Volume II Part 2 (1/2)
Nevertheless, I will give you the advice, which I think the only one under these uncomfortable circumstances That excellent Christian wo to ondola to-day?” ”No, sir! certainly not, because she was not at hoet everything about the h you had never possessed it; bear the loss with patience, because there is no help for it If you attempted to reclaim it, the villain of a thief and his devout wife and the secretary, finding their roguery exposed,you into the most serious trouble If your husband has a whim to see the miniature, you can always pretend to look for it and not to find it, affect despair, and insinuate a theft Do not let yourself be seen henceforward at thetalking withyour confidante that you intend to subjugate an unbeco inclination Treat the pair of scoundrels with your customary friendliness, and be very cautious not to betray the least suspicion or the slightest sign of coolness Should the ied letter under the same cloak of secrecy, as I think he is pretty sure to do, take and keep it, but tell him quietly that you do not h the knave toyou with letters; that you havethe duty which an honest woman owes her husband Youfellow of the worst character, and that you are very sorry to have intrusted me with your miniature Paint els in my defence, as he is sure to do in order to seduce you, abide by your deter him to break the thread of these communications which annoy you You may, if matters take a turn in that direction, waste a ducat or two upon the ruffian, provided he swears that he will accept no further es or notes froive you in a matter of considerable peril to your reputation Pray carry my directions out with caution and ability
Reood name is in the hands of people who are diabolically capable of blackening it before your husband to defend themselves I flatter myself that before many days are past you will find thatwo She promised to execute the plan which I had traced, and vowed that her esteem for me had been increased At this point we reached the Giudecca, where she had to disembark With a modest pressure of one of her soft hands on mine, she thankedood fortunes of her life I left her gondola, and reached Venice by another boat, considerably further gone in love, but withLove and the curious story I had heard kept me on the stretch
A week or ain Yet I was always anxious to ed with those sharpers At last she showed herself oneby my open , she threw a paper tied to a pebble into the room; then disappeared I picked the missive up, and read the scroll, of which the purport was to this effect: ”She had to pay a visit to a friend after dinner; her husband had given his permission; could I meet her at the former hour, and at the for with the fored me to jump into the boat; for she was sorely pressed to tell ly, and found my lady at the rendezvous
She seemed more beautiful than I had ever seen her, because her face wore a certain look of cheerfulness which was not usual to it She ordered the gondolier, as not the same as on the previous occasion, to take a circuit by the Grand Canal, and afterwards to land her in a certain _rio_ at Santa Margherita Then she turned to me and said that I was a famous prophet of events to come From her bosom she drew forth another note and handed it to me It ritten in the same hand as the first The caricature of passion was the same I, as not I, thanked her for the portrait; vowed that I kept it continually before my eyes or next my heart I, as not I, complained loudly that she had deserted the asthat she kept apart from prudent motives I, as not I, had no doubts of her kindness; as a proof of this, being obliged to wait for a draft, in order toyet arrived, I, as not I, begged for the loan of twenty sequins, to discharge iously within the ive the money to the bearer, a person known to me, a man of the most perfect confidence, &c, &c
I confess, that I was angry after reading this The lady laughed at nant outburst ”How did you deal with the impostor?” I cried
”Exactly as you counselled me,” she answered: ”excuse me if I painted you as black as possible to the fellow He stood confused and wanted to explain; but on seeing that ue, completely mortified I ordered him to talk no es or letters Then I gave hi that he should never utter a word again toyou I told him that I was resolved to break off all relations with you To what extent our relations have been broken off, you can see for yourself now in this gondola; and they will only come to an end when you reject reat disaster I swear this on my honour”
”I must report another favourable circuue in the act of stealing some ducats from a secret drawer in his bureau He told theto send him to prison if they did not quit our preh,” I said, ”to affect a great sorrow for those unfortunate robbers, sent about their business?” ”I did indeed try to exhibit the signs of unaffected sorrow,” she replied; ”I even ht to melt my husband's heart with prayers and tears, but that I found hio they dislodged”
”Well done!” I exclaione better than it does Now, even if your husband asks to see the portrait, it will be easy to persuade him that they stole it You will incur no sin of falsehood; for steal it they did, in good sooth, the arrant pair of sharpers” ”Ah!” cried she, ”why cannot I enjoy the privilege of your society at home? What relief would my oppressed soul find in the company of such a friend! My sadness would assuredly be dissipated Alas! it is impossible My husband is too too strict upon the point of visitors I must abandon this desire Yet do not cease to love me; and believe that my sentiment for you exceeds the limits of mere estee, if indeed these be not irksome to yourself Your modesty and reserve embolden me I know my duties as a married woman, and would die sooner than prove myself disloyal to theherita She clasped my hand with one of the loveliest hands a woman ever had I wished to lift it to ned to bend as though to kiss ondola, a simpleton besotted and befooled by passion Then she proceeded on her way to the house she meant to visit
This heroine of seventeen suel, had inflamed ive hly in har love ”Yes, surely, surely I have found the phnix I was yearning for!”
