liked at
+Madrid.  On one occasion I was at a ball, and a Spaniard noticing me with
+Manucci, came up to me, and told me with an air of mystery that that
+young man was the ambassador's wife.  He did not know that the ambassador
+was Manucci's wife; in fact, he did not understand the arrangement at
+all.  "Where ignorance is bliss!" etc.  However, in spite of the
+revolting nature of this vice, it has been a favourite one with several
+great men.  It was well-known to the Ancients, and those who indulged in
+it were called Hermaphrodites, which symbolises not a man of two sexes
+but a man with the passions of the two sexes.
+
+I had called two or three times on the painter Mengs, who had been
+painter in ordinary to his Catholic majesty for six years, and had an
+excellent salary.  He gave me some good dinners.  His wife and family
+were at Rome, while he basked in the royal favours at Madrid, enjoying
+the unusual privilege of being able to speak to the king whenever he
+would.  At Mengs's house I trade the acquaintance of the architect
+Sabatini, an extremely able man whom the king had summoned from Naples to
+cleanse Madrid, which was formerly the dirtiest and most stinking town in
+Europe, or, for the matter of that, in the world.  Sabatini had become a
+rich man by constructing drains, sewers, and closets for a city of
+fourteen thousand houses.  He had married by proxy the daughter of
+Vanvitelli, who was also an architect at Naples, but he had never seen
+her.  She came to Madrid about the same time as myself.  She was a beauty
+of eighteen, and no sooner did she see her husband than she declared she
+would never be his wife.  Sabatini was neither a young man nor a handsome
+one, but he was kind-hearted and distinguished; and when he told his
+young wife that she would have to choose between him and a nunnery, she
+determined to make the best of what she thought a bad bargain.  However,
+she had no reason to repent of her choice; her husband was rich,
+affectionate, and easygoing, and gave her everything she wanted.  I
+sighed and burned for her in silence, not daring to declare my love, for
+while the wound of the death of Charlotte was still bleeding I also began
+to find that women were beginning to give me the cold shoulder.
+
+By way of amusing myself I began to go to the theatre, and the masked
+balls to which the Count of Aranda had established.  They were held in a
+room built for the purpose, and named 'Los Scannos del Peral'.  A Spanish
+play is full of absurdities, but I rather relished the representations.
+The 'Autos Sacramentales' were still represented; they were afterwards
+prohibited.  I could not help remarking the strange way in which the
+boxes are constructed by order of the wretched police.  Instead of being
+boarded in front they are perfectly open, being kept up by small pillars.
+A devotee once said to me at the theatre that this was a very wise
+regulation, and he was surprised that it was not carried into force in
+Italy.
+
+"Why so?"
+
+"Because lovers, who feel sure that no one in the pit can see them, may
+commit improprieties."
+
+I only answered with a shrug of the shoulders.
+
+In a large box opposite to the stage sat 'los padres' of the Holy
+Inquisition to watch over the morals of actors and audience.  I was
+gazing on them when of a sudden the sentinel at the door of the pit
+called out "Dios!" and at this cry all the actors and all the audience,
+men and women, fell down on their knees, and remained kneeling till the
+sound of a bell in the street ceased to be heard.  This bell betokened
+that a priest was passing by carrying the viaticum to some sick man.  I
+felt very much inclined to laugh, but I had seen enough of Spanish
+manners to refrain.  All the religion of the Spaniard is in outward show
+and ceremony.  A profligate woman before yielding to the desires of her
+lover covers the picture of Christ, or the Virgin, with a veil.  If the
+lover laughed at this absurdity he would run a risk of being denounced as
+an Atheist, and most probably by the wretched woman who had sold him her
+charms.
+
+In Madrid, and possibly all over Spain, a gentleman who takes a lady to a
+private room in an inn must expect to have a servant in the room the
+whole of the time, that he may be able to swear that the couple took no
+indecent liberties with each other.  In spite of all, profligacy is
+rampant at Madrid, and also the most dreadful hypocrisy, which is more
+offensive to true piety than open sin.  Men and women seemed to have come
+to an agreement to set the whole system of surveillance utterly at
+nought.  However, commerce with women is not without its dangers; whether
+it be endemic or a result of dirty habits, one has often good reason to
+repent the favours one has obtained.
+
+The masked ball quite captivated me.  The first time I went to see what
+it was like and it only cost me a doubloon (about eleven francs), but
+ever after it cost me four doubloons, for the following reason:
+
+An elderly gentleman, who sat next me at supper, guessed I was a
+foreigner by my difficulty in making myself understood by the waiter, and
+asked me where, I had left my lady friend.
+
+"I have not got one; I came by myself to enjoy this delightful and
+excellently-managed entertainment."
+
+"Yes, but you ought to come with a companion; then you could dance.  At
+present you cannot do so, as every lady has her partner, who will not
+allow her to dance with anyone else."
+
+"Then I must be content not to dance, for, being a stranger, I do not
+know any lady whom I can ask to come with me."
+
+"As a stranger you would have much less difficulty in securing a partner
+than a citizen of Madrid.  Under the new fashion, introduced by the Count
+of Aranda, the masked ball has become the rage of all the women in the
+capital.  You see there are about two hundred of them on the floor to-
+night; well, I think there are at least four thousand girls in Madrid who
+are sighing for someone to take them to the ball, for, as you may know,
+no woman is allowed to come by herself.  You would only have to go to any
+respectable people, give your name and address, and ask to have the
+pleasure of taking their daughter to the ball.  You would have to send
+her a domino, mask, and gloves; and you would take her and bring her back
+in your carriage."
+
+"And if the father and mother refused?"
+
+"Then you would make your bow and go, leaving them to repent of their
+folly, for the girl would sigh, and weep, and moan, bewail parental
+tyranny, call Heaven to witness the innocency of going to a ball, and
+finally go into convulsions."
+
+This oration, which was uttered in the most persuasive style, made me
+quite gay, for I scented an intrigue from afar.  I thanked the masked
+(who spoke Italian very well) and promised to follow his advice and to
+let him know the results.
+
+"I shall be delighted to hear of your success, and you will find me in
+the box, where I shall be glad if you will follow me now, to be
+introduced to the lady who is my constant companion."
+
+I was astonished at so much politeness, and told him my name and followed
+him.  He took me into a box where there were two ladies and an elderly
+man.  They were talking about the ball, so I put in a remark or two on
+the same topic, which seemed to meet with approval.  One of the two
+ladies, who retained some traces of her former beauty, asked me, in
+excellent French, what circles I moved in.
+
+"I have only been a short time in Madrid, and not having been presented
+at Court I really know no one."
+
+"Really!  I quite pity you.  Come and see me, you will be welcome.  My
+name is Pichona, and anybody will tell you where I live."
+
+"I shall be delighted to pay my respects to you, madam."
+
+What I liked best about the spectacle was a wonderful and fantastic dance
+which was struck up at midnight.  It was the famous fandango, of which I
+had often heard, but of which I had absolutely no idea.
+I had seen it danced on the stage in France and Italy, but the actors
+were careful not to use those voluptuous gestures which make it the most
+seductive in the world.  It cannot be described.  Each couple only dances
+three steps, but the gestures and the attitudes are the most lascivious
+imaginable.  Everything is represented, from the sigh of desire to the
+final ecstasy; it is a very history of love.  I could not conceive a
+woman refusing her partner anything after this dance, for it seemed made
+to stir up the senses.  I was so excited at this Bacchanalian spectacle
+that I burst out into cries of delight.  The masker who had taken me to
+his box told me that I should see the fandango danced by the Gitanas with
+good partners.
+
+"But," I remarked, "does not the Inquisition object to this dance?"
+
+Madame Pichona told me that it was absolutely forbidden, and would not be
+danced unless the Count of Aranda had given permission.
+
+I heard afterwards that, on the count forbidding the fandango, the ball-
+room was deserted with bitter complaints, and on the prohibition being
+withdrawn everyone was loud in his praise.
+
+The next day I told my infamous page to get me a Spaniard who would teach
+me the fandango.  He brought me an actor, who also gave me Spanish
+lessons, for he pronounced the language admirably.  In the course of
+three days the young actor taught me all the steps so well that, by the
+confession of the Spaniards themselves, I danced it to perfection.
+
+For the next ball I determined to carry the masker's advice into effect,
+but I did not want to take a courtesan or a married woman with me, and I
+could not reasonably expect that any young lady of family would accompany
+me.
+
+It was St. Anthony's Day, and passing the Church of the Soledad I went
+in, with the double motive of hearing mass and of procuring a partner for
+the next day's ball.
+
+I noticed a fine-looking girl coming out of the confessional, with
+contrite face and lowered eyes, and I noted where she went.  She knelt
+down in the middle of the church, and I was so attracted by her
+appearance that I registered a mental vow to the effect that she should
+be my first partner.  She did not look like a person of condition, nor,
+so far as I could see, was she rich, and nothing about her indicated the
+courtesan, though women of that class go to confession in Madrid like
+everybody else.  When mass was ended, the priest distributed the
+Eucharist, and I saw her rise and approach humbly to the holy table, and
+there receive the communion.  She then returned to the church to finish
+her devotions, and I was patient enough to wait till they were over.
+
+At last she left, in company with another girl, and I followed her at a
+distance.  At the end of a street her companion left her to go into her
+house, and she, retracing her steps, turned into another street and
+entered a small house, one story high.  I noted the house and the street
+(Calle des Desinjano) and then walked up and down for half an hour, that
+I might not be suspected of following her.  At last I took courage and
+walked in, and, on my ringing a bell, I heard a voice,
+
+"Who is there?"
+
+"Honest folk," I answered, according to the custom of the country; and
+the door was opened.  I found myself in the presence of a man, a woman,
+the young devotee I had followed, and another girl, somewhat ugly.
+
+My Spanish was bad, but still it was good enough to express my meaning,
+and, hat in hand, I informed the father that, being a stranger, and
+having no partner to take to the ball, I had come to ask him to give me
+his daughter for my partner, supposing he had a daughter.  I assured him
+that I was a man of honour, and that the girl should be returned to him
+after the ball in the same condition as when she started.
+
+"Senor," said he, "there is my daughter, but I don't know you, and I
+don't know whether she wants to go."
+
+"I should like to go, if my parents will allow me."
+
+"Then you know this gentleman?"
+
+"I have never seen him, and I suppose he has never seen me."
+
+"You speak the truth, senora."
+
+The father asked me my name and address, and promised I should have a
+decisive answer by dinner-time, if I dined at home.  I begged him to
+excuse the liberty I had taken, and to let me know his answer without
+fail, so that I might have time to get another partner if it were
+unfavourable to me.
+
+Just as I was beginning to dine my man appeared.  I asked him to sit
+down, and he informed me that his daughter would accept my offer, but
+that her mother would accompany her and sleep in the carriage.  I said
+that she might do so if she liked, but I should be sorry for her on
+account of the cold.  "She shall have a good cloak," said he; and he
+proceeded to inform me that he was a cordwainer.
+
+"Then I hope you will take my measure for a pair of shoes."
+
+"I daren't do that; I'm an hidalgo, and if I were to take anyone's
+measure I should have to touch his foot, and that would be a degradation.
+I am a cobbler, and that is not inconsistent with my nobility."
+
+"Then, will you mend me these boots?"
+
+"I will make them like new; but I see they want a lot of work; it will
+cost you a pezzo duro, about five francs."
+
+I told him that I thought his terms very reasonable, and he went out with
+a profound bow, refusing absolutely to dine with me.
+
+Here was a cobbler who despised bootmakers because they had to touch the
+foot, and they, no doubt, despised him because he touched old leather.
+Unhappy pride how many forms it assumes, and who is without his own
+peculiar form of it?
+
+The next day I sent to the gentleman-cobbler's a tradesman with dominos,
+masks, and gloves; but I took care not to go myself nor to send my page,
+for whom I had an aversion which almost amounted to a presentiment.  I
+hired a carriage to seat four, and at nightfall I drove to the house of
+my pious partner, who was quite ready for me.  The happy flush on her
+face was a sufficient index to me of the feelings of her heart.  We got
+into the carriage with the mother, who was wrapped up in a vast cloak,
+and at the door of the dancing-room we descended, leaving the mother in
+the carriage.  As soon as we were alone my fair partner told me that her
+name was Donna Ignazia.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+My Amours With Donna Ignazia--My Imprisonment At Buen Retiro--My Triumph
+--I Am Commended to the Venetian Ambassador by One of the State
+Inquisitors
+
+
+We entered the ball-room and walked round several times.  Donna Ignazia
+was in such a state of ecstasy that I felt her trembling, and augured
+well for my amorous projects.  Though liberty, nay, license, seemed to
+reign supreme, there was a guard of soldiers ready to arrest the first
+person who created any disturbance.  We danced several minuets and square
+dances, and at ten o'clock we went into the supper-room, our conversation
+being very limited all the while, she not speaking for fear of
+encouraging me too much, and I on account of my poor knowledge of the
+Spanish language.  I left her alone for a moment after supper, and went
+to the box, where I expected to find Madame Pichona, but it was occupied
+by maskers, who were unknown to me, so I rejoined my partner, and we went
+on dancing the minuets and quadrilles till the fandango was announced.  I
+took my place with my partner, who danced it admirably, and seemed
+astonished to find herself so well supported by a foreigner.  This dance
+had excited both of us, so, after taking her to the buffet and giving her
+the best wines and liqueurs procurable, I asked her if she were content
+with me.  I added that I was so deeply in love with her that unless she
+found some means of making me happy I should undoubtedly die of love.  I
+assured her that I was ready to face all hazards.
+
+"By making you happy," she replied, "I shall make myself happy, too.  I
+will write to you to-morrow, and you will find the letter sewn into the
+hood of my domino."
+
+"You will find me ready to do anything, fair Ignazia, if you will give me
+hope."
+
+At last the ball was over, and we went out and got into the carriage.
+The mother woke up, and the coachman drove off, and I, taking the girl's
+hands, would have kissed them.  However, she seemed to suspect that I had
+other intentions, and held my hands clasped so tightly that I believe I
+should have found it a hard task to pull them away.  In this position
+Donna Ignazia proceeded to tell her mother all about the ball, and the
+delight it had given her.  She did not let go my hands till we got to the
+corner of their street, when the mother called out to the coachman to
+stop, not wishing to give her neighbours occasion for slander by stopping
+in front of their own house.
+
+The next day I sent for the domino, and in it I found a letter from Donna
+Ignazia, in which she told me that a Don Francisco de Ramos would call on
+me, that he was her lover, and that he would inform me how to render her
+and myself happy.
+
+Don Francisco wasted no time, for the next morning at eight o'clock my
+page sent in his name.  He told me that Donna Ignazia, with whom he spoke
+every night, she being at her window and he in the street, had informed
+him that she and I had been at the ball together.  She had also told him
+that she felt sure I had conceived a fatherly affection for her, and she
+had consequently prevailed upon him to call on me, being certain that I
+would treat him as my own son.  She had encouraged him to ask me to lend
+him a hundred doubloons which would enable them to get married before the
+end of the carnival.
+
+"I am employed at the Mint," he added, "but my present salary is a very
+small one.  I hope I shall get an increase before long, and then I shall
+be in a position to make Ignazia happy.  All my relations live at Toledo,
+and I have no friends at Madrid, so when we set up our only friends will
+be the father and mother of my wife and yourself, for I am sure you love
+her like a daughter."
+
+"You have probed my heart to its core," I replied, "but just now I am
+awaiting remittances, and have very little money about me.  You may count
+on my discretion, and I shall be delighted to see you whenever you care
+to call on me."
+
+The gallant made me a bow, and took his departure in no good humour.  Don
+Francisco was a young man of twenty-two, ugly and ill-made.  I resolved
+to nip the intrigue in the bud, for my inclination for Donna Ignazia was
+of the lightest description; and I went to call on Madame Pichona, who
+had given me such a polite invitation to come and see her.  I had made
+enquiries about her, and had found out that she was an actress and had
+been made rich by the Duke of Medina-Celi.  The duke had paid her a visit
+in very cold weather, and finding her without a fire, as she was too poor
+to buy coals, had sent her the next day a silver stove, which he had
+filled with a hundred thousand pezzos duros in gold, amounting to three
+hundred thousand francs in French money.  Since then Madame Pichona lived
+at her ease and received good company.
+
+She gave me a warm reception when I called on her, but her looks were
+sad.  I began by saying that as I had not found her in her box on the
+last ball night I had ventured to come to enquire after her health.
+
+"I did not go," said she, "for on that day died my only friend the Duke
+of Medina-Celi.  He was ill for three days."
+
+"I sympathise with you.  Was the duke an old man?"
+
+"Hardly sixty.  You have seen him; he did not look his age."
+
+"Where have I seen him?"
+
+"Did he not bring you to my box?"
+
+"You don't say so!  He did not tell me his name and I never saw him
+before."
+
+I was grieved to hear of his death; it was in all probability a
+misfortune for me as well as Madame Pichona.  All the duke's estate
+passed to a son of miserly disposition, who in his turn had a son who was
+beginning to evince the utmost extravagance.
+
+I was told that the family of Medina-Celi enjoys thirty titles of
+nobility.
+
+One day a young man called on me to offer me, as a foreigner, his
+services in a country which he knew thoroughly.
+
+"I am Count Marazzini de Plaisance," he began, "I am not rich and I have
+come to Madrid to try and make my fortune.  I hope to enter the bodyguard
+of his Catholic majesty.  I have been indulging in the amusements of the
+town ever since I came.  I saw you at the ball with an unknown beauty.  I
+don't ask you to tell me her name, but if you are fond of novelty I can
+introduce you to all the handsomest girls in Madrid."
