Volume VI Part 100 (2/2)

No doubt the count was afraid, for he called out to his servants and ordered them to fetch the priest, whether he could come or no His order was executed, and the priest was led in, foa him exco that never anotherin the chapel that had been polluted with sacrilege, and finally proe him

The count let him say on, and then forced him into a chair, and the unworthy ecclesiastic not only ate but got drunk Thus peace was concluded, and the abbe forgot all his wrongs

A few days later two Capuchins cao, and as he did not care to dis laid for the friars Thereupon the bolder of the two infor, the count had him accommodated with a plateful of rice The Capuchin refused it, saying that he orthy to sit, not only at his table, but at a ood humour, replied that they called themselves ”unworthy brethren,” and that they were consequently not worthy of any of this world's good things

The Capuchin ht the count to be in the right I proceeded to back hi committed the sin of pride, so strictly condemned by the rules of his order

The Capuchin answered me with a torrent of abuse, so the count ordered a pair of scissors to be brought, that the beards of the filthy rogues ht be cut off At this awful threat the two friars hed heartily over the incident

If all the count's eccentricities had been of this co nature, I should not havethe case

Instead of chyle his organs must have distilled some virulent poison; he was always at his worst in his after dinner hours His appetite was furious; he atewoodcock, and I could not help praising the dish in the style of the true gourmand He iravely bade me not to praise the dishes I liked as it irritated hih and also an inclination to throw the bottle at his head, which I should probably have indulged in had I been twenty years younger However, I did neither, feeling that I should either leave him or accommodate myself to his humours

Three one to see at Gorice, told me that she would never have believed in the possibility of such a creature existing if she had not known Count Torriano

”Though he is a vigorous lover,” she continued, ”it is a reat difficulty with him to obtain the crisis; and the wretched woled to death if she cannot conceal her amorous ecstacy He cannot bear to see another's pleasure I pity his wife most heartily”

I will now relate the incident which put an end to my relations with this venomous creature

Amidst the idleness and weariness of Spessa I happened toI made her soht in ht to avoid observation, and left at day-break by a small door which opened on to the road

We had amused ourselves in this pleasantht close the door after her as usual I had scarcely done so when I heard cries for help I quickly opened it again, and I saw the scoundrelly Torriano holding the ith one hand while he beat her furiously with a stick he held in the other I rushed upon hiether, while the poor woown on, and here I was at a disadvantage; for civilized man is a poor creature without his clothes However, I held the stick with one hand, while I squeezed his throat with the other On his side he clung to the stick with his right hand, and pulled ue started out and he had to let go

I was onthe stick I aimed a sturdy blow at his head, which, luckily for hiot up, ran a little way, and began to pick up stones However, I did not wait to be pelted, but shut myself in my room and lay down on the bed, only sorry that I had not choked the villain outright

As soon as I had rested I looked to my pistols, dressedfor some kind of conveyance to takeit I took a road that ledcalh sad She told me she had received most of the blows on her shoulders, and was not much hurt What vexed her was that the affair would beco her, and our subsequent co her to come and see me at Gorice, and to tell me where I could find a conveyance

Her sister offered to shew et what I wanted On the way she told me that Torriano had been her sister's enemy before the death of her husband because she rejected all his proposals

I found a good conveyance at the farm, and the man proave hi him to come for me

I returned to the count's and had scarcely finished getting ready when the conveyance drove up

I was about to putive him athat after what had passed we ought not to ain under his roof

A ,--

”As you won't speak to me, I have come to speak to you”