A Clever Cheat--Passano--Pisa--Corilla--My Opinion of Squinting
Eyes--Florence--I See Therese Again--My Son--Corticelli
I was standing at some distance from my carriage into which they were
putting four horses, when a man accosted me and asked me if I would pay
in advance or at the next stage. Without troubling to look at him I said
I would pay in advance, and gave him a coin requesting him to bring me
the change.
"Directly, sir," said he, and with that he went into the inn.
A few minutes after, just as I was going to look after my change, the
post-master came up and asked me to pay for the stage.
"I have paid already, and I am waiting for my change. Did I not give the
money to you?"
"Certainly not, sir."
"Whom did I give it to, then?"
"I really can't say; but you will be able to recognize the man,
doubtless."
"It must have been you or one of your people."
I was speaking loud, and all the men came about me.
"These are all the men in my employ," said the master, and he asked if
any of them had received the money from me.
They all denied the fact with an air of sincerity which left no room for
suspicion. I cursed and swore, but they let me curse and swear as much as
I liked. At last I discovered that there was no help for it, and I paid a
second time, laughing at the clever rascal who had taken me in so
thoroughly. Such are the lessons of life; always full of new experiences,
and yet one never knows enough. From that day I have always taken care
not to pay for posting except to the proper persons.
In no country are knaves so cunning as in Italy, Greece ancient and
modern excepted.
When I got to the best inn at Leghorn they told me that there was a
theatre, and my luck made me go and see the play. I was recognized by an
actor who accosted me, and introduced me to one of his comrades, a
self-styled poet, and a great enemy of the Abbe Chiari, whom I did not
like, as he had written a biting satire against me, and I had never
succeeded in avenging myself on him. I asked them to come and sup with
me--a windfall which these people are not given to refusing. The
pretended poet was a Genoese, and called himself Giacomo Passano. He
informed me that he had written three hundred sonnets against the abbe,
who would burst with rage if they were ever printed. As I could not
restrain a smile at the good opinion the poet had of his works, he
offered to read me a few sonnets. He had the manuscript about him, and I
could not escape the penance. He read a dozen or so, which I thought
mediocre, and a mediocre sonnet is necessarily a bad sonnet, as this form
of poetry demands sublimity; and thus amongst the myriads of sonnets to
which Italy gives birth very few can be called good.
If I had given myself time to examine the man's features, I should, no
doubt, have found him to be a rogue; but I was blinded by passion, and
the idea of three hundred sonnets against the Abbe Chiari fascinated me.
I cast my eyes over the title of the manuscript, and read, "La Chiareide
di Ascanio Pogomas."
"That's an anagram of my Christian name and my surname; is it not a happy
combination?"
This folly made me smile again. Each of the sonnets was a dull diatribe
ending with "l'abbate Chiari e un coglione." He did not prove that he was
one, but he said so over and over again, making use of the poet's
privilege to exaggerate and lie. What he wanted to do was to annoy the
abbe, who was by no means what Passano called him, but on the contrary, a
wit and a poet; and if he had been acquainted with the requirements of
the stage he would have written better plays than Goldoni, as he had a
greater command of language.
I told Passano, for civility's sake, that he ought to get his Chiareide
printed.
"I would do so," said he, "if I could find a publisher, for I am not rich
enough to pay the expenses, and the publishers are a pack of ignorant
beggars. Besides, the press is not free, and the censor would not let the
epithet I give to my hero pass. If I could go to Switzerland I am sure it
could be managed; but I must have six sequins to walk to Switzerland, and
I have not got them."
"And when you got to Switzerland, where there are no theatres, what would
you do for a living?"
"I would paint in miniature. Look at those."
He gave me a number of small ivory tablets, representing obscene
subjects, badly drawn and badly painted.
"I will give you an introduction to a gentleman at Berne," I said; and
after supper I gave him a letter and six sequins. He wanted to force some
of his productions on me, but I would not have them.
I was foolish enough to give him a letter to pretty Sara's father, and I
told him to write to me at Rome, under cover of the banker Belloni.
I set out from Leghorn the next day and went to Pisa, where I stopped two
days. There I made the acquaintance of an Englishman, of whom I bought a
travelling carriage. He took me to see Corilla, the celebrated poetess.
She received me with great politeness, and was kind enough to improvise
on several subjects which I suggested. I was enchanted, not so much with
her grace and beauty, as by her wit and perfect elocution. How sweet a
language sounds when it is spoken well and the expressions are well
chosen. A language badly spoken is intolerable even from a pretty mouth,
and I have always admired the wisdom of the Greeks who made their nurses
teach the children from the cradle to speak correctly and pleasantly. We
are far from following their good example; witness the fearful accents
one hears in what is called, often incorrectly, good society.
