My Arrival at Dresden with Maton--She Makes Me a
Present--Leipzig--Castelbajac--Schwerin--Return to Dresden and
Departure--I Arrive at Vienna--Pocchini's Vengeance
When I saw myself in the carriage with this pretty girl, who had fallen
on me as if from the clouds, I imagined I was intended to shape her
destiny. Her tutelary genius must have placed her in my hands, for I felt
inclined to do her all the good that lay in my power. But for myself; was
it a piece of good or ill luck for me? I formed the question, but felt
that time alone could give the answer. I knew that I was still living in
my old style, while I was beginning to feel that I was no longer a young
man.
I was sure that my new companion could not have abandoned herself to me
in this manner, without having made up her mind to be complaisant; but
this was not enough for me, it was my humour to be loved. This was my
chief aim, everything else was only fleeting enjoyment, and as I had not
had a love affair since I parted with Zaira, I hoped most fervently that
the present adventure would prove to be one.
Before long I learnt that my companion's name was Maton; this at least
was her surname, and I did not feel any curiosity to know the name of the
he or she saint whom her godmothers had constituted her patron at the
baptismal font. I asked her if she could write French as well as she
spoke it, and she shewed me a letter by way of sample. It assured me that
she had received an excellent education, and this fact increased my
pleasure in the conquest I had made. She said she had left Breslau
without telling her aunt or her cousin that she was going, perhaps never
to return.
"How about your belongings?"
"Belongings? They were not worth the trouble of gathering together. All I
have is included in that small package, which contains a chemise, a pair
of stockings, some handkerchiefs, and a few nicknacks."
"What will your lover say?"
"Alas! I haven't got one to say anything."
"I cannot credit that."
"I have had two lovers; the first one was a rascal, who took advantage of
my innocence to seduce me, and then left me when I ceased to present any
novelty for him; my second was an honest man, but a poor lieutenant with
no prospects of getting on. He has not abandoned me, but his regiment was
ordered to Stetin, and since then--"
"And since then?"
"We were too poor to write to one another, so we had to suffer in
silence."
This pathetic history seemed to bear the marks of truth; and I thought it
very possible that Maton had only come with me to make her fortune or to
do rather better than she had been doing, which would not be difficult.
She was twenty-five years old, and as she had never been out of Breslau
before, she would doubtless be delighted to see what the world was like
at Dresden. I could not help feeling that I had been a fool to burden
myself with the girl, who would most likely cost me a lot of money; but
still I found my conduct excusable, as the chances were a hundred to one
against her accepting the proposal I had been foolish enough to make. In
short, I resolved to enjoy the pleasure of having a pretty girl all to
myself, and I determined not to do anything during the journey, being
anxious to see whether her moral qualities would plead as strongly with
me as her physical beauty undoubtedly did. At nightfall I stopped,
wishing to spend the night at the posting-station. Maton, who had been
very hungry all day, but had not dared to tell me so, ate with an amazing
and pleasing appetite; but not being accustomed to wine, she would have
fallen asleep at table, if I had not begged her to retire. She begged my
pardon, assuring me she would not let such a thing occur again. I smiled
by way of reply, and stayed at the table, not looking to see whether she
undressed or went to bed in her clothes. I went to bed myself soon after,
and at five o'clock was up again to order the coffee, and to see that the
horses were put in. Maton was lying on her bed with all her clothes on,
fast asleep, and perspiring with the heat. I woke her, telling her that
another time she must sleep more comfortably, as such heats were
injurious to health.
She got up and left the room, no doubt to wash, for she returned looking
fresh and gay, and bade me good day, and asked me if I would like to give
her a kiss.
"I shall be delighted," I replied; and, after kissing her, I made her
hurry over the breakfast, as I wished to reach Dresden that evening.
However, I could not manage it, my carriage broke down, and took five
hours to mend, so I had to sleep at another posting station. Maton
undressed this time, but I had the firmness not to look at her.
