Volume III Part 10 (1/2)
”Have I the necessary talents?”
”I think so”
”I have an inclination for all honesta livelihood, and as for ranted”
This last observation made him smile, as I had intended
After a feords spoken at randoone years which tio to the Abbe de la Ville and use his name
This abbe, the chief pern office, was a man of cold temperament, a profound diploh in favour with his excellency the ue, and his grateful king rewarded hi him a bishopric on the day of his death It was a little late, but kings have not always sufficient leisure to res His heir was a wealthy enson's, and had beco by the friendshi+p the Abbe de la Ville had always had for hie, had deposited their wills in the hands of the saatee
After the abbe had delivered a brief discourse on the nature of secret ed with the suitable for me presented itself
I made the acquaintance of the Abbe Galiani, the secretary of the Neapolitan Embassy He was a brother to the Marquis de Galiani, of whom I shall speak e come to my Italian travels The Abbe Galiani was athe ood talker, speaking French with the ineradicable Neapolitan accent, he was a favourite in every circle he cared to enter
The Abbe de la Ville told him that Voltaire had complained that his Henriade had been translated into Neapolitan verse in such sort that it excited laughter
”Voltaire is wrong,” said Galiani, ”for the Neapolitan dialect is of such a nature that it is ihable And why should he be vexed; he whobeloved The Neapolitan dialect is truly a singular one; we have it in translations of the Bible and of the Iliad, and both are coine that the Bible would be, but I should not have thought that would have been the case with the Iliad”
”It is, nevertheless”
I did not return to Paris till the day before the departure of Mdlle de la Meure, now Madaive her ratulations, and to wish her a pleasant journey I found her in good spirits and quite at her ease, and, far fron that I was cured We talked without the slightest constraint, and I thought her husband a perfect gentleman
He invited us to visit hi to do so, but the fates willed otherwise
Tiretta was now left alone with his darling, who grew more infatuated with her Strephon every day, so well did he prove his love for her
With a mind at ease, I now set ave
The friendshi+p and respect I bore her family rew e, I should have been puzzled to say at what end I was ai where I was going
In the beginning of May the Abbe de Bernis told me to come and call on him at Versailles, but first to see the Abbe de la Ville The first question the abbe askeda visit to eight or tenthe acquaintance of the officers, and of co a , the nuuns, ammunition, discipline, etc, etc
”I will make the attempt,” I said, ”and will hand you in my report on my return, and it will be for you to say if I have succeeded or not”
”As this is a secret ive you a letter of coive you some money and wish you a pleasant journey”
”I do not wish to be paid in advance--on ive me what you think fit I shall want three or four days before setting out, as I ood Try to come back before the end of the ive you”
On the same day I had some conversation at the Palais Bourbon with my patron, who could not ad pay done so he made me accept a packet of a hundred Louis This was the last occasion on which I made use of his purse; I did not borrow from him at Rome fourteen years afterwards
”As you are on a secret ive you a passport I am sorry for it, but if I did so your object would be suspected However, you will easily be able to get one froentleman of the chamber, on some pretext or other Silvia will be more useful to you in that way than anybody else You quite understand how discreet your behaviour et into any trouble; for I suppose you know that, if anything happened to you, it would be of no use to talk of yourabout you, for ambassadors are the only avowed spies Remember that you must be even more careful and reserved than they, and yet, if you wish to succeed, all this must be concealed, and you must have an air of freedom from constraint that you may inspire confidence If, on your return, you like to shewit in, I will tell you what may require to be left out or added”