Corilla was 'straba', like Venus as painted by the ancients--why, I
cannot think, for however fair a squint-eyed woman may be otherwise, I
always look upon her face as distorted. I am sure that if Venus had been
in truth a goddess, she would have made the eccentric Greek, who first
dared to paint her cross-eyed, feel the weight of her anger. I was told
that when Corilla sang, she had only to fix her squinting eyes on a man
and the conquest was complete; but, praised be God! she did not fix them
on me.
At Florence I lodged at the "Hotel Carrajo," kept by Dr. Vannini, who
delighted to confess himself an unworthy member of the Academy Della
Crusca. I took a suite of rooms which looked out on the bank of the Arno.
I also took a carriage and a footman, whom, as well as a coachman, I clad
in blue and red livery. This was M. de Bragadin's livery, and I thought I
might use his colours, not with the intention of deceiving anyone, but
merely to cut a dash.
The morning after my arrival I put on my great coat to escape
observation, and proceeded to walk about Florence. In the evening I went
to the theatre to see the famous harlequin, Rossi, but I considered his
reputation was greater than he deserved. I passed the same judgment on
the boasted Florentine elocution; I did not care for it at all. I enjoyed
seeing Pertici; having become old, and not being able to sing any more,
he acted, and, strange to say, acted well; for, as a rule, all singers,
men and women, trust to their voice and care nothing for acting, so that
an ordinary cold entirely disables them for the time being.
Next day I called on the banker, Sasso Sassi, on whom I had a good letter
of credit, and after an excellent dinner I dressed and went to the opera
an via della Pergola, taking a stage box, not so much for the music, of
which I was never much of an admirer, as because I wanted to look at the
actress.
The reader may guess my delight and surprise when I recognised in the
prima donna Therese, the false Bellino, whom I had left at Rimini in the
year 1744; that charming Therese whom I should certainly have married if
M. de Gages had not put me under arrest. I had not seen her for seventeen
years, but she looked as beautiful and ravishing as ever as she came
forward on the stage. It seemed impossible. I could not believe my eyes,
thinking the resemblance must be a coincidence, when, after singing an
air, she fixed her eyes on mine and kept them there. I could no longer
doubt that it was she; she plainly recognized me. As she left the stage
she stopped at the wings and made a sign to me with her fan to come and
speak to her.
I went out with a beating heart, though I could not explain my
perturbation, for I did not feel guilty in any way towards Therese, save
in that I had not answered the last letter she had written me from
Naples, thirteen years ago. I went round the theatre, feeling a greater
curiosity as to the results of our interview than to know what had
befallen her during the seventeen years which seemed an age to me.
I came to the stage-door, and I saw Therese standing at the top of the
stair. She told the door-keeper to let me pass; I went up and we stood
face to face. Dumb with surprise I took her hand and pressed it against
my heart.
"Know from that beating heart," said I, "all that I feel."
"I can't follow your example," said she, "but when I saw you I thought I
should have fainted. Unfortunately I am engaged to supper. I shall not
shut my eyes all night. I shall expect you at eight o'clock to-morrow
morning. Where are you staying?"
"At Dr. Vannini's."
"Under what name?"
"My own."
"How long have you been here?"
"Since yesterday."
"Are you stopping long in Florence?"
"As long as you like."
"Are you married?"
"No."
"Cursed be that supper! What an event! You must leave me now, I have to
go on. Good-bye till seven o'clock to-morrow."
She had said eight at first, but an hour sooner was no harm. I returned
to the theatre, and recollected that I had neither asked her name or
address, but I could find out all that easily. She was playing Mandane,
and her singing and acting were admirable. I asked a well-dressed young
man beside me what that admirable actress's name was.
"You have only come to Florence to-day, sir?"
"I arrived yesterday."
"Ah! well, then it's excusable. That actress has the same name as I have.
She is my wife, and I am Cirillo Palesi, at your service."
I bowed and was silent with surprise. I dared not ask where she lived,
lest he might think my curiosity impertinent. Therese married to this
handsome young man, of whom, of all others, I had made enquiries about
her! It was like a scene in a play.