When I reached Dresden I put up at the "Hotel de Saxe," taking the whole
of the first floor. My mother was in the country, and I paid her a visit,
much to her delight; we made quite an affecting picture, with my arm in a
sling. I also saw my brother John and his wife Therese, Roland, and a
Roman girl whom I had known before him, and who made much of me. I also
saw my sister, and I then went with my brother to pay my suit to Count
Bruhl and to his wife, the daughter of the palatin of Kiowia, who was
delighted to hear news of her family. I was welcomed everywhere, and
everywhere I had to tell the story of my duel. I confess that very little
pressing was required, for I was very proud of it.
At this period the States were assembled in Dresden, and Prince Xavier,
uncle of the Elector, was regent during his minority.
The same evening I went to the opera-house, where faro was played. I
played, but prudently, for my capital only consisted of eighteen hundred
ducats.
When I came back we had a good supper, and Maton pleased me both by her
appetite and amiability. When we had finished I affectionately asked her
if she would like to share my bed, and she replied as tenderly that she
was wholly mine. And so, after passing a voluptuous night, we rose in the
morning the best friends in the world.
I spent the whole morning in furnishing her toilette. A good many people
called on me, and wanted to be presented to Maton; but my answer was
that, as she was only my housekeeper, and not my wife, I could not have
the pleasure of introducing her. In the same way I had instructed her
that she was not to let anyone in when I was away. She was working in her
room on the linen I had provided for her, aided in her task by a
seamstress. Nevertheless, I did not want to make her a slave, so I
occasionally took her into the pleasant suburbs of Dresden, where she was
at liberty to speak to any of my acquaintances we might meet.
This reserve of mine which lasted for the fortnight we stayed in Dresden
was mortifying for all the young officers in the place, and especially
for the Comte de Bellegarde, who was not accustomed to being denied any
girl to whom he chose to take a fancy. He was a fine young fellow, of
great boldness and even impudence, and one day he came into our room and
asked me to give him a dinner just as Maton and myself were sitting down
to table. I could not refuse him, and I could not request Maton to leave
the room, so from the beginning to the end of the meal he showered his
military jokes and attentions on her, though he was perfectly polite the
whole time. Maton behaved very well; she was not prudish, nor did she
forget the respect she owed to me and indeed to herself.
I was accustomed to take a siesta every day after dinner, so half an hour
after the conclusion of the meal I stated the fact and begged him to
leave us. He asked smilingly if the lady took a siesta too, and I replied
that we usually took it together. This made him take up his hat and cane,
and as he did so he asked us both to dine with him the next day. I
replied that I never took Maton out anywhere, but that he would be
welcome to come and take pot-luck with us every day if he liked.
This refusal exhausted his resources, and he took his leave if not
angrily, at least very coldly.
My mother returned to her town apartments, which were opposite to mine,
and the next day when I was calling on her I noticed the erker (a sort of
grating in the Spanish fashion) which indicated my rooms in the hotel. I
happened to look in that direction and I saw Maton at the window standing
up and talking to M. de Bellegarde, who was at a neighbouring window.
This window belonged to a room which adjoined my suite of rooms, but did
not belong to it. This discovery amused me. I knew what I was about, and
did not fear to be made a cuckold in spite of myself. I was sure I had
not been observed, and I was not going to allow any trespassers. I was
jealous, in fact; but the jealousy was of the mind, not the heart.
I came in to dinner in the highest spirits, and Maton was as gay as
myself. I led the conversation up to Bellegarde, and said I believed him
to be in love with her.
"Oh, he is like all officers with girls; but I don't think he is more in
love with me than any other girl."
"Oh, but didn't he come to call on me this morning?"
"Certainly not; and if he had come the maid would have told him you were
out."
"Did you not notice him walking up and down 'under the windows?"
"No."
This was enough for me; I knew they had laid a plot together. Maton was
deceiving me, and I should be cheated in twenty-four hours unless I took
care. At my age such treason should not have astonished me, but my vanity
would not allow me to admit the fact.
I dissembled my feelings and caressed the traitress, and then leaving the
house I went to the theatre where I played with some success and returned
home while the second act was in progress; it was still daylight. The
waiter was at the door, and I asked him whether there were any rooms
besides those which I occupied on the first floor. "Yes, two rooms, both
looking on the street."
