Volume IV Part 83 (2/2)
”You a monster?” said she ”On the contrary I oweI can think of for which I have cause to reproach you”
I took her hand, tenderly, and would have carried it to ave ht a deep blush to ot back to my room I sealed my letters and went to the ball
I was absolutely unrecognizable nobody had ever seen edlances of the curious, I sat down at Canano's table and commenced to play in quite a different fashi+on I had a hundred Spanish pieces in ot this Spanish money froiven me for fear he should know me
I emptied one I rose fro to beat a retreat, but I took out another purse and put a hundred sequins on one card, going second, with paroli, seven, and the va The stroke was successful and Canano gave ain by the banker, and reco at ne had given me, with the prince's portrait on the lid I took a pinch of snuff and he gave me to understand that he would like one too, and the box was subjected to a general examination A lady whom I did not know said the portrait represented the Elector of Cologne in his robes as Grand Master of the Teutonic Order The box was returned toi paroli and paix de paroli, and at daybreak I had broken the bank Canano said politely that if I liked to be spared the trouble of carrying all that gold he would have it weighed and give ht, and it was found that I had thirty-four pounds weight in gold, aht hundred and fifty-six sequins Canano wrote me a cheque, and I slowly returned to the ball-roonized ratulatedthat I wished to renito he left me
A lady in a Greek dress richly adorned with diamonds came up to me, and said in a falsetto voice that she would like to dance with love I saw a finely-shaped hand as white as alabaster, one of the fingers bearing an exquisite diah I puzzled uess who she could be
She danced admirably, in the style of a woman of fashi+on, and I too exerted myself to the utmost By the time the dance was over I was covered with perspiration
”You look hot,” said my partner, in her falsetto voice, ”come and rest in my box”
My heart leaped with joy, and I followed her with great delight; but as I saw Greppi in the box to which she took me, I had no doubt that it must be Therese, which did not please me quite so well In short, the lady took off her uise
”But how did you recognize me, dearest?”
”By your snuff-box I knew it, otherwise I should never have found you out”
”Then you think that nobody has recognized me?”
”nobody, unless in the same way as I did”
”None of the people here have seenover to Greppi Canano's cheque, and he gave me a receipt for it Therese asked us to supper for the ensuing evening, and said,--
”There will be four of us in all”
Greppi seeht guessed it would be my dear son Cesarino
As I went down once more to the ball-rooht and left, tellingfor ave them a box ornamented with an indecent picture I had the i and shew it the it they exclaimed,--
”Fie, fie! your punishment is never to knoe are”
I was sorry to have displeased the two fair , so I followed the Barbaro, who knew everybody, I pointed theht that they were the two Marchionesses Q---- and F---- I proo and see them
He said that everybody in the ball-rooh, of course, that was a trifle to me
Towards the end of the ball, when it was already full daylight, a ondolier, was accosted by a lady ondolier to prove hiondolier accepted, and the music struck up, but the boatman, as apparently a Milanese, was hooted, while the lady danced exquisitely I was very fond of the dance, and I asked the unknown Venetian lady to dance it again withwas formed round us, and ere so applauded that we had to dance it over again This would have sufficed if a very pretty shepherdess without a ed me to dance it with her I could not refuse her, and she danced exquisitely; going round and round the circle three ti to hover in the air