A few days afterwards the pebble was onceinto my chamber
The paper wrapped around it spoke of _ponte storto_, gondola, a visit to a cousin in childbed I flew to the assignation Nor can I describe the exultation, the vivacity, the grace, hich I elcomed Our conversation was both lively and tender; an interchange of sentiments diversified by sallies of wit Our caresses were confined to clasped hands and gentle pressure of the fingers at soht our fancy She never let fall an equivocal word, or gave the slightest hint of impropriety We were a pair of sweethearts madly in love with one another, yet respectful, and apparently contented with the ecstasies of mutual affection The pebble and the scroll, the _ponte storto_, and the gondola were often put in requisition I cannot say what pretexts she discovered to explain her conduct to her husband The truth was that her visits for the ether to the Giudecca or to Murano, where we entered a garden of soe, and ate a dish of salad with a slice of ha that we loved each other dearly, alell-behaved, and alwaysI noticed that in all this innocent but stolen traffic she changed her gondola and gondolier each time This did credit to her caution We had reached the perfection of a guiltless friendshi+p--to all appearances, I ination and desires are uncontrollable _You_ had becohts consistedhands, and listening now and then to hearts which beat like haed her to tell e She replied in a playful tone: ”You will laugh; but you must know I am a countess
My father, Count so-and-so, had only two daughters He is a spendthrift, and has wasted all his patriave e to a corn-factor A substantial merchant of about fifty years fell in love withof dowry At that time I was only fifteen Two years have passed since I beca the austerity of his old-fashi+oned manners, is excellent, who maintains me in opulence, and orshi+ps ality and vicious living) ”But during the two years of yourlady showed some displeasure at this question She blushed deeply, and replied with a grave haughtiness: ”Your curiosity leads you rather too far” I was stung by this rebuke, and begged her pardon for the question I had asked, although I could not perceive anything offensive in it Mymy hand, she continued as follows: ”A friend like you has the right to be acquainted with the ly endure, but which saddens and eone in lung-disease; consumed with fever, powerless; in fact, he is no husband
Nearly all night long he sheds bitter tears, entreating forgiveness for the sacrifice ienuous, so cordial, that they make me weep in my turn, less for my own than for his misfortune I try to comfort him, to flatter him with the hope that he may yet recover I assure you that if ive it all to save his life He has executed a legal instrue dowry at a su to secure ifts One day he pours ducats into oldenof brilliants; now he brings stuffs for dresses or bales of the finest linen, always repeating: 'Put the you will be aIt is the desire of my soul that in the future you may enjoy happier days than those which now enchain you to a fatal union' There then is the story of e
You nohat you wished to know abouther tone to one of pride and dignity: ”I am afraid that this confession, which you extorted fro conception of ht your friendshi+p in order to obtain vile con in you of such dishonouring dirty thoughts, I should lose at once the feeling which drew me toward you, and our friendshi+p would be irrevocably broken”
I need hardly say that this discovery of a Penelope in my mistress was exactly what thrilled my metaphysical heart with the most delicious ecstasy Six -point I used to write her tender and platonic sonnets, which she prized like ge their sense and literary qualities I also wrote songs for the tunes she knew; and these she used to sing at ho the e by the truth and depth of her feeling I a history of this semi-platonic amour Yet the tienerated at last into a ar _liaison_ It pains me; but truth demands that I should do so Indeed, it was hardly to be expected that a young irl of seventeen should carry on so romantic and ethereal a friendshi+p for ever
One day I saw my mistress seated with a very sad expression at herI inquired what had happened She answered in a low voice that she had things of iedht lie before us
She told me that she was much distressed about her husband He was very ill The doctors had recommended him to seek the temperate air of Padua and the advice of its physicians He had departed in tears, leaving her alone with a soenuinely sorry for the cause of her distress; but the news relievedon the sad occurrence and over-acting her grief, I thought, even to the extent of shedding tears, she entered into a discourse which presented a singular ood sense, tenderness, and artifice