I could bear it no longer. I longed to be alone and to ponder over this
strange adventure at my ease, and to think about my visit to Therese at
seven o'clock the next morning. I felt the most intense curiosity to see
what the husband would do when he recognized me, and he was certain to do
so, for he had looked at me attentively as he spoke. I felt that my old
flame for Therese was rekindled in my heart, and I did not know whether I
was glad or sorry at her being married.
I left the opera-house and told my footman to call my carriage.
"You can't have it till nine o'clock, sir; it was so cold the coachman
sent the horses back to the stable."
"We will return on foot, then."
"You will catch a cold."
"What is the prima donna's name?"
"When she came here, she called herself Lanti, but for the last two
months she has been Madame Palesi. She married a handsome young man with
no property and no profession, but she is rich, so he takes his ease and
does nothing."
"Where does she live?"
"At the end of this street. There's her house, sir; she lodges on the
first floor."
This was all I wanted to know, so I said no more, but took note of the
various turnings, that I might be able to find my way alone the next day.
I ate a light supper, and told Le Duc to call me at six o'clock.
"But it is not light till seven."
"I know that."
"Very good."
At the dawn of day, I was at the door of the woman I had loved so
passionately. I went to the first floor, rang the bell, and an old woman
came out and asked me if I were M. Casanova. I told her that I was,
whereupon she said that the lady had informed her I was not coming till
eight.
"She said seven."
"Well, well, it's of no consequence. Kindly walk in here. I will go and
awake her."
In five minutes, the young husband in his night-cap and dressing-gown
came in, and said that his wife would not be long. Then looking at me
attentively with an astounded stare, he said,
"Are you not the gentleman who asked me my wife's name last night?"
"You are right, I did. I have not seen your wife for many years, but I
thought I recognized her. My good fortune made me enquire of her husband,
and the friendship which formerly attached me to her will henceforth
attach me to you."
As I uttered this pretty compliment Therese, as fair as love, rushed into
the room with open arms. I took her to my bosom in a transport of
delight, and thus we remained for two minutes, two friends, two lovers,
happy to see one another after a long and sad parting. We kissed each
other again and again, and then bidding her husband sit down she drew me
to a couch and gave full course to her tears. I wept too, and my tears
were happy ones. At last we wiped our eyes, and glanced towards the
husband whom we had completely forgotten. He stood in an attitude of
complete astonishment, and we burst out laughing. There was something so
comic in his surprise that it would have taxed all the talents of the
poet and the caricaturist to depict his expression of amazement. Therese,
who knew how to manage him, cried in a pathetic an affectionate voice,--
"My dear Palesi, you see before you my father--nay, more than a father,
for this is my generous friend to whom I owe all. Oh, happy moment for
which my heart has longed for these ten years past."
At the word "father" the unhappy husband fixed his gaze on me, but I
restrained my laughter with considerable difficulty. Although Therese was
young for her age, she was only two years younger than I; but friendship
gives a new meaning to the sweet name of father.
"Yes, sir," said I, "your Therese is my daughter, my sister, my cherished
friend; she is an angel, and this treasure is your wife."
"I did not reply to your last letter," said I, not giving him time to
come to himself.
"I know all," she replied. "You fell in love with a nun. You were
imprisoned under the Leads, and I heard of your almost miraculous flight
at Vienna. I had a false presentiment that I should see you in that town.
Afterwards I heard of you in Paris and Holland, but after you left Paris
nobody could tell me any more about you. You will hear some fine tales
when I tell you all that has happened to me during the past ten years.
Now I am happy. I have my dear Palesi here, who comes from Rome. I
married him a couple of months ago. We are very fond of each other, and I
hope you will be as much his friend as mine."
At this I arose and embraced the husband, who cut such an extraordinary
figure. He met me with open arms, but in some confusion; he was, no
doubt, not yet quite satisfied as to the individual who was his wife's
father, brother, friend, and perhaps lover, all at once. Therese saw this
feeling in his eyes, and after I had done she came and kissed him most
affectionately, which confused me in my turn, for I felt all my old love
for her renewed, and as ardent as it was when Don Sancio Pico introduced
me to her at Ancona.
Reassured by my embrace and his wife's caress, M. Palesi asked me if I
would take a cup of chocolate with them, which he himself would make. I
answered that chocolate was my favourite breakfast-dish, and all the more
so when it was made by a friend. He went away to see to it. Our time had
come.
As soon as we were alone Therese threw herself into my arms, her face
shining with such love as no pen can describe.
"Oh, my love! whom I shall love all my life, clasp me to your breast! Let
us give each other a hundred embraces on this happy day, but not again,
since my fate has made me another's bride. To-morrow we will be like
brother and sister; to-day let us be lovers."