+
+If my experience had taught me such wholesome lessons as I might have
+expected, I should have shown the impudent rascal the door.  Alas!
+I began to be weary of my experience and the fruits of it; I began to
+feel the horrors of a great void; I had need of some slight passion to
+wile away the dreary hours.  I therefore made this Mercury welcome, and
+told him I should be obliged by his presenting me to some beauties,
+neither too easy nor too difficult to access.
+
+"Come with me to the ball," he rejoined, "and I will shew you some women
+worthy of your attention."
+
+The ball was to take place the same evening, and I agreed; he asked me to
+give him some dinner, and I agreed to that also.  After dinner he told me
+he had no money, and I was foolish enough to give him a doubloon.  The
+fellow, who was ugly, blind of one eye, and full of impudence, shewed me
+a score of pretty women, whose histories he told me, and seeing me to be
+interested in one of them he promised to bring her to a procuress.  He
+kept his word, but he cost me dear; for the girl only served for an
+evening's amusement.
+
+Towards the end of the carnival the noble Don Diego, the father of Donna
+Ignazia, brought me my boots, and the thanks of his wife and himself for
+the pleasure I had given her at the ball.
+
+"She is as good as she is beautiful," said I, "she deserves to prosper,
+and if I have not called on her it is only that I am anxious to do
+nothing which could injure her reputation."
+
+"Her reputation, Senor Caballero, is above all reproach, and I shall be
+delighted to see you whenever you honour me with a call."
+
+"The carnival draws near to its end," I replied, "and if Donna Ignazia
+would like to go to another ball I shall be happy to take her again."
+
+"You must come and ask her yourself."
+
+"I will not fail to do so."
+
+I was anxious to see how the pious girl, who had tried to make me pay a
+hundred doubloons for the chance of having her after her marriage, would
+greet me, so I called the same day.  I found her with her mother, rosary
+in hand, while her noble father was botching old boots.  I laughed
+inwardly at being obliged to give the title of don to a cobbler who would
+not make boots because he was an hidalgo.  Hidalgo, meaning noble, is
+derived from 'higo de albo', son of somebody, and the people, whom the
+nobles call 'higos de nade', sons of nobody, often revenge themselves by
+calling the nobles hideputas, that is to say, sons of harlots.
+
+Donna Ignazia rose politely from the floor, where she was sitting cross-
+legged, after the Moorish fashion.  I have seen exalted ladies in this
+position at Madrid, and it is very common in the antechambers of the
+Court and the palace of the Princess of the Asturias.  The Spanish women
+sit in church in the same way, and the rapidity with which they can
+change this posture to a kneeling or a standing one is something amazing.
+
+Donna Ignazia thanked me for honouring her with a visit, adding that she
+would never have gone to the ball if it had not been for me, and that she
+never hoped to go to it again, as I had doubtless found someone else more
+worthy of my attentions.
+
+"I have not found anyone worthy to be preferred before you," I replied,
+"and if you would like to go to the ball again I should be most happy to
+take you."
+
+The father and mother were delighted with the pleasure I was about to
+give to their beloved daughter.  As the ball was to take place the same
+evening, I gave the mother a doubloon to get a mask and domino.  She went
+on her errand, and, as Don Diego also went out on some business, I found
+myself alone with the girl.  I took the opportunity of telling her that
+if she willed I would be hers, as I adored her, but that I could not sigh
+for long.
+
+"What can you ask, and what can I offer, since I must keep myself pure
+for my husband?"
+
+"You should abandon yourself to me without reserve, and you may be sure
+that I should respect your innocence."
+
+I then proceeded to deliver a gentle attack, which she repulsed, with a
+serious face.  I stopped directly, telling her that she would find me
+polite and respectful, but not in the least affectionate, for the rest of
+the evening.
+
+Her face had blushed a vivid scarlet, and she replied that her sense of
+duty obliged her to repulse me in spite of herself.
+
+I liked this metaphysical line of argument.  I saw that I had only to
+destroy the idea of duty in her and all the rest would follow.  What I
+had to do was to enter into an argument, and to bear away the prize
+directly I saw her at a loss for an answer.
+
+"If your duty," I began, "forces you to repulse me in spite of yourself,
+your duty is a burden on you.  If it is a burden on you, it is your
+enemy, and if it is your enemy why do you suffer it thus lightly to gain
+the victory?  If you were your own friend, you would at once expel this
+insolent enemy from your coasts."
+
+"That may not be."
+
+"Yes, it may.  Only shut your eyes."
+
+"Like that?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+I immediately laid hands on a tender place; she repulsed me, but more
+gently and not so seriously as before.
+
+"You may, of course, seduce me," she said, "but if you really love me you
+will spare me the shame."
+
+"Dearest Ignazia, there is no shame in a girl giving herself up to the
+man she loves.  Love justifies all things.  If you do not love me I ask
+nothing of you."
+
+"But how shall I convince you that I am actuated by love and not by
+complaisance?"
+
+"Leave me to do what I like, and my self-esteem will help me to believe
+you."
+
+"But as I cannot be certain that you will believe me, my duty plainly
+points to a refusal."
+
+"Very good, but you will make me sad and cold."
+
+"Then I shall be sad, too."
+
+At these encouraging words I embraced her, and obtained some solid
+favours with one hardy hand.  She made no opposition, and I was well
+pleased with what I had got; and for a first attempt I could not well
+expect more.
+
+At this juncture the mother came in with the dominos and gloves.  I
+refused to accept the change, and went away to return in my carriage, as
+before.
+
+Thus the first step had been taken, and Donna Ignazia felt it would be
+ridiculous not to join in with my conversation at the ball which all
+tended to procuring the pleasure of spending our nights together.  She
+found me affectionate all the evening, and at supper I did my best to get
+her everything she liked.  I made her see that the part she had at last
+taken was worthy of praise, and not blame.  I filled her pockets with
+sweets, and put into my own pockets two bottles of ratafia, which I
+handed over to the mother, who was asleep in the carriage.  Donna Ignazia
+gratefully refused the quadruple I wished to give her, saying that if it
+were in my power to make such presents, I might give the money to her
+lover whenever he called on me.
+
+"Certainly," I answered, "but what shall I say to prevent his taking
+offence?"
+
+"Tell him that it is on account of what he asked you.  He is poor, and I
+am sure he is in despair at not seeing me in the window to-night.  I
+shall tell him I only went to the ball with you to please my father."
+
+Donna Ignazia, a mixture of voluptuousness and piety, like most Spanish
+women, danced the fandango with so much fire that no words could have
+expressed so well the Joys that were in store for me.  What a dance it
+is!  Her bosom was heaving and her blood all aflame, and yet I was told
+that for the greater part of the company the dance was wholly innocent,
+and devoid of any intention.  I pretended to believe it, but I certainly
+did not.  Ignazia begged me to come to mass at the Church of the Soledad
+the next day at eight o'clock.  I had not yet told her that it was there
+I had seen her first.  She also asked me to come and see her in the
+evening, and said she would send me a letter if we were not left alone
+together.
+
+I slept till noon, and was awoke by Marazzini, who came to ask me to give
+him some dinner.  He told me he had seen me with my fair companion the
+night before, and that he had vainly endeavoured to find out who she was.
+I bore with this singularly misplaced curiosity, but when it came to his
+saying that he would have followed us if he had had any money, I spoke to
+him in a manner that made him turn pale.  He begged pardon, and promised
+to bridle his curiosity for the future.  He proposed a party of pleasure
+with the famous courtezan Spiletta, whose favours were dear, but I
+declined, for my mind was taken up with the fair Ignazia, whom I
+considered a worthy successor to Charlotte.
+
+I went to the church, and she saw me when she came in, followed by the
+same companion as before.
+
+She knelt down at two or three paces from me, but did not once look in my
+direction.  Her friend, on the other hand, inspected me closely; she
+seemed about the same age as Ignazia, but she was ugly.  I also noticed
+Don Francisco, and as I was going out of the church my rival followed me,
+and congratulated me somewhat bitterly on my good fortune in having taken
+his mistress a second time to the ball.  He confessed that he had been on
+our track the whole evening, and that he should have gone away well
+enough pleased if it had not been for the way in which we dance the
+fandango.  I felt this was an occasion for a little gentle management,
+and I answered good-humouredly that the love he thought he noticed was
+wholly imaginary, and that he was wrong to entertain any suspicions as to
+so virtuous a girl as Donna Ignazia.  At the same time I placed an ounce
+in his hand, begging him to take it on account.  He did so with an
+astonished stare, and, calling me his father and guardian angel, swore an
+eternal gratitude.
+
+In the evening I called on Don Diego, where I was regaled with the
+excellent ratafia I had given the mother, and the whole family began to
+speak of the obligations Spain owed to the Count of Aranda.
+
+"No exercise is more healthful than dancing," said Antonia, the mother,
+"and before his time balls were strictly forbidden.  In spite of that he
+is hated for having expelled 'los padres de la compagnia de Jesus', and
+for his sumptuary regulations.  But the poor bless his name, for all the
+money produced by the balls goes to them."
+
+"And thus," said the father, "to go to the ball is to do a pious work."
+
+"I have two cousins," said Ignazia, "who are perfect angels of goodness.
+I told them that you had taken me to the ball; but they are so poor that
+they have no hope of going.  If you like you can make them quite happy by
+taking them on the last day of the carnival.  The ball closes at
+midnight, so as not to profane Ash Wednesday."
+
+"I shall be happy to oblige you, all the more as your lady mother will
+not be obliged to wait for us in the carriage."
+
+"You are very kind; but I shall have to introduce you to my aunt; she is
+so particular.  When she knows you, I am sure she will consent, for you
+have all the air of discretion.  Go and see her to-day; she lives in the
+next street, and over her door you will see a notice that lace is washed
+within.  Tell her that my mother gave you the address.  To-morrow
+morning, after mass, I will see to everything else, and you must come
+here at noon to agree as to our meeting on the last day of the carnival."
+
+I did all this, and the next day I heard that it was settled.
+
+"I will have the dominos ready at my house," I said, "and you must come
+in at the back door.  We will dine in my room, mask, and go to the ball.
+The eldest of your cousins must be disguised as a man."
+
+"I won't tell her anything about that, for fear she might think it a sin,
+but once in your house you will have no difficulty in managing her."
+
+The younger of the two cousins was ugly, but looked like a woman, where
+as the elder looked like an ugly dressed man in woman's clothes.  She
+made an amusing contrast with Donna Ignazia, who looked most seductive
+when she laid aside her air of piety.
+
+I took care that everything requisite for our disguises should be at hand
+in a neighbouring closet, unbeknown to my rascally page.  I gave him a
+piece of money in the morning, and told him to spend the last day of the
+carnival according to his own taste, as I should not require his services
+till noon the day after.
+
+I ordered a good dinner, and a waiter to serve it, at the tavern, and got
+rid of Marazzini by giving him a doubloon.  I took great pains over the
+entertainment I was to give the two cousins and the fair Ignazia, whom I
+hoped that day to make my mistress.  It was all quite a novelty for me; I
+had to do with three devotees, two hideous and the third ravishingly
+beautiful, who had already had a foretaste of the joys in store for her.
+
+They came at noon, and for an hour I discoursed to them in a moral and
+unctuous manner.  I had taken care to provide myself with some excellent
+wine, which did not fail to take effect on the three girls, who were not
+accustomed to a dinner that lasted two hours.  They were not exactly
+inebriated, but their spirits were worked up to a pitch they had never
+attained before.
+
+I told the elder cousin, who might be twenty-five years old, that I was
+going to disguise her as a man; consternation appeared on her features,
+but I had expected as much, and Donna Ignazia told her she was only too
+lucky, and her sister observed that she did not think it could be a sin.
+
+"If it were a sin," said I, "do you suppose that I should have suggested
+it to your virtuous sister."
+
+Donna Ignazia, who knew the Legendarium by heart, corroborated my
+assertion by saying that the blessed St. Marina had passed her whole life
+in man's clothes; and this settled the matter.
+
+I then burst into a very high-flown eulogium of her intellectual
+capacity, so as to enlist her vanity in the good cause.
+
+"Come with me," said I, "and do you ladies wait here; I want to enjoy
+your surprise when you see her in man's clothes."
+
+The ugly cousin made a supreme effort and followed me, and when she had
+duly inspected her disguise I told her to take off her boots and to put
+on white stockings and shoes, of which I had provided several pairs.  I
+sat down before her, and told her that if she suspected me of any
+dishonourable intentions she would commit a mortal sin, as I was old
+enough to be her father.  She replied that she was a good Christian, but
+not a fool.  I fastened her garters for her, saying that I should never
+have supposed she had so well-shapen and so white a leg, which compliment
+made her smile in a satisfied manner.
+
+Although I had a fine view of her thighs, I observed no traces of a blush
+on her face.  I then gave her a pair, of my breeches, which fitted her
+admirably, though I was five inches taller than she, but this difference
+was compensated by the posterior proportions, with which, like most
+women, she was bountifully endowed.  I turned away to let her put them on
+in freedom, and, having given her a linen shirt, she told me she had
+finished before she had buttoned it at the neck.  There may possibly have
+been a little coquetry in this, as I buttoned the shirt for her, and was
+thus gratified with a sight of her splendid breast.  I need not say
+whether she was pleased or not at my refraining from complimenting her
+upon her fine proportions.  When her toilette was finished I surveyed her
+from head to foot, and pronounced her to be a perfect man, with the
+exception of one blemish.
+
+"I am sorry for that."
+
+"Will you allow me to arrange your shirt so as to obviate it?"
+
+"I shall be much obliged, as I have never dressed in man's clothes
+before."
+
+I then sat down in front of her, and, after unbuttoning the fly, arranged
+the shirt in a proper manner.  In doing so I allowed myself some small
+liberties, but I toyed with such a serious air that she seemed to take it
+all as a matter of course.
+
+When I had put on her domino and mask I led her forth, and her sister and
+Donna Ignazia congratulated her on her disguise, saying that anybody
+would take her for a man.
+
+"Now it's your turn," I said to the younger one.
+
+"Go with him," said the elder, "Don Jaime is as honest a man as you will
+find in Spain."
+
+There was really not much to be done to the younger sister, her disguise
+being simply a mask and domino, but as I wanted to keep Ignazia a long
+time I made her put on white stockings, change her kerchief, and a dozen
+other trifles.  When she was ready I brought her forth, and Donna Ignazia
+noticing that she had changed her stockings and kerchief, asked her
+whether I were as expert at dressing a lady as at turning a lady into a
+gentleman.
+
+"I don't know," she replied, "I did everything for myself."
+
+Next came the turn of Don Diego's daughter, and as soon as I had her in
+the closet I did my pleasure on her, she submitting with an air that
+seemed to say, "I only give in because I can't resist."  Wishing to save
+her honour I withdrew in time, but in the second combat I held her for
+half an hour to my arms.  However, she was naturally of a passionate
+disposition, and nature had endowed her with a temperament able to resist
+the most vigorous attacks.  When decency made us leave the closet, she
+remarked to her cousins,
+
+"I thought I should never have done; I had to alter the whole fit of the
+domino."
+
+I admired her presence of mind.
+
+At nightfall we went to the ball, at which the fandango might be danced
+ad libitum by a special privilege, but the crowd was so great that
+dancing was out of the question.  At ten we had supper, and then walked
+up and down, till all at once the two orchestras became silent.  We heard
+the church clocks striking midnight the carnival was over, and Lent had
+begun.
+
+This rapid transition from wantonness to devotion, from paganism to
+Christianity, has something startling and unnatural about it.  At fifty-
+nine minutes past eleven the senses are all aglow; midnight sounds, and
+in a minute they are supposed to be brought low, and the heart to be full
+of humble repentance; it is an absurdity, an impossibility.
+
+I took the three girls to my house to take off their dominos, and we then
+escorted the two cousins home.  When we had left them for a few minutes
+Donna Ignazia told me that she would like a little coffee.  I understood
+her, and took her to my house, feeling sure of two hours of mutual
+pleasure.
+
+I took her to my room, and was just going out to order the coffee when I
+met Don Francisco, who asked me plainly to let him come up, as he had
+seen Donna Ignazia go in with me.  I had sufficient strength of mind to
+conceal my rage and disappointment, and told him to come in, adding that
+his mistress would be delighted at this unexpected visit.  I went
+upstairs, and he followed me, and I shewed him into the room,
+congratulating the lady on the pleasant surprise.
+
+I expected that she would play her part as well as I had played mine, but
+I was wrong.  In her rage she told him that she would never have asked me
+to give her a cup of coffee if she had foreseen this piece of
+importunity, adding that if he had been a gentleman he would have known
+better than to intrude himself at such an hour.
+
+In spite of my own anger I felt that I must take the poor devil's part;
+he looked like a dog with a tin kettle tied to his tail.  I tried to calm
+Donna Ignazia, telling her that Don Francisco had seen us by a mere
+accident, and that it was I who had asked him to come upstairs, in the
+hope of pleasing her.
+
+Donna Ignazia feigned to be persuaded and asked her lover to sit down,
+but she did not speak another word to him, confining her remarks to me,
+saying how much she had enjoyed the ball, and how kind I had been to take
+her cousins.
+
+After he had taken a cup of coffee, Don Francisco bade us a good night.
