Volume I Part 70 (1/2)
”Yes, my dear Marina, I do love you, but if you wish to be my mistress, you must be only mine”
”Oh! of course I have three hundred sequins, and I will give them to you to-morrow if you will take me as your mistress”
”I do not want any ed; to- we shall feelof a duel for to-, dearest I know that ement with him”
”I know that, but he will not keep his, and I a the conversation and speaking of our old acquaintances, she informed me that she had quarreled with her brother Petronio, that her sister was primadonna in Genoa, and that Bellino Therese was still in Naples, where she continued to ruin dukes She concluded by saying;
”I am the most unhappy of the family”
”How so? You are beautiful, and you have becoal of your favours, and you cannot fail to meet with aof er mine, but when I do not love, I cannot be amiable Well, dearest, I could be very happy with you”
”Dear Marina, I am not wealthy, and ue; I understand you”
”Why have you not a lady's ht A maid would look more respectable, but uess all his qualities, but he is not a fit servant for you”
The next day after dinner I left Marina getting ready for the theatre, and having put everything of value I possessed in e and proceeded to the Casino of Po the false count, and sent the carriage away I was conscious of being guilty of great folly in exposing e my honour, but, the fact is that I felt well disposed for a fight, and as I was certainly in the right I thought the prospect of a duel very delightful A visit to a dancer, a brute professing to be a nobleman, who insults her in my presence, ants to kill her, who allows her to be carried off in his very teeth, and whose only opposition is to give me an appointment! It seeiven hiht to call me a coward
The count had not yet arrived I entered the coffee-roo French pleased with his conversation, I told him that I expected the arrival of a man, and that as rateful if he would go away as soon as I saw theA short ti, but with a second I then told the French, and he accepted as readily as if I had invited him to a party of pleasure The count ca a sword at least forty inches long, and had all the look of a cut-throat
I advanced towards the count, and said to him dryly,--
”You told me that you would come alone”
”My friend will not be in the way, as I only want to speak to you”
”If I had known that, I would not have gone out of o to so seen FollowFrench well acquainted with the place, took me to the most favourable spot, and aited there for the two other chaether When they ithin ten paces I drew et ready My Frenchman had already taken out his sword, but he kept it under his arm
”Two to one!” exclaientleo likewise; at all events, your friend wears a sword, therefore we are two against two”
”Yes,” said the Frenchame”
”I do not cross swords with a dancer,” said the cutthroat
He had scarcely uttered those words whenup to hi, and gave him a violent boith the flat of his sword on the face I followed his exaan to beat a retreat, and said that he only wanted to tell ht afterwards
”Well, speak”