 Chapter 4 of the Memoirs of Jacques Casanova, Volume 2. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Ashwath Kineshan. The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova, Volume 2. Paris and Prison. By Jacques Casanova. Translated by Arthur Macken. Episode 6, Chapter 4. Wylst de la Hay was every day gaining greater influence over my weakened mind. Whilst I was every day devoutly attending mass, sermons, and every office of the church, I received from Venice a letter containing the pleasant information that my affair had followed its natural course, namely that it was entirely forgotten. And in another letter, Monsieur de Bregadin informed me that the minister had written to the Venetian ambassador in Rome with instructions to assure the Holy Father that Baron Bavois would immediately after his arrival in Venice receive in the army of the Republic an appointment which would enable him to live honorably and to gain a high position by his talents. That letter overcame Monsieur de la Hay with joy and I completed his happiness by telling him that nothing hindered me from going back to my native city. He immediately made up his mind to go to Modena in order to explain to his pupil how he was to act in Venice to open for himself the way to a brilliant fortune. De la Hay depended on me in every way. He saw my fanaticism and he was well aware that it is a disease which rages as long as the causes from which it has sprung are in existence. As he was going with me to Venice, he flattered himself that he could easily feed the fire he had lighted. Therefore, he wrote to Bavois that he would join him immediately and two days after he took leave of me, weeping abundantly, praising highly the virtues of my soul, calling me his son, his dear son, and assuring me that his great affection for me had been caused by the mark of election which he had seen on my countenance. After that, I felt my calling and election were sure. A few days after the departure of De la Hay, I left Parma in my carriage with which I parted in Fusina and from there I proceeded to Venice. After an absence of a year, my three friends received me as if I had been their guardian angel. They expressed their impatience to welcome the two saints announced by my letters. An apartment was ready for De la Hay in the palace of Monsieur de Pragadin and as state reasons did not allow my father to receive in his house a foreigner who had not yet entered the service of the Republic, two rooms had been engaged for Bavois in the neighborhood. They were thoroughly amazed at the wonderful change which had taken place in my morals. Every day attending Mass, often present at the preaching and at the other services, never showing myself at the casino, frequenting only a certain café which was the place of meeting for all men of acknowledged piety and reserve and always studying when I was not in their company. When they compared my actual mode of living with the former one, they marveled and they could not sufficiently thank the eternal providence of God whose inconceivable ways they admired. They blessed the criminal actions which had compelled me to remain one year away from my native place. I crowned their delight by paying all my debts without asking any money from Monsieur de Pragadin who, not having given me anything for one year, had religiously put together every month the sum he had allowed me. I need not say how pleased the worthy friends were when they saw that I had entirely given up gambling. I had a letter from De La Hay in the beginning of May. He announced that he was on the eve of starting with the sun so dear to his heart and that he would soon place himself at the disposition of the respectable men to whom I had announced him. Knowing the hour at which the barge arrived from Modena, we all went to meet them except Monsieur de Pragadin who was then engaged at the Senate. We returned to the palace before him and when he came back, finding us all together, he gave his new guests the most friendly welcome. De La Hay spoke to me of a hundred things but I scarcely heard what he said so much was my attention taken up by Bavoie. He was so different to what I had fancied him to be from the impression I had received from De La Hay that my ideas were altogether upset. I had to study him for three days before I could make up my mind to like him. I must give his portrait to my readers. Baron Bavoie was a young man of about twenty-five of middle size, handsome in features, well-made, fair, of an equal temper, speaking well and with intelligence and uttering his words with a tone of modesty which suited him exactly. His features were regular and pleasing. His teeth were beautiful. His hair was long and fine, always well taken care of and exhaling the perfume of the palmatum with which it was dressed. That individual who was the exact opposite of the man that De La Hay had led me to imagine surprised my friends greatly but their welcome did not in any way betray their astonishment for their pure and candid minds did not admit a judgment contrary to the good opinion they had formed of his morals. As soon as we had established De La Hay in his beautiful apartment I accompanied Bavoie to the rooms engaged for him where his luggage had been sent by my orders. He found himself in very comfortable quarters and being received with distinction by his worthy host who was already greatly prejudiced in his favor. The young Baron embraced me warmly, pouring out all his gratitude and assuring me that he felt deeply all I had done for him without knowing him as De La Hay had informed him of all that had occurred. I pretended not to understand what he was alluding to and to change the subject of conversation I asked him how he intended to occupy his time in Venice until his military appointment gave him serious duties to perform. I trust he answered that we shall all enjoy ourselves in an agreeable way for I have no doubt that our inclinations are the same. Mercury and De La Hay had so completely besotted me that I should have found some difficulty in understanding these words however intelligible they were. But if I did not go any further than the outward signification of his answer I could not help remarking that he had already taken the fancy of the two daughters of the house. They were neither pretty nor ugly but he showed himself gracious towards them like a man who understands his business. I had, however, already made such great progress in my mystical education that I considered the compliments he addressed to the girls as mere forms of politeness. For the first day I took my young baron only to the St. Mark's Square and to the café where we remained until supper time as it had been arranged for him to have meals with us. At the supper table he showed himself very witty and Monsieur Dandolo named an hour for the next day when he intended to present him to the secretary for war. In the evening I accompanied him to his lodging where I found that the two young girls were delighted because the young Swiss nobleman had no servants and because they hoped to convince him I called upon him with Monsieur Dandolo and Monsieur Barberot who were both to present him at the war office. We found him at his toilet under the delicate hands of the eldest girl who was dressing his hair. His room was fragrant with the perfumes of his pomatums and scents. This did not indicate a sainted man yet my two friends did not feel scandalized although their astonishment was very evident for they had not expected that show of gallantry from a young neophyte. I was nearly bursting into a loud laugh when I heard Monsieur Dandolo remark that unless we hurried we would not have time to hear Mass whereupon Bavois inquired whether it was a festival Monsieur Dandolo without passing any remark answered negatively and after that Mass was not again mentioned. When Bavois was ready I left them and went a different way. I met them again at dinner time during which the reception given to the young baron by the secretary was discussed and in the evening my friends introduced him to several ladies who were very much pleased with him. In less than a week he was so well known that there was no fear of his time hanging wearily on his hands but that week was likewise enough to give me a perfect insight into his nature of thinking. I should not have required such a long study if I had not at first begun on a wrong scent or rather if my intelligence had not been stultified by my fanaticism Bavois was particularly fond of women, of gambling of every luxury and as he was poor women supplied him with the best part of his resources as to religious faith he had none and as he was hypocrite he confessed as such to me Have you contrived I said to him one day such as you are to deceive De La Hay God forbid I should deceive anyone. De La Hay is perfectly well aware of my system and of my way of thinking on religious matters. But being himself very devout he entertains a holy sympathy for my soul and I do not object to it. He has bestowed many kindnesses upon me and I feel grateful to him My affection for him is all the greater because he never teases me with his dogmatic lessons or with sermons respecting my salvation of which I have no doubt that God in his fatherly goodness will take care All this is settled between De La Hay and me and we live on the best of terms The best part of the joke is that while I was studying him Bavois without knowing it restored my mind to its original state and I was ashamed of myself when I realized that I had been the dupe of a Jesuit who is an aren't hypocrite in spite of the character of holiness which he assumed and which he could play with such marvelous ability. From that moment I fell again into all my former practices. But let us return to De La Hay That late Jesuit who in his inmost heart loved nothing but his own comfort already advanced in years and therefore no longer caring for the fair sex was exactly the sort of man to please my simple minded trio of friends. As he never spoke to them but of God, of his angels and of everlasting glory and as he was always accompanying them to church, they found him a delightful companion. They longed for the time when he would discover himself for they imagined he was at the very least a Rosicrucian or perhaps the hermit of Courpigny who had taught me the holistic science and made me a present of the immortal parallels. They felt greed because the oracle had forbidden them through my cabalistic lips ever to mention my science in the presence of Tartuff. As I had foreseen that interdition left me to enjoy as I pleased all the time that I would have been called upon to devote to their devout credulity and