A short time afterwards, Madame F——­ whispered a few words to the general, who turned to me and said that he would be glad to hear me relate what had occurred to me in Constantinople with the wife of the Turk Yusuf, and at another friend’s house, where I had seen bathing by moonlight.  I was rather surprised at such an invitation, and told him that such frolics were not worth listening to, and the general not pressing me no more was said about it.  But I was astonished at Madame F——­’s indiscretion; she had no business to make my confidences public.  I wanted her to be jealous of her own dignity, which I loved even more than her person.

Two or three days later, she said to me,

“Why did you refuse to tell your adventures in Constantinople before the general?”

“Because I do not wish everybody to know that you allow me to tell you such things.  What I may dare, madam, to say to you when we are alone, I would certainly not say to you in public.”

“And why not?  It seems to me, on the contrary, that if you are silent in public out of respect for me, you ought to be all the more silent when we are alone.”

“I wanted to amuse you, and have exposed myself to the danger of displeasing you, but I can assure you, madam, that I will not run such a risk again.”

“I have no wish to pry into your intentions, but it strikes me that if your wish was to please me, you ought not to have run the risk of obtaining the opposite result.  We take supper with the general this evening, and M. D---- R----- has been asked to bring you.  I feel certain that the general will ask you again for your adventures in Constantinople, and this time you cannot refuse him.”

M. D——­ R——­ came in and we went to the general’s.  I thought as we were driving along that, although Madame F——­ seemed to have intended to humiliate me, I ought to accept it all as a favour of fortune, because, by compelling me to explain my refusal to the general; Madame F——­ had, at the same time, compelled me to a declaration of my feelings, which was not without importance.

The ‘proveditore-generale’ gave me a friendly welcome, and kindly handed me a letter which had come with the official dispatches from Constantinople.  I bowed my thanks, and put the letter in my pocket:  but he told me that he was himself a great lover of news, and that I could read my letter.  I opened it; it was from Yusuf, who announced the death of Count de Bonneval.  Hearing the name of the worthy Yusuf, the general asked me to tell him my adventure with his wife.  I could not now refuse, and I began a story which amused and interested the general and his friends for an hour or so, but which was from beginning to end the work of my imagination.

Thus I continued to respect the privacy of Yusuf, to avoid implicating the good fame of Madame F——­, and to shew myself in a light which was tolerably advantageous to me.  My story, which was full of sentiment, did me a great deal of honour, and I felt very happy when I saw from the expression of Madame F——­’s face that she was pleased with me, although somewhat surprised.