Volume III Part 8 (1/2)

Silvia's daughter loved h I had never said so, but women's wit is keen At the sas, as she was afraid of encouraging me to ask favours of her, and she did not feel sure of her strength to refuse them; and she knew my inconstant nature Her relations intended her for Cle her the clavichord for the last three years She knew of the arrangeh she did not love hiirls are wedded without love, and they are not sorry for it afterwards They know that by e they become of some consequence in the world, and they ood position in society They seem to know that a husband and a lover need not be synonymous terms At Paris es are matters of convenience The French are jealous of their mistresses, but never of their wives

There could be no doubt that M Clehted that I noticed it, as she thought this would bring ht The departure of Mdlle de la Meure had a good deal to do with my determination to declare myself; and I was very sorry to have done so afterwards, for after I had told her I loved her Clement was dismissed, and my position orse than before The man who declares his love for a woain

Three days after the departure of Tiretta, I took hilad to seedown to dinner, and though he had been very friendly to h the meal, and treated Tiretta in the same way I, for my part, took no notice of him, but Tiretta, not so patient as I, at last lost his te to have that fellow to dine with her We rose fro a word, and the silent abbe ith madam into another room

Tiretta took me to see his rooht, adjoined his sweetheart's Whilst he was putting his things in order, Mdlle de la Meure made round floor, and facing hers I took care to point out to her how easily I could pay her a visit after everyone was in bed, but she said we should not be comfortable in her rooetting out of bed It will be guessed that I had no objections to ement

She then told me of her aunt's folly about Tiretta

”She believes,” said she, ”that we do not know he sleeps with her”

”Believes, or pretends to believe”

”Possibly She rang for o and ask hi his bed had not been slept in I asked him if he had not been to sleep

”'No,' said he, 'I have been writing all night, but please don't say anything about it to your aunt: I prorave”

”Does he make sheep's eyes at you?”

”No, but if he did it would be all the sah he is not over sharp he knows, I think, what I think of him”

”Why have you such a poor opinion of hi one's self is a dreadful idea”

”But you pay iveher niece stupid, but on the contrary I thought her very clever, and as virtuous as clever I should never have seduced her if she had not been brought up in a convent

I went back to Tiretta, and had some pleasant conversation with him I asked him how he liked his place

”I don't like itI am not absolutely wretched”

”But her face!”

”I don't look at it, and there's one thing I like about her--she is so clean”

”Does she take good care of you?”

”O yes, she is full of feeling forI offered her 'I am sure,' said she, 'that my refusal will pain you, but your health is so dear to looone and Madaossip, and played the timid child for Tiretta's benefit, and he played up to her admirably, much to my admiration

”I shall see nome that I was lost both in this world and the next he threatened to abandon me, and I took him at his word”

An actress nae and lived close by, came to call, and soon after Madame Favart and the Abbe de Voisenon arrived, followed by Madame Amelin with a handsome lad named Calabre, whom she called her nephew He was as like her as two peas, but she did not see she was his mother M Patron, a Piedmontese, who also came with her, made a bank at faro and in a couple of hours won everybody's money with the exception of mine, as I knew better than to play My time was better occupied in the coh the Piedmontese, and had put him down as a knave; but Tiretta was not so sharp, and consequently lost all the money he had in his pockets and a hundred louis besides

The banker having reaped a good harvest put down the cards, and Tiretta told hiood Italian that he was a cheat, to which the Piedreatest coolness that he lied Thinking that the quarrel , I told hi, and I made my friend say so, too He then left the coht years afterwards I saw this Patron at St Petersburg, and in the year 1767 he was assassinated in Poland