"Tell the landlord that I will take them both."
"They were taken yesterday evening."
"By whom?"
"By a Swiss officer, who is entertaining a party of friends to supper
here this evening."
I said no more lest I should awaken suspicion; but I felt sure that
Bellegarde could easily obtain access to my rooms from his. Indeed, there
was a door leading to the room where Maton slept with her maid when I did
not care to have her in my room. The door was bolted on her side, but as
she was in the plot there was not much security in this.
I went upstairs softly, and finding Maton on the balcony, I said, after
some indifferent conversation, that I should like to change rooms.
"You shall have my room," I said, "and I will have yours; I can read
there, and see the people going by."
She thought it a very good idea, and added that it would serve us both if
I would allow her to sit there when I was out.
This reply shewed me that Maton was an old hand, and that I had better
give her up if I did not wish to be duped.
I changed the rooms, and we supped pleasantly together, laughing and
talking, and in spite of all her craft Maton did not notice any change in
me.
I remained alone in my new room, and soon heard the voices of Bellegarde
and his merry companions. I went on to the balcony, but the curtains of
Bellegarde's room were drawn, as if to assure me that there was no
complot. However, I was not so easily deceived, and I found afterwards
that Mercury had warned Jupiter that Amphytrion had changed his room.
Next day, a severe headache, a thing from which I seldom suffer, kept me
to the house all day. I had myself let blood, and my worthy mother, who
came to keep me company, dined with Maton. My mother had taken a weakness
for the girl, and had often asked me to let her come and see her, but I
had the good sense to refuse this request. The next day I was still far
from well, and took medicine, and in the evening, to my horror, I found
myself attacked by a fearful disease. This must be a present from Maton,
for I had not known anyone else since leaving Leopol. I spent a troubled
night, rage and indignation being my principal emotions; and next
morning, coming upon Maton suddenly, I found everything in the most
disgusting state. The wretched creature confessed she had been infected
for the last six months, but that she had hoped not to give it me, as she
had washed herself carefully whenever she thought I was going to have to
do with her.
"Wretch, you have poisoned me; but nobody shall know it, as it is by my
own fault, and I am ashamed of it. Get up, and you shall see how generous
I can be."
She got up, and I had all the linen I had given her packed into a trunk.
This done, I told my man to take a small room for her at another inn. His
errand was soon over, and I then told Maton to go immediately, as I had
done with her. I gave her fifty crowns, and made her sign a receipt
specifying the reason why I had sent her away, and acknowledging that she
had no further claim upon me. The conditions were humiliating, and she
wished me to soften them down, but she soon gave in when I told her that
unless she signed I would turn her into the streets as naked as when I
found her.
"What am I to do here? I don't know anyone."
"If you like to return to Breslau I will pay your expenses there."
She made no answer, so I sent her away bag and baggage, and merely turned
my back on her when she went down on her knees to excite my compassion.
I got rid of her without the slightest feeling of pity, for from what she
had done to me and from what she was preparing to do I considered her as
a mere monster, who would sooner or later have cost me my life.
I left the inn the following day, and I took a furnished apartment on the
first floor of the house where my mother lived for six months, and
proceeded about my cure. Everyone asked me what I had done with my
housekeeper, and I said that having no further need of her services I had
sent her away.
A week afterwards my brother John came to tell me that Bellegarde and
five or six of his friends were on the sick list; Maton had certainly
lost no time.
"I am sorry for them, but it's their own fault; why didn't they take more
care?"
"But the girl came to Dresden with you."
"Yes, and I sent her about her business. It was enough for me to keep
them off while she was under my charge. Tell them that if they complain
of me they are wrong, and still more wrong to publish their shame. Let
them learn discretion and get themselves cured in secrecy, if they do not
want sensible men to laugh at them. Don't you think I am right?"
"The adventure is not a very honourable one for you."
"I know it, and that's why I say nothing; I am not such a fool as to
proclaim my shame from the housetops. These friends of yours must be
simpletons indeed; they must have known that I had good reasons for
sending the girl away, and should consequently have been on their guard.
They deserve what they got, and I hope it may be a lesson to them."
"They are all astonished at your being well."
