In London And Moscow: Russia and Poland

J >> Jacques Casanova de Seingalt >> In London And Moscow: Russia and Poland


I was sure that my new companion could not have abandoned herself to me
in this manner, without having made up her mind to be complaisant; but
this was not enough for me, it was my humour to be loved. This was my
chief aim, everything else was only fleeting enjoyment, and as I had not
had a love affair since I parted with Zaira, I hoped most fervently that
the present adventure would prove to be one.

Before long I learnt that my companion's name was Maton; this at least
was her surname, and I did not feel any curiosity to know the name of the
he or she saint whom her godmothers had constituted her patron at the
baptismal font. I asked her if she could write French as well as she
spoke it, and she shewed me a letter by way of sample. It assured me that
she had received an excellent education, and this fact increased my
pleasure in the conquest I had made. She said she had left Breslau
without telling her aunt or her cousin that she was going, perhaps never
to return.

"How about your belongings?"

"Belongings? They were not worth the trouble of gathering together. All I
have is included in that small package, which contains a chemise, a pair
of stockings, some handkerchiefs, and a few nicknacks."

"What will your lover say?"

"Alas! I haven't got one to say anything."

"I cannot credit that."

"I have had two lovers; the first one was a rascal, who took advantage of
my innocence to seduce me, and then left me when I ceased to present any
novelty for him; my second was an honest man, but a poor lieutenant with
no prospects of getting on. He has not abandoned me, but his regiment was
ordered to Stetin, and since then--"

"And since then?"

"We were too poor to write to one another, so we had to suffer in
silence."

This pathetic history seemed to bear the marks of truth; and I thought it
very possible that Maton had only come with me to make her fortune or to
do rather better than she had been doing, which would not be difficult.
She was twenty-five years old, and as she had never been out of Breslau
before, she would doubtless be delighted to see what the world was like
at Dresden. I could not help feeling that I had been a fool to burden
myself with the girl, who would most likely cost me a lot of money; but
still I found my conduct excusable, as the chances were a hundred to one
against her accepting the proposal I had been foolish enough to make. In
short, I resolved to enjoy the pleasure of having a pretty girl all to
myself, and I determined not to do anything during the journey, being
anxious to see whether her moral qualities would plead as strongly with
me as her physical beauty undoubtedly did. At nightfall I stopped,
wishing to spend the night at the posting-station. Maton, who had been
very hungry all day, but had not dared to tell me so, ate with an amazing
and pleasing appetite; but not being accustomed to wine, she would have
fallen asleep at table, if I had not begged her to retire. She begged my
pardon, assuring me she would not let such a thing occur again. I smiled
by way of reply, and stayed at the table, not looking to see whether she
undressed or went to bed in her clothes. I went to bed myself soon after,
and at five o'clock was up again to order the coffee, and to see that the
horses were put in. Maton was lying on her bed with all her clothes on,
fast asleep, and perspiring with the heat. I woke her, telling her that
another time she must sleep more comfortably, as such heats were
injurious to health.

She got up and left the room, no doubt to wash, for she returned looking
fresh and gay, and bade me good day, and asked me if I would like to give
her a kiss.

"I shall be delighted," I replied; and, after kissing her, I made her
hurry over the breakfast, as I wished to reach Dresden that evening.
However, I could not manage it, my carriage broke down, and took five
hours to mend, so I had to sleep at another posting station. Maton
undressed this time, but I had the firmness not to look at her.

When I reached Dresden I put up at the "Hotel de Saxe," taking the whole
of the first floor. My mother was in the country, and I paid her a visit,
much to her delight; we made quite an affecting picture, with my arm in a
sling. I also saw my brother John and his wife Therese, Roland, and a
Roman girl whom I had known before him, and who made much of me. I also
saw my sister, and I then went with my brother to pay my suit to Count
Bruhl and to his wife, the daughter of the palatin of Kiowia, who was
delighted to hear news of her family. I was welcomed everywhere, and
everywhere I had to tell the story of my duel. I confess that very little
pressing was required, for I was very proud of it.

At this period the States were assembled in Dresden, and Prince Xavier,
uncle of the Elector, was regent during his minority.

The same evening I went to the opera-house, where faro was played. I
played, but prudently, for my capital only consisted of eighteen hundred
ducats.