besides I was naturally afraid lest De La Hay such as I truly believed be would never lend himself to that trifling nonsense and would for the sake of deserving greater favor at their hands endeavor to un-deceive them and to take my place in their confidence. I soon found out that I had acted with prudence. For in less than three weeks the cunning fox had obtained so great an influence over the mind of my three friends that he was foolish enough not only to believe that he did not want me anymore to support his credit with them but likewise that he could supplant me whenever he chose. I could see it clearly in his way of addressing me as well as in the change in his proceedings. He was beginning to hold with my friends frequent conversations to which I was not summoned and he had contrived to make them introduce him to several families which I was not in the habit of visiting. He assumed his grand Jesuitic heirs and although with honeyed word he would take the liberty of answering me because I sometimes spent a night out and as he would say God knows where. I was particularly vexed at his seeming to accuse me of leading his pupil astray. He then would assume the tone of a man speaking jestingly but I was not deceived. I thought it was time to put an end to his game and with that intention I paid him a visit in his bedroom. When I was seated I said I come as a true worshiper of the gospel to tell you in private something that another time I would say in public. What is it my dear friend? I advise you for the future not to hurl at me the slightest taunt respecting the life I am leading with Bavois when we are in the presence of my three worthy friends. I do not object to listen to you when we are alone. You are wrong in taking my innocent jest seriously. Wrong or right that does not matter. Never attack your proselyte. Be careful for the future or I might on my side and only in jest like you throw at your head some repartee which you have every reason to fear and thus repay you with interest. And bowing to him I left his room. A few days afterwards I spent a few hours with my friends and Paralyne and the Oracle and joined them never to accomplish without my advice anything that might have been insinuated by Valentine. That was the Cavalistic name of the disciple of Escobar. I knew I could rely upon their obedience to that order. Delayet soon took notice of some slight change. He became more reserved and Bavois whom I informed of what I had done gave me his full approbation. He felt convinced as I was that Delayet had been useful to him only through weak or selfish reasons. That is that he would have cared little for his soul if his face had not been handsome and if he had not known that he would derive important advantages from having caused his so-called conversion. Finding that the Venetian government was postponing his appointment from day to day Bavois entered the service of the French ambassador. The decision made it necessary for him not only to cease his visits to Monsieur du Paréden but even to give up his intercourse with Delayet who was the guest of that senator. It was one of the strictest laws of the Republic that the Christians and their families shall not hold any intercourse with the foreign ambassadors and their suites. But the decision taken by Bavois did not prevent my friend speaking in his favor and they succeeded in obtaining employment for him as will be seen further on. The husband of Christine whom I never visited invited me to go to the casino which he was in the habit of frequenting with his aunt and his wife who had already presented him his invitation and I found Christine as lovely as ever and speaking the Venetian dialect like her husband. I made in that casino the acquaintance of a chemist who inspired me with a wish to follow a course of chemistry. I went to his house where I found a young girl who greatly pleased me. She was a neighbor and came every evening to keep the chemist's elderly wife company and at a regular hour a servant called to take her home. I had never made love to her but once in a trifling sort of way and in the presence of the old lady but I was surprised not to see her after that for several days and I expressed my astonishment. The good lady told me that very likely the girl's cousin, an abe with whom she was residing had heard of my seeing her every evening had become jealous and would not allow her to come again. An abe jealous? Why not? He never allows her to go out except on Sundays in the Santa Maria Mattep Domini close by his dwelling. He did not object to her coming here because he knew that we never had any visitors and very likely he has heard through the servant of your being here every evening. A great enemy to all jealous persons and a greater friend to my amorous fancies. I wrote to the young girl that if she would leave her cousin for me I would give her a house in which she should be the mistress and that I would surround her with good society and every luxury to be found in Venice. I added that I would be in the church on the following Sunday to receive her answer. I did not forget my appointment and her answer was that the abe being her tyrant she would consider herself happy to escape out of his clutches but that she could not make up her mind to follow me unless I consented to marry her. She concluded her letter by saying that in case I entertained honest intentions towards her I had only to speak to her mother Jean Machetti who resided in Lucia, a city 30 miles distant from Venice. This letter peaked my curiosity and I even imagined that she had written it in concert with the abe. Thinking that they wanted to dupe me and besides finding the proposal of marriage ridiculous I determined on having my revenge but I wanted to get to the bottom of it and I made up my mind to see the girl's mother. She felt honored by my visit and greatly pleased when after I had shown her her daughter's letter I told her that I wished to marry her but that I should never think of it as long as she resided with the abe. That abe she said is a distant relative. He used to live alone in his house in Venice and two years ago he told me that he was in want of a housekeeper. He asked me to let my daughter go to him in that capacity assuring me that in Venice she would have good opportunities of getting married. He offered to give me a deed in writing stating that on the day of her marriage he would give her all of his furniture valued at about one thousand ducats and the inheritance of a small estate bringing one hundred ducats a year which lie possesses here. It seemed to me a good bargain and my daughter being pleased with the offer I accepted. He gave me the deed duly drawn by a notary and my daughter went with him. I know that he makes a regular slave of her but she chose to go. Nevertheless I need not tell you that my most ardent wish is to see her married for as long as the girl is without a husband she is too much exposed to temptation and the poor mother cannot rest in peace. Then come to Venice with me. You will take your daughter out of the abbey's house and I will make her my wife. Unless that is done I cannot marry her for I should dishonor myself if I receive my wife from his hands. Oh no! For he is my cousin although only in the fourth degree and what is more he is a priest and says the mass every day. You make me laugh my good woman. Everybody knows that a priest has the mass without depriving himself of certain trifling enjoyments. Take your daughter with you or give up all hope of ever seeing her married. But if I take her with me he will not give her his furniture and perhaps he will sell his small estate here. I undertake to look to that part of the business. I promise to take her out of his hands and to make her come back to you and to obtain the estate when she is my one. If you knew me better you would not doubt what I say. Come to Venice and I assure you that you shall return here in four or five days with your daughter. She read the letter which had been written to me by her daughter again and told me that being a poor widow she had not the money necessary to pay the expenses of her journey to Venice or of her return to Luisa. In Venice you shall not want for anything I said in the meantime here are ten sequins. Ten sequins? Then I can go with my sister-in-law? Come with anyone you like but let us go soon so as to reach Ciudza where we must sleep. Tomorrow we shall dine in Venice and I undertake to defray all expenses. We arrived in Venice the next day at ten o'clock and I took the two women to Castello to a house the first floor of which was empty. I left them there and provided them a sign by the abbey. I went to dine with my three friends to whom I said that I had been to Ciudza on important business. After dinner I called upon the lawyer Marco de Lese who told me that if the mother presented a petition to the president of the Council of Ten she would immediately be invested with power to take her daughter away with all the furniture in the house which she could send wherever she pleased. I instructed him to have the petition ready saying that I would come the next morning with the mother who would sign it in his presence. I brought the mother early in the morning and after she had signed the petition we went to the bussole where she presented it to the president of the council. In less than a quarter of an hour a bailiff was ordered to repair to the house of the priest with the mother and to put her in possession of the daughter and of all the furniture which she would immediately take away. The order was carried into execution to the very letter. The daughter was brought to the gondola as near as possible to the house and I had provided a large boat in which the Saviti stowed all the furniture found on the premises. When it was all done the daughter was brought to the gondola and she was extremely surprised to see me. Her mother kissed her and told her that I would be her husband the very next day. She answered that she was delighted and that nothing had been left in her tyrant's house except his bed and his clothes. When she was brought out of the boat we had dinner and I told the three women that they must go back to Lucia where I would join them as soon as I had settled all my affairs. I spent the afternoon gaily with my intended. She told us that the abe was dressing when the bailiff presented the order of the council of ten with injunctions to allow it free execution under penalty of death that the abe finished his toilet went out to say his mass and that everything had been done I was told, she added, that my mother was awaiting me in the gondola but I did not expect to find you and I never suspected