Whilst De la Haye was every day gaining greater influence over my weakened mind, whilst I was every day devoutly4 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 entirely5 forgotten; and in another letter M. de Bragadin informed me that the minister had written to the Venetian ambassador in Rome with instructions to assure the Holy Father that Baron6 Bavois would, immediately after his arrival in Venice, receive in the army of the Republic an appointment which would enable him to live honourably7 and to gain a high position by his talents.
That letter overcame M. de la Haye 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 Haye depended on me in every way; he saw my fanaticism8, 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 virtues9 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 countenance11. After that, I felt my calling and election were sure.
A few days after the departure of De la Haye, 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 guardian12 angel. They expressed their impatience13 to welcome the two saints announced by my letters. An apartment was ready for De la Haye in the palace of M. de Bragadin, and as state reasons did not allow my father to receive in his own house a foreigner who had not yet entered the service of the Republic, two rooms had been engaged for Bavois in the neighbourhood.
They were thoroughly14 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 shewing myself at the casino, frequenting only a certain cafe which was the place of meeting for all men of acknowledged piety15 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 marvelled16, and they could not sufficiently17 thank the eternal providence18 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 M. de Bragadin, 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 worthy19 friends were, when they saw that I had entirely given up gambling20.
I had a letter from De la Haye in the beginning of May. He announced that he was on the eve of starting with the son so dear to his heart, and that he would soon place himself at the disposition21 of the respectable men to whom I had announced him.
Knowing the hour at which the barge22 arrived from Modena, we all went to meet them, except M. de Bragadin, who was 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 Haye spoke23 to me of a hundred things, but I scarcely heard what he said, so much was my attention taken up by Bavois. He was so different to what I had fancied him to be from the impression I had received from De la Haye, 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 Bavois was a young man of about twenty-five, of middle size, handsome in features, well made, fair, of an equable temper, speaking well and with intelligence, and uttering his words with a tone of modesty24 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 exhaling25 the perfume of the pomatum with which it was dressed. That individual, who was the exact opposite of the man that De la Haye had led me to imagine, surprised my friends greatly, but their welcome did not in any way betray their astonishment26, for their pure and candid27 minds would not admit a judgment28 contrary to the good opinion they had formed of his morals. As soon as we had established De la Haye in his beautiful apartment, I accompanied Bavois 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 favour, the young baron embraced me warmly, pouring out all his gratitude29, and assuring me that he felt deeply all I had done for him without knowing him, as De la Haye had informed him of all that had occurred. I pretended not to understand what he was alluding30 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 enjoy ourselves in an agreeable way, for I have no doubt that our inclinations31 are the same.”
Mercury and De la Haye had so completely besotted me that I should have found some difficulty in understanding these words, however intelligible32 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 shewed 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 mere33 forms of politeness.
For the first day, I took my young baron only to the St. Mark’s Square and to the cafe, where we remained until supper-time, as it had been arranged that he would take his meals with us. At the supper-table he shewed himself very witty34, and M. 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 lodging35, where I found that the two young girls were delighted because the young Swiss nobleman had no servant, and because they hoped to convince him that he would not require one.
The next day, a little earlier than the time appointed, I called upon him with M. Dandolo and M. Barbaro, who were both to present him at the war office. We found him at his toilet under the delicate hands of the eldest36 girl, who was dressing37 his hair. His room, was fragrant38 with the perfumes of his pomatums and scents39. 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 neophyte41. I was nearly bursting into a loud laugh, when I heard M. Dandolo remark that, unless we hurried, we would not have time to hear mass, whereupon Bavois enquired42 whether it was a festival. M. 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 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 and way of thinking. I should not have required such a long study, if I had not at first begun on a wrong scent40, or rather if my intelligence had not been stultified43 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 no hypocrite he confessed as much to me.
“How have you contrived45,” I said to him one day, “such as you are, to deceive De la Haye?”
“God forbid I should deceive anyone. De la Haye is perfectly46 well aware of my system, and of my way of thinking on religious matters, but, being himself very devout3, he entertains a holy sympathy for my soul, and I do not object to it. He has bestowed47 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 salvation48, of which I have no doubt that God, in His fatherly goodness, will take care. All this is settled between De la Haye 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 was an arrant49 hypocrite, in spite of the character of holiness which he assumed, and which he could play with such marvellous ability. From that moment I fell again into all my former practices. But let us return to De la Haye.
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 simpleminded trio of friends. As he never spoke to them but of God, of His angels, and of everlasting50 glory, and as he was always accompanying them to church, they found him a delightful51 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 hermit52 of Courpegna, who had taught me the cabalistic science and made me a present of the immortal53 Paralis. They felt grieved because the oracle54 had forbidden them, through my cabalistic lips, ever to mention my science in the presence of Tartufe.