"You may comfort them by saying that I have been as badly treated as
they, but that I have held my tongue, not wishing to pass for a
simpleton."
Poor John saw he had been a simpleton himself and departed in silence. I
put myself under a severe diet, and by the middle of August my health was
re-established.
About this time, Prince Adam Czartoryski's sister came to Dresden,
lodging with Count Bruhl. I had the honour of paying my court to her, and
I heard from her own mouth that her royal cousin had had the weakness to
let himself be imposed on by calumnies about me. I told her that I was of
Ariosto's opinion that all the virtues are nothing worth unless they are
covered with the veil of constancy.
"You saw yourself when I supped with you, how his majesty completely
ignored me. Your highness will be going to Paris next year; you will meet
me there and you can write to the king that if I had been burnt in effigy
I should not venture to shew myself."
The September fair being a great occasion at Leipzig, I went there to
regain my size by eating larks, for which Leipzig is justly famous. I had
played a cautious but a winning game at Dresden, the result of which had
been the gain of some hundreds of ducats, so I was able to start for
Leipzig with a letter of credit for three thousand crowns on the banker
Hohman, an intelligent old man of upwards of eighty. It was of him I
heard that the hair of the Empress of Russia, which looked a dark brown
or even black, had been originally quite fair. The old banker had seen
her at Stettin every day between her seventh and tenth years, and told me
that even then they had begun to comb her hair with lead combs, and to
rub a certain composition into it. From an early age Catherine had been
looked upon as the future bride of the Duke of Holstein, afterwards the
hapless Peter III. The Russians are fair as a rule, and so it was thought
it that the reigning family should be dark.
Here I will note down a pleasant adventure I had at Leipzig. The Princess
of Aremberg had arrived from Vienna, and was staying at the same hotel as
myself. She took a fancy to go to the fair incognito, and as she had a
large suite she dressed up one of her maids as the princess, and mingled
with her following. I suppose my readers to be aware that this princess
was witty and beautiful, and that she was the favourite mistress of the
Emperor Francis the First.
I heard of his masquerade, and leaving my hotel at the same time I
followed her till she stopped at a stall, and then going up to her and
addressing her as one would any other maid, I asked if that (pointing at
the false princess) were really the famous Princess of Aremberg.
"Certainly," she replied.
"I can scarcely believe it, for she is not pretty, and she, has, not the
look nor the manners of a princess."
"Perhaps you are not a good judge of princesses."
"I have seen enough of them anyhow, and to prove that I am a good judge I
say that it is you who ought to be the princess; I would willingly give a
hundred ducats to spend the night with you."
"A hundred ducats! What would you do if I were to take you at your word?"
"Try me. I lodge at the same hotel as you, and if yet can contrive ways
and means, I will give you the money in advance, but not till I am sure
of my prize, for I don't like being taken in."
"Very good. Say not a word to anyone, but try to speak with me either
before or after supper. If you are brave enough to face certain risks, we
will spend the night together."
"What is your name?"
"Caroline."
I felt certain it would come to nothing, but I was glad to have amused
the princess, and to have let her know that I appreciated her beauties,
and I resolved to go on with the part I was playing. About supper-time I
began a promenade near the princess's apartments, stopping every now and
then in front of the room where her women were sitting, till one of them
came out to ask me if I wanted anything.
"I want to speak for a moment to one of your companions to whom I had the
pleasure of talking at the fair."
"You mean Caroline, I expect?"
"Yes."
"She is waiting on the princess, but she will be out in half an hour."
I spent this half hour in my own room, and then returned to dance
attendance. Before long the same maid to whom I had spoken came up to me
and told me to wait in a closet which she shewed me, telling me that
Caroline would be there before long. I went into the closet, which was
small, dark, and uncomfortable. I was soon joined by a woman. This time I
was sure it was the real Caroline, but I said nothing.
She came, in, took my hand, and told me that if I would wait there she
would come to me as soon as her mistress was in bed.
"Without any light?"
"Of course, or else the people of the house would notice it, and I should
not like that."
