Volume VI Part 28 (1/2)
Such is the perversity of the human mind that no one believed in Donna Pelliccia's delicacy When the king heard what had happened he ordered the worthy actress to leave Madrid, to prevent the duke ruining himself
Such is often the reward of virtue here below, but the malicious persons who had tried to injure Donna Pelliccia by calu her fortune
The duke who had only spoken once or twice to the actress in public, and had never spent a penny on her, took the king's command as an insult, and one not to be borne He was too proud to solicit the king to revoke the order he had given, and in the end behaved in a way befitting so noble-minded a man For the first ti her to forgive hirace, asked her to accept a rouleau and a letter which he laid on the table
The rouleau contained a hundred gold ounces with the words ”for travelling expenses,” and the letter was addressed to a Roman bank, and proved to be an order for twenty-four thousand Roman crowns
For twenty-nine years this worthy woman kept an establishment at Roood fortune
The day after Donna Pelliccia's departure the king saw the Duke of Arcos, and told hiet the woood
”By sending her away, your edto her in various public places, and I had never ave her twenty-five thousand doubloons?”
”Sire, I gave her double that sum, but only on the day before yesterday
Your majesty has absolute power, but if she had not received her disone to her house, nor should I have given her the s was stupefied and silent; he was probably ive to the gossip that his courtiers bring him
I heard about this from M Monnino, as afterwards known under the title of Castille de Florida Blanca, and is now living in exile in Murcia, his native country
After Marescalchi had gone, and I wasmy preparations for ht, a woe kind of fascination about it
There was a knight of Alcantara at my side, and I asked him who the lady was
”She is the famous Nina”
”How fa to be told here”
I could not help gazing at her, and twofellow beside her ca in his ear
The knight turned towards me and informed me in the most polite manner that the lady whose nah to be flattered by her curiosity, and told the er that if the lady would allow me I would come to her box and tell her my name in person after the performance
”From your accent I should suppose you were an Italian”
”I aone away hbour seemed inclined to be more communicative, and informed me that Nina was a dancer who for soet her back to Barcelona, whence the bishop of the diocese had expelled her on account of the scandals to which she gave rise ”The count,” he added, ”is madly in love with her, and allows her fifty doubloons a day”
”I should hope she does not spend them”