When I came back we had a good supper, and Maton pleased me both by her
appetite and amiability. When we had finished I affectionately asked her
if she would like to share my bed, and she replied as tenderly that she
was wholly mine. And so, after passing a voluptuous night, we rose in the
morning the best friends in the world.

I spent the whole morning in furnishing her toilette. A good many people
called on me, and wanted to be presented to Maton; but my answer was
that, as she was only my housekeeper, and not my wife, I could not have
the pleasure of introducing her. In the same way I had instructed her
that she was not to let anyone in when I was away. She was working in her
room on the linen I had provided for her, aided in her task by a
seamstress. Nevertheless, I did not want to make her a slave, so I
occasionally took her into the pleasant suburbs of Dresden, where she was
at liberty to speak to any of my acquaintances we might meet.

This reserve of mine which lasted for the fortnight we stayed in Dresden
was mortifying for all the young officers in the place, and especially
for the Comte de Bellegarde, who was not accustomed to being denied any
girl to whom he chose to take a fancy. He was a fine young fellow, of
great boldness and even impudence, and one day he came into our room and
asked me to give him a dinner just as Maton and myself were sitting down
to table. I could not refuse him, and I could not request Maton to leave
the room, so from the beginning to the end of the meal he showered his
military jokes and attentions on her, though he was perfectly polite the
whole time. Maton behaved very well; she was not prudish, nor did she
forget the respect she owed to me and indeed to herself.

I was accustomed to take a siesta every day after dinner, so half an hour
after the conclusion of the meal I stated the fact and begged him to
leave us. He asked smilingly if the lady took a siesta too, and I replied
that we usually took it together. This made him take up his hat and cane,
and as he did so he asked us both to dine with him the next day. I
replied that I never took Maton out anywhere, but that he would be
welcome to come and take pot-luck with us every day if he liked.

This refusal exhausted his resources, and he took his leave if not
angrily, at least very coldly.

My mother returned to her town apartments, which were opposite to mine,
and the next day when I was calling on her I noticed the erker (a sort of
grating in the Spanish fashion) which indicated my rooms in the hotel. I
happened to look in that direction and I saw Maton at the window standing
up and talking to M. de Bellegarde, who was at a neighbouring window.
This window belonged to a room which adjoined my suite of rooms, but did
not belong to it. This discovery amused me. I knew what I was about, and
did not fear to be made a cuckold in spite of myself. I was sure I had
not been observed, and I was not going to allow any trespassers. I was
jealous, in fact; but the jealousy was of the mind, not the heart.

I came in to dinner in the highest spirits, and Maton was as gay as
myself. I led the conversation up to Bellegarde, and said I believed him
to be in love with her.

"Oh, he is like all officers with girls; but I don't think he is more in
love with me than any other girl."

"Oh, but didn't he come to call on me this morning?"

"Certainly not; and if he had come the maid would have told him you were
out."

"Did you not notice him walking up and down 'under the windows?"

"No."

This was enough for me; I knew they had laid a plot together. Maton was
deceiving me, and I should be cheated in twenty-four hours unless I took
care. At my age such treason should not have astonished me, but my vanity
would not allow me to admit the fact.

I dissembled my feelings and caressed the traitress, and then leaving the
house I went to the theatre where I played with some success and returned
home while the second act was in progress; it was still daylight. The
waiter was at the door, and I asked him whether there were any rooms
besides those which I occupied on the first floor. "Yes, two rooms, both
looking on the street."

"Tell the landlord that I will take them both."

"They were taken yesterday evening."

"By whom?"

"By a Swiss officer, who is entertaining a party of friends to supper
here this evening."

I said no more lest I should awaken suspicion; but I felt sure that
Bellegarde could easily obtain access to my rooms from his. Indeed, there
was a door leading to the room where Maton slept with her maid when I did
not care to have her in my room. The door was bolted on her side, but as
she was in the plot there was not much security in this.

I went upstairs softly, and finding Maton on the balcony, I said, after
some indifferent conversation, that I should like to change rooms.

"You shall have my room," I said, "and I will have yours; I can read
there, and see the people going by."

She thought it a very good idea, and added that it would serve us both if
I would allow her to sit there when I was out.