that you were at the bottom of the whole affair. It is the first proof I give you of my love. These words made her smile very pleasantly. I took care to have a good supper and some excellent wines and after we had spent two hours at the table in the midst of the joys of Bacchus I devoted four more to a pleasant teta-tet with my intended bride. The next morning after breakfast I had the whole of the furniture stowed in a payota which I had engaged for the purpose and paid for beforehand. I gave ten more sequins to the mother and sent them away all three in great delight. The affair was completed to my honor as well as to my entire satisfaction and I returned home. The case had made so much noise that my friends could not have remained ignorant of it. The consequence was that when they saw me they showed their surprise and sorrow. De La Hay embraced me with an air of profound grief but it was a feigned feeling, a harlequin's dress, which he had the talent of assuming with the greatest facility. Monsieur de Brachédin alone laughed heartily saying to the others that they did not understand the affair and that it was the forerunner of something great which was known only to heavenly spirits. On my side, being ignorant of the opinion they entertained of the matter and certain that they were not informed of all the circumstances, I laughed like Monsieur de Brachédin but said nothing. I had nothing to fear and I wanted to amuse myself with all that would be said. We sat down to table and Monsieur Barberot was the first to tell me in a friendly manner that he hoped at least that this was not the day after my wedding. Then people say that I am married. It is said everywhere and by everybody. The members of the council themselves believe it and they have good reason to believe that they are right. To be right in believing such a thing they ought to be certain of it and those gentlemen have no such certainty as they are not infallible any more than anyone except God. I tell you that they are mistaken. I like to perform good actions and to get pleasure from my money but not at the expense of my liberty. Whenever you want to know my affairs recollect that you can receive information about them only from me and public rumour is only good to amuse fools. But said Monsieur Dandelot you spent the night with the person who was represented as your wife. Quite true but I have no account to give to anyone respecting what I have done last night. Are you not of my opinion Monsieur de la Haix? I wish you would not ask my opinion for I do not know but I must say that public rumour ought not to be despised. The deep affection I have for you causes me to grieve for what the public voice says about you. How is it that those reports do not grieve Monsieur de Bracadane who has certainly greater affection for me than you have? I respect you but I have learned at my own expense that slander is to be feared. It is said that in order to get hold of a young girl who is residing with her uncle a worthy priest you suborned a woman who declared herself to be the girl's mother and thus deceiving the Supreme Council for the dignity of which she obtained possession of the girl for you. The bailiff sent by the council swears that you were in the gondola with a false mother when the young girl joined her. It is said that the deed in virtue of which you caused the worthy ecclesiastics furniture to be carried off is false and you are blamed for having made the highest body of the state a stepping stone to crime. In fine it is said that even if you have married the girl and no doubt of it is entertained the members of the council will not be silent as to the fraudulent means you had recourse to in order to carry out your intention successfully. That is a very long speech I said to him codely but learn from me that a wise man who has heard a criminal accusation related with so many absurd particulars ceases to be wise when he makes himself the echo of what he has heard for if the accusation should turn out to be a calumny he would himself become the accomplice of the slanderer after that sentence which brought the blood to the face of the Jesuit but which my friends thought very wise I entreated him in a meaning voice to spare his anxiety about me and to be quite certain that I knew the laws of honour and that I had judgment enough to take care of myself and to let foul tongue say what they liked about me just as I did when I heard them make ill of him. The adventure was the talk of the city for five or six days after which it was soon forgotten but three months having elapsed without my having paid any visit to Lucia or having answered the letters written to me by the Damagele Martetti and without sending her the money she claimed of me she made up her mind to take certain proceedings which might have had serious consequences although they had none whatever in the end One day Ignacio the bailiff of the dreaded tribunal of the state inquisitors presented himself as I was sitting at table with my friends he informed me that the Cavaliere Cantarini d'Alzofo wanted to see me and would wait for me the next morning at such an hour at the Madonna dell'Orto I rose from the table and answered with a bow that I would not fail to obey the wishes of his excellency the bailiff then left us I could not possibly guess what a such a high dignitary of state would want with my humble person yet the message made us rather anxious for Cantarini d'Alzofo was one of the inquisitors that is to say a bird of very ill omen Monsieur de Braquedin who had been an inquisitor while he was councillor and therefore knew the habits of the tribunal told me that I had nothing to fear Ignacio was dressed in private clothes he added and therefore he did not come to the dread tribunal Monsieur Cantarini wishes to speak to you only as a private citizen as he sends you word to call it his palace and not at the courthouse he is an elderly man strict but just to whom you must speak frankly and without equivocating otherwise you would make matters worse I was pleased with Monsieur de Braquedin's advice which was of great use to me I called at the appointed time I was immediately announced and I had not long to wait and his excellency seated at a table examined me from head to foot for one minute without speaking to me he then rang the bell and ordered his servant to introduce the two ladies who were waiting in the next room I guessed at once what was the matter and felt no surprise when I saw the woman Marchetti and her daughter his excellency asked me if I knew them I must know them Monsieur as one of them will become my wife when she is convinced me by her good conduct of that honor her conduct is good she lives with her mother at Lucia you have deceived her why do you postpone your marriage with her why do you not visit her you never answer the letters and you let her be in want I cannot marry her your excellency before I have enough to support her that will come in three or four years thanks to a situation which Monsieur de Braquedin my only protector promises to obtain from you to support herself by working I will only marry her when I am convinced of her honesty and particularly when I am certain that she has given up all intercourse with the Abbey her cousin in the fourth degree I do not visit her because my confessor and my conscience forbid me to go to her house she wishes you to give her a legal promise of marriage and sustentation Monsieur I am under no obligation to give her a promise of marriage and having no means whatever to support her she must earn her own living with her mother when she lived with her cousin said her mother she never wanted for anything and she shall go back to him if she returns to his house I shall not take the trouble of taking her out of his hands a second time and your excellency will then see that I was right to defer my marriage with her until I was convinced of her honesty the judge told me that my presence was no longer necessary it was the end of the affair and I never heard any more about it the recital of the dialogue greatly amused my friends at the beginning of the carnival of 1750 I won a prize of 3,000 ducats at the lottery fortune made me that present when I did not require it for I had held the bank during the autumn and had won it was at a casino where no nobleman dared to present himself because one of the partners was an officer in the service of the Duke de Montalegre the Spanish ambassador the citizens of Venice fell ill at ease with the patricians and that is always the case under an aristocratic government because equality exists in reality only between the members of such a government as I intended to take a trip to Paris I placed 1,000 sequins in Monsieur de Bragada's hands and with that project in view I had the courage to pass the carnival without risking my money at the farotable I had taken a share of one fourth in the bank of an honest patrician and early in Lent he handed me a large sum towards Midlent my friend Baledi returned from Mantua to Venice he was engaged at the St. Moses Theatre as ballet master during the fair of the assumption he was with Marina but they did not live together she made the conquest of an English dune called Mendes who spent a great deal of money for her that Duke gave me good news of Therese whom he had known in Naples and in whose hands he had left some of his spoils the information pleased me I am very glad to have been prevented by Henriette from joining Therese in Naples as I had intended for I should certainly have fallen in love with her again and God knows what the consequences might have been it was at that time that Bavoie was appointed captain in the service of the Republic he rose rapidly in his profession as I shall mention hereafter De La Hay undertook the education of a young nobleman called Felix Calvi and for a short time afterwards he accompanied him to Poland I met him again in Vienna 3 years later I was making my preparations to go to the fair of Reggio then to Turin where the whole of Italy was congregating for the marriage of the Duke of Savoie with the princess of Spain daughter of Philip V and lastly to Paris where Madame la Dauphin being pregnant magnificent preparations were made in the expectations of the birth of a prince Baletti was likewise on the point of undertaking the same journey he was recalled by his parents his mother was the celebrated Sylvia Baletti was engaged at the Italian theatre in Paris as dancer and first gentleman I could not choose a companion more to my taste more agreeable or in a better position to procure me numerous advantageous acquaintances in Paris I bade farewell to my three excellent friends promising to return