"I cannot do anything without light, charming Caroline; and besides, this
closet is not a very nice place to pass five or six hours. There is
another alternative, the first room above is mine. I shall be alone, and
I swear to you that no one shall come in; come up and make me happy; I
have got the hundred ducats here."
"Impossible! I dare not go upstairs for a million ducats."
"So much the worse for you, as I am not going to stay in this hole which
has only a chair in it, if you offer me a million and a half. Farewell,
sweet Caroline."
"Wait a moment; let me go out first."
The sly puss went out quickly enough, but I was as sharp as she, and trod
on the tail of her dress so that she could not shut the door after her.
So we went out together, and I left her at the door, saying,--
"Good night, Caroline, you see it was no use."
I went to bed well pleased with the incident. The princess, it was plain,
had intended to make me pass the night in the hole of a closet, as a
punishment for having dared to ask the mistress of an emperor to sleep
with me for a hundred crowns.
Two days later, as I was buying a pair of lace cuffs, the princess came
into the shop with Count Zinzendorf, whom I had known at Paris twelve
years before just as I was making way for the lady the count recognized
me, and asked me if I knew anything about the Casanova that had fought
the duel at Warsaw.
"Alas! count, I am that Casanova, and here is my arm still in a sling."
"I congratulate you, my dear fellow; I should like to hear about it."
With these words he introduced me to the princess, asking her if she had
heard of the duel.
"Yes; I heard something about it in the papers. So this is the hero of
the tale. Delighted to make your acquaintance."
The princess spoke with great kindness, but with the cool politeness of
the Court. She did not give me the slightest sign of recognition, and of
course I imitated her in her reserve.
I visited the count in the afternoon, and he begged me to come and see
the princess, who would be delighted to hear the account of my duel from
my own lips, and I followed him to her apartment with pleasure. The
princess listened to my narrative in stately sort, and her women never
looked at me. She went away the day after, and the story went no farther.
Towards the end of the fair I received a very unexpected visit from the
fair Madame Castelbajac. I was just sitting down to table to eat a dozen
larks, when she made her appearance.
"What, madam, you here!"
"Yes, to my sorrow. I have been here for the last three weeks, and have
seen you several times, but you have always avoided us."
"Who are 'us'?"
"Schwerin and myself."
"Schwerin is here, is he?"
"Yes; and in prison on account of a forged bill. I am sure I do not know
what they will do to the poor wretch. He would have been wise to have
fled, but it seems as if he wanted to get hanged."
"And you have been with him ever since you left England? that is, three
years ago."
"Exactly. Our occupation is robbing, cheating, and escaping from one land
to another. Never was a woman so unhappy as I."
"For how much is the forged bill?"
"For three hundred crowns. Do a generous action M. Casanova, and let
bygones be bygones; deliver the poor wretch from the gallows and me from
death, for if he is hanged I shall kill myself."
"Indeed, madam, he may hang for me, for he did his best to send me to the
gallows with his forged bills; but I confess I pity you. So much, indeed,
that I invite you to come to Dresden with me the day after to-morrow, and
I promise to give you three hundred crowns as soon as Schwerin has
undergone the extreme penalty of the law. I can't understand how a woman
like you can have fallen in love with a man that has neither face, nor
talents, nor wit, nor fortune, for all that he has to boast of is his
name of Schwerin."
"I confess, to my shame, that I never loved him. Ever since the other
rogue, Castelbajac--who, by the way, was never married to me--made me
know him, I have only lived with him by force, though his tears and his
despairs have excited my compassion. If destiny had given me an honest
man in his stead, I would have forsaken him long ago, for sooner or later
he will be the death of me."
"Where do you live?"
"Nowhere. I have been turned out into the street with nothing but the
clothes on my back. Have compassion on me."
With these words the hapless woman threw herself at my knees and burst
into tears. I was much affected. The waiter of the inn stood staring with
amazement till I told him to go out. I may safely say that this woman was
one of the most handsome in France; she was probably about twenty-six
years old. She had been the wife of a druggist of Montpellier, and had
been so unfortunate as to let Castelbajac seduce her. At London her
beauty had produced no impression on me, my heart was another's;
nevertheless, she was made to seduce the heart of man.