This reply shewed me that Maton was an old hand, and that I had better
give her up if I did not wish to be duped.

I changed the rooms, and we supped pleasantly together, laughing and
talking, and in spite of all her craft Maton did not notice any change in
me.

I remained alone in my new room, and soon heard the voices of Bellegarde
and his merry companions. I went on to the balcony, but the curtains of
Bellegarde's room were drawn, as if to assure me that there was no
complot. However, I was not so easily deceived, and I found afterwards
that Mercury had warned Jupiter that Amphytrion had changed his room.

Next day, a severe headache, a thing from which I seldom suffer, kept me
to the house all day. I had myself let blood, and my worthy mother, who
came to keep me company, dined with Maton. My mother had taken a weakness
for the girl, and had often asked me to let her come and see her, but I
had the good sense to refuse this request. The next day I was still far
from well, and took medicine, and in the evening, to my horror, I found
myself attacked by a fearful disease. This must be a present from Maton,
for I had not known anyone else since leaving Leopol. I spent a troubled
night, rage and indignation being my principal emotions; and next
morning, coming upon Maton suddenly, I found everything in the most
disgusting state. The wretched creature confessed she had been infected
for the last six months, but that she had hoped not to give it me, as she
had washed herself carefully whenever she thought I was going to have to
do with her.

"Wretch, you have poisoned me; but nobody shall know it, as it is by my
own fault, and I am ashamed of it. Get up, and you shall see how generous
I can be."

She got up, and I had all the linen I had given her packed into a trunk.
This done, I told my man to take a small room for her at another inn. His
errand was soon over, and I then told Maton to go immediately, as I had
done with her. I gave her fifty crowns, and made her sign a receipt
specifying the reason why I had sent her away, and acknowledging that she
had no further claim upon me. The conditions were humiliating, and she
wished me to soften them down, but she soon gave in when I told her that
unless she signed I would turn her into the streets as naked as when I
found her.

"What am I to do here? I don't know anyone."

"If you like to return to Breslau I will pay your expenses there."

She made no answer, so I sent her away bag and baggage, and merely turned
my back on her when she went down on her knees to excite my compassion.

I got rid of her without the slightest feeling of pity, for from what she
had done to me and from what she was preparing to do I considered her as
a mere monster, who would sooner or later have cost me my life.

I left the inn the following day, and I took a furnished apartment on the
first floor of the house where my mother lived for six months, and
proceeded about my cure. Everyone asked me what I had done with my
housekeeper, and I said that having no further need of her services I had
sent her away.

A week afterwards my brother John came to tell me that Bellegarde and
five or six of his friends were on the sick list; Maton had certainly
lost no time.

"I am sorry for them, but it's their own fault; why didn't they take more
care?"

"But the girl came to Dresden with you."

"Yes, and I sent her about her business. It was enough for me to keep
them off while she was under my charge. Tell them that if they complain
of me they are wrong, and still more wrong to publish their shame. Let
them learn discretion and get themselves cured in secrecy, if they do not
want sensible men to laugh at them. Don't you think I am right?"

"The adventure is not a very honourable one for you."

"I know it, and that's why I say nothing; I am not such a fool as to
proclaim my shame from the housetops. These friends of yours must be
simpletons indeed; they must have known that I had good reasons for
sending the girl away, and should consequently have been on their guard.
They deserve what they got, and I hope it may be a lesson to them."

"They are all astonished at your being well."

"You may comfort them by saying that I have been as badly treated as
they, but that I have held my tongue, not wishing to pass for a
simpleton."

Poor John saw he had been a simpleton himself and departed in silence. I
put myself under a severe diet, and by the middle of August my health was
re-established.

About this time, Prince Adam Czartoryski's sister came to Dresden,
lodging with Count Bruhl. I had the honour of paying my court to her, and
I heard from her own mouth that her royal cousin had had the weakness to
let himself be imposed on by calumnies about me. I told her that I was of
Ariosto's opinion that all the virtues are nothing worth unless they are
covered with the veil of constancy.

"You saw yourself when I supped with you, how his majesty completely
ignored me. Your highness will be going to Paris next year; you will meet
me there and you can write to the king that if I had been burnt in effigy
I should not venture to shew myself."

