The Memoires of Casanova, Complete

J >> Jacques Casanova de Seingalt >> The Memoires of Casanova, Complete


I began by delivering the letter I had received from Don Lelio for Father
Georgi. The learned monk enjoyed the esteem of everyone in Rome, and the
Pope himself had a great consideration for him, because he disliked the
Jesuits, and did not put a mask on to tear the mask from their faces,
although they deemed themselves powerful enough to despise him.

He read the letter with great attention, and expressed himself disposed
to be my adviser; and that consequently I might make him responsible for
any evil which might befall me, as misfortune is not to be feared by a
man who acts rightly. He asked me what I intended to do in Rome, and I
answered that I wished him to tell me what to do.

"Perhaps I may; but in that case you must come and see me often, and
never conceal from me anything, you understand, not anything, of what
interests you, or of what happens to you."

"Don Lelio has likewise given me a letter for the Cardinal Acquaviva."

"I congratulate you; the cardinal's influence in Rome is greater even
than that of the Pope."

"Must I deliver the letter at once?"

"No; I will see him this evening, and prepare him for your visit. Call on
me to-morrow morning, and I will then tell you where and when you are to
deliver your letter to the cardinal. Have you any money?"

"Enough for all my wants during one year."

"That is well. Have you any acquaintances?"

"Not one."

"Do not make any without first consulting me, and, above all, avoid
coffee-houses and ordinaries, but if you should happen to frequent such
places, listen and never speak. Be careful to form your judgment upon
those who ask any questions from you, and if common civility obliges you
to give an answer, give only an evasive one, if any other is likely to
commit you. Do you speak French?"

"Not one word."

"I am sorry for that; you must learn French. Have you been a student?"

"A poor one, but I have a sufficient smattering to converse with ordinary
company."

"That is enough; but be very prudent, for Rome is the city in which
smatterers unmask each other, and are always at war amongst themselves. I
hope you will take your letter to the cardinal, dressed like a modest
abbe, and not in this elegant costume which is not likely to conjure
fortune. Adieu, let me see you to-morrow."

Highly pleased with the welcome I had received at his hands, and with all
he had said to me, I left his house and proceeded towards Campo-di-Fiore
to deliver the letter of my cousin Antonio to Don Gaspar Vivaldi, who
received me in his library, where I met two respectable-looking priests.
He gave me the most friendly welcome, asked for my address, and invited
me to dinner for the next day. He praised Father Georgi most highly, and,
accompanying me as far as the stairs, he told me that he would give me on
the morrow the amount his friend Don Antonio requested him to hand me.

More money which my generous cousin was bestowing on me! It is easy
enough to give away when one possesses sufficient means to do it, but it
is not every man who knows how to give. I found the proceeding of Don
Antonio more delicate even than generous; I could not refuse his present;
it was my duty to prove my gratitude by accepting it.

Just after I had left M. Vivaldi's house I found myself face to face with
Stephano, and this extraordinary original loaded me with friendly
caresses. I inwardly despised him, yet I could not feel hatred for him; I
looked upon him as the instrument which Providence had been pleased to
employ in order to save me from ruin. After telling me that he had
obtained from the Pope all he wished, he advised me to avoid meeting the
fatal constable who had advanced me two sequins in Seraval, because he
had found out that I had deceived him, and had sworn revenge against me.
I asked Stephano to induce the man to leave my acknowledgement of the
debt in the hands of a certain merchant whom we both knew, and that I
would call there to discharge the amount. This was done, and it ended the
affair.

That evening I dined at the ordinary, which was frequented by Romans and
foreigners; but I carefully followed the advice of Father Georgi. I heard
a great deal of harsh language used against the Pope and against the
Cardinal Minister, who had caused the Papal States to be inundated by
eighty thousand men, Germans as well as Spaniards. But I was much
surprised when I saw that everybody was eating meat, although it was
Saturday. But a stranger during the first few days after his arrival in
Rome is surrounded with many things which at first cause surprise, and to
which he soon gets accustomed. There is not a Catholic city in the world
in which a man is half so free on religious matters as in Rome. The
inhabitants of Rome are like the men employed at the Government tobacco
works, who are allowed to take gratis as much tobacco as they want for
their own use. One can live in Rome with the most complete freedom,
except that the 'ordini santissimi' are as much to be dreaded as the
famous Lettres-de-cachet before the Revolution came and destroyed them,
and shewed the whole world the general character of the French nation.