As I had foreseen, that interdiction55 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 Haye, such as I truly believed him to be, would never lend himself to that trifling56 nonsense, and would, for the sake of deserving greater favour at their hands, endeavour to undeceive them and to take my place in their confidence.
I soon found out that I had acted with prudence57, 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 any more to support his credit with them, but likewise that he could supplant58 me whenever he chose. I could see it clearly in his way of addressing me, as well as in the change in his proceedings59.
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 airs, and, although with honeyed word he would take the liberty of censuring60 me because I sometimes spent a night out, and, as he would say, “God knows where!”
I was particularly vexed61 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 worshipper 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 hurl62 at me the slightest taunt63 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 jests seriously.”
“Wrong or right, that does not matter. Why do you 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 repartee64 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 Paralis, and the oracle enjoined65 them never to accomplish without my advice anything that might be recommended or even insinuated66 by Valentine; that was the cabalistic name of the disciple67 of Escobar. I knew I could rely upon their obedience68 to that order.
De la Haye 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 approbation69. He felt convinced, as I was, that De la Haye 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 derive70 important advantages from having caused his so-called conversion71.
Finding that the Venetian government was postponing72 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 M. de Bragadin, but even to give up his intercourse73 with De la Haye, who was the guest of that senator.
It is one of the strictest laws of the Republic that the patricians74 and their families shall not hold any intercourse with the foreign ambassadors and their suites76. But the decision taken by Bavois did not prevent my friends speaking in his favour, 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 with a token of their. mutual77 affection. I accepted 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 the 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 neighbour, 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 abbe, 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 abbe jealous?”
“Why not? He never allows her to go out except on Sundays to attend the first mass at the Church of Santa Maria Mater Domini, close by his dwelling78. 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 amorous79 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 with 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 abbe being her tyrant80, 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, Jeanne Marchetti, who resided in Lusia, a city thirty miles distant from Venice.
This letter piqued81 my curiosity, and I even imagined that she had written it in concert with the abbe. Thinking that they wanted to dupe me, and besides, finding the proposal of marriage ridiculous, I determined82 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 honoured by my visit, and greatly pleased when, after I had shewn 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 abbe.
“That abbe,” 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 housekeeper83. 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 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 drawn84 by a notary85, 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 ardent86 wish is to see her married, for, as long as a 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 abbe’s house, and I will make her my wife. Unless that is done I cannot marry her, for I should dishonour87 myself if I received 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 says the mass without depriving himself of certain trifling enjoyments88. 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 with all the furniture, and to obtain the estate when she is my wife. 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 Louisa.
“In Venice you shall not want for anything,” I said; “in the mean time, 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 Chiozza, where we must sleep. To-morrow 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 with the deed signed by the abbe I went to dine with my three friends, to whom I said that I had been to Chiozza on important business. After dinner, I called upon the lawyer, Marco de Lesse, 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 Boussole, 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 her daughter, and of all the furniture, which she would immediately take away.
The order was carried into execution to the very letter. I was with the mother in a gondola89 as near as possible to the house, and I had provided a large boat in which the sbirri stowed all the furniture found on the premises90. 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 we reached Castello, I ordered the furniture to be brought out of the boat; we had dinner, and I told the three women that they must go back to Lusia, where I would join them as soon as I had settled all my affairs. I spent the afternoon gaily91 with my intended. She told us that the abbe was dressing when the bailiff presented the order of the Council of Ten, with injunctions to allow its free execution under penalty of death; that the abbe finished his toilet, went out to say his mass, and that everything had been done without the slightest opposition92. “I was told,” she added, “that my mother was waiting for 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 table in the midst of the joys of Bacchus, I devoted93 four more to a pleasant tete-a-tete with my intended bride.
The next morning, after breakfast, I had the whole of the furniture stowed in a peotta, 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 honour 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 shewed their surprise and sorrow. De la Haye embraced me with an air of profound grief, but it was a feigned94 feeling — a harlequin’s dress, which he had the talent of assuming with the greatest facility. M. de Bragadin alone laughed heartily95, saying to the others that they did not understand the affair, and that it was the forerunner96 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 M. de Bragadin, 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 M. Barbaro 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 any one, except God, I tell you that they are mistaken. I like to perform good actions and to get pleasure for my money, but not at the expense of my liberty: Whenever you want to know my affairs, recollect97 that you can receive information about them only from me, and public rumour98 is only good to amuse fools.”
“But,” said M. Dandolo, “you spent the night with the person who is 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, M. de la Haye?”
“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 M. de Bragadin, who has certainly greater affection for me than you have?”
