Volume I Part 39 (1/2)
”Your native place?”
”Venice”
”Where do you come from?”
”That is no business of yours”
This anshich I thought was in keeping with my external appearance, had the desired effect: the landlord bowed hihly pleased with myself, for I knew that I should enjoy perfect freedona, and I was certain that mine host had visited er to knoho I was
The next day I called on M Orsi, the banker, to cash e, and took another for six hundred sequins on Venice, and one hundred sequins in gold after which I again exhibited myself in the public places Two days afterwards, whilst I was taking my coffee after dinner, the banker Orsi was announced I desired him to be shewn in, and he nor Cornaro, whoned not to know M Orsi remarked that he had called to offer e, and introduced the prelate I rose and expressedhis acquaintance ”But we havean air of blank surprise, I told hi he could guess the reason of ized I offered hi ed the honour of my company to breakfast the next day
I made up my mind to persist in ave me a polite welcona Breakfast was served, and as ere sipping our chocolate, he told ood reasons to warrantnot to trust hireat honour ”I do not know,” said I, ”what affair you are alluding to” He then handed raph which he pointed out My astonish correspondence from Pesaro: ”M de Casanova, an officer in the service of the queen, has deserted after having killed his captain in a duel; the circumstances of the duel are not known; all that has been ascertained is that M de Casanova has taken the road to Ri to the captain, as killed on the spot”
In spite of ravity at the reading of the paragraph, in which so ed to keep a serious countenance, and I told the prelate that the Casanova spoken of in the newspaper must be another man
”That o at Cardinal Acquaviva's, and two years ago at the house of my sister, Madame Lovedan, in Venice Besides the Ancona banker speaks of you as an ecclesiastic in his letter of advice to M Orsi:”
”Very well,the same Casanova, but I entreat you not to ask me any more questions as I am bound in honour to observe the strictest reserve”
”That is enough forelse”
I was a circulated about h sceptic on the subject of historical truth I enjoyed, however, very great pleasure in thinking thatthe Casanova mentioned in the newspaper I felt certain that the prelate would write the whole affair to Venice, where it would do reat honour, at least until the truth should be known, and in that case my reserve would be justified, besides, I should then o to Venice as soon as I heard froht that I could wait for her there na, and inher openly In the ood deal, and I expected every day to see it denied in sohed at the accusation brought against hihed at the caprice which had na, just as if I had done it for the very purpose of giving to the affair every appearance of truth
On the fourth day ofletter from Therese She informed me that, on the day after my escape from Rinano, who, having heard her sing, had offered her one thousand ounces a year, and all travelling expenses paid, if she would accept an engagement as prima-donna at the San Carlo Theatre, at Naples, where she would have to go iement She had requested and obtained a week to come to a decision She enclosed two documents, the first was the written memorandum of the duke's proposals, which she sent in order that I should peruse it, as she did not wish to sign it without ement, written by herself, to remain all her life devoted to me and at my service She added in her letter that, if I wished to accoht appoint, but that, if I had any objection to return to that city, she would immediately refuse the brilliant offer, for her only happiness was to please s
For the first tihtful consideration before I could make up my mind Therese's letter had entirely upset allthat I could not answer it a once, I told the er to call the next day
Two ; self-love and love for Therese I felt that I ought not to require Therese to give up such prospects of fortune; but I could not take upon o to Naples without me, or to accompany her there On one side, I shuddered at the idea that ht ruin Therese's prospects; on the other side, the idea of the blow inflicted on my self-love, on my pride, if I went to Naples with her, sickened me
How could I uise of a cowardly fellow living at the expense of his mistress or his wife? What would my cousin Antonio, Don Polo and his dear son, Don Lelio Caraffa, and all the patricians who knew ht of Lucrezia and of her husband sent a cold shi+ver through me I considered that, in spite of my love for Therese, I should become very miserable if everyone despised me Linked to her destiny as a lover or as a husband, I would be a degraded, huht, Is this to be the end of all my hopes? The die was cast, my head had conquered my heart I fancied that I had hit upon an excellent expedient, which at all events ain time, and I resolved to act upon it I wrote to Therese, advising her to accept the engageht expect me to join her in the month of July, or after e an honest-looking waiting-woman, so as to appear respectably in the world, and, to lead such a life as would per ashamed of myself I foresaw that her success would be insured by her beauty even more than by her talent, and, with my nature, I knew that I could never assu lover or of a compliant husband
Had I received Therese's letter one week sooner, it is certain that she would not have gone to Naples, for er than my reason; but in reat teacher
I told Therese to direct her answer to Bologna, and, three days after, I received fro, and at the saned the engagement She had secured the services of a woman whom she could present as her mother; she would reach Naples towards the middle of May, and she would wait for er wanted her
Four days after the receipt of that letter, the last but one that Therese wrote na for Venice Before my departure I had received an answer for me that my passport had reached Pesaro, and that he was ready to forward it to me with my trunk, if I would pay M Marcello Birna, the proveditore of the Spanish army, whose address he enclosed, the sum of fifty doubloons for the horse which I had run aith, or which had run aith me I repaired at once to the house of the proveditore, well pleased to settle that affair, and I received na But as nor Cornaro was confirmed in his belief that I had killed o to Venice, it was necessary to submit to a quarantine, which had been adhered to only because the two governments had fallen out The Venetians wanted the Pope to be the first in giving free passage through his frontiers, and the Pope insisted that the Venetians should take the initiative The result of this trifling pique between the two governreat hindrance to commerce, but very often that which bears only upon the private interest of the people is lightly treated by the rulers I did not wish to be quarantined, and deter, for in Venice the sanitary laws are very strict, but in those days I delighted in doing, if not everything that was forbidden, at least everything which offered real difficulties
I knew that between the state of Mantua and that of Venice the passage was free, and I knew likewise that there was no restriction in the communication between Mantua and Modena; if I could therefore penetrate into the state of Mantua by stating that I was co from Modena, my success would be certain, because I could then cross the Po and go straight to Venice I got a carrier to driveto the state of Mantua