The next day, the 1st of October, 1743, I made up my mind to be shaved.
The down on my chin had become a beard, and I judged that it was time to
renounce some of the privileges enjoyed by adolescence. I dressed myself
completely in the Roman fashion, and Father Georgi was highly pleased
when he saw me in that costume, which had been made by the tailor of my
dear cousin, Don Antonio.

Father Georgi invited me to take a cup of chocolate with him, and
informed me that the cardinal had been apprised of my arrival by a letter
from Don Lelio, and that his eminence would receive me at noon at the
Villa Negroni, where he would be taking a walk. I told Father Georgi that
I had been invited to dinner by M. Vivaldi, and he advised me to
cultivate his acquaintance.

I proceeded to the Villa Negroni; the moment he saw me the cardinal
stopped to receive my letter, allowing two persons who accompanied him to
walk forward. He put the letter in his pocket without reading it,
examined me for one or two minutes, and enquired whether I felt any taste
for politics. I answered that, until now, I had not felt in me any but
frivolous tastes, but that I would make bold to answer for my readiness
to execute all the orders which his eminence might be pleased to lay upon
me, if he should judge me worthy of entering his service.

"Come to my office to-morrow morning," said the cardinal, "and ask for
the Abbe Gama, to whom I will give my instructions. You must apply
yourself diligently to the study of the French language; it is
indispensable." He then enquired after Don Leilo's health, and after
kissing his hand I took my leave.

I hastened to the house of M. Gaspar Vivaldi, where I dined amongst a
well-chosen party of guests. M. Vivaldi was not married; literature was
his only passion. He loved Latin poetry even better than Italian, and
Horace, whom I knew by heart, was his favourite poet. After dinner, we
repaired to his study, and he handed me one hundred Roman crowns, and Don
Antonio's present, and assured me that I would be most welcome whenever I
would call to take a cup of chocolate with him.

After I had taken leave of Don Gaspar, I proceeded towards the Minerva,
for I longed to enjoy the surprise of my dear Lucrezia and of her sister;
I inquired for Donna Cecilia Monti, their mother, and I saw, to my great
astonishment, a young widow who looked like the sister of her two
charming daughters. There was no need for me to give her my name; I had
been announced, and she expected me. Her daughters soon came in, and
their greeting caused me some amusement, for I did not appear to them to
be the same individual. Donna Lucrezia presented me to her youngest
sister, only eleven years of age, and to her brother, an abbe of fifteen,
of charming appearance. I took care to behave so as to please the mother;
I was modest, respectful, and shewed a deep interest in everything I saw.
The good advocate arrived, and was surprised at the change in my
appearance. He launched out in his usual jokes, and I followed him on
that ground, yet I was careful not to give to my conversation the tone of
levity which used to cause so much mirth in our travelling coach; so
that, to, pay me a compliment, he told nee that, if I had had the sign of
manhood shaved from my face, I had certainly transferred it to my mind.
Donna Lucrezia did not know what to think of the change in my manners.

Towards evening I saw, coming in rapid succession, five or six
ordinary-looking ladies, and as many abbes, who appeared to me some of
the volumes with which I was to begin my Roman education. They all
listened attentively to the most insignificant word I uttered, and I was
very careful to let them enjoy their conjectures about me. Donna Cecilia
told the advocate that he was but a poor painter, and that his portraits
were not like the originals; he answered that she could not judge,
because the original was shewing under a mask, and I pretended to be
mortified by his answer. Donna Lucrezia said that she found me exactly
the same, and her sister was of opinion that the air of Rome gave
strangers a peculiar appearance. Everybody applauded, and Angelique
turned red with satisfaction. After a visit of four hours I bowed myself
out, and the advocate, following me, told me that his mother-in-law
begged me to consider myself as a friend of the family, and to be certain
of a welcome at any hour I liked to call. I thanked him gratefully and
took my leave, trusting that I had pleased this amiable society as much
as it had pleased me.