“I respect you, but I have learned at my own expense that slander99 is to be feared. It is said that, in order to get hold of a young girl who was residing with her uncle — a worthy priest, you suborned a woman who declared herself to be the girl’s mother, and thus deceived the Supreme100 Council, through the authority of which she obtained possession of the girl for you. The bailiff sent by the Council swears that you were in the gondola with the false mother when the young girl joined her. It is said that the deed, in virtue10 of which you caused the worthy ecclesiastic’s 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 have had recourse to in order to carry out your intentions successfully.”
“That is a very long speech,” I said to him, coldly, “but learn from me that a wise man who has heard a criminal accusation101 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 calumny102, he would himself become the accomplice103 of the slanderer104.”
After that sentence, which brought the blood to the face of the Jesuit, but which my friends thought very wise, I entreated105 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 foul106 tongues say what they liked about me, just as I did when I heard them speak 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 Lusia, or having answered the letters written to me by the damigella Marchetti, 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 dreaded108 tribunal of the State inquisitors, presented himself as I was sitting at table with my friends, De la Haye, and two other guests. He informed me that the Cavaliere Cantarini dal Zoffo wished to see me, and would wait for me the next morning at such an hour at the Madonna de l’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 such a high dignitary of State could want with my humble109 person, yet the message made us rather anxious, for Cantarini dal Zoffo was one of the Inquisitors, that is to say, a bird of very ill omen44. M. de Bragadin, who had been 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 as the official messenger of the dread107 tribunal. M. Cantarini wishes to speak to you only as a private citizen, as he sends you word to call at his palace and not at the court-house. He is an elderly man, strict but just, to whom you must speak frankly110 and without equivocating111, otherwise you would make matters worse.”
I was pleased with M. de Bragadin’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. I entered the room, 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, monsignor, as one of them will become my wife when she has convinced me by her good conduct that she is worthy of that honour.”
“Her conduct is good, she lives with her mother at Lusia; you have deceived her. Why do you postpone112 your marriage with her? Why do you not visit her? You never answer her 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 M. de Bragadin, my only protector, promises to obtain for me. Until then she must live honestly, and 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 abbe, 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.”
“Monsignor, I am under no obligation to give her a promise of marriage, and having no means whatever I cannot support her. She must earn her own living with her mother”
“When she lived with her cousin,” said her mother, “she never wanted 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 defer113 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 recital114 of the dialogue greatly amused my friends.
At the beginning of the Carnival115 of 1750 I won a prize of three thousand 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 felt 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 one thousand sequins in M. de Bragadin’s hands, and with that project in view I had the courage to pass the carnival without risking my money at the faro- table. I had taken a share of one-fourth in the bank of an honest patrician75, and early in Lent he handed me a large sum.
Towards mid-Lent my friend Baletti 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 Jew, called Mendez, who spent a great deal of money for her. That Jew 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, and I was 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 Bavois was appointed captain in the service of the Republic; he rose rapidly in his profession, as I shall mention hereafter.
De la Haye undertook the education of a young nobleman called Felix Calvi, and a short time afterwards he accompanied him to Poland. I met him again in Vienna three years later.
I was making my preparations to go to the Fair of Reggio, then to Turin, where the whole of Italy was congregating116 for the marriage of the Duke of Savoy with a princess of Spain, daughter of Philip V., and lastly to Paris, where, Madame la Dauphine being pregnant, magnificent preparations were made in the expectation of the birth of a prince. Baletti was likewise on the point of undertaking117 the same journey. He was recalled by his parents, who were dramatic artists: his mother was the celebrated118 Silvia.
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 procure119 me numerous advantageous120 acquaintances in Paris.
I bade farewell to my three excellent friends, promising121 to return within two years.
I left my brother Francois 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 travelled through Italy with Guarienti. He was on the point of going to Rome, where he remained fourteen 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.