The September fair being a great occasion at Leipzig, I went there to
regain my size by eating larks, for which Leipzig is justly famous. I had
played a cautious but a winning game at Dresden, the result of which had
been the gain of some hundreds of ducats, so I was able to start for
Leipzig with a letter of credit for three thousand crowns on the banker
Hohman, an intelligent old man of upwards of eighty. It was of him I
heard that the hair of the Empress of Russia, which looked a dark brown
or even black, had been originally quite fair. The old banker had seen
her at Stettin every day between her seventh and tenth years, and told me
that even then they had begun to comb her hair with lead combs, and to
rub a certain composition into it. From an early age Catherine had been
looked upon as the future bride of the Duke of Holstein, afterwards the
hapless Peter III. The Russians are fair as a rule, and so it was thought
it that the reigning family should be dark.

Here I will note down a pleasant adventure I had at Leipzig. The Princess
of Aremberg had arrived from Vienna, and was staying at the same hotel as
myself. She took a fancy to go to the fair incognito, and as she had a
large suite she dressed up one of her maids as the princess, and mingled
with her following. I suppose my readers to be aware that this princess
was witty and beautiful, and that she was the favourite mistress of the
Emperor Francis the First.

I heard of his masquerade, and leaving my hotel at the same time I
followed her till she stopped at a stall, and then going up to her and
addressing her as one would any other maid, I asked if that (pointing at
the false princess) were really the famous Princess of Aremberg.

"Certainly," she replied.

"I can scarcely believe it, for she is not pretty, and she, has, not the
look nor the manners of a princess."

"Perhaps you are not a good judge of princesses."

"I have seen enough of them anyhow, and to prove that I am a good judge I
say that it is you who ought to be the princess; I would willingly give a
hundred ducats to spend the night with you."

"A hundred ducats! What would you do if I were to take you at your word?"

"Try me. I lodge at the same hotel as you, and if yet can contrive ways
and means, I will give you the money in advance, but not till I am sure
of my prize, for I don't like being taken in."

"Very good. Say not a word to anyone, but try to speak with me either
before or after supper. If you are brave enough to face certain risks, we
will spend the night together."

"What is your name?"

"Caroline."

I felt certain it would come to nothing, but I was glad to have amused
the princess, and to have let her know that I appreciated her beauties,
and I resolved to go on with the part I was playing. About supper-time I
began a promenade near the princess's apartments, stopping every now and
then in front of the room where her women were sitting, till one of them
came out to ask me if I wanted anything.

"I want to speak for a moment to one of your companions to whom I had the
pleasure of talking at the fair."

"You mean Caroline, I expect?"

"Yes."

"She is waiting on the princess, but she will be out in half an hour."

I spent this half hour in my own room, and then returned to dance
attendance. Before long the same maid to whom I had spoken came up to me
and told me to wait in a closet which she shewed me, telling me that
Caroline would be there before long. I went into the closet, which was
small, dark, and uncomfortable. I was soon joined by a woman. This time I
was sure it was the real Caroline, but I said nothing.

She came, in, took my hand, and told me that if I would wait there she
would come to me as soon as her mistress was in bed.

"Without any light?"

"Of course, or else the people of the house would notice it, and I should
not like that."

"I cannot do anything without light, charming Caroline; and besides, this
closet is not a very nice place to pass five or six hours. There is
another alternative, the first room above is mine. I shall be alone, and
I swear to you that no one shall come in; come up and make me happy; I
have got the hundred ducats here."

"Impossible! I dare not go upstairs for a million ducats."

"So much the worse for you, as I am not going to stay in this hole which
has only a chair in it, if you offer me a million and a half. Farewell,
sweet Caroline."

"Wait a moment; let me go out first."

The sly puss went out quickly enough, but I was as sharp as she, and trod
on the tail of her dress so that she could not shut the door after her.
So we went out together, and I left her at the door, saying,--

"Good night, Caroline, you see it was no use."

I went to bed well pleased with the incident. The princess, it was plain,
had intended to make me pass the night in the hole of a closet, as a
punishment for having dared to ask the mistress of an emperor to sleep
with me for a hundred crowns.