The next day I presented myself to the Abbe Gama. He was a Portuguese,
about forty years old, handsome, and with a countenance full of candour,
wit, and good temper. His affability claimed and obtained confidence. His
manners and accent were quite Roman. He informed me, in the blandest
manner, that his eminence had himself given his instructions about me to
his majordomo, that I would have a lodging in the cardinal's palace, that
I would have my meals at the secretaries' table, and that, until I
learned French, I would have nothing to do but make extracts from letters
that he would supply me with. He then gave me the address of the French
teacher to whom he had already spoken in my behalf. He was a Roman
advocate, Dalacqua by name, residing precisely opposite the palace.

After this short explanation, and an assurance that I could at all times
rely upon his friendship, he had me taken to the major-domo, who made me
sign my name at the bottom of a page in a large book, already filled with
other names, and counted out sixty Roman crowns which he paid me for
three months salary in advance. After this he accompanied me, followed by
a 'staffiere' to my apartment on the third floor, which I found very
comfortably furnished. The servant handed me the key, saying that he
would come every morning to attend upon me, and the major-domo
accompanied me to the gate to make me known to the gate-keeper. I
immediately repaired to my inn, sent my luggage to the palace, and found
myself established in a place in which a great fortune awaited me, if I
had only been able to lead a wise and prudent life, but unfortunately it
was not in my nature. 'Volentem ducit, nolentem trahit.'

I naturally felt it my duty to call upon my mentor, Father Georgi, to
whom I gave all my good news. He said I was on the right road, and that
my fortune was in my hands.

"Recollect," added the good father, "that to lead a blameless life you
must curb your passions, and that whatever misfortune may befall you it
cannot be ascribed by any one to a want of good luck, or attributed to
fate; those words are devoid of sense, and all the fault will rightly
fall on your own head."

"I foresee, reverend father, that my youth and my want of experience will
often make it necessary for me to disturb you. I am afraid of proving
myself too heavy a charge for you, but you will find me docile and
obedient."

"I suppose you will often think me rather too severe; but you are not
likely to confide everything to me."

"Everything, without any exception."

"Allow me to feel somewhat doubtful; you have not told me where you spent
four hours yesterday."

"Because I did not think it was worth mentioning. I made the acquaintance
of those persons during my journey; I believe them to be worthy and
respectable, and the right sort of people for me to visit, unless you
should be of a different opinion."

"God forbid! It is a very respectable house, frequented by honest people.
They are delighted at having made your acquaintance; you are much liked
by everybody, and they hope to retain you as a friend; I have heard all
about it this morning; but you must not go there too often and as a
regular guest."

"Must I cease my visits at once, and without cause?"

"No, it would be a want of politeness on your part. You may go there once
or twice every week, but do not be a constant visitor. You are sighing,
my son?"

"No, I assure you not. I will obey you."

"I hope it may not be only a matter of obedience, and I trust your heart
will not feel it a hardship, but, if necessary, your heart must be
conquered. Recollect that the heart is the greatest enemy of reason."

"Yet they can be made to agree."

"We often imagine so; but distrust the animism of your dear Horace. You
know that there is no middle course with it: 'nisi paret, imperat'."

"I know it, but in the family of which we were speaking there is no
danger for my heart."

"I am glad of it, because in that case it will be all the easier for you
to abstain from frequent visits. Remember that I shall trust you."

"And I, reverend father; will listen to and follow your good advice. I
will visit Donna Cecilia only now and then." Feeling most unhappy, I took
his hand to press it against my lips, but he folded me in his arms as a
father might have done, and turned himself round so as not to let me see
that he was weeping.

I dined at the cardinal's palace and sat near the Abbe Gama; the table
was laid for twelve persons, who all wore the costume of priests, for in
Rome everyone is a priest or wishes to be thought a priest and as there
is no law to forbid anyone to dress like an ecclesiastic that dress is
adopted by all those who wish to be respected (noblemen excepted) even if
they are not in the ecclesiastical profession.

I felt very miserable, and did not utter a word during the dinner; my
silence was construed into a proof of my sagacity. As we rose from the
table, the Abbe Gama invited me to spend the day with him, but I declined
under pretence of letters to be written, and I truly did so for seven
hours. I wrote to Don Lelio, to Don Antonio, to my young friend Paul, and
to the worthy Bishop of Martorano, who answered that he heartily wished
himself in my place.