within two years I left my brother François in the studio of Simonetti the painter of battle pieces known as the Parmesan I gave him a promise to think of him in Paris where at that time particularly great talent was always certain of a high fortune my readers will see how I kept my word I likewise left in Venice my brother Jean who had returned to that city after having traveled through Italy with Guarienti he was on the point of going to Rome where he remained 14 years in the studio of Raphael Mengs he left Rome for Dresden in 1764 where he died in the year 1795 Baletti started before me and I left Venice to meet him in Reggio on the 1st of June 1750 I was well fitted out well supplied with money and sure not to want for any if I led a proper life we shall soon see dear reader what judgment you will pass on my conduct or rather I shall not see it for I know that when you are able to judge I shall no longer care for your sentence Chapter 5 of the Memoirs of Jacques Casanova Volume 2 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova Volume 2 Paris and Prison by Jacques Amo Casanova Episode 6 Chapter 5 I stop at Ferrara where I have a comic adventure my arrival in Paris Precisely at 12 o'clock the peyote landed me at Ponte di Lago Ascorro and I immediately took a post chase to reach Ferrara in time for dinner I put up at St. Mark's Hotel I was following the waiter up the stairs and upon a joyful uproar which suddenly burst from a room the door of which was open made me feel curious to asserting the cause of so much mirth I peeped into the room and saw some twelve persons, men and women seated round a well supplied table it was a very natural thing and I was moving on when I was stopped by the exclamation ah, here he is uttered by the pretty voice of a woman and at the same time the speaker with open arms embraced me saying, quick, quick a seat for him near me take his luggage to his room a young man came up and she said to him well, I told you, he would arrive today she made me sit near her at the table and after I had been saluted by all the guests who had risen to do me honor my dear cousin, she said addressing me you must be hungry and as she spoke she squeezed my foot under the table here is my intended husband whom I beg to introduce to you as well as my father and mother-in-law the other guests round the table are friends of the family but my dear cousin tell me why my mother has not come with you at last I had to open my lips your mother, my dear cousin will be here in three or four days at the latest I thought that my newly found cousin was unknown to me but when I looked at her with more attention I fancied I recollected her features she was the cantonella a dancer of reputation but I had never spoken to her before I easily guessed that she was giving me an impromptu part in a play of her own composition and that I was to be the duks ex machina whatever a singular and unexpected is always attracted me and as my cousin was pretty I lent myself most willingly to the joke entertaining no doubt that she would reward me in an agreeable manner all I had to do was to play my part well but without implicating myself therefore pretending to be very hungry I gave her the opportunity of speaking and of forming me by hints of what I had to know in order not to make blunders understanding the reason of my reserve she afforded me the proof of her quick intelligence by saying sometimes to one person sometimes to the other everything was necessary for me to know thus I learned that the wedding could not take place until the arrival of her mother who was to bring the wardrobe and the diamonds of my cousin I was the presentor going to Turin to compose the music of the opera which was to be represented at the marriage of the Duke of Savoy this last discovery pleased me greatly because I saw that I should have no difficulty in taking my departure the next morning and I began to enjoy the part I had to play and I wondered I might very well have informed the honorable company that my false cousin was mad but although Cantonella was very near 30 she was very pretty and celebrated for her intrigues that was enough and she could turn me round her little finger the future mother-in-law was seated opposite and to do me honor she filled a glass and offered it to me already identified with my part in the comedy to take the glass but seeing that my hand was somewhat bent she said to me what is the matter with your hand, sir? nothing serious, madam only a slight sprain which a little rest will soon cure at these words Cantonella, laughing heartily said that she had regretted the accident because it would deprive her friends of the pleasure that they would have enjoyed in hearing me play the harpsichord I'm glad to find it a laughing matter, cousin I laugh because it reminds me of a sprained ankle which I had once feigned to have an order not to dance after coffee the mother-in-law who evidently understood what was proper said that most likely my cousin wanted to talk with me on family matters and that we ought to be left alone every one of the guests left the room as soon as I was alone with her in my room which was next to her own she threw herself on a sofa and gave way to a most immoderate fit of laughter although I only know you by name she said to me I have entire confidence in you but you would do well to go away tomorrow I have been here for two months without any money I have nothing but a few dresses and some linen which I should have been compelled to sell to defray my expenses if I had not been lucky enough to inspire the son of the landlord with the deepest love I have flattered his passion by promising to become his wife and to bring him as a marriage portion 20,000 crowns worth of diamonds which I am supposed to have in Venice in which my mother is expected to bring with her but my mother has nothing and knows nothing of the affair therefore she is not likely to leave Venice but tell me my lovely madcap what will be the end of this extravaganza I am afraid it will take a tragic turn at the last you are mistaken it will remain a comedy and a very amusing one too I am expecting every hour the arrival of Count Holstein brother of the Elector of Mons he has written to me from Frankfurt he has left that city and must be by this time have reached Venice he will take me to the fair of Regio and if my intended takes it into his head to be angry the Count will thrash him and pay my bill but I am determined that he will shall not be thrashed nor paid as I go away I have only to whisper in his ear that I will certainly return and it will be all right I know my promise to become his wife as soon as I come back will make him happy that's all very well you are as witty as a cousin of Satan but I shall not wait for your return to marry you our wedding must take place at once what folly well wait until this evening I love it for I can almost fancy I hear the Count's carriage if he should not arrive we can continue the sport during the night do you love me? too distraction but what does that matter however your excellent comedy renders you worthy of adoration now suppose we do not waste our time you are right it is an episode and all the more agreeable for being impromptu I can well recollect that I found it a delightful episode towards evening all the family joined us again a walk was proposed and we were on the point of going out when a carriage drawn by six post horses noisily entered the yard Cantonella looked through the window and desired to be left alone saying that it was a prince who had come to see her everybody went away she pushed me into my room and locked me in I went to the window and saw a nobleman four times as big as myself getting out of the carriage he came upstairs entered the room of the intended bride and all that was left to me was the consolation of having seized fortune by the forelock the pleasure of hearing their conversation and a convenient view threw a crevice in the partition of which Cantonella contrived to do with that heavy lump of flesh but at last the stupid amusement wearied me for a lasted five hours which were ployed in amorous caresses and packing Cantonella's rags and loading them on the carriage and taking supper and in drinking numerous bumpers of relish wine at midnight the Count left the hotel carrying away with him the beloved mistress of the landlord's son no one during those long hours had come to my room and I had not called I was afraid of being discovered and I did not know how far the German prince would have been pleased if he had found out the indiscreet witness of the heavy and powerless demonstrations of his tenderness which were a credit to neither of the actors in which supplied me with ample food for thoughts upon the miseries of mankind after the departure of the heroine catching through the crevice a glimpse of the abandoned lover I called out to him to unlock my door the poor silly fellow told me piteously that Cantonella having taken the key with her it would be necessary to break the door open I begged him to have it done at once because I was hungry as soon as I was out of my prison I had my supper and the unfortunate lover kept me company he told me that Cantonella had found a moment to promise him that she would return within six weeks that she was shedding tears and giving him that insurance and that she had kissed him with great tenderness has the prince paid her expenses not at all we would not have allowed him to do it my future wife would have felt offended but you can't have no idea of the delicacy of her feelings what does your father say of her departure my father always sees the worst side of everything he says she will never come back and my mother shares his opinion rather than mine but you, Signore Maestro what do you think that if she has promised to return she will be sure to keep her word of course for if she did not mean to come back she would not have given me her promise precisely, I call that a good argument I had my supper what was left of the meal prepared by the Count's cook and I drank a bottle of excellent Renish wine which Cantonella had juggled away to treat her intended husband in which the worthy fellow thought could not have had a better destination than to treat his future cousin after supper I took post-horses on the journey assuring the unhappy, forlorn lover that I would do all I could to persuade my cousin to come back very soon I wanted to pay my bill but he refused to receive any money I reached Bologna a few minutes after Cantonella and put up at the same hotel where I found an opportunity of telling her all her lover had said I arrived in Reggio before her but I could not speak to her in