Two days later, as I was buying a pair of lace cuffs, the princess came
into the shop with Count Zinzendorf, whom I had known at Paris twelve
years before just as I was making way for the lady the count recognized
me, and asked me if I knew anything about the Casanova that had fought
the duel at Warsaw.

"Alas! count, I am that Casanova, and here is my arm still in a sling."

"I congratulate you, my dear fellow; I should like to hear about it."

With these words he introduced me to the princess, asking her if she had
heard of the duel.

"Yes; I heard something about it in the papers. So this is the hero of
the tale. Delighted to make your acquaintance."

The princess spoke with great kindness, but with the cool politeness of
the Court. She did not give me the slightest sign of recognition, and of
course I imitated her in her reserve.

I visited the count in the afternoon, and he begged me to come and see
the princess, who would be delighted to hear the account of my duel from
my own lips, and I followed him to her apartment with pleasure. The
princess listened to my narrative in stately sort, and her women never
looked at me. She went away the day after, and the story went no farther.

Towards the end of the fair I received a very unexpected visit from the
fair Madame Castelbajac. I was just sitting down to table to eat a dozen
larks, when she made her appearance.

"What, madam, you here!"

"Yes, to my sorrow. I have been here for the last three weeks, and have
seen you several times, but you have always avoided us."

"Who are 'us'?"

"Schwerin and myself."

"Schwerin is here, is he?"

"Yes; and in prison on account of a forged bill. I am sure I do not know
what they will do to the poor wretch. He would have been wise to have
fled, but it seems as if he wanted to get hanged."

"And you have been with him ever since you left England? that is, three
years ago."

"Exactly. Our occupation is robbing, cheating, and escaping from one land
to another. Never was a woman so unhappy as I."

"For how much is the forged bill?"

"For three hundred crowns. Do a generous action M. Casanova, and let
bygones be bygones; deliver the poor wretch from the gallows and me from
death, for if he is hanged I shall kill myself."

"Indeed, madam, he may hang for me, for he did his best to send me to the
gallows with his forged bills; but I confess I pity you. So much, indeed,
that I invite you to come to Dresden with me the day after to-morrow, and
I promise to give you three hundred crowns as soon as Schwerin has
undergone the extreme penalty of the law. I can't understand how a woman
like you can have fallen in love with a man that has neither face, nor
talents, nor wit, nor fortune, for all that he has to boast of is his
name of Schwerin."

"I confess, to my shame, that I never loved him. Ever since the other
rogue, Castelbajac--who, by the way, was never married to me--made me
know him, I have only lived with him by force, though his tears and his
despairs have excited my compassion. If destiny had given me an honest
man in his stead, I would have forsaken him long ago, for sooner or later
he will be the death of me."

"Where do you live?"

"Nowhere. I have been turned out into the street with nothing but the
clothes on my back. Have compassion on me."

With these words the hapless woman threw herself at my knees and burst
into tears. I was much affected. The waiter of the inn stood staring with
amazement till I told him to go out. I may safely say that this woman was
one of the most handsome in France; she was probably about twenty-six
years old. She had been the wife of a druggist of Montpellier, and had
been so unfortunate as to let Castelbajac seduce her. At London her
beauty had produced no impression on me, my heart was another's;
nevertheless, she was made to seduce the heart of man.

I raised her from her knees, and said I felt inclined to help her, but
that in the first place she must calm herself, and in the second share my
supper. The waiter brought another bed and put it in my room, without
receiving any orders to do so; this made me feel inclined to laugh.

The appetite with which the poor woman ate, despite her sorrow, reminded
me of the matron of Ephesus. When supper was over I gave her her choice:
she might either stay in Leipzig and fare as best she might, or I would
reclaim her effects, take her with me to Dresden, and pay her a hundred
gold ducats as soon as I could be certain that she would not give the
money to the wretch who had reduced her to such an extremity. She did not
ask much time for reflection. She said that it would be no good for her
to stay in Leipzig, for she could do nothing for the wretched Schwerin or
even keep herself for a day, for she had not got a farthing. She would
have to beg or to become a prostitute, and she could not make up her mind
to either course.

"Indeed," she concluded, "if you were to give me the hundred ducats this
moment, and I used them to free Schwerin, I should be no better off than
before; so I accept your generous offer thankfully."