She had not finished this speech before my bliss was crowned. Our
transports were mutual, and we renewed them again and again during the
half hour in which we had no fear of an interruption. Her negligent
morning dress and my great coat were highly convenient under the
circumstances.
After we had satiated in part our amorous ardour we breathed again and
sat down. There was a short pause, and then she said,
"You must know that I am in love with my husband and determined not to
deceive him. What I have just done was a debt I had to pay to the
remembrance of my first love. I had to pay it to prove how much I love
you; but let us forget it now. You must be contented with the thought of
my great affection for you--of which you can have no doubt--and let me
still think that you love me; but henceforth do not let us be alone
together, as I should give way, and that would vex me. What makes you
look so sad?"
"I find you bound, while I am free. I thought we had met never to part
again; you had kindled the old fires. I am the same to you as I was at
Ancona. I have proved as much, and you can guess how sad I feel at your
decree that I am to enjoy you no more. I find that you are not only
married but in love with your husband. Alas! I have come too late, but if
I had not stayed at Genoa I should not have been more fortunate. You
shall know all in due time, and in the meanwhile I will be guided by you
in everything. I suppose your husband knows nothing of our connection,
and my best plan will be to be reserved, will it not?"
"Yes, dearest, for he knows nothing of my affairs, and I am glad to say
he shews no curiosity respecting them. Like everybody else, he knows I
made my fortune at Naples; I told him I went there when I was ten years
old. That was an innocent lie which hurts nobody; and in my position I
find that inconvenient truths have to give way to lies. I give myself out
as only twenty-four, how do you think I look?"
"You look as if you were telling the truth, though I know you must be
thirty-two."
"You mean thirty-one, for when I knew you I couldn't have been more than
fourteen."
"I thought you were fifteen at least."
"Well, I might admit that between ourselves; but tell me if I look more
than twenty-four."
"I swear to you you don't look as old, but at Naples . . . ."
"At Naples some people might be able to contradict me, but nobody would
mind them. But I am waiting for what ought to be the sweetest moment of
your life."
"What is that, pray?"
"Allow me to keep my own counsel, I want to enjoy your surprise. How are
you off? If you want money, I can give you back all you gave me, and with
compound interest. All I have belongs to me; my husband is not master of
anything. I have fifty thousand ducats at Naples, and an equal sum in
diamonds. Tell me how much you want--quick! the chocolate is coming."
Such a woman was Therese. I was deeply moved, and was about to throw my
arms about her neck without answering when the chocolate came. Her
husband was followed by a girl of exquisite beauty, who carried three
cups of chocolate on a silver-gilt dish. While we drank it Palesi amused
us by telling us with much humour how surprised he was when he recognized
the man who made him rise at such an early hour as the same who had asked
him his wife's name the night before. Therese and I laughed till our
sides ached, the story was told so wittily and pleasantly. This Roman
displeased me less than I expected; his jealousy seemed only put on for
form's sake.
"At ten o'clock," said Theresa, "I have a rehearsal here of the new
opera. You can stay and listen if you like. I hope you will dine with us
every day, and it will give me great pleasure if you will look upon my
house as yours."
"To-day," said I, "I will stay with you till after supper, and then I
will leave you with your fortunate husband."
As I pronounced these words M. Palesi embraced me with effusion, as if to
thank me for not objecting to his enjoying his rights as a husband.
He was between the ages of twenty and twenty-two, of a fair complexion,
and well-made, but too pretty for a man. I did not wonder at Therese
being in love with him, for I knew too well the power of a handsome face;
but I thought that she had made a mistake in marrying him, for a husband
acquires certain rights which may become troublesome.
Therese's pretty maid came to tell me that my carriage was at the door.
"Will you allow me," said I to her, "to have my footman in?"
"Rascal," said I, as soon as he came in, "who told you to come here with
my carriage?"
"Nobody, sir, but I know my duty."
"Who told you that I was here?"
"I guessed as much."
"Go and fetch Le Duc, and come back with him."
When they arrived I told Le Duc to pay the impertinent fellow three days'
wages, to strip him of his livery, and to ask Dr. Vannini to get me a
servant of the same build, not gifted with the faculty of divination, but
who knew how to obey his master's orders. The rascal was much perturbed
at the result of his officiousness, and asked Therese to plead for him;
but, like a sensible woman, she told him that his master was the best
judge of the value of his services.