that city for she was always in the company of her potent and impotent lord after the fair during which nothing of importance occurred to me I left Reggio with my friend Belletti and we proceeded to Turin which I wanted to see for the first time I had gone to that city with Henriette I had stopped only long enough to change horses I found everything beautiful in Turin the city, the court the theater and the women including the Duchess of Savoy but I could not help laughing when I was told that the police of the city were very efficient for the streets were full of beggars that police, however, was the special care of the king who was very intelligent if we are to believe history but I confessed that I laughed when I saw the ridiculous face of that sovereign I had never seen a king before in my life and a foolish idea made me suppose that a king must be preeminent a very rare being by his beauty in the majesty of his appearance and in everything superior to the rest of men for a young republican endowed with reason my idea was not after all so very foolish but I very soon got rid of it when I saw that the king of Sardinia ugly, humped back morose and vulgar even in his manners I then realized that it was possible to be a king without being entirely a man I saw La Estura and Gaffarello those two magnificent singers on the stage and I admired the dancing of La Gioffroy who married at that time a worthy dancer named Baudin during my stay at Turin no amorous fancy disturbed the peace of my soul except an accident which happened to me with the daughter of my washerwoman and which increased my knowledge in physics in a singular manner that girl was very pretty and without being what might be called in love with her I wished to obtain her favors peaked in my not being able to obtain an appointment from her I contrived one day to catch her at the bottom of a back staircase by which she had used to come to my room and I must confess with the intention of using a little violence if necessary having concealed myself for that purpose at the time I expected her I got hold of her by surprise and half by persuasion half by the rapidity of my attack she was brought to a right position and I lost no time in engaging in action but at the first movement of a connection a loud explosion somewhat cooled my ardor the more so that the young girl covered her face with her hands as if she wished to hide her shame however encouraging her with a loving kiss I began again but a report louder even than the first strikes at the same moment my ear and my nose I continue a third a fourth report and to make a long matter short every movement gives an explosion with as much regularity as a conductor making the time for a piece of music this extraordinary phenomena the confusion of the poor girl everything in fact struck me as so comical that I burst into the most immoderate laughter which compelled me to give up the undertaking ashamed and confused the young girl ran away and I did nothing to hinder her after that she never had the courage to present herself before me I remained seated on the stairs for a quarter of an hour after she left me amused at the funny character of the scene which even now excites my mirth I suppose that the young girl was indebted for her virtue to that singular disease and most likely if it were common to all of the fair sex there would be fewer gallant women unless we had different organs for to pay one moment of enjoyment at the expense both of the hearing and of the smell is to give too high a price Belletti being at a hurry to reach Paris where great preparations were being made for the birth of a Duke of Burgundy for the Duchess was very near the time of her delivery easily persuaded me to shorten my stay in Turin we therefore left that city and in five days we arrived at Lyon where we stayed for about a week Lyon is a very fine city in which at that time there was scarcely three or four noble houses open to strangers but in compensation there were more than a hundred hospitable ones belonging to merchants, manufacturers and commission agents amongst whom was to be found an excellent society remarkable for easy manners politeness, frankness and a good style without the absurd pride to be met with amongst the nobility in the provinces with very few honorable exceptions it is true that the standard of good manners is below that of Paris but one soon gets accustomed to it the wealth of Lyon arises from good taste and low prices and fashion is the goddess to whom the city owes its prosperity fashion alters every year and the stuff to which the fashion of the day gives a value equal say to thirty is the next year reduced to fifteen or twenty and then it is sent to foreign countries where it is bought up as a novelty the manufacturers of Lyon give high salaries to designers of talent and in that lies the secret of their success low prices come from the competition a fruitful source of wealth and a daughter of liberty therefore a government wishing to establish on a firm basis the prosperity of a trade must give commerce full liberty only being careful to prevent the frauds which private interests often wrongly understood might invent at the expense of public in general interests in fact the government must hold the scales and allow the citizens to load them as they please in Lyon I met the most famous courtesan of Venice it was generally admitted that her equal had never been seen her name was Anquila every man who saw her coveted her and she was so kindly disposed that she cannot refuse her favors to anyone for if all men loved her one day after the other she returned the compliment by loving them all at once and with her pecuniary advantages were only a very secondary consideration Venice had always been blessed with courtesans more celebrated by their beauty than their wit those who were very famous in my younger days were Anquila and another called Spina both daughters of gondoliers and both killed very young by the exorcises of a profession which in their eyes was a noble one at the age of 22 Anquila turned a dancer and Spina became a singer Campione a celebrated Venetian dancer imparted to the lovely Anquila all the graces and talents of which her physical perfections were susceptible and married her Spina had for her master a castratro who succeeded in making her only a very ordinary singer and in the absence of talent she was compelled in order to get a living to make the most of the beauty she had received from nature I shall have occasion to speak again of Anquila she was then in Lyon with her husband who had just returned from England where they had been greatly applauded at the Haymarket Theatre she had stopped in Lyon only for her pleasure and the moment she showed herself she had at her feet the most brilliant young man of the town who were the slaves of her slightest caprice every day parties a pleasure every evening magnificent suppers in the Farao Bank the banker at the gaming table was a certain Don Joseph Mariatti the same man whom I had known in the Spanish Army under the name of Don Pepe El Cadeto and a few years afterwards assumed the name of Aflicio and came to such a bad end that Farao Bank won in a few days 300,000 francs in a capital that would not be considered a large sum but in a commercial and industrial city in Lyon it raised the alarm amongst the merchants and the ultramontanes thought of taking their leave it was in Lyon that a respectable individual whose acquaintance I had made at the house of Monsieur de Roche-Baronne obtained for me the favor of being initiated in the sublime trifles of free masonry I arrived in Paris a simple apprentice a few months after my arrival the last is certainly the highest degree in free masonry for all the other degrees which I took afterwards are only pleasing inventions which although symbolical add nothing to the dignity of the master no one in this world can obtain a knowledge of everything but every man who feels himself endowed with faculties and can realize the extent of his moral strength should endeavor to obtain the greatest possible amount of knowledge a well-born young man who wishes to travel and know not only the world but also what is called good society who does not want to find himself under certain circumstances inferior to his equals and excluded from participating in all their pleasures must get himself initiated in what is called free masonry even if it is only to know superficially what free masonry is it is a charitable institution which at certain times may have been a pretext for criminal underplots got up for the overthrow of public order but is there anything under heaven which has not been abused have we not seen the Jesuits under the cloak of our holy religion thrust into the parasital hand of blind enthusiasts the dagger with which kings were to be assassinated all men of importance I mean those whose social existence is marked by intelligence and merit or by wealth can be and many of them are free masons is it possible to suppose that such meetings in which the initiated making it a law never to speak intramuros, either of politics or of religions or of governments converse only concerning emblems which are either moral or trifling is it possible to suppose I repeat that those meetings in which the government may have their own creatures can offer dangers sufficiently serious to warrant the prescriptions of kings or the excommunications of popes in reality such proceedings miss the end for which they are undertaken for the pope in spite of his infallibility will not prevent his persecutions from giving free masonry in importance which would perhaps never obtained if it had been left alone mystery is the essence of man's nature never presents itself to mankind under a mysterious appearance will always excite curiosity and be sought even when men are satisfied that the veil covers nothing but a cipher upon the whole I would advise all well-born young men who intend to travel to become free masons but I would likewise advise them to be careful in selecting a lodge because although bad company cannot have any influence while outside of the lodge the candidate must guard against bad acquaintances those who become free masons only for the sake of finding out the secret of the order run a very great whisk of growing old under the trowel without ever realizing their purpose yet there is a secret but it is so invaluable that it has never been confided or whispered to anyone those who stop at outward crust of things imagine that the secret consists than words in signs or that the main point of it is to be found only in reaching the highest degree this is a mistaken view the man who guesses the secret