+I told him I hoped he would come and see me before Lent was over, but
+Donna Ignazia only vouchsafed him a slight nod.  When he had gone she
+said, sadly enough, that she was sorry he had deprived us both of our
+pleasure, and that she was sure Don Francisco was still hanging about the
+place, and that she dared not expose herself to his vengeance.  "So take
+me home, but if you love me come and see me again.  The trick the stupid
+fellow has played me shall cost him dear.  Are you sure I don't love
+him?"
+
+"Quite certain, for you love me too well to love anybody else."
+
+Donna Ignazia gave me a hasty proof of her affection, and I escorted her
+home, assuring her that she would be the sole object of my thoughts as
+long as I stayed at Madrid.
+
+The next day I dined with Mengs, and the day after that I was accosted in
+the street by an ill-looking fellow, who bade me follow him to a
+cloister, as he had something of importance to communicate to me.
+
+As soon as he saw that we were unobserved, he told me that the Alcalde
+Messa was going to pay me a visit that same night with a band of police,
+"of whom," he added, "I am one.  He knows you have concealed weapons in
+your room.  He knows, or thinks he knows, certain other things which
+authorize him to seize your person and to take you to the prison where
+persons destined for the galleys are kept.  I give you all this warning
+because I believe you to be a man of honour.  Despise not my advice, but
+look to yourself, and get into some place of security."
+
+I credited what he told me, as the circumstance of my having arms was
+perfectly true, so I gave the man a doubloon, and, instead of calling on
+Donna Ignazia, as I intended, I went back to my lodging, and after
+putting the weapons under my cloak I went to Mengs's, leaving word at the
+cafe to send me my page as soon as he came back.  In Mengs's house I was
+safe, as it belonged to the king.
+
+The painter was an honest fellow, but proud and suspicious in excess.  He
+did not refuse me an asylum for the night, but he told me that I must
+look out for some other refuge, as the alcalde must have some other
+accusation against me, and that knowing nothing of the merits or demerits
+of the case he could not take any part in it.  He gave me a room and we
+supped together, discussing the matter all the time, I persisting that
+the possession of arms was my only offence, and he replying that if it
+were so I should have awaited the alcalde fearlessly, as it stood to
+reason that a man had a right to keep defensive weapons in his own room.
+To this I answered that I had only come to him to avoid passing the night
+in prison, as I was certain that the man had told me the truth.
+
+"To-morrow I shall look out for another lodging."
+
+I confessed, however, that it would have been wiser of me to leave my
+pistols and musket in my room.
+
+"Yes, and you might have remained there yourself.  I did not think you
+were so easily frightened."
+
+As we were arguing it over my landlord came and said that the alcalde
+with thirty constables had been to my apartment and had broken open the
+door.  He had searched everything, but unsuccessfully, and had gone away
+after sealing the room and its contents.  He had arrested and imprisoned
+my page on the charge of having warned me, "for otherwise," he said, "the
+Venetian gentleman would never have gone to the house of Chevalier Mengs,
+where he is out of my power."
+
+At this Mengs agreed that I had been right in believing my informant's
+tale, and he added that the first thing in the morning I should go and
+protest my innocence before the Count of Aranda, but he especially urged
+on me the duty of defending the poor page.  My landlord went his way, and
+we continued the discussion, Mengs insisting on the page's innocence,
+till at last I lost all patience, and said,--
+
+"My page must be a thorough-paced scoundrel; the magistrate's arresting
+him for warning me is an absolute proof that he knew of my approaching
+arrest.  What is a servant who does not warn his master under such
+circumstances but a rascal?  Indeed I am absolutely certain that he was
+the informer, for he was the only person who knew where the arms were
+concealed."
+
+Mengs could find no answer to this, and left to go to bed.  I did the
+same and had an excellent night.
+
+Early the next morning the great Mengs sent me linen and all the
+requisites of the toilette.  His maid brought me a cup of chocolate, and
+his cook came to ask if I had permission to eat flesh-meat.  In such ways
+a prince welcomes a guest, and bids him stay, but such behaviour in a
+private person is equivalent to a hint to go.  I expressed my gratitude,
+and only accepted a cup of chocolate and one handkerchief.
+
+My carriage was at the door, and I was just taking leave of Mengs when an
+officer appeared on the scene, and asked the painter if the Chevalier de
+Casanova was in his house.
+
+"I am the Chevalier de Casanova," said I.
+
+"Then I hope you will follow me of your own free will to the prison of
+Buen Retiro.  I cannot use force here, for this house is the king's, but
+I warn you that in less than an hour the Chevalier Mengs will have orders
+to turn you out, and then you will be dragged to prison, which would be
+unpleasant for you.  I therefore advise you to follow me quietly, and to
+give up such weapons as you may possess."
+
+"The Chevalier Mengs will give you the weapons in question.  I have
+carried them with me for eleven years; they are meant to protect me on
+the highways.  I am ready to follow you, but first allow me to write four
+notes; I shall not be half an hour."
+
+"I can neither allow you to wait nor to write, but you will be at liberty
+to do so after you have reached the prison."
+
+"Very good; then I am ready to follow you, for I have no choice.  I shall
+remember Spanish justice!"
+
+I embraced Mengs, had the weapons put into my carriage, and got in with
+the officer, who seemed a perfect gentleman.
+
+He took me to the Castle of Buen Retiro, formerly a royal palace, and now
+a prison.  When my conductor had consigned me to the officer of the watch
+I was handed over to a corporal, who led me into a vast hall on the
+ground floor of the building.  The stench was dreadful, and the prisoners
+were about thirty, ten of them being soldiers.  There were ten or twelve
+large beds, some benches, no tables, and no chairs.
+
+I asked a guard to get me some pens, ink, and paper, and gave him a duro
+for the purpose.  He took the coin smilingly, and went away, but he did
+not return.  When I asked his brethren what had become of him they
+laughed in my face.  But what surprised me the most was the sight of my
+page and Marazzini, who told me in Italian that he had been there for
+three days, and that he had not written to me as he had a presentiment
+that we should soon meet.  He added that in a fortnight's time we should
+be sent off under a heavy escort to work in some fortress, though we
+might send our pleas to the Government, and might possibly be let out
+after three or four years' imprisonment.
+
+"I hope," he said, "not to be condemned before I am heard.  The alcalde
+will come and interrogate you tomorrow, and your answers will be taken
+down; that's all.  You may then be sent to hard labour in Africa."
+
+"Has your case been heard yet?"
+
+"They were at me about it for three hours yesterday."
+
+"What kind of questions did they ask you?"
+
+"They wished to know what banker furnished me with money for my expenses.
+I told them I had not got a banker, and that I lived by borrowing from my
+friends, in the expectation of becoming one of the king's body-guard.
+They then asked me how it was that the Parmese ambassador knew nothing
+about me, and I replied that I had never been presented to him.
+
+"'Without the favour of your ambassador,' they objected, 'you could never
+join the royal guard, and you must be aware of that, but the king's
+majesty shall give you employment where you will stand in need of no
+commendation;' and so the alcalde left me.  If the Venetian ambassador
+does not interpose in your behalf you will be treated in the same way."
+
+I concealed my rage, and sat down on a bed, which I left after three
+hours, as I found myself covered with the disgusting vermin which seem
+endemic in Spain.  The very sight of them made me sick.  I stood upright,
+motionless, and silent, devouring the bile which consumed me.
+
+There was no good in talking; I must write; but where was I to find
+writing materials?  However, I resolved to wait in silence; my time must
+come, sooner or later.
+
+At noon Marazzini told me that he knew a soldier for whose
+trustworthiness he would answer, and who would get me my dinner if I gave
+him the money.
+
+"I have no appetite," I replied, "and I am not going to give a farthing
+to anyone till the stolen crown is restored to me."
+
+He made an uproar over this piece of cheating, but the soldiers only
+laughed at him.  My page then asked him to intercede with me, as he was
+hungry, and had no money wherewith to buy food.
+
+"I will not give him a farthing; he is no longer in my service, and would
+to God I had never seen him!"
+
+My companions in misery proceeded to dine on bad garlic soup and wretched
+bread, washed down by plain water, two priests and an individual who was
+styled corregidor excepted, and they seemed to fare very well.
+
+At four o'clock one of Mengs's servants brought me a dinner which would
+have sufficed for four.  He wanted to leave me the dinner and come for
+the plates in the evening; but not caring to share the meal with the vile
+mob around me I made him wait till I had done and come again at the same
+time the next day, as I did not require any supper.  The servant obeyed.
+Marazzini said rudely that I might at least have kept the bottle of wine;
+but I gave him no answer.
+
+At five o'clock Manucci appeared, accompanied by a Spanish officer.
+After the usual compliments had passed between us I asked the officer if
+I might write to my friends, who would not allow me to stay much longer
+in prison if they were advised of my arrest.
+
+"We are no tyrants," he replied; "you can write what letters you like."
+
+"Then," said I, "as this is a free country, is it allowable for a soldier
+who has received certain moneys to buy certain articles to pocket the
+money and appropriate it to his own use?"
+
+"What is his name?"
+
+The guard had been relieved, and no one seemed to know who or where he
+was.
+
+"I promise you, sir," said the officer, "that the soldier shall be
+punished and your money restored to you; and in the meanwhile you shall
+have pens, ink, paper, a table, and a candle, immediately."
+
+"And I," added Manucci, "promise you that one of the ambassador's
+servants shall wait on you at eight o'clock to deliver any letters you
+may write.
+
+I took three crowns from my pocket, and told my fellow-prisoners that the
+first to name the soldier who had deceived me should have the money;
+Marazzini was the first to do so.  The officer made a note of the man's
+name with a smile; he was beginning to know me; I had spent three crowns
+to get back one, and could not be very avaricious.
+
+Manucci whispered to me that the ambassador would do his best in a
+confidential way to get my release, and that he had no doubt of his
+success.
+
+When my visitors were gone I sat down to write, but I had need of all my
+patience.  The rascally prisoners crowded round me to read what I was
+writing, and when they could not understand it they were impudent enough
+to ask me to explain it to them.  Under the pretext of snuffing the
+candle, they put it out.  However, I bore with it all.  One of the
+soldiers said he would keep them quiet for a crown, but I gave him no
+answer.  In spite of the hell around me, I finished my letters and sealed
+them up.  They were no studied or rhetorical epistles, but merely the
+expression of the fury with which I was consumed.
+
+I told Mocenigo that it was his duty to defend a subject of his prince,
+who had been arrested and imprisoned by a foreign power on an idle
+pretext.  I shewed him that he must give me his protection unless I was
+guilty, and that I had committed no offence against the law of the land.
+I reminded him that I was a Venetian, in spite of my persecution at the
+hands of the State Inquisitors, and that being a Venetian I had a right
+to count on his protection.
+
+To Don Emmanuel de Roda, a learned scholar, and the minister of justice,
+I wrote that I did not ask any favour but only simple justice.
+
+"Serve God and your master," said I.  "Let his Catholic majesty save me
+from the hands of the infamous alcalde who has arrested me, an honest and
+a law-abiding man, who came to Spain trusting in his own innocence and
+the protection of the laws.  The person who writes to you, my lord, has a
+purse full of doubloons in his pocket; he has already been robbed, and
+fears assassination in the filthy den in which he has been imprisoned."
+
+I wrote to the Duke of Lossada, requesting him to inform the king that
+his servants had subjected to vile treatment a man whose only fault was
+that he had a little money.  I begged him to use his influence with his
+Catholic majesty to put a stop to these infamous proceedings.
+
+But the most vigorous letter of all was the one I addressed to the Count
+of Aranda.  I told him plainly that if this infamous action went on I
+should be forced to believe that it was by his orders, since I had stated
+in vain that I came to Madrid with an introduction to him from a
+princess.
+
+"I have committed no crime," I said; "what compensation am I to have when
+I am released from this filthy and abominable place?  Set me at liberty
+at once, or tell your hangmen to finish their work, for I warn you that
+no one shall take me to the galleys alive."
+
+According to my custom I took copies of all the letters, and I sent them
+off by the servant whom the all-powerful Manucci despatched to the
+prison.  I passed such a night as Dante might have imagined in his Vision
+of Hell.  All the beds were full, and even if there had been a spare
+place I would not have occupied it.  I asked in vain for a mattress, but
+even if they had brought me one, it would have been of no use, for the
+whole floor was inundated.  There were only two or three chamber utensils
+for all the prisoners, and everyone discharged his occasions on the
+floor.
+
+I spent the night on a narrow bench without a back, resting my head on my
+hands.
+
+At seven o'clock the next morning Manucci came to see me; I looked upon
+him as my Providence.  I begged him to take me down to the guard-room,
+and give me some refreshment, for I felt quite exhausted.  My request was
+granted, and as I told my sufferings I had my hair done by a barber.
+
+Manucci told me that my letters would be delivered in the course of the
+day, and observed, smilingly, that my epistle to the ambassador was
+rather severe.  I shewed him copies of the three others I had written,
+and the inexperienced young man told me that gentleness was the best way
+to obtain favours.  He did not know that there are circumstances in which
+a man's pen must be dipped in gall.  He told me confidentially that the
+ambassador dined with Aranda that day, and would speak in my favour as a
+private individual, adding that he was afraid my letter would prejudice
+the proud Spaniard against me.
+
+"All I ask of you," said I, "is not to tell the ambassador that you have
+seen the letter I wrote to the Count of Aranda."
+
+He promised he would keep the secret.
+
+An hour after his departure I saw Donna Ignazia and her father coming in,
+accompanied by the officer who had treated me with such consideration.
+Their visit cut me to the quick; nevertheless, I felt grateful, for it
+shewed me the 'goodness of Don Diego's heart and the love of the fair
+devotee.
+
+I gave them to understand, in my bad Spanish, that I was grateful for the
+honour they had done me in visiting me in this dreadful situation.  Donna
+Ignazia did not speak, she only wept in silence; but Don Diego gave me
+clearly to understand that he would never have come to see me unless he
+had felt certain that my accusation was a mistake or an infamous calumny.
+He told me he was sure I should be set free, and that proper satisfaction
+would be given me.
+
+"I hope so," I replied, "for I am perfectly innocent of any offence."
+I was greatly touched when the worthy man slipped into my hands a
+rouleau, telling me it contained twelve quadruples, which I could repay
+at my convenience.
+
+It was more than a thousand francs, and my hair stood on end.  I pressed
+his hand warmly, and whispered to him that I had fifty in my pocket,
+which I was afraid to shew him, for fear the rascals around might rob me.
+He put back his rouleau, and bade me farewell in tears, and I promised to
+come and see him as soon as I should be set at liberty.
+
+He had not sent in his name, and as he was very well dressed he was taken
+for a man of importance.  Such characters are not altogether exceptional
+in heroic Spain; it is a land of extremes.
+
+At noon Mengs's servant came with a dinner that was choicer than before,
+but not so plentiful.  This was just what I liked.  He waited for me to
+finish, and went away with the plates, carrying my heartiest thanks to
+his master.
+
+At one o'clock an individual came up to me and bade me follow him.
+He took me to a small room, where I saw my carbine and pistols.  In front
+of me was the Alcalde Messa, seated at a table covered with documents,
+and a policeman stood on each side of him.  The alcalde told me to sit
+down, and to answer truly such questions as might be put to me, warning
+me that my replies would be taken down.
+
+"I do not understand Spanish well, and I shall only give written answers
+to any questions that may be asked of me, in Italian, French, or Latin."
+
+This reply, which I uttered in a firm and determined voice, seemed to
+astonish him.  He spoke to me for an hour, and I understood him very
+well, but he only got one reply:
+
+"I don't understand what you say.  Get a judge who understands one of the
+languages I have named, and I will write down my answers."
+
+The alcalde was enraged, but I did not let his ill-humour or his threats
+disturb me.
+
+Finally he gave me a pen, and told me to write my name, profession, and
+business in Spain in Italian.  I could not refuse him this pleasure, so I
+wrote as follows:
+
+"My name is Jacques Casanova; I am a subject of the Republic of Venice,
+by profession a man of letters, and in rank a Knight of the Golden Spur.
+I have sufficient means, and I travel for my pleasure.  I am known to the
+Venetian ambassador, the Count of Aranda, the Prince de la Catolica, the
+Marquis of Moras, and the Duke of Lossada.  I have offended in no manner
+against the laws of his Catholic majesty, but in spite of my innocence I
+have been cast into a den of thieves and assassins by magistrates who
+deserve a ten times greater punishment.  Since I have not infringed the
+laws, his Catholic majesty must know that he has only one right over me,
+and that is to order me to leave his realms, which order I am ready to
+obey.  My arms, which I see before me, have travelled with me for the
+last eleven years; I carry them to defend myself against highwaymen.
+They were seen when my effects were examined at the Gate of Alcala, and
+were not confiscated; which makes it plain that they have served merely
+as a pretext for the infamous treatment to which I have been subjected."
+
+After I had written out this document I gave it to the alcalde, who
+called for an interpreter.  When he had had it read to him he rose
+angrily and said to me,--
+
+"Valga me Dios!  You shall suffer for your insolence."
+
+With this threat he went away, ordering that I should be taken back to
+prison.
+
+At eight o'clock Manucci called and told me that the Count of Aranda had
+been making enquiries about me of the Venetian ambassador, who had spoken
+very highly in my favour, and expressed his regret that he could not take
+my part officially on account of my being in disgrace with the State
+Inquisitors.
