Volume I Part 49 (2/2)

A short tieneral, who turned to lad to hear me relate what had occurred to me in Constantinople with the wife of the Turk Yusuf, and at another friend's house, where I had seen bathing by ht I was rather surprised at such an invitation, and told hieneral not pressing me no more was said about it But I was astonished at Madame F----'s indiscretion; she had no business to make my confidences public

I wanted her to be jealous of her own dignity, which I loved even more than her person

Two or three days later, she said to me,

”Why did you refuse to tell your adventures in Constantinople before the general?”

”Because I do not wish everybody to know that you allow s What I may dare, madam, to say to you e are alone, I would certainly not say to you in public”

”And why not? It seems to me, on the contrary, that if you are silent in public out of respect for ht to be all the more silent e are alone”

”I wanted to a you, but I can assure you, ain”

”I have no wish to pry into your intentions, but it strikes ht not to have run the risk of obtaining the opposite result We take supper with the general this evening, and M D---- R----- has been asked to bring you I feel certain that the general will ask you again for your adventures in Constantinople, and this time you cannot refuse hieneral's I thought as ere driving along that, although Madaht to accept it all as a favour of fortune, because, by coeneral; Madame F---- had, at the sas, which was not without iave me a friendly welcome, and kindly handed me a letter which had come with the official dispatches from Constantinople I bowed my thanks, and put the letter in reat lover of news, and that I could read my letter I opened it; it was fro the naeneral asked me to tell him an a story which aeneral and his friends for an hour or so, but which was froination

Thus I continued to respect the privacy of Yusuf, to avoid iood faht which was tolerably advantageous to reat deal of honour, and I felt very happy when I saw from the expression of Madah soain in her house she told me, in the presence of M D---- R-----, that the story I had related to the general was certainly very pretty, although purely iry with me, because I had aco to M

D---- R-----, she said,

”M Casanova pretends that if he had given an account of hiseverybody would think that I allowed hiive your opinion about it Will you,” she added, speaking to ood as to relate immediately the adventure in the same words which you have used when you told me of it?”

”Yes,to the quick by an indiscretion which, as I did not yet knoohly, see to the winds, related the adventure with all the war or attenuating in the least the desires which the charms of the Greek beauty had inspired me with

”Do you think,” said M D---- R---- to Madaht to have related that adventure before all our friends as he has just related it to us?”

”If it be wrong for hi to tell it to e of that: yes, if he has displeased you; no, if he has amused you As for my own opinion, here it is: He has just now areatly displeased me if he had related the same adventure in public”

”Then,” exclaimed Madame F----, ”Ithat you cannot repeat in public”

”I pro to your wishes”

”It being understood,” added M D---- R-----, s that order whenever she may think fit”

I was vexed, but I contrived not to show it A few minutesto understand that char woman, and to dread the ordeal to which she would subject er than fear, and, fortified with hope, I had the courage to endure the thorns, so as to gather the rose at the end of s I was particularly pleased to find that M D---- R---- was not jealous of me, even when she seereatest i her on various subjects, she remarked how unfortunate it had been for me to enter the lazzaretto at Ancona without any money