This news about the niece was a surprise to me.  The closet had no door, and was not much bigger than the bed which it contained; it was, in fact, a mere alcove, without any window.

I must note that my hostess and her husband, both of them from Liege, were perfect models of ugliness.

“It’s not within the limits of possibility,” I said to myself, “for the niece to be uglier than they, but if they allow her to sleep thus in the same room with the first comer, she must be proof against all temptation.”

However, I gave no sign, and did not ask to see the niece for fear of offense, and I went out without opening my trunk.  I told them as I went out that I should not be back till after supper, and gave them some money to buy wax candles and night lights.

I went to see the princess with whom I was to sup.  All the company congratulated me on my good fortune in finding a lodging.  I went to the concert, to the bank at faro, and to the other gaming saloons, and there I saw the so-called Marquis d’Aragon, who was playing at piquet with an old count of the Holy Roman Empire.  I was told about the duel he had had three weeks before with a Frenchman who had picked a quarrel with him; the Frenchman had been wounded in the chest, and was still ill.  Nevertheless, he was only waiting for his cure to be completed to have his revenge, which he had demanded as he was taken off the field.  Such is the way of the French when a duel is fought for a trifling matter.  They stop at the first blood, and fight the duel over and over again.  In Italy, on the other hand, duels are fought to the death.  Our blood burns to fire when our adversary’s sword opens a vein.  Thus stabbing is common in Italy and rare in France; while duels are common in France, and rare in Italy.

Of all the company at Spa, I was most pleased to see the Marquis Caraccioli, whom I had left in London.  His Court had given him leave of absence, and he was spending it at Spa.  He was brimful of wit and the milk of human kindness, compassionate for the weaknesses of others, and devoted to youth, no matter of what sex, but he knew well the virtue of moderation, and used all things without abusing them.  He never played, but he loved a good gamester and despised all dupes.  The worthy marquis was the means of making the fortune of the so-called Marquis d’Aragon by becoming surety for his nobility and bona fides to a wealthy English widow of fifty, who had taken a fancy to him, and brought him her fortune of sixty thousand pounds sterling.  No doubt the widow was taken with the gigantic form and the beautiful title of d’Aragon, for Dragon (as his name really was) was devoid of wit and manners, and his legs, which I suppose he kept well covered, bore disgusting marks of the libertine life he had led.  I saw the marquis some time afterwards at Marseilles, and a few years later he purchased two estates at Modena.  His wife died in due course, and according to the English law he inherited the whole of her property.