+
+"He has certainly been shamefully used," said the count, "but an
+intelligent man should not lose his head.  I should have known nothing
+about it, but for a furious letter he has written me; and Don
+Emmanuel de Roda and the Duke of Lossada have received epistles in the
+same style.  Casanova is in the right, but that is not the way to address
+people."
+
+"If he really said I was in the right, that is sufficient."
+
+"He said it, sure enough."
+
+"Then he must do me justice, and as to my style everyone has a style of
+their own.  I am furious, and I wrote furiously.  Look at this place; I
+have no bed, the floor is covered with filth, and I am obliged to sleep
+on a narrow bench.  Don't you think it is natural that I should desire to
+eat the hearts of the scoundrels who have placed me here?  If I do not
+leave this hell by tomorrow, I shall kill myself, or go mad."
+
+Manucci understood the horrors of my situation.  He promised to come
+again early the next day, and advised me to see what money would do
+towards procuring a bed, but I would not listen to him, for I was
+suffering from injustice, and was therefore obstinate.  Besides, the
+thought of the vermin frightened me, and I was afraid for my purse and
+the jewels I had about me.
+
+I spent a second night worse than the first, going to sleep from sheer
+exhaustion, only to awake and find myself slipping off the bench.
+
+Manucci came before eight o'clock, and my aspect shocked him.  He had
+come in his carriage, bringing with him some excellent chocolate, which
+in some way restored my spirits.  As I was finishing it, an officer of
+high rank, accompanied by two other officers, came in and called out,--
+
+"M. de Casanova!"
+
+I stepped forward and presented myself.
+
+"Chevalier," he began, "the Count of Aranda is at the gate of the prison;
+he is much grieved at the treatment you have received.  He only heard
+about it through the letter you wrote him yesterday, and if you had
+written sooner your pains would have been shorter."
+
+"Such was my intention, colonel, but a soldier .  .  .  ."
+
+I proceeded to tell him the story of the swindling soldier, and on
+hearing his name the colonel called the captain of the guard, reprimanded
+him severely, and ordered him to give me back the crown himself.  I took
+the money laughingly, and the colonel then ordered the captain to fetch
+the offending soldier, and to give him a flogging before me.
+
+This officer, the emissary of the all-powerful Aranda, was Count Royas,
+commanding the garrison of Buen Retiro.  I told him all the circumstances
+of my arrest, and of my imprisonment in that filthy place.  I told him
+that if I did not get back that day my arms, my liberty, and my honour, I
+should either go mad or kill myself.
+
+"Here," I said, "I can neither rest nor sleep, and a man needs sleep
+every night.  If you had come a little earlier you would have seen the
+disgusting filth with which the floor was covered."
+
+The worthy man was taken aback with the energy with which I spoke.  I saw
+his feelings, and hastened to say,--
+
+"You must remember, colonel, that I am suffering from injustice, and am
+in a furious rage.  I am a man of honour, like yourself, and you can
+imagine the effect of such treatment on me."
+
+Manucci told him, in Spanish, that in my normal state I was a good fellow
+enough.  The colonel expressed his pity for me, and assured me that my
+arms should be restored to me, and my liberty too, in the course of the
+day.
+
+"Afterwards," said he, "you must go and thank his excellency the Count of
+Aranda, who came here expressly for your sake.  He bade me tell you that
+your release would be delayed till the afternoon, that you may have full
+satisfaction for the affront you have received, if it is an affront, for
+the penalties of the law only dishonour the guilty.  In this instance the
+Alcalde Messa has been deceived by the rascal who was in your service."
+
+"There he is," said I.  "Be good enough to have him removed, or else, in
+my indignation, I might kill him."
+
+"He shall be taken away this moment," he replied.
+
+The colonel went out, and two minutes later two soldiers came in and took
+the rogue away between them.  I never saw him again, and never troubled
+myself to enquire what had become of him.
+
+The colonel begged me to accompany him to the guard-room, to see the
+thieving soldier flogged.  Manucci was at my side, and at some little
+distance stood the Count of Aranda, surrounded by officers, and
+accompanied by a royal guard.
+
+The business kept us there for a couple of hours.  Before leaving me the
+colonel begged me to meet Mengs at dinner at his house.
+
+When I returned to my filthy prison I found a clean arm-chair, which I
+was informed had been brought in for me.  I sat down in it immediately,
+and Manucci left me, after embracing me again and again.  He was my
+sincere friend, and I can never forgive myself the stupidity which made
+me offend him grievously.  He never forgave me, at which I am not
+surprised, but I believe my readers will agree with me in thinking that
+he carried his vengeance too far.
+
+After the scene which had taken place, the vile crowd of prisoners stood
+gazing at me in stupid silence, and Marazzini came up to me and begged me
+to use my offices for him.
+
+Dinner was brought me as usual, and at three o'clock the Alcalde Messa
+appeared and begged me to follow him, as he had received orders to take
+me back to my lodging, where he hoped I should find everything in perfect
+order.  At the same time he shewed me my arms, which one of his men was
+going to bring to my house.  The officer of the guard returned me my
+sword, the alcalde, who was in his black cloak, put himself on my left
+hand, and thus I was escorted home with a guard of thirty constables.
+The seals were removed from my apartment, and after a brief inspection I
+pronounced that everything was in perfect order.
+
+"If you had not a rascal and a traitor (who shall end his days in the
+galleys) in your service, Senor Caballero, you would never have written
+down the servants of his Catholic majesty as scoundrels."
+
+"Senor Alcalde, my indignation made me write the same sentence to four of
+his majesty's ministers.  Then I believed what I wrote, but I do so no
+longer.  Let us forget and forgive; but you must confess that if I had
+not known how to write a letter you would have sent me to the galleys."
+
+"Alas! it is very likely."
+
+I need not say that I hastened to remove all traces of the vile prison
+where I had suffered so much.  When I was ready to go out my first
+grateful visit was paid to the noble cobbler.  The worthy man was proud
+of the fulfilment of his prophecy, and glad to see me again.  Donna
+Ignazia was wild with delight--perhaps she had not been so sure of my
+release--and when Don Diego heard of the satisfaction that had been given
+me he said that a grandee of Spain could not have asked for more.  I
+begged the worthy people to come and dine with me, telling them that I
+would name the day another time, and they accepted gladly.
+
+I felt that my love for Donna Ignazia had increased immensely since our
+last meeting.
+
+Afterwards I called on Mengs, who with his knowledge of Spanish law
+expected nothing less than to see me.  When he heard of my triumphant
+release he overwhelmed me with congratulations.  He was in his Court
+dress--an unusual thing with him, and on my asking him the reason he told
+me that he had been to Don Emmanuel de Roda's to speak on my behalf, but
+had not succeeded in obtaining an audience.  He gave me a Venetian letter
+which had just arrived for me.  I opened it, and found it was from M.
+Dandolo, and contained an enclosure for M. de Mocenigo.  M. Dandolo said
+that on reading the enclosed letter the ambassador would have no more
+scruples about introducing me, as it contained a recommendation from one
+of the Inquisitors on behalf of the three.
+
+When I told Mengs of this he said it was now in my power to make my
+fortune in Spain, and that now was the time when all the ministers would
+be only too anxious to do something for me to make me forget the wrongs I
+had received.
+
+"I advise you," he said, "to take the letter to the ambassador
+immediately.  Take my carriage; after what you have undergone for the
+last few days you cannot be in a walking humour."
+
+I had need of rest, and told Mengs that I would not sup with him that
+night, but would dine with him the next day.  The ambassador was out, so
+I left the letter with Manucci, and then drove home and slept profoundly
+for twelve hours.
+
+Manucci came to see me the next day in high spirits, and told me that M.
+Girolamo Zulian had written to the ambassador on behalf of M. du Mula,
+informing him that he need not hesitate to countenance me, as any
+articles the Tribunal might have against me were in no degree prejudicial
+to my honour.
+
+"The ambassador," he continued, "proposes to introduce you at Court next
+week, and he wants you to dine with him to-day; there will be a numerous
+company at dinner."
+
+"I am engaged to Mengs."
+
+"No matter, he shall be asked as well; you must come.  Consider the
+effect of your presence at the ambassador's the day after your triumph."
+
+"You are right.  Go and ask Mengs, and tell the ambassador that I have
+much pleasure in accepting his invitation."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+Campomanes--Olavides--Sierra Morena--Aranjuez--Mengs--The Marquis
+Grimaldi--Toledo--Madame Pelliccia--My Return to Madrid
+
+
+Different circumstances in my life seem to have combined to render me
+somewhat superstitious; it is a humiliating confession, and yet I make
+it.  But who could help it?  A man who abandons himself to his whims and
+fancies is like a child playing with a billiard cue.  It may make a
+stroke that would be an honour to the most practised and scientific
+player; and such are the strange coincidences of life which, as I have
+said, have caused me to become superstitious.
+
+Fortune, which under the humbler name of luck seems but a word, is a very
+divinity when it guides the most important actions of a man's life.
+Always it has seemed to me that this divinity is not blind, as the
+mythologists affirm; she had brought me low only to exalt me, and I found
+myself in high places, only, as it seems, to be cast into the depths.
+Fortune has done her best to make me regard her as a reasoning, almighty
+power; she has made me feel that the strength of my will is as nothing
+before this mysterious power, which takes my will and moulds it, and
+makes it a mere instrument for the accomplishment of its decrees.
+
+I could not possibly have done anything in Spain without the help of the
+representative of my country, and he would not have dared to do anything
+for me without the letter I had just given him.  This letter, in its
+turn, would probably have had but slight effect if it had not come to
+hand so soon after my imprisonment, which had become the talk of the
+town, through the handsome satisfaction the Count of Aranda had given me.
+
+The letter made the ambassador sorry that he had not interposed on my
+behalf, but he hoped people would believe that the count would not have
+acted as he did if it had not been for his interposition.  His favourite,
+Count Manucci, had come to ask me to dinner; as it happened I was engaged
+to Mengs, which obtained an invitation for the painter, and flattered his
+vanity excessively.  He fancied that the invitation proceeded from
+gratitude, and it certainly smoothed away the mortification he had felt
+at seeing me arrested in his house.  He immediately wrote to the effect
+that he would call upon me with his carriage.
+
+I called on the Count of Aranda, who kept me waiting for a quarter of an
+hour, and then came in with some papers in his hand.  He smiled when he
+saw me, and said,--
+
+"Your business is done.  Stay, here are four letters; take them and read
+them over again."
+
+"Why should I read them again?  This is the document I gave the alcalde."
+
+"I know that.  Read, and confess that you should not have written so
+violently, in spite of the wrongs that vexed you."
+
+"I crave your pardon, my lord, but a man who meditates suicide does not
+pick terms.  I believed that your excellency was at the bottom of it
+all."
+
+"Then you don't know me.  Go and thank Don Emmanuel de Roda, who wants to
+know you, and I shall be glad if you will call once on the alcalde, not
+to make him an apology, for you owe him none, but as an act of politeness
+to salve over the hard things you said of him.  If you write the history
+of Princess Lubomirska, I hope you will tell her that I did my best for
+you."
+
+I then called on Colonel Royas, who told me that I had made a great
+mistake in saying that I was satisfied.
+
+"What could I claim?"
+
+"Everything.  Dismissal of the alcalde and compensation to the tune of
+fifty thousand duros.  Spain is a country where a man may speak out save
+in the matters which the Holy Inquisition looks after."
+
+This colonel, now a general, is one of the pleasantest Spaniards I have
+ever met.
+
+I had not long returned to my lodging when Mengs called for me in his
+carriage.  The ambassador gave me a most gracious reception, and
+overwhelmed Mengs with compliments for having endeavoured to shelter me.
+At dinner I told the story of my sufferings at Buen Retiro, and the
+conversation I had just had with the Count of Aranda, who had returned me
+my letters.  The company expressed a desire to see them, and everyone
+gave an opinion on the matter.
+
+The guests were Abbe Bigliardi, the French consul, Don Rodrigues de
+Campomanes, and the famous Don Pablo d'Olavides.  Everyone spoke his
+mind, and the ambassador condemned the letters as too ferocious.  On the
+other hand, Campomanes approved them, saying that they were not abusive,
+and were wonderfully adapted to my purpose, namely, to force the reader
+to do me prompt justice, were the reader to be the king himself.
+Olavides and Bigliardi echoed this sentiment.  Mengs sided with the
+ambassador, and begged me to come and live with him, so as not to be
+liable to any more inconveniences from spying servants.  I did not accept
+this invitation till I had been pressed for some time, and I noted the
+remark of the ambassador, who said I owed Mengs this reparation for the
+indirect affront he had received.
+
+I was delighted to make the acquaintance of Campomanes and Olavides, men
+of intellect and of a stamp very rare in Spain.  They were not exactly
+men of learning, but they were above religious prejudices, and were not
+only fearless in throwing public scorn upon them but even laboured openly
+for their destruction.  It was Campomanes who had furnished Aranda with
+all the damaging matter against the Jesuits.  By a curious coincidence,
+Campomanes, the Count of Aranda, and the General of the Jesuits, were all
+squint-eyed.  I asked Campomanes why he hated the Jesuits so bitterly,
+and he replied that he looked upon them in the same light as the other
+religious orders, whom he considered a parasitical and noxious race, and
+would gladly banish them all, not only from the peninsula but from the
+face of the earth.
+
+He was the author of all the pamphlets that had been written on the
+subject of mortmain; and as he was an intimate friend of the
+ambassador's, M. Mocenigo had furnished him with an account of the
+proceedings of the Venetian Republic against the monks.  He might have
+dispensed with this source of information if he had read the writings of
+Father Paul Sarpi on the same subject.  Quick-sighted, firm, with the
+courage of his opinions, Campomanes was the fiscal of the Supreme Council
+of Castille, of which Aranda was president.  Everyone knew him to be a
+thoroughly honest man, who acted solely for the good of the State.  Thus
+statesmen and officials had warm feelings of respect for him, while the
+monks and bigots hated the sound of his name, and the Inquisition had
+sworn to be his ruin.  It was said openly that he would either become a
+bishop or perish in the cells of the holy brotherhood.  The prophecy was
+only partly fulfilled.  Four years after my visit to Spain he was
+incarcerated in the dungeons of the Inquisition, but he obtained his
+release after three years' confinement by doing public penance.  The
+leprosy which eats out the heart of Spain is not yet cured.  Olavides was
+still more harshly treated, and even Aranda would have fallen a victim if
+he had not had the good sense to ask the king to send him to France as
+his ambassador.  The king was very glad to do so, as otherwise he would
+have been forced to deliver him up to the infuriated monks.
+Charles III. (who died a madman) was a remarkable character.  He was as
+obstinate as a mule, as weak as a woman, as gross as a Dutchman, and a
+thorough-paced bigot.  It was no wonder that he became the tool of his
+confessor.
+
+At the time of which I am speaking the cabinet of Madrid was occupied in
+a curious scheme.  A thousand Catholic families had been enticed from
+Switzerland to form a colony in the beautiful but deserted region called
+the Sierra Morena, well known all over Europe by its mention in Don
+Quixote.  Nature seemed there to have lavished all her gifts; the climate
+was perfect, the soil fertile, and streams of all kinds watered the land,
+but in spite of all it was almost depopulated.
+
+Desiring to change this state of things, his Catholic majesty had decided
+to make a present of all the agricultural products for a certain number
+of years to industrious colonists.  He had consequently invited the Swiss
+Catholics, and had paid their expenses for the journey.  The Swiss
+arrived, and the Spanish government did its best to provide them with
+lodging and spiritual and temporal superintendence.  Olavides was the
+soul of this scheme.  He conferred with the ministers to provide the new
+population with magistrates, priests, a governor, craftsmen of all kinds
+to build churches and houses, and especially a bull-ring, a necessity for
+the Spaniards, but a perfectly useless provision as far as the simple
+Swiss were concerned.
+
+In the documents which Don Pablo Olavides had composed on the subject he
+demonstrated the inexpediency of establishing any religious orders in the
+new colony, but if he could have proved his opinion to be correct with
+foot and rule he would none the less have drawn on his head the
+implacable hatred of the monks, and of the bishop in whose diocese the
+new colony was situated.  The secular clergy supported Olavides, but the
+monks cried out against his impiety, and as the Inquisition was eminently
+monkish in its sympathies persecution had already begun, and this was one
+of the subjects of conversation at the dinner at which I was present.
+
+I listened to the arguments, sensible and otherwise, which were advanced,
+and I finally gave my opinion, as modestly as I could, that in a few
+years the colony would banish like smoke; and this for several reasons.
+
+"The Swiss," I said, "are a very peculiar people; if you transplant them
+to a foreign shore, they languish and die; they become a prey to home-
+sickness.  When this once begins in a Switzer, the only thing is to take
+him home to the mountain, the lake, or the valley, where he was born, or
+else he will infallibly die."
+
+"It would be wise, I think," I continued, "to endeavour to combine a
+Spanish colony with the Swiss colony, so as to effect a mingling of
+races.  At first, at all events, their rules, both spiritual and
+temporal, should be Swiss, and, above all, you would have to insure them
+complete immunity from the Inquisition.  The Swiss who has been
+bred in the country has peculiar customs and manners of love-making, of
+which the Spanish Church might not exactly approve; but the least attempt
+to restrain their liberty in this respect would immediately bring about a
+general home-sickness."
+
+At first Olavides thought I was joking, but he soon found out that my
+remarks had some sense in them.  He begged me to write out my opinions on
+the subject, and to give him the benefit of my knowledge.  I promised to
+do so, and Mengs fixed a day for him to come and dine with me at his
+house.