I raised her from her knees, and said I felt inclined to help her, but
that in the first place she must calm herself, and in the second share my
supper. The waiter brought another bed and put it in my room, without
receiving any orders to do so; this made me feel inclined to laugh.
The appetite with which the poor woman ate, despite her sorrow, reminded
me of the matron of Ephesus. When supper was over I gave her her choice:
she might either stay in Leipzig and fare as best she might, or I would
reclaim her effects, take her with me to Dresden, and pay her a hundred
gold ducats as soon as I could be certain that she would not give the
money to the wretch who had reduced her to such an extremity. She did not
ask much time for reflection. She said that it would be no good for her
to stay in Leipzig, for she could do nothing for the wretched Schwerin or
even keep herself for a day, for she had not got a farthing. She would
have to beg or to become a prostitute, and she could not make up her mind
to either course.
"Indeed," she concluded, "if you were to give me the hundred ducats this
moment, and I used them to free Schwerin, I should be no better off than
before; so I accept your generous offer thankfully."
I embraced her, promised to get back what her landlord had seized for
rent, and then begged her to go to bed, as she was in need of rest.
"I see," she answered, "that either out of liking or for politeness' sake
you will ask me for those favours which I should be only too happy to
grant, but if I allowed that it would be a bad return indeed for your
kindness. Look at my linen, and behold in what a state that unhappy
wretch has left me!"
I saw that I ran the risk of being infected again, and thanked her for
warning me of the danger I ran. In spite of her faults she was a woman of
feeling, and had an excellent heart, and from these good qualities of
hers proceeded all her misfortunes.
The next morning I arranged for the redemption of her effects, which cost
me sixty crowns of Saxony, and in the afternoon the poor woman saw
herself once more in possession of her belongings, which she had thought
never to see again. She seemed profoundly grateful, and deplored her
state, which hindered her from proving the warmth of her feelings.
Such is the way of women: a grateful woman has only one way of shewing
her gratitude, and that is to surrender herself without reserve. A man is
different, but we are differently constituted; a man is made to give and
a woman to receive.
The next day, a short while before we left, the broker I had employed in
the redemption of the lady's effects, told me that the banker, whom
Schwerin had cheated, was going to send an express to Berlin, to enquire
whether the king would object to Count Schwerin's being proceeded against
with the utmost rigour of the law.
"Alas!" cried his late mistress, "that's what he was most afraid of. It's
all up with him. The King of Prussia will pay his debts, but he will end
his days at Spandau. Why didn't they put him there before I ever knew
him?"
She left Leipzig with me, and our appearance at Dresden caused a good
deal of surprise. She was not a mere girl, like Maton; she had a good
appearance, and a modest yet distinguished manner. I called her Countess
Blasin, and introduced her to my mother and relations, and put her in my
best room. I summoned the doctor who had treated me, and made him swear
not to disclose the countess's state, but to tell everyone that he came
to see me. I took her to the theatre, and it was my humour to have her
regarded as a person of distinction. Good treatment soon restored her to
health, and by the end of November she believed herself in a state to
reward me for my kindness.
The wedding was a secret one, but none the less pleasant; and as if by
way of wedding present the next day I heard that the King of Prussia had
paid Schwerin's debts, and had had him brought to Berlin under a strong
escort. If he is alive, the rascal is at Spandau to this day.
The time had come for me to pay her the hundred ducats. I told her
frankly that I was obliged to go to Portugal, and that I could not make
my appearance there in company with a pretty woman without failing in my
project. I added that my means would not allow me to pay double expenses
for so long a journey.
She had received too many proofs of my love to think for a moment that I
had got tired of her, and wanted to be on with some other woman. She told
me that she owed everything to me, while I owed nothing to her; and that
all she asked of me was to enable her to return to Montpellier.
"I have relations there," said she, "who will be glad to see me, and I
hope that my husband will let me return to him. I am the Prodigal Son,
and I hope to find in him the forgiving father."
I told her I would do my utmost to send her home in safety and comfort.