of free masonry and to know it you must guess it reaches that point only through long attendance in the lodges through deep thinking comparison and deduction he would not trust that secret to his best friend in free masonry because he is aware that if his friend found it out he could not make any use of it after it had been whispered in his ear no he keeps his peace and the secret remains a secret everything done in the lodge must be kept secret but those who have unscrupulously revealed what is done in the lodge have been unable to reveal that which is essential they had no knowledge of it and had they known it they certainly would not have unveiled the mystery of the ceremonies the impression left in our days by the people who were not initiated is of the same nature as that felt in former times by those who were not initiated into the mysteries enacted at Elusis in honor of Ceres but the mysteries of Elusis interested the whole of Greece and whoever had attained some eminence in the society of those days had an ardent wish to take part in those mysterious ceremonies while free masonry in the midst of many men of the highest merit reckons who know society all to acknowledge because they are the refuse of mankind as far as morality is concerned in the mysteries of Ceres an inscrutable silence was long kept owing to the veneration in which they were held besides what was in them that could be revealed the three words which the Hierophant said to the initiated but what would have that revelation have come to only to dishonor that indiscreet initiate for they were barbarous words unknown to the vulgar I have read somewhere that the three sacred words of the mysteries of Elusis meant watch and do no evil the sacred words and the secrets of the various masonic degrees are about as criminal the initiation in the mysteries of Elusis lasted nine days the ceremonies were very imposing and the company of the highest Plutarch tells us that Alcibiades was sentenced to death and his property confiscated because he had dared to turn the mysteries into the ridicule in his house he was even sentenced to be cursed by the priests and priestesses but the cursed was not pronounced because one of the priestesses opposed it saying I am a priestess to bless and not to curse sublime words lessons of wisdom and of morality which the pope despises in which the savior prescribes but in our days nothing is important and nothing is sacred for our cosmopolitan philosophers Bottarelli publishes in a pamphlet all the ceremonies of the Freemasons and the only sentence passed on him is he is a scoundrel we knew that before a prince in Naples and Monsieur Hamilton in his own house performed the miracle of Saint Januarius they are most likely very merry over their performance and many more with them yet the king wears on his royal breast a star with the following device around the image of Saint Januarius in sanguine photos in our days everything is inconsistent and nothing has any meaning yet it is right to go ahead for to stop on the road would be to go from bad to worse we left Lyon in the public diligence and were five days on our road to Paris Belletti had given notice of his departure to his family they therefore knew when to expect him we were eighth in the coach and our seats were very uncomfortable for it was a large oval in shape so that no one had a corner if that vehicle had been built in a country where a quality was a principle hollowed by the laws it would not have been a bad illustration I thought it was absurd but I was in a foreign country and I said nothing besides being an Italian would it not have been right for me to admire everything which was French and particularly in France example in oval diligence I respected the fashion but I found it detestable and the singular motion of that vehicle had the same effect upon me as the rolling of a ship and a heavy sea would have hung but the worst jostling would have disturbed me less as the diligence underlates in the rapidity of its pace it has been called a gondola but I was a judge of gondolas and I thought that there was no family likeness between the coach and the Venetian boats which with two hardy rowers glide along so swiftly and smoothly the effect of the movements was that I had to throw up whatever was on my stomach my traveling companions thought me bad company but they did not say so I was in France and among Frenchmen who know what politeness is they only remarked that very likely I had eaten too much of my supper and a Parisian abbey in order to excuse me observed that my stomach was weak a discussion arose gentlemen I said in my vexation and rather angrily you are all wrong for my stomach is excellent and I have not had any supper thereupon an elderly man told me with a voice full of sweetness that I ought not to say that the gentlemen were wrong although I might say that they were not right thus imitating Cicero who instead of declaring to the Romans that Catalina and the other conspirators were dead only said that they had lived is it not the same thing I beg your pardon sir one way of speaking is polite the other is not and after treating me to a long discussion on politeness he concluded me by saying with a smile I suppose you are an Italian yes I am but would you oblige me by telling me how you found it out oh I guessed it from the attention with which you have listened to my long prattle everybody laughed and I much pleased with his eccentricity began to coax him he was the tutor of a young boy of 12 or 13 years who was seated near him I made him give me during the journey lessons in French politeness and when we parted he took me apart in a friendly manner saying that he wished to make me a small present what is it you must abandon and if I may say so forget the particle no which you use frequently at random non is not a French word instead of that unpleasant monosyllable say pardon null is equal to giving the lie never say it or prepare yourself to give and receive sword stabs at every moment I thank you monsieur your present is very precious and I promise you never to say null again during the first fortnight of my stay in Paris it seemed to me that I had become the most faulty man alive for I never ceased begging pardon I even thought one evening at the theater that I should have a quarrel for having begged someone's pardon in the wrong place a young fop coming to the pit trot on my foot and I hasten to say your pardon sir sir pardon me yourself no yourself yourself well sir let us pardon and embrace one another he embraced put a stop to the discussion one day during the journey having fallen asleep from fatigue an inconvenient gondola someone pushed my arm ah sir look at that mansion I see it what of it ah I pray you do you not find it I find it nothing in particular in you nothing wonderful if we were not situated at a distance of 40 leagues from Paris but here ah would my bow dowds of Parisians believe that such a beautiful mansion can be found 40 leagues distant from the metropolis how ignorant a man is when he has never traveled you are quite right that man was a Parisian and a bow dow to the backbone like a gall in the days of Caesar but if the Parisians are lounging about from morning till night enjoying everything around them a foreigner like myself ought to have been a greater bow dowd than they the difference between us was that being accustomed to see things such as they are I was astonished at seeing them often covered with a mask which changed their nature while the surprise often arose from their suspecting what the mask concealed what delighted me on my arrival in Paris was the magnificent road made by Louis XV the cleanliness of the hotels the excellent fare they give the quickness of the service the excellent beds the gentleman who generally is the most accomplished girl of the house and whose decency, modest manners and neatness inspire the most shameless libertine with respect whereas the Italian who is pleased with the effrontery and the insolence of the hotel waiters in Italy in my days people did not know in France what it was to overcharge it was truly the home of foreigners true they had the unpleasantness of often witnessing acts of odious despotism letters de cachet, etc it was the despotism of a king since that time the French had the despotism of the people is that less obnoxious we dined at Photon Bleu a name derived from Fontaine, Belle Eau and when we were only two leagues from Paris we saw a Berlin advancing towards us as it came near the diligence a friend Belletti called out to the postillions to stop in the Berlin was his mother who offered me the welcome given to an expected friend his mother was the celebrated actress Sylvia and when I had been introduced to her she said to me I hope sir that my son's friend will accept a share of our family supper this evening I accepted gratefully sat down again in the gondola Belletti got into the Berlin with his mother and continued our journey on reaching Paris I found a servant of Sylvia's waiting for me with a coach he accompanied me to my lodgings to leave my luggage and we repaired to Belletti's house which was only 50 yards distance from my dwelling Belletti presented me to his father who was known under the name of Mario Sylvia and Mario were the stage names assumed by Monsieur and Madame Belletti at that time it was the custom in France to call the Italian actors by the names they had on the stage Bonjour Monsieur Alecquan Bonjour Monsieur Patelon such was the manner in which the French used to address the actors who personified those characters on the stage End of Chapter 5 Chapter 6 of the Memoirs of Jacques Casanova Volume 2 This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Heather Jane Hogan The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova Volume 2 Paris and Prison by Giacomo Casanova Translated by Arthur Machen Episode 6 My Apprenticeship in Paris Portraits Oddities All sorts of things Chapter 6 Part 1 To celebrate the arrival of her son Sylvia gave a splendid supper to which she had invited all her relatives and it was a good opportunity for me to make their acquaintance Belletti's father who had just recovered from a long illness was not with us but we had his father's sister who was older than Mario her theatrical name of Flaminia in the literary world by several translations but I had a great wish to make her acquaintance less on that account than in consequence of the story known throughout Italy of the stay that the three literary men of great fame had made in Paris Those three literati were the Marquis Maffi the Abbey Conti and Pierre Jacques Martelly who became enemies according to public rumour owing to the