+
+The next day I moved my household goods to Mengs's house, and began my
+philosophical and physiological treatise on the colony.
+
+I called on Don Emmanuel de Roda, who was a man of letters, a 'rara aves'
+in Spain.  He liked Latin poetry, had read some Italian, but very
+naturally gave the palm to the Spanish poets.  He welcomed me warmly,
+begged me to come and see him again, and told me how sorry he had been at
+my unjust imprisonment.
+
+The Duke of Lossada congratulated me on the way in which the Venetian
+ambassador spoke of me everywhere, and encouraged me in my idea of
+getting some place under Government, promising to give me his support in
+the matter.
+
+The Prince della Catolica, invited me to dinner with the Venetian
+ambassador; and in the course of three weeks I had made a great number of
+valuable acquaintances.  I thought seriously of seeking employment in
+Spain, as not having heard from Lisbon I dared not go there on the chance
+of finding something to do.  I had not received any letters from Pauline
+of late, and had no idea as to what had become of her.
+
+I passed a good many of my evenings with a Spanish lady, named Sabatini,
+who gave 'tertullas' or assemblies, frequented chiefly by fifth-rate
+literary men.  I also visited the Duke of Medina-Sidonia, a well-read and
+intelligent man, to whom I had been presented by Don Domingo Varnier, one
+of the gentlemen of the king's chamber, whom I had met at Mengs's house.
+I paid a good many visits to Donna Ignazia, but as I was never left alone
+with her these visits became tiresome.  When I suggested a party of
+pleasure with her and her cousins, she replied that she would like it as
+much as I, but as it was Lent and near Holy Week, in which God died for
+our salvation, it was more fit to think of penance than pleasure.  After
+Easter, she said, we might consider the matter.  Ignazia was a perfect
+example of the young Spanish devotee.
+
+A fortnight after, the King and Court left Madrid for Aranjuez.
+M. de Mocenigo asked me to come and stay with him, as he would be able to
+present me at Court.  As may be imagined, I should have been only too
+glad to accept, but on the eve of my departure, as I was driving with
+Mengs, I was suddenly seized with a fever, and was convulsed so violently
+that my head was dashed against the carriage window, which it shivered to
+fragments.  Mengs ordered the coachman to drive home, and I was put to
+bed.  In four hours I was seized with a sweating fit, which lasted for
+ten or twelve hours.  The bed and two mattresses were soaked through with
+my perspiration, which dripped on to the floor beneath.  The fever abated
+in forty-eight hours, but left me in such a state of weakness that I was
+kept to my bed for a whole week, and could not go to Aranjuez till Holy
+Saturday.  The ambassador welcomed me warmly, but on the night I arrived
+a small lump which I had felt in the course of the day grew as large as
+an egg, and I was unable to go to mass on Easter Day.
+
+In five days the excrescence became as large as an average melon, much to
+the amazement of Manucci and the ambassador, and even of the king's
+surgeon, a Frenchman who declared he had never seen the like before.  I
+was not alarmed personally, for, as I suffered no pain and the lump was
+quite soft, I guessed it was only a collection of lymph, the remainder of
+the evil humours which I had sweated away in the fever.  I told the
+surgeon the history of the fever and begged him to lance the abscess,
+which he did, and for four days the opening discharged an almost
+incredible amount of matter.  On the fifth day the wound was almost
+healed, but the exhaustion had left me so weak that I could not leave my
+bed.
+
+Such was my situation when I received a letter from Mengs.  It is before
+me at the present moment, and I give below a true copy:
+
+"Yesterday the rector of the parish in which I reside affixed to the
+church-door a list of those of his parishioners who are Atheists and have
+neglected their Easter duties.  Amongst them your name figures in full,
+and the aforesaid rector has reproached me bitterly for harbouring a
+heretic.  I did not know what answer to make, for I feel sure that you
+could have stopped in Madrid a day longer to discharge the duties of a
+Christian, even if it were only out of regard for me.  The duty I owe to
+the king, my master, the care I am bound to take of my reputation, and my
+fears of being molested, all make me request you to look upon my house as
+yours no longer.  When you return to Madrid you may go where you will,
+and my servants shall transport your effects to your new abode.
+
+"I am, etc.,
+
+"ANTONIO RAPHAEL MENGS."
+
+
+I was so annoyed by this rude, brutal, and ungrateful letter, that if I
+had not been seven leagues from Madrid, and in a state of the utmost
+weakness, Mengs should have suffered for his insolence.  I told the
+messenger who had brought it to begone, but he replied that he had orders
+to await my reply.  I crushed the letter in my hand and flung it at his
+face, saying,--
+
+"Go and tell your unworthy master what I did with his letter, and tell
+him that is the only answer that such a letter deserves."
+
+The innocent messenger went his way in great amazement.
+
+My anger gave me strength, and having dressed myself and summoned a
+sedan-chair I went to church, and was confessed by a Grey Friar, and at
+six o'clock the next morning I received the Sacrament.
+
+My confessor was kind enough to give me a certificate to the effect that
+I had been obliged to keep my bed since my arrival 'al sitio', and that
+in spite of my extreme weakness I had gone to church, and had confessed
+and communicated like a good Christian.  He also told me the name of the
+priest who had affixed the paper containing my name to the door of the
+church.
+
+When I returned to the ambassador's house I wrote to this priest, telling
+him that the certificate enclosed would inform him as to my reasons for
+not communicating.  I expressed a hope that, being satisfied of my
+orthodoxy, he would not delay in removing my name from his church-doors,
+and I concluded by begging him to hand the enclosed letter to the
+Chevalier Mengs.
+
+To the painter I wrote that I felt that I had deserved the shameful
+insult he had given me by my great mistake in acceding to his request to
+honour him by staying in his house.  However, as a good Christian who had
+just received the Holy Communion, I told him that his brutal behaviour
+was forgiven; but I bade him to take to heart the line, well known to all
+honest people, and doubtless unknown to him:
+
+'Turpius ejicitur quam non admittitur hospes.'
+
+After sending the letter I told the ambassador what had happened, to
+which he replied,--
+
+"I am not at all surprised at what you tell me.  Mengs is only liked for
+his talents in painting; in everything else he is well known to be little
+better than a fool."
+
+As a matter of fact he had only asked me to stay with him to gratify his
+own vanity.  He knew that all the town was talking of my imprisonment and
+of the satisfaction the Count of Aranda had accorded me, and he wanted
+people to think that his influence had obtained the favour that had been
+shewn me.  Indeed, he had said in a moment of exaltation that I should
+have compelled the Alcade Messa to escort me not to my own house but to
+his, as it was in his house that I had been arrested.
+
+Mengs was an exceedingly ambitious and a very jealous man; he hated all
+his brother painters.  His colour and design were excellent, but his
+invention was very weak, and invention is as necessary to a great painter
+as a great poet.
+
+I happened to say to him one day, "Just as every poet should be a
+painter, so every painter should be a poet;" and he got quite angry,
+thinking that I was alluding to his weakness of imagination, which he
+felt but would not acknowledge.
+
+He was an ignorant man, and liked to pass for a scholar; he sacrificed to
+Bacchus and Comus, and would fain be thought sober; he was lustful, bad-
+tempered, envious, and miserly, but yet would be considered a virtuous
+man.  He loved hard work, and this forced him to abstain, as a rule, from
+dinner, as he drank so inordinately at that meal that he could do nothing
+after it.  When he dined out he had to drink nothing but water, so as not
+to compromise his reputation for temperance.  He spoke four languages,
+and all badly, and could not even write his native tongue with
+correctness; and yet he claimed perfection for his grammar and
+orthography, as for all his other qualities.  While I was staying with
+him I became acquainted with some of his weak points, and endeavoured to
+correct them, at which he took great offence.  The fellow writhed under a
+sense of obligation to me.  Once I prevented his sending a petition to
+the Court, which the king would have seen, and which would have made
+Mengs ridiculous.  In signing his name he had written 'el mas inclito',
+wishing to say your most humble.  I pointed out to him that 'el mas
+inclito' meant the most illustrious, and that the Spanish for the
+expression he wanted was 'el mas humilde'.  The proud fool was quite
+enraged, telling me that he knew Spanish better than I, but when the
+dictionary was searched he had to swallow the bitter pill of confessing
+himself in the wrong.
+
+Another time I suppressed a heavy and stupid criticism of his on someone
+who had maintained that there were no monuments still existing of the
+antediluvian period.  Mengs thought he would confound the author by
+citing the remains of the Tower of Babel--a double piece of folly, for in
+the first place there are no such remains, and in the second, the Tower
+of Babel was a post-diluvian building.
+
+He was also largely given to the discussion of metaphysical questions, on
+which his knowledge was simply nil, and a favourite pursuit of his was
+defining beauty in the abstract, and when he was on this topic the
+nonsense he talked was something dreadful.
+
+Mengs was a very passionate man, and would sometimes beat his children
+most cruelly.  More than once I have rescued his poor sons from his
+furious hands.  He boasted that his father, a bad Bohemian artist, had
+brought him up with the stick.  Thus, he said, he had become a great
+painter, and he wished his own children to enjoy the same advantages.
+
+He was deeply offended when he received a letter, of which the address
+omitted his title of chevalier, and his name, Rafael.  One day I ventured
+to say that these things were but trifles after all, and that I had taken
+no offence at his omitting the chevalier on the letters he had written to
+me, though I was a knight of the same order as himself.  He very wisely
+made no answer; but his objection to the omission of his baptismal name
+was a very ridiculous one.  He said he was called Antonio after Antonio
+Correggio, and Rafael after Rafael da Urbino, and that those who omitted
+these names, or either of them, implicitly denied his possession of the
+qualities of both these great painters.
+
+Once I dared to tell him that he had made a mistake in the hand of one of
+his figures, as the ring finger was shorter than the index.  He replied
+sharply that it was quite right, and shewed me his hand by way of proof.
+I laughed, and shewed him my hand in return, saying that I was certain
+that my hand was made like that of all the descendants of Adam.
+
+"Then whom do you think that I am descended from?"
+
+"I don't know, but you are certainly not of the same species as myself."
+
+"You mean you are not of my species; all well-made hands of men, and
+women too, are like mine and not like yours."
+
+"I'll wager a hundred doubloons that you are in the wrong."
+
+He got up, threw down brushes and palette, and rang up his servants,
+saying,--
+
+"We shall see which is right."
+
+The servants came, and on examination he found that I was right.  For
+once in his life, he laughed and passed it off as a joke, saying,--
+
+"I am delighted that I can boast of being unique in one particular, at
+all events."
+
+Here I must note another very sensible remark of his.
+
+He had painted a Magdalen, which was really wonderfully beautiful.  For
+ten days he had said every morning, "The picture will be finished to-
+night."  At last I told him that he had made a mistake in saying it would
+be finished, as he was still working on it.
+
+"No, I have not," he replied, "ninety-nine connoisseurs out of a hundred
+would have pronounced it finished long ago, but I want the praise of the
+hundredth man.  There's not a picture in the world that can be called
+finished save in a relative sense; this Magdalen will not be finished
+till I stop working at it, and then it will be only finished relatively,
+for if I were to give another day's work to it it would be more finished
+still.  Not one of Petrarch's sonnets is a really finished production;
+no, nor any other man's sonnets.  Nothing that the mind of man can
+conceive is perfect, save it be a mathematical theorem."
+
+I expressed my warm approval of the excellent way in which he had spoken.
+He was not so sensible another time when he expressed a wish to have been
+Raphael.
+
+"He was such a great painter."
+
+"Certainly," said I, "but what can you mean by wishing you had been
+Raphael?  This is not sense; if you had been Raphael, you would no longer
+be existing.  But perhaps you only meant to express a wish that you were
+tasting the joys of Paradise; in that case I will say no more."
+
+"No, no; I mean I would have liked to have been Raphael without troubling
+myself about existing now, either in soul or body."
+
+"Really such a desire is an absurdity; think it over, and you will see it
+for yourself."
+
+He flew into a rage, and abused me so heartily that I could not help
+laughing.
+
+Another time he made a comparison between a tragic author and a painter,
+of course to the advantage of the latter.
+
+I analysed the matter calmly, shewing him that the painter's labour is to
+a great extent purely mechanical, and can be done whilst engaged in
+casual talk; whilst a well-written tragedy is the work of genius pure and
+simple.  Therefore, the poet must be immeasurably superior to the
+painter.
+
+"Find me if you can," said I, "a poet who can order his supper between
+the lines of his tragedy, or discuss the weather whilst he is composing
+epic verses."
+
+When Mengs was beaten in an argument, instead of acknowledging his
+defeat, he invariably became brutal and insulting.  He died at the age of
+fifty, and is regarded by posterity as a Stoic philosopher, a scholar,
+and a compendium of all the virtues; and this opinion must be ascribed to
+a fine biography of him in royal quarto, choicely printed, and dedicated
+to the King of Spain.  This panegyric is a mere tissue of lies.  Mengs
+was a great painter, and nothing else; and if he had only produced the
+splendid picture which hangs over the high altar of the chapel royal at
+Dresden, he would deserve eternal fame, though indeed he is indebted to
+the great Raphael for the idea of the painting.
+
+We shall hear more of Mengs when I describe my meeting with him at Rome,
+two or three years later.
+
+I was still weak and confined to my room when Manucci came to me, and
+proposed that I should go with him to Toledo.
+
+"The ambassador," he said, "is going to give a grand official dinner to
+the ambassadors of the other powers, and as I have not been presented at
+Court I am excluded from being present.  However, if I travel, my absence
+will not give rise to any remarks.  We shall be back in five or six
+days."
+
+I was delighted to have the chance of seeing Toledo, and of making the
+journey in a comfortable carriage, so I accepted.  We started the next
+morning, and reached Toledo in the evening of the same day.  For Spain we
+were lodged comfortably enough, and the next day we went out under the
+charge of a cicerone, who took us to the Alcazar, the Louvre of Toledo,
+formerly the palace of the Moorish kings.  Afterwards we inspected the
+cathedral, which is well worthy of a visit, on account of the riches it
+contains.  I saw the great tabernacle used on Corpus Christi.  It is made
+of silver, and is so heavy that it requires thirty strong men to lift it.
+The Archbishop of Toledo has three hundred thousand duros a year, and his
+clergy have four hundred thousand, amounting to two million francs in
+French money.  One of the canons, as he was shewing me the urns
+containing the relics, told me that one of them contained the thirty
+pieces of silver for which Judas betrayed our Lord.  I begged him to let
+me see them, to which he replied severely that the king himself would not
+have dared to express such indecent curiosity.
+
+I hastened to apologise, begging him not to take offence at a stranger's
+heedless questions; and this seemed to calm his anger.
+
+The Spanish priests are a band of knaves, but one has to treat them with
+more respect than one would pay to honest men elsewhere.  The following
+day we were shewn the museum of natural history.  It was rather a dull
+exhibition; but, at all events, one could laugh at it without exciting
+the wrath of the monks and the terrors of the Inquisition.  We were
+shewn, amongst other wonders, a stuffed dragon, and the man who exhibited
+it said,--
+
+"This proves, gentlemen, that the dragon is not a fabulous animal;" but I
+thought there was more of art than nature about the beast.  He then
+shewed us a basilisk, but instead of slaying us with a glance it only
+made us laugh.  The greatest wonder of all, however, was nothing else
+than a Freemason's apron, which, as the curator very sagely declared,
+proved the existence of such an order, whatever some might say.
+
+The journey restored me to health, and when I returned to Aranjuez, I
+proceeded to pay my court to all the ministers.  The ambassador presented
+me to Marquis Grimaldi, with whom I had some conversations on the subject
+of the Swiss colony, which was going on badly.  I reiterated my opinion
+that the colony should be composed of Spaniards.
+
+"Yes," said he, "but Spain is thinly peopled everywhere, and your plan
+would amount to impoverishing one district to make another rich."
+
+"Not at all, for if you took ten persons who are dying of poverty in the
+Asturias, and placed them in the Sierra Morena, they would not die till
+they had begotten fifty children.  This fifty would beget two hundred and
+so on."
+
+My scheme was laid before a commission, and the marquis promised that I
+should be made governor of the colony if the plan was accepted.
+
+An Italian Opera Comique was then amusing the Court, with the exception
+of the king, who had no taste for music.  His majesty bore a considerable
+resemblance to a sheep in the face, and it seemed as if the likeness went
+deeper, for sheep have not the slightest idea of sound.  His favourite
+pursuit was sport, and the reason will be given later on.
+
+An Italian musician at the Court desired to compose some music for a new
+opera, and as there was no time to send to Italy I offered to compose the
+libretto.  My offer was accepted, and by the next day the first act was
+ready.  The music was composed in four days, and the Venetian ambassador
+invited all the ministers to the rehearsal in the grand hall of his
+palace.  The music was pronounced exquisite; the two other acts were
+written, and in a fortnight the opera was put upon the stage.  The
+musician was rewarded handsomely, but I was considered too grand to work
+for money and my reward was paid me in the Court money of compliments.
+However, I was glad to see that the ambassador was proud of me and that
+the minister's esteem for me seemed increased.
+
+In writing the libretto I had become acquainted with the actresses.  The
+chief of them was a Roman named Pelliccia, neither pretty nor ugly, with
+a slight squint, and but moderate talents.  Her younger sister was pretty
+if not handsome; but no one cared for the younger, while the elder was a
+universal favourite.  Her expression was pleasant, her smile delightful,
+and her manners most captivating.  Her husband was an indifferent
+painter, plain-looking, and more like her servant than her husband.  He
+was indeed her very humble servant, and she treated him with great
+kindness.  The feelings she inspired me with were not love, but a sincere
+respect and friendship.  I used to visit her every day, and wrote verses
+for her to sing to the Roman airs she delivered so gracefully.
