Volume VI Part 95 (2/2)

Four Armenianfound the abbot's tyranny unbearable They had wealthy relations at Constantinople, and laughed the excoht asylu toan Armenian press to furnish all the Ared to sink a capital of a million florins if they were allowed to settle in Austria, to found their press, and to buy or build a convent, where they proposed to live in coht be expected the Austrian Governrant their request; it did es

The effect of this arrangement would be to deprive Venice of a lucrative trade, and to place it in the emperor's dominions Consequently the Viennese Court sent theovernor, and they had been there for the past six months

The Venetian Government, of course, wished to entice them back to Venice They had vainly induced their late abbot to make handsome offers to the to stir up obstacles in their way, and to disgust them with Trieste

The consul toldsuccess to be out of the question; and he predicted that if I atte to solve the insoluble

I felt the force of the consul's reovernor's assistance, or even speak to him on the subject I saw that I n, for besides his duty to his Government he was a devoted friend to the interests of Trieste, and for this reason a great patron of the ia made me make acquaintance with thesetheir Ar In a week or ten days I became quite intimate with them One day I said that they were bound in honour to return to the obedience of their abbot, if only to annul his sentence of excommunication

The most obstinate of them told me that the abbot had behaved more like a despot than a father, and had thus absolved them from their obedience

”Besides,” he said, ”no rascally priest has any right to cut off good Christians from communion with the Saviour, and we are sure that our patriarch will give us absolution and send us souments; however, I asked on another occasion on what conditions they would return to Venice

The most sensible of them said that in the first place the abbot must withdraw the four hundred thousand ducats which he had entrusted to the Marquis Serpos at four per cent

This sum was the capital from which the income of the Convent of St

Lazarus was derived The abbot had no right whatever to dispose of it, even with the consent of athe monks If the marquis became bankrupt the convent would be utterly destitute The reat friend of the abbot's

I then asked the monks ere the other conditions, and they replied that these were soht easily be settled; they would give rievances as soon as I could assure theer in possession of their funds

I e, and sent the document to the Inquisitors by the consul In six weeks I received an answer to the effect that the abbot saw his way to arranging the money difficulty, but that heso

This decidedto do with the affair, but a feords fro ave me to understand that he knew of my attempts to reconcile the four monks with their abbot, and he told me that he had been sorry to hear the report, as my success would do harm to a country where I lived and where I was treated as a friend

I i hiotiation if I had not been certain of failure, for I heard on undoubted authority that Serpos could not possibly restore the four hundred thousand ducats

This explanation thoroughly dissipated any cloud that ht Councillor Rizzi's house for thirty thousand florins Here they established the anything ave me another proof of his friendshi+p Unhappily for e of fifty

Onea document he had just received from Vienna He told me he was sorry I did not read German, but that he would tell me the contents of the paper

”Here,” he continued, ”you will be able to serve your country without in any way injuring Austria

”I a understood of course that reatly to your advantage, whether you succeed or fail; at all hazards your patriotis such infore your sources of information; only tell your Government that you are perfectly sure of the authenticity of the statement you make

”You must know,” he continued, ”that all the coh Venice where they have to pay duty Such has long been the custom, and it may still be so if the Venetian Government will consent to reduce the duty of four per cent to two per cent

”A plan has been brought before the notice of the Austrian Court, and it has been eagerly accepted I have received certain orders on theany warning to the Venetian Government