At ten o'clock all the actors and actresses arrived, bringing with them a
mob of amateurs who crowded the hall. Therese received their greetings
graciously, and I could see she enjoyed a great reputation. The rehearsal
lasted three hours, and wearied me extremely. To relieve my boredom I
talked to Palesi, whom I liked for not asking me any particulars of my
acquaintance with his wife. I saw that he knew how to behave in the
position in which he was placed.
A girl from Parma, named Redegonde, who played a man's part and sang very
well, stayed to dinner. Therese had also asked a young Bolognese, named
Corticelli. I was struck with the budding charms of this pretty dancer,
but as I was just then full of Therese, I did not pay much attention to
her. Soon after we sat down I saw a plump abbe coming in with measured
steps. He looked to me a regular Tartuffe, after nothing but Therese. He
came up to her as soon as he saw her, and going on one knee in the
Portuguese fashion, kissed her hand tenderly and respectfully. Therese
received him with smiling courtesy and put him at her right hand; I was
at their left. His voice, manner, and all about him told me that I had
known him, and in fact I soon recognized him as the Abbe Gama, whom I had
left at Rome seventeen years before with Cardinal Acquaviva; but I
pretended not to recognize him, and indeed he had aged greatly. This
gallant priest had eyes for no one but Therese, and he was too busy with
saying a thousand soft nothings to her to take notice of anybody else in
the company. I hoped that in his turn he would either not recognize me or
pretend not to do so, so I was continuing my trifling talk with the
Corticelli, when Therese told me that the abbe wanted to know whether I
did not recollect him. I looked at his face attentively, and with the air
of a man who is trying to recollect something, and then I rose and asked
if he were not the Abbe Gama, with whose acquaintance I was honoured.
"The same," said he, rising, and placing his arms round my neck he kissed
me again and again. This was in perfect agreement with his crafty
character; the reader will not have forgotten the portrait of him
contained in the first volume of these Memoirs.
After the ice had been thus broken it will be imagined that we had a long
conversation. He spoke of Barbaruccia, of the fair Marchioness G----, of
Cardinal S---- C----, and told me how he had passed from the Spanish to
the Portuguese service, in which he still continued. I was enjoying his
talk about numerous subjects which had interested me in my early youth,
when an unexpected sight absorbed all my thinking faculties. A young man
of fifteen or sixteen, as well grown as Italians usually are at that age,
came into the room, saluted the company with easy grace, and kissed
Therese. I was the only person who did not know him, but I was not the
only one who looked surprised. The daring Therese introduced him to me
with perfect coolness with the words:--
"That is my brother."
I greeted him as warmly as I could, but my manner was slightly confused,
as I had not had time to recover my composure. This so-called brother of
Therese was my living image, though his complexion was rather clearer
than mine. I saw at once that he was my son; nature had never been so
indiscreet as in the amazing likeness between us. This, then, was the
surprise of which Therese had spoken; she had devised the pleasure of
seeing me at once astounded and delighted, for she knew that my heart
would be touched at the thought of having left her such a pledge of our
mutual love. I had not the slightest foreknowledge in the matter, for
Therese had never alluded to her being with child in her letters. I
thought, however, that she should not have brought about this meeting in
the presence of a third party, for everyone has eyes in their head, and
anyone with eyes must have seen that the young man was either my son or
my brother. I glanced at her, but she avoided meeting my eye, while the
pretended brother was looking at me so attentively that he did not hear
what was said to him. As to the others, they did nothing but look first
at me and then at him, and if they came to the conclusion that he was my
son they would be obliged to suppose that I had been the lover of
Therese's mother, if she were really his sister, for taking into
consideration the age she looked and gave herself out to be she could not
possibly be his mother. It was equally impossible that I could be
Therese's father, as I did not look any older than she did.
My son spoke the Neapolitan dialect perfectly, but he also spoke Italian
very well, and in whatever he said I was glad to recognize taste, good
sense, and intelligence. He was well-informed, though he had been brought
up at Naples, and his manners were very distinguished. His mother made
him sit between us at table.
"His favourite amusement," she said to me, "is music. You must hear him
on the clavier, and though I am eight years older I shall not be
surprised if you pronounce him the better performer."
Only a woman's delicate instinct could have suggested this remark; men
hardly ever approach women in this respect.
Whether from natural impulses or self-esteem, I rose from the table so
delighted with my son that I embraced him with the utmost tenderness, and
was applauded by the company. I asked everybody to dine with me the next
day, and my invitation was joyfully accepted; but the Corticelli said,
with the utmost simplicity,
"May I come, too?"