+
+On one of the days of rehearsals I was pointing out to her the various
+great personages who were present.  The manager of the company,
+Marescalchi by name, had entered into an arrangement with the Governor of
+Valentia to bring the company there in September to play comic opera in a
+small theatre which had been built on purpose.  Italian opera had
+hitherto never been presented at Valentia, and Marecalchi hoped to make a
+good deal of money there.  Madame Pelliccia knew nobody in Valentia, and
+wanted a letter of introduction to someone there.  She asked me if I
+thought she could venture to ask the Venetian ambassador to do her the
+favour, but I advised her to try the Duke of Arcos.
+
+"Where is he?"
+
+"That gentleman who is looking in your direction now."
+
+"How can I dare to ask him?"
+
+"He is a true nobleman, and I am sure he will be only too happy to oblige
+you.  Go and ask him now; you will not be denied."
+
+"I haven't the courage to do so.  Come with me and introduce me."
+
+"That would spoil everything; he must not even think that I am your
+adviser in the matter.  I am just going to leave you; you must make your
+request directly afterwards."
+
+I walked towards the orchestra, and looking round I saw that the duke was
+approaching the actress.
+
+"The thing's as good as done," I said to myself.
+
+After the rehearsal was over Madame Pelliccia came and told me that the
+Duke would give her the letter on the day on which the opera was
+produced.  He kept his word, and she received a sealed letter for a
+merchant and banker, Don Diego Valencia.
+
+It was then May, and she was not to go to Valentia till September, so we
+shall hear what the letter contained later on.
+
+I often saw the king's gentleman of the chamber, Don Domingo Varnier,
+another 'gentleman in the service of the Princess of the Asturias, and
+one of the princess's bed-chamber women.  This most popular princess
+succeeded in suppressing a good deal of the old etiquette, and the tone
+of her Court had lost the air of solemnity common in Spanish society.  It
+was a strange thing to see the King of Spain always dining at eleven
+o'clock, like the Parisian cordwainers in the seventeenth century.  His
+meal always consisted of the same dishes, he always went out hunting at
+the same hour, coming back in the evening thoroughly fatigued.
+
+The king was ugly, but everything is relative, he was handsome compared
+with his brother, who was terrifically ugly.
+
+This brother never went anywhere without a picture of the Virgin, which
+Mengs had painted for him.  It was two feet high by three and a half
+broad.  The figure was depicted as seated on the grass with legs crossed
+after the Eastern fashion, and uncovered up to the knees.  It was, in
+reality, a voluptuous painting; and the prince mistook for devotion that
+which was really a sinful passion, for it was impossible to look upon the
+figure without desiring to have the original within one's arms.  However,
+the prince did not see this, and was delighted to find himself in love
+with the mother of the Saviour.  In this he was a true Spaniard; they
+only love pictures of this kind, and interpret the passions they excite
+in the most favourable sense.
+
+At Madrid I had, seen a picture of the Madonna with the child at her
+breast.  It was the altarpiece of a chapel in the Calle St. Jeronimo.
+The place was filled all day by the devout, who came to adore the Mother
+of God, whose figure was only interesting by reason of her magnificent
+breast.  The alms given at this chapel were so numerous, that in the
+hundred and fifty years, since the picture had been placed there, the
+clergy had been able to purchase numerous lamps and candlesticks of
+silver, and vessels of silver gilt, and even of gold.  The doorway was
+always blocked by carriages, and a sentinel was placed there to keep
+order amongst the coachmen; no nobleman would pass by without going in to
+pray to the Virgin, and to contemplate those 'beata ubera, quae
+lactaverunt aeterni patris filium'.  But there came a change.
+
+When I returned to Madrid I wanted to pay a visit to the Abbe Pico, and
+told my coachman to take another way so as to avoid the crush in front of
+the chapel.
+
+"It is not so frequented now, senor," said he, "I can easily get by it."
+
+He went on his way, and I found the entrance to the chapel deserted.  As
+I was getting out of the carriage I asked my coachman what was the reason
+of the change, and he replied,--
+
+"Oh, senor! men are getting more wicked every day,"
+
+This reason did not satisfy me, and when I had taken my chocolate with
+the abbe, an intelligent and venerable old man, I asked him why the
+chapel in question had lost its reputation.
+
+He burst out laughing, and replied,--
+
+"Excuse me, I really cannot tell you.  Go and see for yourself; your
+curiosity will soon be satisfied."
+
+As soon as I left him I went to the chapel, and the state of the picture
+told me all.  The breast of the Virgin had disappeared under a kerchief
+which some profane brush had dared to paint over it.  The beautiful
+picture was spoilt; the magic and fascination had disappeared.  Even the
+teat had been painted out; the Child held on to nothing, and the head of
+the Virgin no longer appeared natural.
+
+This disaster had taken place at the end of the Carnival of 1768.  The
+old chaplain died, and the Vandal who succeeded him pronounced the
+painting to be a scandalous one, and robbed it of all its charm.
+
+He may have been in the right as a fool, but as a Christian and a
+Spaniard he was certainly in the wrong, and he was probably soon
+convinced of the mistake he had made by the diminution in the offerings
+of the faithful.
+
+My interest in the study of human nature made me call on this priest,
+whom I expected to find a stupid old man.
+
+I went one morning, but instead of being old, the priest was an active,
+clever-looking man of thirty, who immediately offered me chocolate with
+the best grace imaginable.  I refused, as was my duty as a stranger, and
+indeed the Spaniards offer visitors chocolate so frequently at all hours,
+that if one accepted it all one would be choked.
+
+I lost no time in exordiums, but came to the point at once, by saying
+that as a lover of paintings I had been grieved at finding the
+magnificent Madonna spoilt.
+
+"Very likely," he replied, "but it was exactly the physical beauty of the
+picture that rendered it in my eyes unfit to represent one whose aspect
+should purify and purge the senses, instead of exciting them.  Let all
+the pictures in the world be destroyed, if they be found to have caused
+the commission of one mortal sin."
+
+"Who allowed you to commit this mutilation?  The Venetian State
+Inquisitors, even M.  Barberigo, though he is a devout man, would have
+put you under the Leads for such a deed.  The love of Paradise should not
+be allowed to interfere with the fine arts, and I am sure that St. Luke
+himself (who was a painter, as you know) would condemn you if he could
+come to life again."
+
+"Sir, I needed no one's leave or license.  I have to say mass at that
+altar every day, and I am not ashamed to tell you that I was unable to
+consecrate.  You are a man and a Christian, you can excuse my weakness.
+That voluptuous picture drew away my thoughts from holy things."
+
+"Who obliged you to look at it?"
+
+"I did not look at it; the devil, the enemy of God, made me see it in
+spite of myself."
+
+"Then you should have mutilated yourself like Origen.  Your generative
+organs, believe me, are not so valuable as the picture you have ruined."
+
+"Sir, you insult me."
+
+"Not at all, I have no intention of doing so."
+
+That young priest shewed me the door with such brusqueness that I felt
+sure he would inform against me to the Inquisition.  I knew he would have
+no difficulty in finding out my name, so I resolved to be beforehand with
+him.
+
+Both my fear and my resolve were inspired by an incident which I shall
+mention as an episode.
+
+A few days before, I had met a Frenchman named Segur, who had just come
+out of the prisons of the Inquisition.  He had been shut up for three
+years for committing the following crime:
+
+In the hall of his house there was a fountain, composed of a marble basin
+and the statue of a naked child, who discharged the water in the same way
+as the well-known statue of Brussels, that is to say, by his virile
+member.  The child might be a Cupid or an Infant Jesus, as you pleased,
+but the sculptor had adorned the head with a kind of aureole; and so the
+fanatics declared that it was a mocking of God.
+
+Poor Segur was accused of impiety, and the Inquisition dealt with him
+accordingly.
+
+I felt that my fault might be adjudged as great as Segur's, and not
+caring to run the risk of a like punishment I called on the bishop, who
+held the office of Grand Inquisitor, and told him word for word the
+conversation I had had with the iconoclast chaplain.  I ended by craving
+pardon, if I had offended the chaplain, as I was a good Christian, and
+orthodox on all points.
+
+I had never expected to find the Grand Inquisitor of Madrid a kindly and
+intelligent, though ill-favoured, prelate; but so it was, and he did
+nothing but laugh from the beginning to the end of my story, for he would
+not let me call it a confession.
+
+"The chaplain," he said, "is himself blameworthy and unfit for his
+position, in that he has adjudged others to be as weak as himself; in
+fact, he has committed a wrong against religion.  Nevertheless, my dear
+son, it was not wise of you to go and irritate him."
+As I had told him my name he shewed me, smilingly, an accusation against
+me, drawn up by someone who had witnessed the fact.  The good bishop
+gently chid me for having called the friar-confessor of the Duke of
+Medina an ignoramus.  He had refused to admit that a priest might say
+mass a second time on a high festival, after breaking his fast, on the
+command of his sovereign prince, who, by the hypothesis, had not heard
+mass before.
+
+"You were quite right in your contention," said the Inquisitor, "but yet
+every truth is not good to utter, and it was wrong to call the man an
+ignoramus in his presence.  For the future you would do well to avoid all
+idle discussion on religious matters, both on dogma and discipline.  And
+I must also tell you, in order that you may not leave Spain with any
+harsh ideas on the Inquisition, that the priest who affixed your name to
+the church-door amongst the excommunicated has been severely reprimanded.
+He ought to have given you a fatherly admonition, and, above all,
+enquired as to your health, as we know that you were seriously ill at the
+time."
+
+Thereupon I knelt down and kissed his hand, and went my way, well pleased
+with my call.
+
+To go back to Aranjuez.  As soon as I heard that the ambassador could not
+put me up at Madrid, I wrote to the worthy cobbler, Don Diego, that I
+wanted a well-furnished room, a closet, a good bed, and an honest
+servant.  I informed him how much I was willing to spend a month, and
+said I would leave Aranjuez as soon as I heard that everything was ready.
+
+I was a good deal occupied with the question of colonising the Sierra
+Morena; I wrote principally on the subject of the civil government, a
+most important item in a scheme for a new colony.  My articles pleased
+the Marquis Grimaldi and flattered Mocenigo; for the latter hoped that I
+should become governor of the colony, and that his embassy would thereby
+shine with a borrowed light.
+
+My labours did not prevent my amusing myself, and I frequented the
+society of those about the Court who could tell me most of the king and
+royal family.  Don Varnier, a man of much frankness and intelligence, was
+my principal source of information.
+
+I asked him one day whether the king was fond of Gregorio Squillace only
+because he had been once his wife's lover.
+
+"That's an idle calumny," he replied.  "If the epithet of 'chaste' can be
+applied to any monarch, Charles III. certainly deserves it better than
+any other.  He has never touched any woman in his life except his wife,
+not only out of respect or the sanctity of marriage, but also as a good
+Christian.  He has avoided this sin that his soul may remain pure, and so
+as not to have the shame of confessing it to his chaplain.  He enjoys an
+iron constitution, sickness is unknown to him, and he is a thorough
+Spaniard in temperament.  Ever since his marriage he has paid his duty to
+his wife every day, except when the state of her health compelled her to
+call for a truce.  In such seasons this chaste husband brought down his
+fleshly desires by the fatigue of hunting and by abstinence.  You can
+imagine his distress at being left a widower, for he would rather die
+than take a mistress.  His only resource was in hunting, and in so
+planning out his day that he should have no time left wherein to think of
+women.  It was a difficult matter, for he cares neither for reading nor
+writing, music wearies him, and conversation of a lively turn inspires
+him with disgust.
+
+"He has adopted the following plan, in which he will preserve till his
+dying day: He dresses at seven, then goes into his closet and has his
+hair dressed.  At eight o'clock he says his prayers, then hears mass, and
+when this is over he takes chocolate and an enormous pinch of snuff, over
+which his big nose ruminates for some minutes; this is his only pinch in
+the whole day.  At nine o'clock he sees his ministers, and works with
+them till eleven.  Then comes dinner, which he always takes alone, then a
+short visit to the Princess of the Austurias, and at twelve sharp he gets
+into his carriage and drives to the hunting-grounds.  At seven o'clock he
+takes a morsel wherever he happens to be, and at eight o'clock he comes
+home, so tired that he often goes to sleep before he can get his clothes
+off.  Thus he keeps down the desires of the flesh."
+
+"Poor voluntary martyr!"
+
+"He thought of marrying a second time, but when Adelaide of France saw
+his portrait she was quite frightened and refused him.  He was very
+mortified, and renounced all thoughts of marriage; and woe to the
+courtier who should advise him to get a mistress!"
+
+In further speaking of his character Don Domingo told me that the
+ministers had good cause for making him inaccessible, as whenever anyone
+did succeed in getting at him and asked a favour, he made a point of
+granting it, as it was at such times that he felt himself really a king.
+
+"Then he is not a hard man, as some say?"
+
+"Not at all.  Kings seldom have the reputation they deserve.  The most
+accessible monarchs are the least generous; they are overwhelmed with
+importunate requests, and their first instinct is always to refuse."
+
+"But as Charles III. is so inaccessible he can have no opportunity of
+either granting or refusing."
+
+"People catch him when he is hunting; he is usually in a good humour
+then.  His chief defect is his obstinacy; when he has once made up his
+mind there is no changing it.
+
+"He has the greatest liking for his brother, and can scarce refuse him
+anything, though he must be master in all things.  It is thought he will
+give him leave to marry for the sake of his salvation; the king has the
+greatest horror of illegitimate children, and his brother has three
+already."
+
+There were an immense number of persons at Aranjuez, who persecuted the
+ministers in the hope of getting employment.
+
+"They will go back as they come," said Don Domingo, "and that is empty-
+handed."
+
+"Then they ask impossibilities?"
+
+"They don't ask anything.  'What do you want?' says a minister.
+
+"'What your excellency will let me have.'
+
+"'What can you do?'
+
+"'I am ready to do whatever your excellency pleases to think best for me'
+
+"'Please leave me.  I have no time to waste.'"
+
+That is always the way.  Charles III. died a madman; the Queen of
+Portugal is mad; the King of England has been mad, and, as some say, is
+not really cured.  There is nothing astonishing in it; a king who tries
+to do his duty is almost forced into madness by his enormous task.
+
+I took leave of M. Mocenigo three days before he left Aranjuez, and I
+embraced Manucci affectionately.  He had been most kind to me throughout
+my stay.
+
+My cobbler had written to tell me that for the sum I had mentioned he
+could provide me with a Biscayan maid who could cook.  He sent me the
+address of my new lodging in the Calle Alcala.  I arrived there in the
+afternoon, having started from Aranjuez in the morning.
+
+I found that the Biscayan maid could speak French; my room was a very
+pleasant one, with another chamber annexed where I could lodge a friend.
+After I had had my effects carried up I saw my man, whose face pleased
+me.
+
+I was anxious to test the skill of my cook, so I ordered her to get a
+good supper for me, and I gave her some money.
+
+"I have some money," she replied, "and I will let you have the bill to-
+morrow."
+
+After taking away whatever I had left with Mengs I went to Don Diego's
+house, and to my astonishment found it empty.  I went back and asked
+Philippe, my man, where Don Diego was staying.
+
+"It's some distance, sir; I will take you there tomorrow."
+
+"Where is my landlord?"
+
+"In the floor above; but they are very quiet people."
+
+"I should like to see him."
+
+"He is gone out and won't be home till ten."
+
+At nine o'clock I was told that my supper was ready.  I was very hungry,
+and the neatness with which the table was laid was a pleasant surprise in
+Spain.  I was sorry that I had had no opportunity of expressing my
+satisfaction to Don Diego, but I sat down to supper.  Then indeed I
+thought the cobbler a hero; the Biscayan maid might have entered into
+rivalry with the best cook in France.  There were five dishes, including
+my favourite delicacy 'las criadillas', and everything was exquisite.  My
+lodging was dear enough, but the cook made the whole arrangement a
+wonderful bargain.
+
+Towards the end of supper Philippe told me that the landlord had come in,
+and that with my leave he would wish me a good evening.
+
+"Shew him in by all means."
+
+I saw Don Diego and his charming daughter enter; he had rented the house
+on purpose to be my landlord.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+My Amours With Donna Ignazia--Return of M. de Mocenino to Madrid
+
+
+All you barons, counts, and marquises who laugh at an untitled man who
+calls himself a gentleman, pause and reflect, spare your disdain till you
+have degraded him; allow him a gentle title so long as he does gentle
+deeds.  Respect the man that defines nobility in a new way, which you
+cannot understand.  With him nobility is not a series of descents from
+father to son; he laughs at pedigrees, in which no account is taken of
+the impure blood introduced by wifely infidelities; he defines a nobleman
+as one who does noble deeds, who neither lies nor cheats, who prefers his
+honour to his life.
+
+This latter part of the definition should make you tremble for your
+lives, if you meditate his dishonour.  From imposture comes contempt,
+from contempt hatred, from hatred homicide, which takes out the blot of
+dishonour.
