Volume II Part 31 (1/2)
He leftthat he hoped to seeat St Mark's Square, where he would be with Mada me that he had retained possession of his apartment unknown to his father This was as much as to say that he expected me to return his visit, but if I had been prudent I should not have done so
Disgusted at the et hold of er felt any inclination to try my fortune with his ether to ratification I avoided the It would have been wise to keep to that line of conduct; but the next day, obeyingthat a polite call could not have any consequences, I called upon hiave me the most friendly welco shewn ain of his affairs, and made me look at a heap of papers and documents; I found it very wearison the three bills of exchange,” he said, ”I will take you as a partner in my contract”
By this extraordinaryme--at least he said so--an income of five thousand florins a year; butthat theto take leave of him, when he said that he wished to introduce me to his mother and sister
He left the room, and came back with the wohter was a perfect beauty; she literally dazzled ed leave to retire, and her daughter remained In less than half an hour I was captivated; her perfection delighted , her candour, her ingenuousness, her natural and noble feelings, her cheerful and innocent quickness, that harmony which arises from beauty, wit, and innocence, and which had always thein fact conspired to make me the slave of the ine
Mdlle C---- C---- never went out without her ence She read no books but her father's--a seriousto read soreat wish to know Venice, and as no one visited the fay of beauty Her brother riting while I conversed with her, or rather answered all the questions which she addressed tothe ideas that she already had, and that she was herself amazed to find in her own mind, for her soul had until then been unconscious of its oers
Yet I did not tell her that she was lovely and that she interested ree, because I had so often said the same to other wo her suspicions
I left the house with a sensation of drea deeplygirl, I proht myself the e, although I certainly believed her endoith all the qualities necessary to minister to my happiness
I had not seen Madame Manzoni since my return to Venice, and I went to pay her a visit I found the worthy woave me the most affectionate welcoirl who had caused M de Malipiero to strike me thirteen years before, had just returned frorave had made her fortune As she lived in the house opposite, Madame Manzoni, anted to enjoy her surprise, sent her word to co by the hand a little boy of eight years--a lovely child--and the only one she had given to her husband, as a dancer in Bayreuth Our surprise at seeing one another again was equal to the pleasure we experienced in recollecting what had occurred in our young days; it is true that we had but trifles to recollect I congratulated her upon her good fortune, and judging of ht to congratulate me, but her fortune would have been established on a firmer basis than mine if she had followed a prudent line of conduct She unfortunately indulged in numerous caprices hich my readers will become acquainted She was an excellentto her talent; her char else She told me her adventures, very likely with some restrictions, and we parted after a conversation of two hours She invitedday She toldan old acquaintance I was not likely to give rise to any suspicion; that is the aphorisallantry She added that I could, if I liked, see her that sa in her box, and that M Papafava, as her God-father, would be glad to see , and I found her in bed with her son, who, thanks to the principles in which he had been educated, got up and left the room as soon as he saw me seated near his mother's bed I spent three hours with her, and I recollect that the last was delightful; the reader will know the consequence of that pleasant hour later I saw her a second tiht she passed in Venice, and when she left I promised to pay her a visit in Bayreuth, but I never kept my promise
I had at that time to attend to the affairs of my posthumous brother, who had, as he said, a call froh he was ignorant and devoid of any ht that an ecclesiastical career would insure his happiness, and he depended a great deal upon his preaching, for which, according to the opinion of the women hom he was acquainted, he had a decided talent I took everything intofor him a patrimony from M Grimani, who still owed us the value of the furniture in my father's house, of which he had never rendered any account He transferred to him a life-interest in a house in Venice, and two years afterwards my brother was ordained But the patried; the Abbe Grimani was, however, a kind Jesuit, and those sainted servants of God think that all is well that ends well and profitably to theain of my unhappy brother whose destiny became involved with mine
Two days had passed since I had paid my visit to P---- C----, when I met him in the street He toldof s which I had told her, and that hisood match for you,” he added, ”for she will have a dowry of ten thousand ducats If you will call on me to-morroill take coffee with ain to enter his house, but I broke et his promises under such circumstances
I spent three hours in conversation with the charirl and when I left her I was deeply in love As I went away, I told her that I envied the destiny of the man ould have her for his wife, and my compliment, the first she had ever received, an to exahtened me, for I could neither behave towards Mdlle C---- C---- as an honest man nor as a libertine I could not hope to obtain her hand, and I almost fancied I would stab anyone who advised me to seduce her I felt that I wanted so is sometimes an excellent lenitive to calm the mind, and to smother the ardent fire of love I played onderful luck, and I was going hoold, when in a solitary narrow street I ht of nized Count Bonafede, the sight of whonized me likewise We talked for some time, and at last he told me the state of abject poverty to which he was reduced, and the great difficulty he had to keep his nu from you one sequin which will keep us alive for five or six days” I i hiratitude, but I could not prevent hi tears As we parted, he told me that what hter, who had becoreat beauty, and would rather die than make a sacrifice of her virtue ”I can neither support her in those feelings,” he said, with a sigh, ”nor reward her for the that I understood the wishes hich misery had inspired him, I took his address, and promised to pay him a visit I was curious to see what had becoh opinion I called the next day I found a house alhter alone--a circu countess had seen me arrive, and received me on the stairs in the ht her handsoreeable, and lively, as she had been when Iannounced h spirits, and she kissed me with as much tenderness as if I had been a beloved lover She took me to her own room, and after she had informed ave way again to the transport of joy which, as she said, she felt in seeing iven at first under the auspices of friendshi+p, was not long in exciting our senses to such an extent that in less than a quarter of an hour I had nothing more to desire When it was all over, it became us both, of course, to be, or at least to appear to be, surprised at what had taken place, and I could not honestly hesitate to assure the poor countess that it was only the first token of a constant and true love She believed it, or she feigned to believe it, and perhaps I myself fancied it was true--for the ain, she told me the fearful state to which they were reduced, her brothers walking barefooted in the streets, and her father having positively no bread to give them
”Then you have not any lover?”
”What? a lover! Where could I find a h to be my lover in such a house as this? Am I a woman to sell myself to the first comer for the sum of thirty sous? There is not ame in such a place as this
Besides, I was not born for prostitution”
Such a conversation was not very cheerful; she eeping, and the spectacle of her sadness, joined to the picture ofto excite love I left her with a proain, and I put twelve sequins in her hand She was surprised at the amount; she had never known herself so rich before I have always regretted I did not give her twice as much
The next day P---- C---- called on iven pero to the opera with hihted because she had never been there before, and that, if I liked, I could wait for them at some place where they would meet me
”But does your sister know that you intend reat pleasure”
”Does your mother know it?”
”No; but when she knows it she will not be angry, for she has a great esteem for you”