Volume I Part 14 (1/2)
CHAPTER VI
My Grandmother's Death and Its Consequences I Lose M de Malipiero's Friendshi+p--I Have No Longer a Home-- La Tintoretta--I Am Sent to a Clerical Seminary--I A supper the conversation turned altogether upon the storm, and the official, who knew the weakness of his wife, told ain ”Nor I with him,” his wife rehtning with jokes”
Henceforth she avoided me so skilfully that I never could contrive another intervieith her
When I returned to Venice I found e all my habits, for I loved her too dearly not to surround her with every care and attention; I never left her until she had breathed her last She was unable to leave iven me all she could, and her death compelled me to adopt an entirely different mode of life
A month after her death, I received a letter fro me that, as there was no probability of her return to Venice, she had deterive up the house, the rent of which she was still paying, that she had communicated her intention to the Abbe Griuided entirely by his advice
He was instructed to sell the furniture, and to place -house I called upon Grimani to assure him of my perfect disposition to obey his commands
The rent of the house had been paid until the end of the year; but, as I are that the furniture would be sold on the expiration of the term, I placed my wants under no restraint I had already sold soan to dispose of the mirrors, beds, etc I had no doubt that my conduct would be severely blamed, but I knew likewise that it was my father's inheritance, to which my mother had no claim whatever, and, as to my brothers, there was plenty of time before any explanation could take place between us
Four months afterwards I had a second letter fro another Here is the translation of my mother's letter:
”My dear son, I have made here the acquaintance of a learned Minireat qualities have made me think of you every tio I told hi hi hi his studies, and he promised that my son would become his own child, if I could obtain for him from the queen a bishopric in his native country, and he added that it would be very easy to succeed if I could induce the sovereign to recohter, the queen of Naples
”Full of trust in the Alranted hter, and the worthy friar has been appointed by the Pope to the bishopric of Monterano Faithful to his proood bishop will take you with hih Venice to reach Calabria He informs you himself of his intentions in the enclosed letter Answer him immediately, my dear son, and forward your letter to me; I will deliver it to the bishop He will pave your way to the highest dignities of the Church, and you ine my consolation if, in so you a bishop, at least! Until his arrival, M Gri, and I am, my dear child, etc, etc”
The bishop's letter ritten in Latin, and was only a repetition of my mother's It was full of unction, and informed me that he would tarry but three days in Venice
I answered according to my mother's wishes, but those two letters had turned ed to enter the road which was to lead ratulated ret Farewell, Venice, I exclaione by, and in the future I will only think of a great, of a substantial career! M Griood luck, and pro-house, to which I would go at the beginning of the year, and where I would wait for the bishop's arrival
M de Malipiero, who in his oay had great wisdo into pleasures and dissipation, and was only wasting a precious ti somewhere else to fulfil my destiny, and much pleased with my ready acceptance of those new circumstances in otten ”The famous precept of the Stoic philosophers,” he said to me, ”'Sequere Deum', can be perfectly explained by these words: 'Give yourself up to whatever fate offers to you, provided you do not feel an invincible repugnance to accept it'”
He added that it was the genius of Socrates, 'saepe revocans, raro iin of the 'fata viam inveniunt' of the same philosophers
M de Malipiero's science was ee by the study of only one book--the book of ive me the proof that perfection does not exist, and that there is a bad side as well as a good one to everything, a certain adventure happened tohis own maxims, cost me the loss of his friendshi+p, and which certainly did not teach
The senator fancied that he could trace upon the physiognons which marked theined that he had discovered those signs upon any individual, he would take hiood and wise principles; and he used to say, with a great deal of truth, that a good remedy would turn into poison in the hands of a fool, but that poison is a good remedy when administered by a learned man He had, in reat pains They were, besides ht acquaintance already, and the third was the daughter of the boater than I, who had the prettiest andcountenance The speculative old man, in order to assist fortune in her particular case, , for, he would say, the ball cannot reach the pocket unless soard under the nausta She was the favouritein 1757 She was awoman The last time I saw her she was in Venice, and she died two years afterwards Her husband, Michel de l'Agata, poisoned himself a short time after her death
One day we had all three dined with him, and after dinner the senator left us, as was his wont, to enjoy his siesta; the little Gardela, having a dancing lesson to take, went away soon after him, and I found h I had neverdown at a table very near each other, with our backs to the door of the rooht our patron fast asleep, and somehow or other we took a fancy to exairl and a boy; but at thepart of our study a violent blow on my shoulders from a stick, followed by another, and which would have been itself followed by many more if I had not ran away, coation unfinished I got off without hat or cloak, and went home; but in less than a quarter of an hour the old housekeeper of the senator brought my clothes with a letter which contained a coain at the mansion of his excellency I i terer; you cannot therefore boast of having given ive you I reat wisdoet it”
This nobleht we gave him; yet, with all his prudence, he proved himself very unwise, for all the servants were acquainted with the cause of h the city, and was received with great merriment He dared not address any reproaches to Therese, as I heard from her soon after, but she could not venture to entreat him to pardonnear, and one fineI received the visit of a , a scarlet cloak, and a very swarthy co n to the bearer all the furniture of the house according to the inventory, a copy of which was inthe inventory in my hand, I pointed out every article hout of the house, happened to be , and whenever any article was absent I said that I had not the slightest idea where it h tone, said loudly that hevery disagreeable toto do with him, and as he still raised his voice I advised hiave him that piece of advice in such a way as to prove to him that, at ho it ive information to M Grimani of what had just taken place, I called upon him as soon as he was up, but I found that iven his own account of the affair The abbe, after a very severe lecture to which I had to listen in silence, orderedarticles
I answered that I had foundinto debt This confession threw him in a violent passion; he calledto me, that he knehat he had to do, and he commanded e, I ran for a Jew, to whom I wanted to sell what remained of the furniture, but when I returned toat the door, and he handed me a summons I looked over it and perceived that it was issued at the instance of Antonio Razetta It was the name of the felloith the swarthy countenance The seals were already affixed on all the doors, and I was not even allowed to go to my room, for a keeper had been left there by the bailiff I lost no time, and called upon M Rosa, to who the summons he said,
”The seals shall be re, and in the ador But to-night,the hospitality of so, but you shall be paid handso under M Grimani's orders”