Deeply enamoured of Lucrezia and happy in my love, to give her up
appeared to me a shameful action. In order to insure the happiness of my
future life, I was beginning to be the executioner of my present
felicity, and the tormentor of my heart. I revolted against such a
necessity which I judged fictitious, and which I could not admit unless I
stood guilty of vileness before the tribunal of my own reason. I thought
that Father Georgi, if he wished to forbid my visiting that family, ought
not to have said that it was worthy of respect; my sorrow would not have
been so intense. The day and the whole of the night were spent in painful
thoughts.

In the morning the Abbe Gama brought me a great book filled with
ministerial letters from which I was to compile for my amusement. After a
short time devoted to that occupation, I went out to take my first French
lesson, after which I walked towards the Strada-Condotta. I intended to
take a long walk, when I heard myself called by my name. I saw the Abbe
Gama in front of a coffee-house. I whispered to him that Minerva had
forbidden me the coffee-rooms of Rome. "Minerva," he answered, "desires
you to form some idea of such places. Sit down by me."

I heard a young abbe telling aloud, but without bitterness, a story,
which attacked in a most direct manner the justice of His Holiness.
Everybody was laughing and echoing the story. Another, being asked why he
had left the services of Cardinal B., answered that it was because his
eminence did not think himself called upon to pay him apart for certain
private services, and everybody laughed outright. Another came to the
Abbe Gama, and told him that, if he felt any inclination to spend the
afternoon at the Villa Medicis, he would find him there with two young
Roman girls who were satisfied with a 'quartino', a gold coin worth
one-fourth of a sequin. Another abbe read an incendiary sonnet against
the government, and several took a copy of it. Another read a satire of
his own composition, in which he tore to pieces the honour of a family.
In the middle of all that confusion, I saw a priest with a very
attractive countenance come in. The size of his hips made me take him for
a woman dressed in men's clothes, and I said so to Gama, who told me that
he was the celebrated castrato, Bepino delta Mamana. The abbe called him
to us, and told him with a laugh that I had taken him for a girl. The
impudent fellow looked me full in the face, and said that, if I liked, he
would shew me whether I had been right or wrong.

At the dinner-table everyone spoke to me, and I fancied I had given
proper answers to all, but, when the repast was over, the Abbe Gama
invited me to take coffee in his own apartment. The moment we were alone,
he told me that all the guests I had met were worthy and honest men, and
he asked me whether I believed that I had succeeded in pleasing the
company.

"I flatter myself I have," I answered.

"You are wrong," said the abbe, "you are flattering yourself. You have so
conspicuously avoided the questions put to you that everybody in the room
noticed your extreme reserve. In the future no one will ask you any
questions."

"I should be sorry if it should turn out so, but was I to expose my own
concerns?"

"No, but there is a medium in all things."

"Yes, the medium of Horace, but it is often a matter of great difficulty
to hit it exactly."

"A man ought to know how to obtain affection and esteem at the same
time."

"That is the very wish nearest to my heart."

"To-day you have tried for the esteem much more than for the affection of
your fellow-creatures. It may be a noble aspiration, but you must prepare
yourself to fight jealousy and her daughter, calumny; if those two
monsters do not succeed in destroying you, the victory must be yours.
Now, for instance, you thoroughly refuted Salicetti to-day. Well, he is a
physician, and what is more a Corsican; he must feel badly towards you."

"Could I grant that the longings of women during their pregnancy have no
influence whatever on the skin of the foetus, when I know the reverse to
be the case? Are you not of my opinion?"

"I am for neither party; I have seen many children with some such marks,
but I have no means of knowing with certainty whether those marks have
their origin in some longing experienced by the mother while she was
pregnant."

"But I can swear it is so."

"All the better for you if your conviction is based upon such evidence,
and all the worse for Salicetti if he denies the possibility of the thing
without certain authority. But let him remain in error; it is better thus
than to prove him in the wrong and to make a bitter enemy of him."

In the evening I called upon Lucrezia. The family knew my success, and
warmly congratulated me. Lucrezia told me that I looked sad, and I
answered that I was assisting at the funeral of my liberty, for I was no
longer my own master. Her husband, always fond of a joke, told her that I
was in love with her, and his mother-in-law advised him not to show so
much intrepidity. I only remained an hour with those charming persons,
and then took leave of them, but the very air around me was heated by the
flame within my breast. When I reached my room I began to write, and
spent the night in composing an ode which I sent the next day to the
advocate. I was certain that he would shew it to his wife, who loved
poetry, and who did not yet know that I was a poet. I abstained from
seeing her again for three or four days. I was learning French, and
making extracts from ministerial letters.

