At midnight, as I was beginning to give her up, she came forward.  I then laid myself flat on the floor of the balcony, and I placed my head against the hole, about six inches square.  I saw her jump on the bale, and her head reached within a foot from the balcony.  She was compelled to steady herself with one hand against the wall for fear of falling, and in that position we talked of love, of ardent desires, of obstacles, of impossibilities, and of cunning artifices.  I told her the reason for which I dared not jump down in the yard, and she observed that, even without that reason, it would bring ruin upon us, as it would be impossible to come up again, and that, besides, God alone knew what her master would do if he were to find us together.  Then, promising to visit me in this way every night, she passed her hand through the hole.  Alas!  I could not leave off kissing it, for I thought that I had never in my life touched so soft, so delicate a hand.  But what bliss when she begged for mine!  I quickly thrust my arm through the hole, so that she could fasten her lips to the bend of the elbow.  How many sweet liberties my hand ventured to take!  But we were at last compelled by prudence to separate, and when I returned to my room I saw with great pleasure that the keeper was fast asleep.

Although I was delighted at having obtained every favour I could possibly wish for in the uncomfortable position we had been in, I racked my brain to contrive the means of securing more complete enjoyment for the following night, but I found during the afternoon that the feminine cunning of my beautiful Greek was more fertile than mine.

Being alone in the yard with her master, she said a few words to him in Turkish, to which he seemed to give his approval, and soon after a servant, assisted by the keeper, brought under the balcony a large basket of goods.  She overlooked the arrangement, and in order to secure the basket better, she made the servant place a bale of cotton across two others.  Guessing at her purpose, I fairly leaped for joy, for she had found the way of raising herself two feet higher; but I thought that she would then find herself in the most inconvenient position, and that, forced to bend double, she would not be able to resist the fatigue.  The hole was not wide enough for her head to pass through, otherwise she might have stood erect and been comfortable.  It was necessary at all events to guard against that difficulty; the only way was to tear out one of the planks of the floor of the balcony, but it was not an easy undertaking.  Yet I decided upon attempting it, regardless of consequences; and I went to my room to provide myself with a large pair of pincers.  Luckily the keeper was absent, and availing myself of the opportunity, I succeeded in dragging out carefully the four large nails which fastened the plank.  Finding that I could lift it at my will, I replaced the pincers, and waited for the night with amorous impatience.