Volume I Part 66 (1/2)
”We have become husband and wife”
”What willabout it until he gives us the nuptial benediction in his own church”
”And ill he do so?”
”As soon as we have coe”
”How long will that be?”
”About aLent”
”I will obtain per er want to know hly now, and I feel certain that you will make me happy”
”And will you et up and go to church Who could have believed that, to get a husband, it was necessary not to go to Venice, but to co of so passed off quickly, but towards dinner-tiht that Christine looked different to what she did the day before, and I asked her the reason of that change
”It must be,” she said, ”the sahtful”
”An air of thoughtfulness, my dear, is proper to love when it finds itself in consultation with honour This affair has become serious, and love is now compelled to think and consider We want to be married in the church, and we cannot do it before Lent, now that we are in the last days of carnival; yet we cannot wait until Easter, it would be too long
We must therefore obtain a dispensation in order to be htful?”
Her only ansas to come and kiss me tenderly I had spoken the truth, yet I had not told her allso pensive I found reeable toI could not conceal fro to creep into rieved at it I felt certain, however, that the charirl would never have any cause to reproachbefore us, and as she had told one to a theatre, I resolved on affording her that pleasure I sent for a Jew frouise her, and ent to the theatre A ives to the woman he loves After the performance was over, I took her to the Casino, and her astonishh when she saw for the first tih to play h to aave her ten sequins, and explained what she had to do She did not even know the cards, yet in less than an hour she had won one hundred sequins I , and we returned to the inn When ere in our room, I told her to see how old belonged to her, she thought it was a dream
”Oh! ill ht supper, and spent a delightful night, taking good care to part by day-break, so as not to be caught in the same bed by the worthy ecclesiastic He arrived early and found us sleeping soundly in our respective beds He woke e immediately When he returned two hours later, he saw us dressed and talking quietly near the fire As soon as he came in, Christine rushed to eold she had in her possession What a pleasant surprise for the good old priest! He did not kno to express his wonder! He thanked God for what he called athat ere made to insure each other's happiness
The time to part had come I promised to pay them a visit in the first days of Lent, but on condition that on my arrival in P---- I would not find anyone inforave me the certificate of birth of his niece and the account of her possessions As soon as they had gone I took irl, and deterement with her I kne easy it would be for e had been irrevocably written in the great book of fate
My return caused the greatest joy to the three excellentaccustomed to see me three days absent, M Dandolo and M
Barbaro were afraid of soadin's faith was stronger, and he allayed their fears, saying to the over er