Volume II Part 28 (2/2)
”I will have no indulgence either for domestic disorders, for the moment I hear that a wife is unfaithful to her husband, I will have her locked up, in spite of all, in spite of the generally received opinion that the husband is the real judge and ranted in dom where husbands are by far too indifferent on that subject Fanatic husbands may complain astheir wives; they are dishonoured already by the fact of the woman's infidelity”
”But, madam, dishonour rises in reality only froht be deceived, although you are empress”
”I know that, but that is no business of yours, and I do not grant you the right of contradicting me”
Such is the way in which Maria Teresa would have argued, and notwithstanding the principle of virtue froiven birth to all the infamous deeds which her executioners, the Commissaries of Chastity, committed with impunity under her name At every hour of the day, in all the streets of Vienna, they carried off and took to prison the poor girls who happened to live alone, and very often went out only to earn an honest living I should like to knoas possible to know that a girl was going to soet from him consolations for her miserable position, or that she was in search of someone disposed to offer her those consolations? Indeed, it was difficult A spy would follow them at a distance The police department kept a crowd of those spies, and as the scoundrels wore no particular uniform, it was impossible to know theeneral distrust of all strangers
If a girl entered a house, the spy who had followed her, waited for her, stopped her as she caatory If the poor creature looked uneasy, if she hesitated in answering in such a way as to satisfy the spy, the felloould take her to prison; in all cases beginning by plundering her of whatever money or jewellery she carried about her person, and the restitution of which could never be obtained Vienna was, in that respect a true den of privileged thieves
It happened to me one day in Leopoldstadt that in the old watch to secure it fro upon her to take her up I did not know the poor girl, whoain one month afterwards She was pretty, and she had been compelled to more than one sacrifice in order to obtain her liberty I was glad to be able to hand her watch back to her, and although she orthy of ato reward irls could walk uno about with their head bent doith beads in hand, for in that case the disgusting brood of spies dared not arrest theht be on their way to church, and Maria Teresa would certainly have sent to the gallows the spy guilty of such a mistake
Those low villains rendered a stay in Vienna very unpleasant to foreigners, and it was a htest natural ithout running the risk of being annoyed
One day as I was standing close to the wall in a narrow street, I was, who told o soun, he would have me arrested!
”And why, if you please?”
”Because, on your left, there is a woman who can see you”
I lifted up my head, and I saw on the fourth story, a woman ith the telescope she had applied to her eye, could have told whether I was a Jew or a Christian I obeyed, laughing heartily, and related the adventure everywhere; but no one was astonished, because the saain every day
In order to study the manners and habits of the people, I took one with Careat surprise, sitting at the table d'hote, that Pepe il Cadetto, whose acquaintance I had made at the time of my arrest in the Spanish army, and whom I had met afterwards in Venice and in Lyons, under the name of Don Joseph Marcati Campioni, who had been his partner in Lyons, embraced him, talked with him in private, and informed me that the man had resumed his real name, and that he was now called Count Afflisio He told me that after dinner there would be a faro bank in which I would have an interest, and he therefore requested me not to play I accepted the offer Afflisio won: a captain of the name of Beccaxia threw the cards at his face--a trifle to which the self-styled count was accustoame was over, we repaired to the coffee-roo at an to smile, but not in an offensive manner
”Sir,” I asked hi?”
”It nize me”
”I have some idea that I have seen you somewhere, but I could not say where or when I had that honour”
”Nine years ago, by the orders of the Prince de Lobkowitz, I escorted you to the Gate of Rimini”
”You are Baron Vais:”
”Precisely”
We embraced one another; he offeredto procure ratefully, and the sa he presented me to a countess, at whose house I rossa, as called Grosse-Tete by everybody He was reat at Court because he had negotiated the e of the arch-duke with Beatrice d'Este I also became acquainted there with the Count of Roquendorf and Count Sarotin, and with several noble young ladies who are called in Germany frauleins, and with a baroness who had led a pretty wild life, but who could yet captivate a man We had supper, and I was created baron It was in vain that I observed that I had no title whatever: ”You ,” I was told, ”and you cannot be less than baron You must confess yourself to be at least that, if you wish to be received anywhere in Vienna”
”Well, I will be a baron, since it is of no importance”