His eminence was in the habit of receiving every evening, and his rooms
were thronged with the highest nobility of Rome; I had never attended
these receptions. The Abbe Gama told me that I ought to do so as well as
he did, without any pretension. I followed his advice and went; nobody
spoke to me, but as I was unknown everyone looked at me and enquired who
I was. The Abbe Gama asked me which was the lady who appeared to me the
most amiable, and I shewed one to him; but I regretted having done so,
for the courtier went to her, and of course informed her of what I had
said. Soon afterwards I saw her look at me through her eye-glass and
smile kindly upon me. She was the Marchioness G----, whose 'cicisbeo' was
Cardinal S---- C----.

On the very day I had fixed to spend the evening with Donna Lucrezia the
worthy advocate called upon me. He told me that if I thought I was going
to prove I was not in love with his wife by staying away I was very much
mistaken, and he invited me to accompany all the family to Testaccio,
where they intended to have luncheon on the following Thursday. He added
that his wife knew my ode by heart, and that she had read it to the
intended husband of Angelique, who had a great wish to make my
acquaintance. That gentleman was likewise a poet, and would be one of the
party to Testaccio. I promised the advocate I would come to his house on
the Thursday with a carriage for two.

At that time every Thursday in the month of October was a festival day in
Rome. I went to see Donna Cecilia in the evening, and we talked about the
excursion the whole time. I felt certain that Donna Lucrezia looked
forward to it with as much pleasure as I did myself. We had no fixed
plan, we could not have any, but we trusted to the god of love, and
tacitly placed our confidence in his protection.

I took care that Father Georgi should not hear of that excursion before I
mentioned it to him myself, and I hastened to him in order to obtain his
permission to go. I confess that, to obtain his leave, I professed the
most complete indifference about it, and the consequence was that the
good man insisted upon my going, saying that it was a family party, and
that it was quite right for me to visit the environs of Rome and to enjoy
myself in a respectable way.

I went to Donna Cecilia's in a carriage which I hired from a certain
Roland, a native of Avignon, and if I insist here upon his name it is
because my readers will meet him again in eighteen years, his
acquaintance with me having had very important results. The charming
widow introduced me to Don Francisco, her intended son-in-law, whom she
represented as a great friend of literary men, and very deeply learned
himself. I accepted it as gospel, and behaved accordingly; yet I thought
he looked rather heavy and not sufficiently elated for a young man on the
point of marrying such a pretty girl as Angelique. But he had plenty of
good-nature and plenty of money, and these are better than learning and
gallantry.

As we were ready to get into the carriages, the advocate told me that he
would ride with me in my carriage, and that the three ladies would go
with Don Francisco in the other. I answered at once that he ought to keep
Don Francisco company, and that I claimed the privilege of taking care of
Donna Cecilia, adding that I should feel dishonoured if things were
arranged differently. Thereupon I offered my arm to the handsome widow,
who thought the arrangement according to the rules of etiquette and good
breeding, and an approving look of my Lucrezia gave me the most agreeable
sensation. Yet the proposal of the advocate struck me somewhat
unpleasantly, because it was in contradiction with his former behaviour,
and especially with what he had said to me in my room a few days before.
"Has he become jealous?" I said to myself; that would have made me almost
angry, but the hope of bringing him round during our stay at Testaccio
cleared away the dark cloud on my mind, and I was very amiable to Donna
Cecilia. What with lunching and walking we contrived to pass the
afternoon very pleasantly; I was very gay, and my love for Lucrezia was
not once mentioned; I was all attention to her mother. I occasionally
addressed myself to Lucrezia, but not once to the advocate, feeling this
the best way to shew him that he had insulted me.

As we prepared to return, the advocate carried off Donna Cecilia and went
with her to the carriage in which were already seated Angelique and Don
Francisco. Scarcely able to control my delight, I offered my arm to Donna
Lucrezia, paying her some absurd compliment, while the advocate laughed
outright, and seemed to enjoy the trick he imagined he had played me.