Volume I Part 16 (1/2)
Early next overnor of the fortress) calleduard-house, he had only obeyed the orders he had received from Venice from the secretary of war ”Now, reverend sir,” he added, ”my further orders are only to keep you a prisoner in the fort, and I aive you the whole of the fortress for your prison You shall have a good rooe Walk anywhere you please; but recollect that, if you should escape, you would cause ive you only ten sous a day, but if you have any friends in Venice able to send you some money, write to them, and trust to o to bed, if you need rest”
I was taken to e and on the first story, with ts from which I had a very fine view I found reat satisfaction that my trunk, of which I had the keys, had not been forced open The major had kindly suppliedA Sclavonian soldier informed me very politely that he would attend upon me, and that I would pay him for his services whenever I could, for everyone knew that I had only ten sous a day I began by ordering some soup, and, when I had dispatched it, I went to bed and slept for nine hours When I woke, I received an invitation to supper fros, after all, would not be so very bad
I went to the honest governor, whom I found in numerous company He presented me to his wife and to every person present I met there several officers, the chaplain of the fortress, a certain Paoli Vida, one of the singers of St Mark's Church, and his wife, a pretty woman, sister-in-law of the major, whom the husband chose to confine in the fort because he was very jealous (jealous ether with several other ladies, not very young, but who to their kind welcouests easily ed to put me in the best of humours Everyone expressed a wish to know the reasons which could have induced M Griave a faithful account of all randmother's death I spoke for three hours without any bitterness, and even in a pleasant tone, upon things which, said in a different ht have displeased my audience; all expressed their satisfaction, and shewed so ht, I received from all an assurance of friendshi+p and the offer of their services This is a piece of good fortune which has never failed me whenever I have been the victie of fifty Whenever Ia curiosity to know the history of the , and whenever I satisfied their curiosity, I have inspired them with friendshi+p, and with that sympathy which was necessary to render the to a very simple artifice; it was only to tellthe facts which told against me It is sier portion of humankind is composed of cowards; a reat ht me that truth is a talisman, the charm of which never fails in its effect, provided it is not wasted upon unworthy people, and I believe that a guilty e, has a better chance of being acquitted, than the innocent man who hesitates and evades true state, or at least in the prime of ainst hi the visit paid and returned to the seminarist's bed, but the chaplain and the ladies scolded him The major advised me to write outthat he should receive it, and he assured me that he would become my protector All the ladies tried to induce me to follow the major's advice
CHAPTER VII
My Short Stay in Fort St Andre--My First Repentance in Love Affairs I Enjoy the Sweets of Revenge, and Prove a Clever Alibi--Arrest of Count Bonafede--My Release--Arrival of the Bishop--Farewell to Venice
The fort, in which the Republic usually kept only a garrison of one hundred half-pay Sclavonians, happened to contain at that time two thousand Albanian soldiers, ere called Cienerally known under the title of 'sage a l'ecriture', had sum promotion, as he wanted the officers to be on the spot in order to prove theirrewarded They all cas to the Republic of Venice, and they had distinguished theainst the Turks It was for hteen or twenty officers, all of an advanced age, yet strong and healthy, shewing the scars which covered their face and their chest, the last naked and entirely exposed through military pride The lieutenant-colonel was particularly conspicuous by his wounds, for, without exaggeration, he had lost one-fourth of his head He had but one eye, but one ear, and no jaw to speak of Yet he could eat very well, speak without difficulty, and was very cheerful He had with hihters, who looked all the prettier in their national costume, and of seven sons, every one of theh, and his figure was nificent, but his scars so completely deformed his features that his face was truly horrid to look at Yet I found so much attraction in him that I liked him the moment I saw him, and I would have been much pleased to converse with hiarlic All the Albanians had their pockets full of it, and they enjoyed a piece of garlic with as ar-pluh the only medicinal virtue it possesses is to excite the appetite, because it acts like a tonic upon a weak stomach
