Volume II Part 14 (1/2)
”_To the Respectable Venetian Public_,
CARLO GOZZI
”This harenerous and kind applause, Large-hearted men of Venice, at the prayers, Repeated prayers, and not without effect, Of him rote it, now has been withdrawn
He knows not by what accidents or how, The various characters, the actors too, In this plain piece of stage-work, which he took Fro it to our Italian taste, Have lent the persons whonant rumours, which abuse His frank and candid pen, incapable Of setting snares for names whoht _Le Droghe d'Aer run: He meant it for amusement, not offence
Warm thanks, dictated by his heart, he yields To you, choice courteous public, who have deigned To greet so poor a play with your applause; And promises neorks on other themes; and swears That his sole object is to furnish sport To you, dear countrymen, and keep your friend”
”Well, well!” cried Gratarol, rising from his chair with a contortion of i but ue and your plan[69] My cogent reasoning upon the merits of the case has proved that you can and ain that I was impotent to do so, his brows darkened, and heall round the rooe to-, I shall not value
Yes, yes, I ; I shall not care for my existence”
[Illustration: GRATAROL'S INTERVIEW WITH GOZZI
_Original Etching by Ad Lalauze_]
The excellent Maffei was sitting all this while in a state of the greatest disco how pale and wretched he was, I rose to my feet, and addressed Gratarol in these words: ”Sir, I do not wish you to part from me under the impression that I am not your friend
All I can undertake is to use my influence by prayers and entreaties to prevent the perfore to succeed, for I am not the master in this matter You shall have a full and punctual report of n that we do not part in ened; and what I shall have to relate shortly will enable ave the kiss of Judas
LIX
_The several steps I took to onist--History of a long tedious day_
How I spent the rest of the day after this painful scene may be told very briefly I first sent a letter to the noble gentleent terms to sanction the suspension of the co his inability to do so was placed inat the house of the patrician Giuseppe Lini at S
Samuele I sent for hi the performance stopped ”What can I do?” exclaiotten that the sublioing to be brought to the theatre by one of its foot-soldiers? You are de the impossible--the ruin of myself and all my company” ”But did not you yourself declare,” said I, ”that you would punctually fulfil my wishes in this matter?” ”To whom, and when, and where?” he answered in some heat; ”who has told these lies? I should like to be confronted with the ine I am such a donkey as to make ridiculous assertions of the kind? Nevertheless, if you can s to sub in the ante-cha-room They protested with one voice that it was impossible to withdraw a comedy which was already the property of the public and under the protection of the Govern the cap on his own head It was too late to think of the ht by his own madness on himself
Furnished with Sacchi's conditional promise, I flew off at once to my friend Maffei I told him what I had already done, and hat poor success ”Nevertheless,” I added, ”there is yet another stone which I do not mean to leave unturned I o to her iested and contrived the travesty which turned Vitalba into a caricature of Gratarol She has availed herself of the latter's indiscretion and false steps, the excitement of the public, and the dust stirred up about ainst herself I cannot say Tell Signor Gratarol what I have attempted up to the present moment, and come to meet me under the Procuratie Nuove at three hours after sunset”
The January day in which I had to as short; and I h the fact is trivial, that I did not allow myself time to eat a mouthful of food
It was already an hour and a half past sundohen I turned my steps to the palace of that noble lady I wished to have a witness of our colloquy, and met with no one on the way i Benedetti, the actor, and Sacchi's nephew We cli staircase and asked if her ladyshi+p were at ho a coed to be announced; and shortly afterwards M the doors of her reception-room behind her, from whence there came the sound of animated conversation She saluted me cheerfully with her usual epithet of _Bear_, bade me take a chair beside her, and motioned to the actor to be seated[70]
I unfolded the object of ently I desired the suppression of my comedy, and described the ineffectual steps which I had taken for securing it ”Now I fling myself upon your powerful assistance, in the earnest hope that you will help he d'Amore_”
”What a request!” she cried: ”what has inspired you toas the libeller and satirist of private persons I painted the distress of Gratarol, and the sympathy which I felt for him ”The kindness of your heart is worthy of all honour,” she answered; ”but if you knew the whole facts, you would not take compassion on that man He has not merely let himself be bamboozled by an actress, fo, set hiainst the decrees of the tribunals, calumniated people who deserve respect, pretended that the pri was broken, and floundered froed against him He has not merely committed all these follies He has done more, of which you are not yet aware”
”I am quite prepared to believe you,” I replied; ”but in a case like his, any honestwith i you to save ard as an odious source of hu that I can and ought to stop the perfor in my face and said: ”Any blind man can see that you have no power over your coift of it to certain actors It has been twice revised and licensed by the censors of the State It belongs to the public, and the public have the right to profit by it You will only get yourself into a scrape if you insist on cha the cause of that presumptuous, conceited, and unruly man If I cannot persuade you, there are senators in that roo-room) ”ill tell you plainly that you are ier yours, but the property of the public and the istrates of State” ”All this I know quite well,” I answered; ”and I have repeated it a hundred tier This is the very reason why I come to you I know that you can settle ent people will perhaps understand how helpless I aar and the populace are sure to think otherwise, and I shall be prejudiced in the opinion ofheart that Iyou to liberateall these scandals daily, and seeing the unfortunate Gratarol exposed to scorn in a base and cruel pillory” At the end of this speech I bent down, and stooped to the, fora woman's hand five or six times