I made my friends to understand that the good of our society depended upon the admission of these two virtuous individuals.  I allowed them to guess it, but, having myself became a Jesuit, I took care not to say it openly.  It would of course be better if such an idea appeared to have emanated from those men, so simple, and at the same time so truly virtuous.  “It is God’s will,” I wrote to them (for deceit must always take refuge under the protection of that sacred name), “that you employ all your influence in Venice to find an honourable position for M. de la Haye, and to promote the interests of young M. Bavois in his profession.”

M. de Bragadin answered that De la Haye could take up his quarters with us in his palace, and that Bavois was to write to his protector, the Pope, entreating His Holiness to recommend him to the ambassador of Venice, who would then forward that recommendation to the Senate, and that Bavois could, in that way, feel sure of good employment.

The affair of the Patriarchate of Aquileia was at that time under discussion; the Republic of Venice was in possession of it as well as the Emperor of Austria, who claimed the ‘jus eligendi’:  the Pope Benedict XIV. had been chosen as arbitrator, and as he had not yet given his decision it was evident that the Republic would shew very great deference to his recommendation.

While that important affair was enlisting all our sympathies, and while they were expecting in Venice a letter stating the effect of the Pope’s recommendation, I was the hero of a comic adventure which, for the sake of my readers, must not pass unnoticed.

At the beginning of April I was entirely cured of my last misfortune.  I had recovered all my usual vigour, and I accompanied my converter to church every day, never missing a sermon.  We likewise spent the evening together at the cafe, where we generally met a great many officers.  There was among them a Provencal who amused everybody with his boasting and with the recital of the military exploits by which he pretended to have distinguished himself in the service of several countries, and principally in Spain.  As he was truly a source of amusement, everybody pretended to believe him in order to keep up the game.  One day as I was staring at him, he asked me whether I knew him.

“By George, sir!”—­I exclaimed, “know you!  Why, did we not fight side by side at the battle of Arbela?”

At those words everybody burst out laughing, but the boaster, nothing daunted, said, with animation,

“Well, gentlemen, I do not see anything so very laughable in that.  I was at that battle, and therefore this gentleman might very well have remarked me; in fact, I think I can recollect him.”

And, continuing to speak to me, he named the regiment in which we were brother officers.  Of course we embraced one another, congratulating each other upon the pleasure we both felt in meeting again in Parma.  After that truly comic joke I left the coffee-room in the company of my inseparable preacher.