Towards the middle of December I left Dresden with Madame Blasin. My
purse only contained four hundred ducats, for I had had a run of bad luck
at play; and the journey to Leipzig had cost me altogether three hundred
ducats. I told my mistress nothing of all this, for my only thought was
how to please her.
We stayed a short while at Prague, and reached Vienna on Christmas Day.
We put up at the "Red Bull," the Countess Blasin (who had been
transformed into a milliner) in one room, and I in another, so that we
might pass for strangers while continuing our intimacy.
The next morning, as we were taking coffee together, two individuals came
into the room, and asked the rude question,--
"Who are you, madam?"
"My name is Blasin."
"Who is this gentleman?"
"You had better ask him."
"What are you doing at Vienna?"
"Taking coffee. I should have thought you could have seen that for
yourselves."
"If the gentleman is not your husband, you will leave the town within
twenty-four hours."
"The gentleman is my friend, and not my husband; and I shall leave Vienna
exactly when I choose, unless you make me go away by force."
"Very good. We are aware, sir, that you have a separate room, but that
makes no difference."
Thereupon one of the policemen entered my room, I following him.
"What do you want here?" said I.
"I am looking at your bed, and I can see you have not slept in it. That's
enough."
"The devil! What business have you here at all, and who authorizes such
disgraceful proceedings?"
He made no reply, but returned to Madame Blasin's room, where they both
ordered her to leave Vienna in the course of twenty-four hours, and then
they both left us.
"Dress yourself," said I to her, "and tell the French ambassador the
whole story. Tell him that you are a milliner, Blasin by name, and that
all you want is to go from here to Strasburg, and from there to
Montpellier."
While she was dressing I ordered a carriage and a servant to be in
attendance. She returned in an hour's time, and said the ambassador had
assured her that she would be left alone, and need not leave Vienna till
she thought fit. I took her to mass in triumph, and then, as the weather
was bad, we spent the rest of the day in eating and drinking and sitting
by the fire.
At eight o'clock in the evening the landlord came up and said very
politely that he had been ordered by the police to give the lady a room
at some distance from mine, and that he was obliged to obey.
"I am quite ready to change my room," said Madame Blasin, with a smile.
"Is the lady to sup alone?" I asked.
"I have received no instructions on that point."
"Then I will sup with her, and I hope you will treat us well."
"You shall be well served, sir."
In spite of the detestable and tyrannical police we spent the last four
days and nights together in the closest intimacy. When she left I wanted
her to take fifty Louis; but she would only have thirty, saying that she
could travel to Montpellier on that sum, and have money in her pocket
when she got there. Our parting was an affecting one. She wrote to me
from Strasburg, and we shall hear of her again when I describe my visit
to Montpellier.
The first day of the year 1767 I took an apartment in the house of a
certain Mr. Schroder, and I took letters of introduction to Madame de
Salmor and Madame de Stahremberg. I then called on the elder Calsabigi,
who was in the service of Prince Kaunitz.
This Calsabigi, whose whole body was one mass of eruption, always worked
in bed, and the minister, his master, went to see him almost every day. I
went constantly to the theatre, where Madame Vestris was dancing. On
January the 7th or 8th, I saw the empress dowager come to the theatre
dressed in black; she was received with applause, as this was the first
appearance she had made since the death of her husband. At Vienna I met
the Comte de la Perouse, who was trying to induce the empress to give him
half a million of florins, which Charles VI. owed his father. Through him
I made the acquaintance of the Spaniard Las Casas, a man of intelligence,
and, what is a rare thing in a Spaniard, free from prejudices. I also met
at the count's house the Venetian Uccelli, with whom I had been at St.
Cyprian's College at Muran; he was, at the time of which I write,
secretary to the ambassador, Polo Renieri. This gentleman had a great
esteem for me, but my affair with the State Inquisitors prevented him
from receiving me. My friend Campioni arrived at this date from Warsaw;
he had passed through Cracovia. I accommodated him in my apartment with
great pleasure. He had an engagement at London, but to my great delight
he was able to spend a couple of months with me.
Prince Charles of Courland, who had been at Venice and had been well
received by M. de Bragadin and my other friends, had been in Vienna and
had left it a fortnight before my arrival to return to Venice. Prince
Charles wrote to tell me that there was no bounds to the care and
kindness of my Venetian friends, and that he would be grateful to me for
all his days.