+
+The cobbler Don Diego might have feared, perhaps, that I should laugh at
+him, when he told me he was noble; but feeling himself to be really so he
+had done his best to prove it to me.  The fineness of his behaviour when
+I was in prison had given me some idea of the nobility of his soul, but
+he was not content with this. On the receipt of my letter, he had taken a
+new house only to give up the best part of it to me.  No doubt he
+calculated on not losing in the long run, as after I had left he would
+probably have no difficulty in letting the apartment, but his chief
+motive was to oblige me.
+
+He was not disappointed; henceforth I treated him entirely as an equal.
+Donna Ignazia was delighted at what her father had done for me.  We
+talked an hour, settling our business relations over a bottle of
+excellent wine.  I succeeded in my contention that the Biscayan cook
+should be kept at my expense.  All the same, I wanted the girl to think
+that she was in Don Diego's service, so I begged him to pay her every
+day, as I should take all my meals at home, at all events, till the
+return of the ambassador.  I also told him that it was a penance to me to
+eat alone, and begged him to keep me company at dinner and supper every
+day.  He tried to excuse himself, and at last gave in on the condition
+that his daughter should take his place when he had too much work to do.
+As may be imagined I had anticipated this condition, and made no
+difficulty about it.
+
+The next morning, feeling curious to see the way in which my landlord was
+lodged, I paid him a visit.  I went into the little room sacred to Donna
+Ignazia.  A bed, a chest, and a chair made up the whole furniture; but
+beside the bed was a desk before a picture, four feet high, representing
+St. Ignatius de Loyola as a fine young man, more calculated to irritate
+the sense than to arouse devotion.
+
+My cobbler said to me,
+
+"I have a much better lodging than I had before; and the rent of your
+room pays me for the house four times over."
+
+"How about the furniture and the linen?"
+
+"It will all be paid in the course of four years.  I hope this house will
+be the dower of my daughter.  It is an excellent speculation, and I have
+to thank you for it."
+
+"I am glad to hear it; but what is this, you seem to be making new
+boots?"
+
+"Quite so; but if you look you will see that I am working on a last which
+has been given me.  In this way I have not to put them on, nor need I
+trouble myself whether they fit well or ill."
+
+"How much do you get?"
+
+"Thirty reals."
+
+"That's a larger price than usual."
+
+"Yes, but there's a great difference between my work and my leather, and
+the usual work and leather of the bootmakers."
+
+"Then I will have a last made, and you shall make me a pair of shoes, if
+you will; but I warn you they must be of the finest skin, and the soles
+of morocco."
+
+"They will cost more, and not last so long."
+
+"I can't help that; I can't bear any but the lightest boots."
+
+Before I left him he said his daughter should dine with me that day as he
+was very busy.
+
+I called on the Count of Aranda, who received me coldly, but with great
+politeness.  I told him how I had been treated by my parish priest and by
+Mengs.
+
+"I heard about it; this was worse than your imprisonment, and I don't
+know what I could have done for you if you had not communicated, and
+obliged the priest to take out your name.  Just now they are trying to
+annoy me with posters on the walls, but I take no notice."
+
+"What do they want your excellency to do?"
+
+To allow long cloaks and low-crowned hats; you must know all about it."
+
+"I only arrived at Madrid yesterday evening."
+
+"Very good.  Don't come here on Sunday, as my house is to be blown up."
+
+"I should like to see that, my lord, so I will be in your hall at noon."
+
+"I expect you will be in good company."
+
+I duly went, and never had I seen it so full.  The count was addressing
+the company, under the last poster threatening him with death, two very
+energetic lines were inscribed by the person who put up the poster,
+knowing that he was at the same time running his head into the noose:
+
+          Si me cogen, me horqueran,
+          Pero no me cogeran.
+
+     "If they catch me, they will hang me,
+     So I shall not let them catch me."
+
+At dinner Donna Ignazia told me how glad she was to have me in the house,
+but she did not respond to all my amorous speeches after Philippe had
+left the room.  She blushed and sighed, and then being obliged to say
+something, begged me to forget everything that had passed between us.  I
+smiled, and said that I was sure she knew she was asking an
+impossibility.  I added that even if I could forget the past I would not
+do so.
+
+I knew that she was neither false nor hypocritical, and felt sure that
+her behaviour proceeded from devotion; but I knew this could not last
+long.  I should have to conquer her by slow degrees.  I had had to do so
+with other devotees who had loved me less than she, nevertheless, they
+had capitulated.  I was therefore sure of Donna Ignazia.
+
+After dinner she remained a quarter of an hour with me, but I refrained
+from any amorous attempts.
+
+After my siesta I dressed, and went out without seeing her.  In the
+evening when she came in for her father, who had supped with me, I
+treated her with the greatest politeness without shewing any ill-humour.
+The following day I behaved in the same manner.  At dinner she told me
+she had broken with her lover at the beginning of Lent, and begged me not
+to see him if he called on me.
+
+On Whit Sunday I called on the Count of Aranda, and Don Diego, who was
+exquisitely dressed, dined with me.  I saw nothing of his daughter.  I
+asked after her, and Don Diego replied, with a smile, that she had shut
+herself up in her room to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost.  He
+pronounced these words in a manner and with a smile that he would not
+have dared to use if he had been speaking to a fellow-Spaniard.  He added
+that she would, no doubt, come down and sup with me, as he was going to
+sup with his brother.
+
+"My dear Don Diego, don't let there be any false compliments between us.
+Before you go out, tell your daughter not to put herself out for me, and
+that I do not pretend to put my society in comparison with that of God.
+Tell her to keep her room to-night, and she can sup with me another time.
+I hope you will take my message to her."
+
+"As you will have it so, you shall be obeyed."
+
+After my siesta, the worthy man said that Donna Ignazia thanked me and
+would profit by my kindness, as she did not want to see anyone on that
+holy day.
+
+"I am very glad she has taken me at my word, and to-morrow I will thank
+her for it."
+
+I had some difficulty in shaping my lips to this reply; for this excess
+of devotion displeased me, and even made me tremble for her love.  I
+could not help laughing, however, when Don Diego said that a wise father
+forgives an ecstasy of love.  I had not expected such a philosophic
+remark from the mouth of a Spaniard.
+
+The weather was unpleasant, so I resolved to stay indoors.  I told
+Philippe that I should not want the carriage, and that he could go out.
+I told my Biscayan cook that I should not sup till ten.  When I was alone
+I wrote for some time, and in the evening the mother lit my candles,
+instead of the daughter, so in the end I went to bed without any supper.
+At nine o'clock next morning, just as I was awaking, Donna Ignazia
+appeared, to my great astonishment, telling me how sorry she was to hear
+that I had not taken any supper.
+
+"Alone, sad, and unhappy," I replied, "I felt that abstinence was the
+best thing for me."
+
+"You look downcast."
+
+"You alone can make me look cheerful."
+
+Here my barber came in, and she left me.  I then went to mass at the
+Church of the Good Success, where I saw all the handsome courtezans in
+Madrid.  I dined with Don Diego, and when his daughter came in with
+dessert he told her that it was her fault I had gone supperless to bed.
+
+"It shall not happen again," said she.
+
+"Would you like to come with me to our Lady of Atocha?" said I.
+
+"I should like it very much," she replied, with a side-glance at her
+father.
+
+"My girl," said Don Diego, "true devotion and merriment go together, and
+the reason is that the truly devout person has trust in God and in the
+honesty of all men.  Thus you can trust in Don Jaime as an honest man,
+though he has not the good fortune to be born in Spain."
+
+I could not help laughing at this last sentence, but Don Diego was not
+offended.  Donna Ignazia kissed her father's hands, and asked if she
+might bring her cousin too.
+
+"What do you want to take the cousin for?" said Don Diego; "I will answer
+for Don Jaime."
+
+"You are very kind, Don Diego, but if Ignazia likes her cousin to come I
+shall be delighted, provided it be the elder cousin, whom I like better
+than the younger."
+
+After this arrangement the father went his way, and I sent Philippe to
+the stables to put in four mules.
+
+When we were alone Ignazia asked me repentantly to forgive her.
+
+"Entirely, if you will forgive me for loving you."
+
+"Alas, dearest!  I think I shall go mad if I keep up the battle any
+longer."
+
+"There needs no battle, dearest Ignazia, either love me as I love you, or
+tell me to leave the house, and see you no more.  I will obey you, but
+that will not make you happy."
+
+"I know that.  No, you shall not go from your own house.  But allow me to
+tell you that you are mistaken in your estimate of my cousins'
+characters.  I know what influenced you, but you do not know all.  The
+younger is a good girl, and though she is ugly, she too has succumbed to
+love.  But the elder, who is ten times uglier, is mad with rage at never
+having had a lover.  She thought she had made you in love with her, and
+yet she speaks evil of you.  She reproaches me for having yielded so
+easily.  and boasts that she would never have gratified your passion."
+
+"Say no more, we must punish her; and the younger shall come."
+
+"I am much obliged to you."
+
+"Does she know that we love each other?"
+
+"I have never told her, but she has guessed it, and pities me.  She wants
+me to join her in a devotion to Our Lady de la Soledad, the effect of
+which would be a complete cure for us both."
+
+"Then she is in love, too?"
+
+"Yes; and she is unhappy in her love, for it is not returned.  That must
+be a great grief."
+
+"I pity her, and yet, with such a face, I do not know any man who would
+take compassion on her.  The poor girl would do well to leave love alone.
+But as to you.  .  .  ."
+
+"Say nothing about me: my danger is greater than hers.  I am forced to
+defend myself or to give in, and God knows there are some men whom it is
+impossible to ward off!  God is my witness that in Holy Week I went to a
+poor girl with the smallpox, and touched her in the hope of catching it,
+and so losing my beauty; but God would not have it so, and my confessor
+blamed me, bidding me to do a penance I had never expected."
+
+"Tell me what it is?"
+
+"He told me that a handsome face is the index of a handsome soul, and is
+a gift of God, for which a woman should render thanks continually; that
+in attempting to destroy this beauty I had sinned, for I had endeavoured
+to destroy God's handiwork.  After a good deal of rebuke in this style,
+he ordered me to put a little rouge on my cheeks whenever I felt myself
+looking pale.  I had to submit, and I have bought a pot of rouge, but
+hitherto I have not felt obliged to use it.  Indeed, my father might
+notice it, and I should not like to tell him that it is done by way of
+penance."
+
+"Is your confessor a young man?"
+
+"He is an old man of seventy."
+
+"Do you tell him all your sins without reserve?"
+
+"Certainly, for the smallest circumstance may be really a great sin."
+
+"Does he ask you questions?"
+
+"No, for he sees that I am telling him the whole truth.  It is a great
+trial, but I have to submit to it."
+
+"Have you had this confessor for long?"
+
+"For two years.  Before him I had a confessor who was quite unbearable.
+He asked me questions which made me quite indignant."
+
+"What questions were these?"
+
+"You must please excuse me telling you."
+
+"Why do you go to confession so often?"
+
+"Why?  Would to God I had not good cause! but after all I only go once a
+week."
+
+"That's too often."
+
+"Not so, for when I am in mortal sin I cannot sleep at night.  I am
+afraid of dying in my sleep."
+
+"I pity you, dearest; I have a consolation which is denied you.  I have
+an infinite trust in the infinite mercy of God."
+
+The cousin arrived and we set out.  We found a good many carriages in
+front of the church-door, and the church itself was full of devotees,
+both male and female.  Amongst others I saw the Duchess of Villadorias,
+notorious for her andromania.  When the 'furor uterinus' seized her,
+nothing could keep her back.  She would rush at the man who had excited
+her, and he had no choice but to satisfy her passion.  This had happened
+several times in public assemblies, and had given rise to some
+extraordinary scenes.  I had seen her at a ball; she was still both young
+and pretty.  As I entered the church I saw her kneeling on the stones of
+the church floor.  She lifted her eyes, and gazed at me, as if doubtful
+whether she knew me or not, as she had only seen me in domino.  After my
+devotees had prayed for half an hour, they rose to go, and the duchess
+rose also; and as soon as we were out of the church she asked me if I
+knew her.  I replied in the affirmative, and she asked why I had not been
+to see her, and if I visited the Duchess of Benevento.  I told her that I
+did not visit her grace, and that I should have the honour of paying her
+a call before long.
+
+On our way I explained to my two companions the nature of the duchess's
+malady.  Donna Ignazia asked me anxiously if I really meant to go and see
+her.  She seemed reassured when I replied in the negative.
+
+A common and to my mind a ridiculous question is which of the two sexes
+enjoys the generative act the more.  Homer gives us Jupiter and Juno
+disputing on this point.  Tiresias, who was once a woman, has given a
+correct though amusing decision on the point.  A laconic answer has it
+that a woman enjoys the act the most because with her it is sharper,
+repeated more frequently, and finally because the battle is fought in her
+field.  She is at the same time an active and passive agent, while action
+is indispensable to the pleasure of the man.  But the most conclusive
+reason is that if the woman's pleasure were not the greater nature would
+be unjust, and she never is or can be unjust.  Nothing in this universe
+is without its use, and no pleasure or pain is without its compensation
+or balance.  If woman had not more pleasure than man she would not have
+more organs than he.  The greater nervous power planted in the female
+organ is demonstrated by the andromania to which some women are subject,
+and which makes them either Messalines or martyrs.  Men have nothing at
+all similar to this.
+
+Nature has given to women this special enjoyment to compensate for the
+pains they have to undergo.  What man would expose himself, for the
+pleasure he enjoys, to the pains of pregnancy and the dangers of
+childbed?  But women will do so again and again; so it must be concluded
+that they believe the pleasure to outbalance the pain; and so it is
+clearly the woman who has the better share in the enjoyment.
+In spite of this, if I had the choice of being born again as a woman, I
+should say no; for in spite of my voluptuousness, a man has pleasures
+which a woman cannot enjoy.  Though, indeed, rather than not be born
+again, I would be a woman, and even a brute, provided always that I had
+my memory, for without it I should no longer be myself.
+
+We had some ices, and my two companions returned home with me, well
+pleased with the enjoyment I had given them without offending God.
+Donna Ignazia, who was delighted with my continence during the day, and
+apparently afraid of its not lasting, begged me to invite her cousin to
+supper.  I agreed, and even did so with pleasure.
+
+The cousin was ugly, and also a fool, but she had a great heart and was
+sympathetic.  I knew that Donna Ignazia had told her all, and as
+she was no restraint on me I did not mind her being at supper, while
+Ignazia looked upon her as a safeguard.
+
+The table had been laid for three, when I heard a step coming up the
+stairs.  It was the father, and I asked him to sup with us.  Don Diego
+was a pleasant man, as I have said, but what amused me most of all about
+him was his moral maxims.  He knew or suspected that I was fond of his
+daughter, though in an honourable way; he thought my honour or his
+daughter's piety would be a sufficient safeguard.  If he had suspected
+what had really happened, I do not think he would ever have allowed us to
+be together.
+
+He sat beside his niece and facing his daughter, and did most of the
+talking, for your Spaniard, though grave, is eloquent, and fond of
+hearing the fine harmonies of his native tongue.
+
+It was very hot, so I asked him to take off his waistcoat, and to tell
+his daughter to do just as she would if only he and his wife had been
+present.
+
+Donna Ignazia had not to be entreated long before she took off her
+kerchief, but the poor cousin did not like having to shew us her bones
+and swarthy skin.
+
+Donna Ignazia told her father how much she had enjoyed herself, and how
+they had seen the Duchess of Villadorias, who had asked me to come and
+see her.
+
+The good man began to philosophise and to jest on her malady, and he told
+me some stories, germane to the question, which the girls pretended not
+to understand.
+
+The good wine of La Mancha kept us at table till a late hour, and the
+time seemed to pass very quickly.  Don Diego told his niece that she
+could sleep with his daughter, in the room we were in, as the bed was big
+enough for two.  I hastened to add that if the ladies would do so I
+should be delighted; but Donna Ignazia blushed and said it would not do,
+as the room was only separated from mine by a glass door.
+At this I smiled at Don Diego, who proceeded to harangue his daughter in
+a manner which amused me extremely.  He told her that I was at least
+twenty years older than herself, and that in suspecting me she had
+committed a greater sin than if she allowed me to take some slight
+liberty.
+
+"I am sure," he added, "that when you go to confession next Sunday you
+will forget to accuse yourself of having wrongfully suspected Don Jaime
+of a dishonourable action."
+
+Donna Ignazia looked at me affectionately, asked my pardon, and said she
+would do whatever her father liked.  The cousin said nothing, and the
+father kissed his daughter, bade me a good night, and went away well
+pleased with the harangue he had delivered.
+
+I suspected that Donna Ignazia expected me to make some attempt on her
+honour, and feeling sure that she would resist for the sake of
+appearance, I determined to leave her in peace.  Next morning I got up
+and went into their room in the hope of playing some trick on them.
+However, the birds were flown, and I had no doubt that they had gone to
+hear mass.
+
+Donna Ignazia came home by herself at ten o'clock.  She found me alone,
+dressed, and writing.  She told me she had been in the church for three
+hours.
+
+"You have been to confession, I suppose?"
+
+"No; I went last Sunday, and I shall wait till next Sunday."
+
+"I am very glad that your confession will not be lengthened by any sins I
+have helped you to commit."
+
+"You are wrong."
+
+"Wrong?  I understand; but you must know that I am not going to be damned
+for mere desires.  I do not wish to torment you or to become a martyr
+myself.  What you granted me has made me fall deeply in love with you,
+and it makes me shudder when I imagine that our love has become a subject
+of repentance with you.  I have had a bad night; and it is time for me to
+think of my health.  I must forget you, but to bring about that effect I
+will see you no longer.  I will keep on the house, but I will not live in
+it.  If your religion is an intelligent one, you will approve of my idea.