"Certainty; you too."
After dinner the Abbe Gama asked me to breakfast with him, or to have him
to breakfast the next morning, as he was longing for a good talk with me.
"Come and breakfast with me," said I, "I shall be delighted to see you."
When the guests had gone Don Cesarino, as the pretended brother of
Therese was called, asked me if I would walk with him. I kissed him, and
replied that my carriage was at his service, and that he and his
brother-in-law could drive in it, but that I had resolved not to leave
his sister that day. Palesi seemed quite satisfied with the arrangement,
and they both went away.
When we were alone, I gave Therese an ardent embrace, and congratulated
her on having such a brother.
"My dear, he is the fruit of our amours; he is your son. He makes me
happy, and is happy himself, and indeed he has everything to make him
so."
"And I, too, am happy, dear Therese. You must have seen that I recognized
him at once."
"But do you want to give him a brother? How ardent you are!"
"Remember, beloved one, that to-morrow we are to be friends, and nothing
more."
By this my efforts were crowned with success, but the thought that it was
the last time was a bitter drop in the cup of happiness.
When we had regained our composure, Therese said,--
"The duke who took me from Rimini brought up our child; as soon as I knew
that I was pregnant I confided my secret to him. No one knew of my
delivery, and the child was sent to nurse at Sorrento, and the duke had
him baptized under the name of Caesar Philip Land. He remained at
Sorrento till he was nine, and then he was boarded with a worthy man, who
superintended his education and taught him music. From his earliest
childhood he has known me as his sister, and you cannot think how happy I
was when I saw him growing so like you. I have always considered him as a
sure pledge of our final union. I was ever thinking what would happen
when we met, for I knew that he would have the same influence over you as
he has over me. I was sure you would marry me and make him legitimate."
"And you have rendered all this, which would have made me happy, an
impossibility."
"The fates decided so; we will say no more about it. On the death of the
duke I left Naples, leaving Cesarino at the same boarding school, under
the protection of the Prince de la Riccia, who has always looked upon him
as a brother. Your son, though he does not know it, possesses the sum of
twenty thousand ducats, of which I receive the interest, but you may
imagine that I let him want for nothing. My only regret is that I cannot
tell him I am his mother, as I think he would love me still more if he
knew that he owed his being to me. You cannot think how glad I was to see
your surprise to-day, and how soon you got to love him."
"He is wonderfully like me."
"That delights me. People must think that you were my mother's lover. My
husband thinks that our friendship is due to the connection between you
and my mother. He told me yesterday that Cesarino might be my brother on
the mother's side, but not on my father's; as he had seen his father in
the theatre, but that he could not possibly be my father, too. If I have
children by Palesi all I have will go to them, but if not Cesarino will
be my heir. My property is well secured, even if the Prince de Riccia
were to die."
"Come," said she, drawing me in the direction of her bed-room. She opened
a large box which contained her jewels and diamonds, and shares to the
amount of fifty thousand ducats. Besides that she had a large amount of
plate, and her talents which assured her the first place in all the
Italian theatres.
"Do you know whether our dear Cesarino has been in love yet?" said I.
"I don't think so, but I fancy my pretty maid is in love with him. I
shall keep my eyes open."
"You mustn't be too strict."
"No, but it isn't a good thing for a young man to engage too soon in that
pleasure which makes one neglect everything else."
"Let me have him, I will teach him how to live."
"Ask all, but leave me my son. You must know that I never kiss him for
fear of my giving way to excessive emotion. I wish you knew how good and
pure he is, and how well he loves me, I could not refuse him anything."
"What will people say in Venice when they see Casanova again, who escaped
from The Leads and has become twenty years younger?"
"You are going to Venice, then, for the Ascensa?"
"Yes, and you are going to Rome?"
"And to Naples, to see my friend the Duke de Matalone."
"I know him well. He has already had a son by the daughter of the Duke de
Bovino, whom he married. She must be a charming woman to have made a man
of him, for all Naples knew that he was impotent."
"Probably, she only knew the secret of making him a father."
"Well, it is possible."
We spent the time by talking with interest on various topics till
Cesarino and the husband came back. The dear child finished his conquest
of me at supper; he had a merry random wit, and all the Neapolitan
vivacity. He sat down at the clavier, and after playing several pieces
with the utmost skill he began to sing Neapolitan songs which made us all
laugh. Therese only looked at him and me, but now and again she embraced
her husband, saying, that in love alone lies happiness.
I thought then, and I think now, that this day was one of the happiest I
have ever spent.