”My friend,” she said, ”it is certain that I must be left aafter a few days How can ain my youthful years exist alone, without protection? I shall only have my father's house to seek as an asylum He is a man of broken fortunes, burdened with debts, enslaved to the vices of extravagance My natural subhter will be the ruin of my fortune After a short space of tience I have no one to confide in except yourself, to whom I have yielded up my heart, my virtue, and my reputation In old and silver objects of value Will you oblige s, so that my fathermy interests in the expected event ofso, I am certain that before two months are over the whole will be dissipated You will not refuseall that I possess I shall also place in your hands the deed by which nised the dowry of which I spoke to you upon another occasion My father knows nothing of this document; and in the sad event of my husband's death it may well be possible that I shall need the assistance of sohts and the maintenance which they secure me For the direction of these affairs I trust in you You love ive me your assistance in these painful circumstances”
I saw clearly that the object of this speech was to bringthe subject Noas extremely averse to matrimony for two reasons First, because I abhorred indissoluble ties of any sort Secondly, because e fa our estate with jointures, and of procreating a brood of little Gozzis, all paupers Nevertheless, I loved the young worateful toward her, and in spite of what had happened between us, believed her to be virtuous and capable ofme a faithful wife My heart adapted itself in quiet to the coe, and conquered its aversion to aevent, which I aations to e, and nearly broke my heart
Well; I did my best to comfort the fair lady I told her that perhaps her husband's case was not so desperate as she iined Next I firmly refused to become the depositary of her property My reasons were as follows In the first place, I had no receptacle to which the goods could be transferred with secrecy and safety In the next place, her husband ht survive and make inquiries This would compromise the reputation of both her and me I thanked her for the confidence she reposed in me, and vowed that she should always, at the hour of need, find hts, her friend, and a man devoted to her person She expressed herself satisfied with ain we abandoned ourselves to the transports of a love which only grew in strength with its indulgence She was an extraordinary woraceful, always new
Even in her hours of passion she preserved a modesty which overwhelmed my reason Would that the six ed into a lifeti place to sensuality! In that case, the unexpected accident, which cut short our intercourse in a single moment, would not have inflicted the wound it did upon s
A friend of mine came about this time to Venice on business, and took up his quarters withlady, and began to banter ood taste I played the part of a prudish youngster, exaggerated the virtues of hbour, and protested that I had never so much as set foot in her house--which was indeed, the truth It was not easy to deceivethe fair sex He positively refused to believehe was sure I was the favoured lover of the beauty, and that he had read our secret in the eyes of both ”You are a loyal friend to me,”
he added; ”but in the matter of your love-affairs, I have always found you too reserved Between coht to be perfect confidence; and you insulta mystery of such trifles” ”I can boast of no intimacy whatever with that respectable lady,” I replied; ”but in order to prove my sincerity toward my friend, I will inform you that even if I enjoyed such an intiue out than reveal it to any man alive Forcan convince me that men are bound by friendshi+p to expose the frailty and the sha that the man she loves will keep the secret of her fault; nor do I believe that such honourable reticence can be wounding to a friend” We argued a little on this point, Iit with ridicule, and twittingthe opinions of a musty Spanish roht of e conversation with her at theHe drenched her with fulsoance and her discretion, artfully interweaving his flatteries with references to the close friendshi+p which had united hiht that ere an to listen with pleasure, entering deeper and deeper into the spirit of these dialogues Though ready to die of irritation, I forced myself to appear indifferent I knew the ard to women, I knew that he was one of the etic, the hed the seas of Venus He was older than I; a fine man, however, eloquent, sharp-witted, lively, resolute and expeditious
Some days went by in these preli In other circu fro I heard hi her that he had taken a box at the theatre of San Luca, and that he was going there that evening with his beloved friend He added that it would cheer her up to join our party, breathe the air, and divert her spirits at the play She declined the invitation with civility He insisted, and called on h to say: ”What do you think of the project?” My friend kept his eyes firest a _No_ I did not like to betray ht it sufficient to remark that the lady knew her own ood reasons for refusing; I could only approve her decision ”How!” cried ive this lady courage to escape for once from her sad solitude? Do you mean to say that we are not persons of honour, to whose protection she can safely confide herself? Answer me that question” ”I cannot deny that we are,” said I ”Well, then,” interposed the coquette upon thewo to keepthe absence of ether, htfall at the opening of this _calle_”[6]
”Excellent!” exclai After the coo to sup at a restaurant It will not be ht” I was more dead than alive at this discovery Yet I tried to keep up the appearance of indifference Can it be possible, I said in my own heart, that these few hours have sufficed to pervert a young lady who known as virtuous? Can these few hours have robbed hly, who loves e?