+Tell your confessor of it next Sunday, and you will see that he will
+approve it."
+
+"You are right, but I cannot agree to it.  You can go away if you like,
+and I shall say nothing, but I shall be the most unhappy girl in all
+Madrid."
+
+As she spoke these words, two big tears rolled down her cheeks, and her
+face dropped; I was profoundly moved.
+
+"I love you, dearest Ignazia, and I hope not to be damned for my love.  I
+cannot see you without loving you and to this love some positive proof is
+essential; otherwise, I am unhappy.  If I go you say you will be unhappy,
+and if I stay it is I that will be unhappy, my health will be ruined.
+But tell me which I shall do stay or go?  Say."
+
+"Stay."
+
+"Then you must be as loving and tender as you were before."
+
+"Alas! I promised to commit that sin no more.  I tell you to stay,
+because I am sure that in eight or ten days we shall have become so
+accustomed to one another that I shall be able to love you like a father,
+and you will be able to take me in your arms without any amorous
+sentiments."
+
+"Are you sure of this?"
+
+"Yes, dearest, quite sure."
+
+"You make a mistake."
+
+"Let me be mistaken, and believe me I shall be glad to be mistaken."
+
+"Unhappy devotee!"
+
+"Why unhappy?"
+
+"Nothing, nothing.  I may be too long, I shall endanger .  .  . let
+us say no more about it.  I will stay."
+
+I went out more pained with her state than my own, and I felt that the
+best thing I could do would be to forget her, "for," said I to myself,
+"even if I do enjoy her once, Sunday will come again; she will confess,
+repent, and I shall have to begin all over again.  She confessed her
+love, and flatters herself that she will be able to subdue it--a foolish
+hope, which could only exist in a mind under the dominion of prejudice."
+
+I came home at noon, and Don Diego dined with me; his daughter did not
+appear till the dessert.  I begged her to sit down, politely, but coldly.
+Her father asked her jestingly if I had paid her a visit in the night.
+
+"I never suspected Don Jaime of such a thing," she replied, "and I only
+objected out of shyness."
+
+I interrupted her by praising her modesty, and telling her that she would
+have done quite right to beware of me, if my sense of duty had not been
+stronger than any voluptuous desires inspired by her charms.
+
+Don Diego pronounced this declaration of love as good as anything to be
+found in the "Morte d'Arthur."
+
+His daughter said I was laughing at her, but Don Diego said he was
+certain that I was in earnest, and that I had known her before taking her
+to the ball.
+
+"You are utterly mistaken," said Donna Ignazia, with some degree of fire.
+
+"Your father is wiser than you, senora," I replied.
+
+"What!  How and when did you see me?"
+
+"At the church where I heard mass, and you communicated, when you went
+out with your cousin.  I followed you at some distance; you can guess the
+rest."
+
+She was speechless, and her father enjoyed the consciousness of his
+superior intellect.
+
+"I am going to see the bull fight," said he; "it's a fine day, and all
+Madrid will be there, so one must go early to get a good place.  I advise
+you to go, as you have never seen a bull fight; ask Don Jaime to take you
+with him, Ignazia."
+
+"Would you like to have my companionship?" said she, tenderly.
+
+"Certainly I would, but you must bring your cousin, as I am in love with
+her."
+
+Don Diego burst out laughing, but Ignazia said, slyly,
+
+"It is not so impossible after all."
+
+We went to see the splendid but barbarous spectacle in which Spaniards
+take so much delight.  The two girls placed themselves in front of the
+only vacant box, and I sat behind on the second bench, which was a foot
+and a half higher than the first.  There were already two ladies there,
+and much to my amusement one of them was the famous Duchess of
+Villadorias.  She was in front of me, and sat in such a position that her
+head was almost between my legs.  She recognized me, and said we were
+fortunate in meeting one another; and then noticing Donna Ignazia, who
+was close to her, she congratulated me in French on her charms, and asked
+me whether she was my mistress or my wife.  I replied that she was a
+beauty before whom I sighed in vain.  She replied, with a smile, that she
+was rather a sceptical person; and turning to Donna Ignazia began a
+pleasant and amorous discourse, thinking the girl to be as learned in the
+laws of love as herself.  She whispered something in her ear which made
+Ignazia blush, and the duchess, becoming enthusiastic, told me I had
+chosen the handsomest girl in Madrid, and that she would be delighted to
+see us both at her country house.
+
+I promised to come, as I was obliged to do, but I begged to be excused
+naming the day.  Nevertheless, she made me promise to call on her at four
+o'clock the next day, telling me, much to my terror, that she would be
+alone.  She was pretty enough, but too notorious a character; and such a
+visit would have given rise to talk.
+
+Happily the fight began, and silence became general, for the Spaniards
+are passionately devoted of bull fighting.
+
+So much has been written on the subject that my readers will pardon my
+giving a detailed account of the fight.  I may say that the sport is, in
+my opinion, a most barbarous one, and likely to operate unfavourably on
+the national morals; the arena is sometimes drenched in the blood of
+bulls, horses, and even of the unfortunate picadores and matadores, whose
+sole defence is the red rag with which they irritate the bull.
+
+When it was over I escorted the girls--who had enjoyed themselves
+immensely--back to the house, and made the ugly cousin stay to supper, as
+I foresaw that they would again sleep together.
+
+We supped together, but it was a melancholy affair, for Don Diego was
+away, and I did not feel in the humour to amuse my company.
+
+Donna Ignazia became pensive when, in reply to a question of hers, I said
+that it would be absolutely rude of me not to go to the duchess's.
+
+"You will come with me some day," I added, "to dine at her country
+house."
+
+"You need not look for that."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because she is a madwoman.  She talked to me in a way that would have
+offended me if I did not know that she fancied she was honouring me by
+laying aside her rank."
+
+We rose from table, and after I had dismissed my man we sat on the
+balcony to wait for Don Diego and to enjoy the delicious evening breezes.
+
+As we sat near to each other in the twilight, so favourable to lovers'
+vows, I looked into Donna Ignazia's eyes, and saw there that my hour had
+come.  I clasped her to me with one arm, I clung with my lips to hers,
+and by the way she trembled I guessed the flame which consumed her.
+
+"Will you go and see the duchess?"
+
+"No, if you will promise me not to go to confession next Sunday."
+
+"But what will he say if I do not go?"
+
+"Nothing at all, if he understands his business.  But let us talk it over
+a little."
+
+We were so tightly clasped together that the cousin, like a good girl,
+left us, and went to the other end of the balcony, taking care to look
+away from us.
+
+Without changing my position, in spite of the temptation to do so, I
+asked her if she felt in the humour to repent of the sin she was ready to
+commit.
+
+"I was not thinking of repentance just then, but as you remind me of it,
+I must tell you that I shall certainly go to confession."
+
+"And after you have been to confession will you love me as you love me
+now?"
+
+"I hope God will give me strength to offend Him no more."
+
+"I assure you that if you continue loving me God will not give you grace,
+yet I feel sure that on Sunday evening you will refuse me that which you
+are now ready to grant."
+
+"Indeed I will, sweetheart; but why should we talk of that now?"
+
+"Because if I abandon myself to pleasure now I shall be more in love with
+you than ever, and consequently more unhappy than ever, when the day of
+your repentance comes.  So promise me that you will not go to confession
+whilst I remain at Madrid, or give the fatal order now, and bid me leave
+you.  I cannot abandon myself to love to-day knowing that it will be
+refused me on Sunday."
+
+As I remonstrated thus, I clasped her affectionately in my arms,
+caressing her most ardently; but before coming to the decisive action I
+asked her again whether she would promise not to go to confession next
+Sunday.
+
+"You are cruel," said she, "I cannot make you that promise for my
+conscience sake."
+
+At this reply, which I had quite expected, I remained motionless, feeling
+sure that she must be in a state of desperate irritation at the work half
+begun and not concluded.  I, too, suffered, for I was at the door of the
+sanctuary, and a slight movement would have sent me into the inmost
+shrine; but I knew that her torments must be greater than mine, and that
+she could not resist long.
+
+Donna Ignazia was indeed in a terrible state; I had not repulsed her, but
+I was perfectly inactive.  Modesty prevented her asking me openly to
+continue, but she redoubled her caresses, and placed herself in an easier
+position, reproaching me with my cruelty.  I do not know whether I could
+have held out much longer, but just then the cousin turned round and told
+us that Don Diego was coming in.
+
+We hastened to arrange our toilette, and to sit in a decent position.
+The cousin came up to us, and Don Diego, after making a few remarks, left
+us on the balcony, wishing us a good night.  I might have begun over
+again, but I clung to my system of repression, and after wishing the
+girls good night with a melancholy air, I went to bed.
+
+I hoped Donna Ignazia would repent and come and keep me company, but I
+was disappointed.  They left their room early in the morning, and at noon
+Don Diego came to dine with me, saying his daughter had such a bad
+headache that she had not even gone to mass.
+
+"We must get her to eat something."
+
+"No, I think abstinence will do her good, and in the evening I daresay
+she will be able to sup with you."
+
+I went to keep her company by her bedside after I had taken my siesta.
+I did my best for three hours to convince her of her folly; but she kept
+her eyes closed, and said nothing, only sighing when I said something
+very touching.
+
+I left her to walk in St. Jerome's Park, and told her that if she did not
+sup with me I should understand that she did not wish to see me again.
+This threat had its effect.  She came to table at supper-time, but she
+looked pale and exhausted.  She ate little, and said nothing, for she
+knew not what to say.  I saw that she was suffering, and I pitied her
+from my heart.
+
+Before going to bed she asked me if I had been to see the duchess.  She
+seemed somewhat cheered when I answered in the negative.  I told her that
+she might satisfy herself of the truth of my reply by asking Philippe,
+who had taken my note begging her grace to excuse me for that day.
+
+"But will you go another day?"
+
+"No, dearest, because I see it would grieve you."
+
+She gave a sigh of content, and I embraced her gently, and she left me as
+sad as I was.
+
+I could see that what I asked of her was a great deal; but I had good
+grounds for hope, as I knew her ardent disposition.  It was not God and I
+that were disputing for her, but her confessor and I.  If she had not
+been a Catholic I should have won her the first day.
+
+She had told me that she would get into trouble with her confessor if she
+did not go to him as usual; she had too much of fine Spanish honour in
+her to tell him what was not true, or to endeavour to combine her love
+with her religion.
+
+The Friday and the Saturday passed without any events of consequence.
+Her father, who could not blind himself to our love any longer, trusted,
+I suppose, to his daughter's virtue, and made her dine and sup with me
+every day.  On Saturday evening Donna Ignazia left me sadder than ever,
+and turned her head away when I would have kissed her as usual.
+I saw what was the matter; she was going to communicate the next day.
+I admired her consistency, in spite of myself, and pitied her heartily;
+for I could guess the storm that must be raging in her breast.  I began
+to repent having demanded all, and wished I had been contented with a
+little.
+
+I wished to be satisfied with my own eyes, and got up early on Sunday
+morning and followed her.  I knew that she would call for her cousin, so
+I went on to the church.  I placed myself by the sacristy-door, where I
+could see without being seen.
+
+I waited a quarter of an hour, then they came in, and after kneeling down
+for a few moments, separated, each going to her own confessor.
+
+I only noticed Donna Ignazia; I saw her going to the confessional, and
+the confessor turning towards her.
+
+I waited patiently.  I thought the confession would never come to an end.
+"What is he saying?" I repeated to myself as I saw the confessor speaking
+to her now and again.
+
+I could bear it no longer, and I was on the point of going away when I
+saw her rise from her knees.
+
+Donna Ignazia, looking like a saint, came to kneel in the church, but out
+of my sight.  I thought she would come forward to receive the Holy
+Communion at the end of the Mass that was being said, but instead of that
+she went towards the door, rejoined her cousin and they left the church.
+I was astonished.  My heart was seized with a pang of remorse.
+
+"It's all over," I said to myself.  "The poor girl has made a sincere and
+full confession, she has avowed her love, and the priest's cruel duty has
+made him refuse her absolution.
+
+"All is lost.  What will come of it?"
+
+"My peace of mind and hers require me to leave her.
+
+"Wretch that I am, to have lost all for all! I should have made allowance
+for the peculiar Spanish character.
+
+"I might have enjoyed her by surprise now and again; the difficulty would
+have added piquancy to the intrigue.  I have behaved as if I were once
+more twenty, and I have lost all.
+
+"At dinner she will be all sad and tearful.  I must find some way out of
+this terrible situation."
+
+Thus soliloquising, I came home ill pleased with the line of conduct I
+had adopted.
+
+My hairdresser was waiting for me, but I sent him away, and told my cook
+not to serve my dinner till I ordered it; then, feeling the need of rest,
+I flung myself on my bed and slept profoundly till one o'clock.
+
+I got up and ordered dinner to be brought in, and sent a message to the
+father and daughter that I was expecting them.
+
+My surprise may be imagined when Donna Ignazia appeared in a costume of
+black velvet, adorned with ribbons and lace.  In my opinion there is no
+more seductive costume in Europe when the wearer is pretty.
+
+I also noticed that every feature of her face breathed peace and calm; I
+had never seen her looking so well, and I could not help congratulating
+her.  She replied with a smile, and I gave her a kiss, which she took as
+meekly as a lamb.
+
+Philippe arrived, and we sat down to table.  I saw that my fair
+sweetheart had crossed the Rubicon; the day was won.
+
+"I am going to be happy," said she, "but let us say nothing, and it will
+come of itself."
+
+However, I did not conceal my bliss, and made love to her whenever the
+servant was out of the room.  She was not only submissive, but even
+ardent.
+
+Before we left the table she asked me if I still loved her.
+
+"More than ever, darling; I adore you."
+
+"Then take me to the bull fight."
+
+"Quick!  Fetch the hairdresser."
+
+When my hair was done I made an elaborate toilette, and burning with
+impatience we set out on foot, as I was afraid we should not secure a
+good place if we waited till the carriage was ready.  We found a fine box
+with only two persons in it, and Ignazia, after glancing round, said she
+was glad that the detestable duchess was not anywhere near us.
+
+After some fine sport my mistress begged me to take her to the Prado,
+where all the best people in Madrid are to be seen.
+
+Donna Ignazia leant on my arm, seemed proud to be thought mine, and
+filled me with delight.
+
+All at once we met the Venetian ambassador and his favourite, Manucci.
+They had just arrived from Aranjuez.  We greeted each other with due
+Spanish politeness, and the ambassador paid me a high compliment on the
+beauty of my companion.  Donna Ignazia pretended not to understand, but
+she pressed my arm with Spanish delicacy.
+
+After walking a short distance with us M. de Mocenigo said he hoped I
+would dine with him on the following day, and after I had nodded
+acquiescence in the French style we parted.
+
+Towards the evening we took some ices and returned home, and the gentle
+pressure of my arm on the way prepared me for the bliss I was to enjoy.
+
+We found Don Diego on the balcony waiting for us.  He congratulated his
+daughter on her pleasant appearance and the pleasure she must have taken
+in my society.
+
+Charmed with papa's good humour, I asked him to sup with us, and he
+accepted, and amused us with his witty conversation and a multitude of
+little tales that pleased me exceedingly.  He made the following speech
+on leaving us, which I give word for word, but I cannot give the reader
+any idea of the inimitable Spanish gravity with which it was delivered.
+
+"Amigo Senior Don Jaime, I leave you here to enjoy the cool air with my
+daughter.  I am delighted at your loving her, and you may be assured that
+I shall place no obstacle in the way of your becoming my son-in-law as
+soon as you can shew your titles of nobility."
+
+When he was gone, I said to his daughter,--
+
+"I should be only too happy, if it could be managed; but you must know
+that in my country they only are called nobles who have an hereditary
+right to rule the state.  If I had been born in Spain I should be noble,
+but as it is I adore you, and I hope you will make me happy."
+
+"Yes, dearest, but we must be happy together; I cannot suffer any
+infidelity."
+
+"I give you my word of honour that I will be wholly faithful to you."
+
+"Come then, 'corazon mio', let us go in."
+
+"No, let us put out the lights, and stay here a quarter of an hour.  Tell
+me, my angel, whence comes this unexpected happiness?"
+
+"You owe it to a piece of tyranny which drove me to desperation.  God is
+good, and I am sure He would not have me become my own executioner.  When
+I told my confessor that I could not help loving you, but that I could
+restrain myself from all excess of love, he replied that this self-
+confidence was misplaced, as I had already fallen.  He wanted me to
+promise never to be alone with you again, and on my refusing to do so he
+would not give me absolution.
+
+"I have never had such a piece of shame cast on me, but I laid it all in
+the hands of God, and said, 'Thy will be done.'
+
+"Whilst I heard mass my mind was made up, and as long as you love me I
+shall be yours, and yours only.  When you leave Spain and abandon me to
+despair, I shall find another confessor.  My conscience holds me
+guiltless; this is my comfort.  My cousin, whom I have told all, is
+astonished, but then she is not very clever."
+
+After this declaration, which put me quite at my ease, and would have
+relieved me of any scruples if I had had them, I took her to my bed.  In
+the morning, she left me tired out, but more in love with her than ever.
+
+
+
+
+End of this Project Gutenberg Etext of MEMOIRES OF JACQUES CASANOVA
+SPANISH PASSIONS, Vol. 6a, SPAIN, by Jacques Casanova de Seingalt
+
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