I lived very quietly at Vienna; my health was good, and I thought of
nothing but my journey to Portugal, which I intended to take place in the
spring. I saw no company of any kind, whether good or ill. I often called
on Calsabigi, who made a parade of his Atheism, and slandered my friend
Metastasio, who despised him. Calsabigi knew it and laughed at him; he
was a profound politician and the right hand of Prince Kaunitz.
One day after dinner, as I was sitting at table with my friend Campioni,
a pretty little girl, between twelve and thirteen, as I should imagine,
came into my room with mingled boldness and fear, and made me a low bow.
I asked her what she wanted, and she replied in Latin verse to the effect
that her mother was in the next room, and that if I liked she would come
in. I replied in Latin prose that I did not care about seeing her mother,
telling her my reasons with great plainness. She replied with four Latin
lines, but as they were not to the point I could see that she had learnt
them by heart, and repeated them like a parrot. She went on-still in
Latin verse--to tell me that her mother must come in or else the
authorities might think I was abusing her.
This last phrase was uttered with all the directness of the Latin style.
It made me burst out laughing, and I felt inclined to explain to her what
she had said in her own language. The little slut told me she was a
Venetian, and this putting me at my ease I told her that the authorities
would never suspect her of doing such a thing as she was too young. At
this the girl seemed to reflect a moment, and then recited some verses
from the Priapeia to the effect that unripe fruit is often more piquant
than that which is ripe. This was enough to set me on fire, and Campioni,
seeing that he was not wanted, went back to his room.
I drew her gently to me and asked her if her father was at Vienna. She
said yes, and instead of repulsing my caresses she proceeded to accompany
my actions with the recital of erotic verses. I sent her away with a fee
of two ducats, but before she went she gave me her address written in
German with four Latin verses beneath, stating that her bedfellow would
find her either Hebe or Ganymede, according to his liking.
I could not help admiring the ingenuity of her father, who thus contrived
to make a living out of his daughters. She was a pretty girl enough, but
at Vienna pretty girls are so common that they often have to starve in
spite of their charms. The Latin verses had been thrown in as an
attraction in this case, but I did not think she would find it very
remunerative in Vienna.
Next evening my evil genius made me go and seek her out at the address
she had given me. Although I was forty-two years old, in spite of the
experience I had had, I was so foolish as to go alone. The girl saw me
coming from the window, and guessing that I was looking for her, she came
down and shewed me in. I went in, I went upstairs, and when I found
myself in the presence of the wretch Pocchini my blood froze in my veins.
A feeling of false shame prevented my retracing my steps, as it might
have looked as if I had been afraid. In the same room were his pretended
wife, Catina, two Sclavonic-looking assassins, and the decoy-duck. I saw
that this was not a laughing matter, so I dissembled to the best of my
ability, and made up my mind to leave the place in five minutes' time.
Pocchini, swearing and blaspheming, began to reproach me with the manner
in which I had treated him in England, and said that his time had come,
and that my life was in his hands. One of the two Sclavs broke in, and
said we must make friends, and so made me sit down, opened a bottle, and
said we must drink together. I tried to put as good a face upon it as I
could, but I begged to be excused, on which Pocchini swore that I was
afraid of having to pay for the bottle of wine.
"You are mistaken," said I; "I am quite ready to pay."
I put my hand in my pocket to take out a ducat without drawing out my
purse, but the Sclav told me I need not be afraid, as I was amongst
honest people. Again shame made me yield, and as I had some difficulty in
extracting my purse, the Sclav kindly did it for me. Pocchini immediately
snatched it from his hands, and said he should keep it as part
compensation for all I had made him endure.
I saw that it was a concerted scheme, and said with a smile that he could
do as he liked, and so I rose to leave them. The Sclav said we must
embrace each other, and on my declaring that to be unnecessary, he and
his comrade drew their sabres, and I thought myself undone. Without more
ado, I hastened to embrace them. To my astonishment they let me go, and I
went home in a grievous state, and not knowing what else to do went to
bed.