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lures
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| 吸引力，魅力（lure的复数形式） | |
参考例句： |
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lottery
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| n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事 | |
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3
devout
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| adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness) | |
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4
devoutly
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| adv.虔诚地，虔敬地，衷心地 | |
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5
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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6
baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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7
honourably
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| adv.可尊敬地，光荣地，体面地 | |
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8
fanaticism
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| n.狂热，盲信 | |
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9
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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11
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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12
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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13
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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15
piety
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| n.虔诚，虔敬 | |
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16
marvelled
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| v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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17
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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18
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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19
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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20
gambling
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| n.赌博；投机 | |
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21
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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22
barge
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| n.平底载货船，驳船 | |
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23
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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24
modesty
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| n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素 | |
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25
exhaling
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| v.呼出，发散出( exhale的现在分词 )；吐出（肺中的空气、烟等），呼气 | |
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26
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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27
candid
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| adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的 | |
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28
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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29
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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30
alluding
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| 提及，暗指( allude的现在分词 ) | |
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31
inclinations
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| 倾向( inclination的名词复数 )； 倾斜； 爱好； 斜坡 | |
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32
intelligible
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| adj.可理解的，明白易懂的，清楚的 | |
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33
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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34
witty
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| adj.机智的，风趣的 | |
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35
lodging
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| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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36
eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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37
dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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38
fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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39
scents
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| n.香水( scent的名词复数 )；气味；（动物的）臭迹；（尤指狗的）嗅觉 | |
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40
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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41
neophyte
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| n.新信徒；开始者 | |
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42
enquired
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| 打听( enquire的过去式和过去分词 )； 询问； 问问题； 查问 | |
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43
stultified
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| v.使成为徒劳，使变得无用( stultify的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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44
omen
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| n.征兆，预兆；vt.预示 | |
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45
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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46
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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47
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48
salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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49
arrant
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| adj.极端的；最大的 | |
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50
everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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51
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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52
hermit
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| n.隐士，修道者；隐居 | |
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53
immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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54
oracle
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| n.神谕，神谕处，预言 | |
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55
interdiction
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| n.禁止；封锁 | |
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56
trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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57
prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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58
supplant
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| vt.排挤；取代 | |
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59
proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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60
censuring
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| v.指责，非难，谴责( censure的现在分词 ) | |
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61
vexed
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| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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62
hurl
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| vt.猛投，力掷，声叫骂 | |
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63
taunt
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| n.辱骂，嘲弄；v.嘲弄 | |
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64
repartee
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| n.机敏的应答 | |
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65
enjoined
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| v.命令( enjoin的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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66
insinuated
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| v.暗示( insinuate的过去式和过去分词 )；巧妙或迂回地潜入；（使）缓慢进入；慢慢伸入 | |
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67
disciple
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| n.信徒，门徒，追随者 | |
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68
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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69
approbation
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| n.称赞；认可 | |
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70
derive
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| v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自 | |
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71
conversion
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| n.转化，转换，转变 | |
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72
postponing
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| v.延期，推迟( postpone的现在分词 ) | |
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73
intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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74
patricians
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| n.（古罗马的）统治阶层成员( patrician的名词复数 )；贵族，显贵 | |
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75
patrician
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| adj.贵族的，显贵的；n.贵族；有教养的人；罗马帝国的地方官 | |
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76
suites
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| n.套( suite的名词复数 )；一套房间；一套家具；一套公寓 | |
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77
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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78
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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79
amorous
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| adj.多情的；有关爱情的 | |
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80
tyrant
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| n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人 | |
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81
piqued
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| v.伤害…的自尊心( pique的过去式和过去分词 )；激起（好奇心） | |
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82
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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83
housekeeper
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| n.管理家务的主妇，女管家 | |
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84
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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85
notary
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| n.公证人，公证员 | |
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86
ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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87
dishonour
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| n./vt.拒付（支票、汇票、票据等）；vt.凌辱，使丢脸；n.不名誉，耻辱，不光彩 | |
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88
enjoyments
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| 愉快( enjoyment的名词复数 )； 令人愉快的事物； 享有； 享受 | |
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89
gondola
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| n.威尼斯的平底轻舟；飞船的吊船 | |
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90
premises
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| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
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91
gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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92
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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93
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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94
feigned
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| a.假装的，不真诚的 | |
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95
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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96
forerunner
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| n.前身，先驱（者），预兆，祖先 | |
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97
recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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98
rumour
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| n.谣言，谣传，传闻 | |
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99
slander
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| n./v.诽谤，污蔑 | |
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100
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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101
accusation
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| n.控告，指责，谴责 | |
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102
calumny
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| n.诽谤，污蔑，中伤 | |
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103
accomplice
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| n.从犯，帮凶，同谋 | |
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104
slanderer
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| 造谣中伤者 | |
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105
entreated
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| 恳求，乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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106
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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107
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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108
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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109
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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110
frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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111
equivocating
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| v.使用模棱两可的话隐瞒真相( equivocate的现在分词 ) | |
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112
postpone
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| v.延期，推迟 | |
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113
defer
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| vt.推迟，拖延；vi.(to)遵从，听从，服从 | |
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114
recital
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| n.朗诵，独奏会，独唱会 | |
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115
carnival
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| n.嘉年华会，狂欢，狂欢节，巡回表演 | |
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116
congregating
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| （使）集合，聚集( congregate的现在分词 ) | |
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117
undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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118
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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119
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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120
advantageous
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| adj.有利的；有帮助的 | |
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121
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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