The lieutenant-colonel could not read, but he was not ashast his reater learning Every old; half of them, at least, were married, and we had in the fortress a colony of five or six hundred woreatly interested in theret thee because thou hast often offered e which never offers but what I know already, unless I should take up a gazette, but I cared nothing for the days
Alone input aside everything of an ecclesiastical character, I sent for a Jew, and sold the whole parcel un all the tickets of the articles I had pledged, requesting him to have them sold without any exception, and to forward me the surplus raised by the sale Thanks to that double operation, I was enabled to give my Sclavonian servant the ten sous allowed to me every day Another soldier, who had been a hair-dresser, took care of lect, in consequence of the rules of the se about the fort and through the barracks, and my two places of resort were the major's apartment for some intellectual enjoyment, and the roo of love The Albanian feeling certain that his colonel would be appointed brigadier, solicited the coiment, but he had a rival and he feared his success I wrote him a petition, short, but so well co enquired the naave the Albanian his colonelcy On his return to the fort, the brave fellow, overjoyed at his success, huggedthat he owed it all to me; he invited me to a faarlic, and he presented oes and two pounds of excellent Turkish tobacco
The result of my petition made all the other officers think that they could not succeed without the assistance of ave it to everybody; this entailed many quarrels uponmyself the lucky possessor of soer in dread of poverty, and laughed at everything
However, I met with an accident which made me pass six weeks in a very unpleasant condition
On the 2nd of April, the fatal anniversary ofup in the , I received in my room the visit of a very handson in the regiht to claim the rank of lieutenant, and that he would certainly be appointed, if it were not for the opposition of his captain as against him, because she had refused him certain favours which she could bestow only upon her husband She handed ed me to write a petition which she would present herself to the secretary of war, adding that she could only offer ht not to go alone; I acted as I had spoken, and I met with no other resistance than the objection which a pretty won for the sake of appearance After that, I told her to come back at noon, and that the petition would be ready She was exact to the appointment, and very kindly rewarded , under pretence of some alterations to be made in the petition, she afforded an excellent opportunity of reaping a third recompense
But, alas! the path of pleasure is not strewn only with roses! On the third day, I found out, much to my dismay, that a serpent had been hid under the flowers Six weeks of care and of rigid diet re-established ain, I was foolish enough to reproach her for the present she had bestowed uponthat she had only offered me what she possessed, and that it was my own fault if I had not been sufficiently careful
The reader cannot irieved me, and what deep shame I felt I looked upon myself as a dishonoured man, and while I am on that subject I ive sohtlessness
Mada alone with , confided in me in a moment of unreserved confidence what she had to suffer from the jealous disposition of her husband, and his cruelty in having allowed her to sleep alone for the last four years, when she was in the very flower of her age
”I trust to God,” she added, ”that my husband will not find out that you have spent an hour alone withdeeply for her grief, and confidence begetting confidence, I was stupid enough to tell her the sad state to which I had been reduced by the cruel Greek wo her that I felt my hted to console her, and to give her the opportunity of a revenge for her jealous husband's coldness
At this speech, in which ood faith could easily be traced, she rose from her chair, and upbraided ht hurl at the head of a bold libertine who has presu perfectly well the nature ofit she told ry tone that my visits would not be welcome for the future, as I was a conceited puppy, unworthy of the society of good and respectable women I took care to answer that a respectable woman would have been rather more reserved than she had been in her confidences On reflection I felt pretty sure that, if I had been in good health, or had said nothing about my mishap, she would have been but too happy to receive my consolations
A few days after that incident I had a ret my acquaintance with the Greek woman On Ascension Day, as the ceremony of the Bucentaur was celebrated near the fort, M Rosa brought Madame Orio and her two nieces to witness it, and I had the pleasure of treating the the day, alone withfriends in one of the case caresses and kisses I felt that they expected some substantial proof of s, I pretended to be afraid of being surprised, and they had to be satisfied with my shallow excuse