Volume II Part 40 (1/2)
”Recollect that, if I did not suppose you endoith a noble soul and a high ht give you an unfavorable opinion of my character”
The tone of that letter, which I have copied word by word, surprised me even more than the offer it contained I had business to attend to, but I gave up all engagements to lock myself in my room in order to answer it Such an application betokened an extravagant ularity, which attracted ht be the saht French to C---- C---- She had represented her friend in her letters as handsoenerous My dear wife had, perhaps, been guilty of soh my brain, but I would entertain only those which were favourable to a sche friend had inforiven her French lessons was not the only one in the convent who spoke that language I had no reason to suppose that, if C---- C---- had made a confidante of her friend, she would have made a mystery of it to ht be the beautiful friend of ht also turn out to be a different person; I felt soht I could write without i myself:
”I answer in French, madam, in the hope that my letter will have the clearness and the precision of which you give hly interesting and of the highest i all the circu the person to who, you e dose of vanity, I must fear some mystification, and uard
”If it is true that the person who has penned that letter is a respectable woas noble as her own, she will find, I trust, that I could not answer in any other way than I aedood opinion can have been formed only from my personal appearance, I feel it my duty to obey you, even if the result be to undeceive you by proving that I had unwittingly led you into a mistaken appreciation of my person
”Of the three proposals which you so kindly made in your letter, I dare not accept any but the first, with the restriction suggested by your penetrating mind I will accompany to the parlour of your convent a lady who shall not knoho I am, and, consequently, shall have no occasion to introduce e too severely, ive you my name, and receive my word of honour that I shall learn yours only to render you hoe If you choose to speak to me, I will ansith the most profound respect Permit me to hope that you will come to the parlour alone I may mention that I am a Venetian, and perfectly free
”The only reason which prevents ements proposed by you, either of which would have suited reatly honourthe victi will not be lost when you know me and when I have seen you I entreat you to have faith in my honour, and to measure my patience by your own
Tomorrow, at the sa your answer”
I went to the place appointed, and having ave her my letter with a sequin, and I told her that I would come the next day for the answer We were both punctual As soon as she saw iven her the day before, and a letter, requesting me to read it and to let her knohether she was to wait for an answer Here is the exact copy of the letter:
”I believe, sir, that I have not beenLike you, I detest untruth when it can lead to important consequences, but I think it a mere trifle when it can do no injury to anyone Of reatest honour to your intelligence, and, respecting the reasons which induce you to keep your incognito, I have written the enclosed to the Countess of S----, which I request you to read Be kind enough to seal it before delivery of it to her You may call upon her whenever convenient to yourself She will naondola The countess will not ask you any questions, and you need not give her any explanation There will be no presentation; but as you will be made acquainted with my name, you can afterwards call onthe name of the countess In that e shall beco you, or of your losing at night some hours which may be precious to you I have instructed my servant to wait for your answer in case you should be known to the countess and object to her If you approve of the choice I have er that there is no answer”
As I was an entire stranger to the countess, I told the woive, and she left me
Here are the contents of the note addressed by the nun to the countess, and which I had to deliver to her:
”I beg of you, my dear friend, to pay entleman-bearer of this note know the hour, so that he can accoe your friend”
That letter seeue; there was in it an appearance of dignity which captivatedthe character of a man on whom a favour seemed to be bestowed
In her last letter,not to be anxious to knoho I was, approved of s; but she see her I would visit her I knew very hat to think of it all, for the intrigue was sure to have an amorous issue Nevertheless, her assurance, or rather confidence, increased my curiosity, and I felt that she had every reason to hope, if she were young and handsoht very well have delayed the affair for a few days, and have learned from C---- C---- who that nun could be; but, besides the baseness of such a proceeding, I was afraid of spoiling the ga it afterwards I was told to call on the countess at nity of my nun would not allow her to shew herself too iht that I would myself hasten the adventure She seeallantry to ad an inexperienced novice, and I was afraid of wasting h at my own expense if I happened to meet a superannuated female It is very certain that if I had not been actuated by curiosity I should not have gone one step further, but I wanted to see the countenance of a nun who had offered to come to Venice to sup with me Besides, I was ins, and at the facility hich they could escape out of their walls
At three o'clock I presented myself before the countess and delivered the note, and she expressed a wish to see me the next day at the same hour We dropped a beautiful reverence to one another, and parted
She was a superior wo down the hill, but still very handso Sunday, I need not say that I took care to attend antly dressed, and already unfaithful--at least in idea--toseen by the nun, young or old, rather than of shewingwife
In the afternoon I ain, and at the appointed ti for ondola, and reached the convent without having spoken of anything but the weather When we arrived at the gate, the countess asked for M---- M---- I was surprised by that naed was celebrated We were shewn into a small parlour, and a few , touched a spring, andrevolve, which left an opening sufficiently large to enable the two friends to eenious as afterwards carefully closed The opening was at least eighteen inches wide, and a h it The countess sat opposite the nun, and I took my seat a little on one side so as to be able to observe quietly and at my ease one of the most beautiful women that it was possible to see I had no doubt whatever of her being the personher French Admiration kept me in a sort of ecstacy, and I never heard one word of their conversation; the beautiful nun, far fro to me, did not even condescend to honour me with one look She was about twenty-two or twenty-three years of age, and the shape of her face was ht, her coy, but at the sae and full, were of a lovely blue; her countenance was soft and cheerful; her fine lips seemed to breathe the most heavenly voluptuousness, and her teeth were ts of the most brilliant enamel Her head-dress did not allow me to see her hair, but if she had any I knew by the colour of her eyebrows that it was of a beautiful light brown Her hand and her arnificent; the chisel of Praxiteles never carved anything race fully rounded and plump, I was not sorry to have refused the two rendezvous which had been offered toher in a few days, and it was a pleasure for ed to find , and I would have considered it an insult to her if, the very next day, I had not come to tell her how fully I rendered to her charms the justice they deserved She was faithful to her determination not to look at me once, but after all I was pleased with her reserve All at once the two friends lowered their voices, and out of delicacy I withdrew further Their private conversation lasted about a quarter of an hour, during which I pretended to be intently looking at a painting; then they kissed one another again by the sa of the interview; the nun closed the opening, turned her back on us, and disappeared without casting one glance in my direction
As ere on our way back to Venice, the countess, tired perhaps of our silence, said to me, with a smile,
”M---- M---- is beautiful and very witty”
”I have seen her beauty, and I believe in her wit”