belief entertained by each of them that he possessed the favours of the actress and, being men of learning they fought with the pen Martelly composed a satire against Maffi in which he designated him by the anagram of Femia I had been announced to Flaminia as a candidate for literary fame and she thought she honoured me by addressing me at all but she was wrong her voice, her manners, her style even by the sound of her voice without saying it positively she made me understand that being herself an illustrious member of the Republic of Letters she was well aware that she was speaking to an insect she seemed as if she wanted to dictate to everybody around her and she very likely thought that she had the right to do so at the age of 60 particularly towards a young novice of only 25 years old who had not yet contributed anything to the literary treasury in order to please her I spoke to her of the Abbey Conti and I had occasion to quote two lines of that profound writer Madame corrected me with a patronising air for my pronunciation of the word skevra which means divided saying that it ought to be pronounced skeura ought to be very glad to have learned so much on the first day of my arrival in Paris telling me that it would be an important day in my life Madame I came here to learn and not to unlearn you will kindly allow me to tell you that the pronunciation of that word skevra with a V and not skeura with a U because it is a contraction of skevera it remains to be seen which of us is wrong you Madame according to Arisoto who makes skevra rhyme with percevra and the rhyme would be false with skeura which is not an Italian word she would have kept up the discussion but her husband, a man of 80 years of age told her that she was wrong she held her tongue and at the same time she told everybody that I was an imposter her husband Louis Riccoboni better known as Lelio was the same who had brought the Italian company to Paris in 1716 and placed it at the service of the regent he was a man of great merit he had been very handsome and justly enjoyed the esteem of the public and consequence not only of his talent but also of the purity of his life during supper my principal occupation was to study Sylvia who then enjoyed the greatest reputation and I judged her to even be above it she was then about 50 years old her figure was elegant her air noble her manners graceful and easy she was affable witty, kind to everybody simple and unpretending her face was an enigma for it inspired everyone with the warmest sympathy and yet if you examined it attentively there was not one beautiful feature she could not be called handsome but no one could have thought her ugly yet she was not one of those women who are neither handsome nor ugly for she possessed a certain something which struck one at first sight and captivated the interest beautiful certainly but owing to charms unknown to all those who not being attracted towards her by an irresistible feeling which compelled them to love her had not the courage to study her or the constancy to obtain a thorough knowledge of her Sylvia was the adoration of France and her talent was the real support of all the comedies which the greatest authors wrote for her especially of the plays of Marivaux for without her his comedies would never have gone to posterity never was an actress found who could replace her and to find one it would be necessary that she should unite herself in all the perfections which Sylvia possessed for the difficult profession of the stage action voice intelligence wit countenance manners and a deep knowledge of the human heart in Sylvia every quality was from nature and the art which gave the last touch of perfection to her qualities was never seen to the qualities which I have just mentioned Sylvia added another which surrounded her with a brilliant halo and the absence of which would not have prevented her from being the shining star of the stage she led a virtuous life she had been anxious to have friends but she had dismissed all lovers refusing to avail herself of a privilege which she could easily have enjoyed but which would have rendered her contemptible in her own estimation the irreproachable conduct obtained for her a reputation of respectability which at her age would have been held as ridiculous and even insulting by any other woman belonging to the same profession and many ladies of the highest rank honored her with her friendship even more than with their patronage never did the capricious audience of a Parisian pit dare to hiss Sylvia not even in her performance of characters which the public disliked and it was the general opinion that she was in every way above her profession Sylvia did not think that her good conduct was a merit for she knew that she was virtuous only because her self-love compelled her to be so and she never exhibited any pride or assumed any superiority towards her theatrical sisters although satisfied to shine by their talent or their beauty they cared little about rendering themselves conspicuous by their virtue Sylvia loved them all and they all loved her she always was the first to praise openly and with good faith the talent of her rivals but she lost nothing by it because being their superior in talent and enjoying a spotless reputation her rivals could not rise above her nature deprived that charming woman of ten years of life she became consumptive at the age of sixty ten years after I had made her acquaintance the climate of Paris often proves fatal to our Italian actresses two years before her death I saw her perform the character of Maryann in the comedy of Marevaux and in spite of her age and declining health the illusion was complete she died in my presence holding her daughter in her arms and she was giving her the advice of a tender mother five minutes when she breathed her last she was honorably buried in the church of Saint Severe without the slightest opposition from the venerable priest who, far from sharing the anti-Christian intolerancy of the clergy in general said that her profession as an actress had not hindered her from being a good Christian and that the earth was a common mother of all human beings as Jesus Christ had been the savior of all mankind you will forgive me dear reader if you need to attend the funeral of Sylvia ten years before her death believe me I have no intention of performing a miracle you may console yourself with the idea that I shall spare you that unpleasant task when poor Sylvia dies her only daughter the object of her adoration was seated next to her at the supper table she was then only nine years old and being entirely taken up by her mother there was no mention to her my interest in her was to come after supper which was protracted to a late hour I repaired to the house of Madame Cuinçon my landlady where I found myself very comfortable when I woke in the morning the said Madame Cuinçon came to my room to tell me that a servant was outside and wished to offer me his services I asked her to send him in and I saw a man a very small that did not please me and I told him so my small stature your honour will be a guarantee that I shall never borrow your clothes to go to some amorous rendezvous your name any name you please what do you mean I want the name by which you are known I have none every master I serve calls me according to his fancy and I have served more than fifty in my life you may call me what you like but you must have a family name I never had any family I had a name I believe in my young days but I have forgotten it since I have been in service my name has changed with every new master well I shall call you a spree you do me a great honour here go and get me changed for a Louis I have it sir I see you are rich at your service sir where can I inquire about you at the agency for servants Madame Quinçon besides can answer your inquiries everybody in Paris knows me that is enough I shall give you thirty sous a day you must find your own clothes you will sleep where you like and you must be here at seven o'clock every morning well let he called on me and treated me to take my meals every day at his house after his visit I told a spree to take me to the Palais Royal and I left him at the gates I felt the greatest curiosity about that renowned garden and everything I see a rather fine garden walks lined with big trees fountains high houses all round the garden a great many men and women walking about benches here and there forming shops for the sale of newspapers perfumes toothpicks and other trifles I see a quantity of chairs for hire at the rate of one sous men reading the newspaper under the shade of the trees girls and men breakfasting either alone or in company waiters who were rapidly going up and down a narrow staircase hidden under the foliage I sit down at a small table a waiter comes immediately to inquire my wishes I ask for some chocolate made with water he brings me some but very bad although served in a splendid silver guilt cup a coffee if it is good excellent I made it myself yesterday yesterday I do not want it the milk is very good milk I never drink any make me a cup of fresh coffee without milk without milk well sir we never make coffee but in the afternoon would you like a good bavarose or a decanter of orguite yes give me the orguite I find that beverage delicious and make my mind up to have it daily for my breakfast I inquire from the waiter whether there is any news he answers that the Dauphin has delivered of a prince an abbey seated at a table close by says to him you are mad she has given birth to a princess a third man comes forward claims I have just returned from Versailles and the Dauphin has not been delivered either of a prince or of a princess then turning towards me he says that I look like a foreigner and when I say that I am an Italian he begins to speak to me of the court the city of the theatres and at last he offers to accompany me everywhere I thank him and take my leave the abbey rises at the same time talks with me and tells me the names of all the women we meet in the garden a young man comes up to him they embrace one another and the abbey presents him to me as a learned Italian scholar I address him in Italian and he answers very wittily but his way of speaking makes me smile and I tell him why he expressed himself exactly in the style of Boccaccio my remark pleases him that it is not the right way to speak however perfect may have been the language of that ancient writer in less than a quarter of an hour we are excellent friends for we find our tastes are the same my new friend was a poet as I was he was an admirer of Italian literature while I admired the French we exchanged addresses and promised to see one another very often I see a crowd in one corner of the garden everybody standing still and looking up I inquire from my friend whether there is anything wonderful going on these persons are watching the meridian everyone holds his watch in his hand in order to regulate it exactly at noon is there not a meridian everywhere? yes but the meridian of the Palais Royale is the most exact I laugh heartily why do you laugh? it is impossible for all meridians not to be the same that is true my friend looks at me for a moment then he laughs likewise and supplies me with ample food to ridicule the worthy Parisians we leave the Palais Royale through the main gate and I observe another crowd of people before a shop on the signboard of which I read at the sign of the civette cat what is the matter here? now indeed you are going to laugh all these honest persons are waiting their turn to get their snuff boxes filled is there no other dealer in snuff? it is sold everywhere but for the last three weeks nobody will use any snuff but that sold at the civette cat is it better than anywhere else? perhaps it is not as good but since it has been brought into fashion by the duchess de Châtres nobody will have any other but how did she manage to render it so fashionable? simply by stopping her carriage two or three times before the shop to have her snuff box filled and by saying aloud to the young girl who handed back the box that her snuff was the very best in Paris the badolds who never failed to congregate near the carriage of princes or if they have seen them a hundred times or if they know them to be as ugly as monkeys repeated the words of the duchess everywhere and that was enough to send here all the snuff takers of the capital in a hurry this woman will make a fortune for she sells at least one hundred crowns worth of snuff every day very likely the duchess has no idea of the good she has done quite the reverse for it was a cunning artifice on her part the duchess feeling interested in the newly married young woman and wishing to serve her in a delicate manner thought of that expedient which has met with complete success you cannot imagine how kind Parisians are you are now in the only country in the world where wit can make a fortune by selling either a genuine or a false article in the first case it receives the welcome of intelligent and talented people and in the second fools are always ready to reward it for silliness is truly a characteristic of the people here and however wonderful it may appear silliness is the daughter of wit therefore it is not a paradox to say that the French would be wiser if they were less witty the gods worshipped here the daughters are raised for them are novelty and fashion let a man run and everybody will run after him the crowd will not stop unless the man is proved to be mad but to prove it is indeed a difficult task because we have a crowd of men who mad from their birth are still considered wise the snuff of the civet cat is but one example of the facility where the crowd can be attracted to one particular spot the king was one day hunting and found himself at the newily bridge being thirsty he wanted a glass of ratafia he stopped at the door of a drinking booth and by the most lucky chance the poor keeper of the place happened to have a bottle of that liqueur the king after he had drunk a small glass fancy to second one and said that he had never tasted such a delicious ratafia in his life that was enough to give the ratafia of the good man of newily the reputation of being the best in Europe the king had said so the consequence was that the most brilliant society frequented the tavern of the delighted publican who is now a very wealthy man and has built on the very spot a splendid house on which can be read the following religious soledom which certainly came out of the head of one of the forty immortals which gods must worthy tavern keeper worship silliness, frivolity and mirth it seems to me I replied that such approval such ratification of the opinion expressed by the king the princes of the blood etc is rather a proof of the affection felt for them by the nation for the French carry that affection to such an extent that they believe them infallible it is certain that everything here causes foreigners to believe that the French people adore the king but all thinking men here know well enough that there is more show than reality in that adoration and the court has no confidence in it when the king comes to Paris everybody calls out frivolroy because some idiot fellow begins or because some policeman has given the signal from the midst of the crowd but it is really a cry which has no importance a cry given out of cheerfulness sometimes out of fear and which the king himself does not accept as gospel he does not feel comfortable in Paris and prefers being in Versailles surrounded by twenty five thousand men to protect him against the fury of that same people of Paris who, if ever they became wiser might very well one day call out death to the king instead of long life to the king Louis XIV was well aware of it and several counselors of the upper chamber lost their lives for having advised the assembling of the state's general in order to find some remedy for the misfortunes of the country France never had any love for any kings with the exception of Saint Louis of Louis XII and of course the great and good Henry IV and even in the last case the love of the nation was not sufficient to defend the king against the dagger of the Jesuits and accursed race the enemy of nations as well as of kings the present king who is weak and entirely led by his ministers said candidly at the time he was just recovering from an illness I am surprised at the rejoicings of the people in consequence of my health being restored for I cannot imagine why they should love me so dearly many kings might repeat the same words at least if love is to be measured according to the amount of good actually done that candid remark of Louis XV has been highly praised but some philosopher of the court ought to have informed him that he was so much loved because he had been surnamed Le Bien Amis surname or nickname but are there any philosophers at the court of France? No, for philosophers and courtiers are as widely different as light and darkness but there are some men of intelligence who champ the bit from motives of ambition and interest as we were conversing Monsieur Petu which was the name of my new acquaintance escorted me as far as the door of Sylvia's house he congratulated me upon being one of her friends and we parted company I found the amiable actress in good company she introduced me to all her guests and gave me some particulars respecting every one of them the name of Crebillon struck my ear what sir I said to him am I fortunate enough to see you for eight years you have charmed me for eight years I have longed for you listen I beg of you I then recited the finest passage of his Zenobi Eredemist which I had translated into blank verse Sylvia was delighted to see the pleasure enjoyed by Crebillon hearing at the age of 80 his own lines in a language which he knew thoroughly and loved as much as his own he himself recited and politely pointed out the parts in which he thought that I had improved on the original I thanked him but I was not deceived by his compliment we sat down to supper and being asked what I had already seen in Paris I related everything I had done omitting only the conversation with Patu after I had spoken for a long time Crebillon who had evidently observed better than anyone else the road I had chosen in order to learn the good as well as the bad qualities by his countrymen said to me for the first day sir I think that what you have done gives great hopes of you and without any doubt you will make rapid progress you tell your story well and you speak French in such a way as to be perfectly understood yet all you say is only Italian dressed in French that is a novelty which causes you to be listened to with interest and which captivates the attention of your audience I must even add that your Franco-Italian language is just the thing to enlist in your favor the sympathy of those who listen to you because it is singular new and because you are in a country where everybody worships those two divinities novelty and singularity nevertheless you must begin tomorrow and apply yourself in good earnest in order to acquire a thorough knowledge of our language for the same persons who warmly applaud you now will in two or three months laugh at you believe it sir and that is what I fear therefore the principal object of my visit here is to devote myself entirely to the study of the French language but sir how shall I find a teacher I am a very unpleasant pupil always asking questions curious troublesome insatiable and even supposing that I could meet with the teacher I require I am afraid I am not rich enough to say him for fifty years sir I have been looking out for a pupil such as you have just described yourself and I would willingly pay you myself if you would come to my house and receive my lessons I reside in the Marais Grude du Port I have the best Italian poets I will make you translate them into French and you need not be afraid of my finding you insatiable I accepted with joy I did not know how to express my gratitude but both his offer and the few words of my answer bore the stamp of truth and frankness Crebillon was a giant he was six feet high and three inches taller than I he had a good appetite could tell a good story without laughing he had a pretty repartee in his sociable manners but he spent his life at home seldom going out and seeing hardly anyone because he always had a pipe in his mouth and was surrounded by at least twenty cats with which he would amuse himself all day he had an old housekeeper a cook and a man servant his housekeeper had the management of everything she never allowed him to be in need of anything and she gave no account all together because he never asked her to render any accounts the expression of Crebillon's face was that of the lions or of the cats which is the same thing he was one of the royal censors and he told me that it was an amusement for him his housekeeper was in the habit of reading him the works brought for his examination and she would stop reading when she came to a passage which in her opinion deserved his censure but sometimes they were of a different opinion and then their discussions were truly amusing I once heard the housekeeper send away an author with these words come again next week we have had no time to examine your manuscript End of Chapter 6 Part 1 Recording by Heather Jane Hogan