“Salimberi had not courage enough to resist my tears and my entreaties; he made up his mind to take me to Rimini, and to place me in the same house where his young ‘protege’ was educated.  We reached Rimini, and put up at an inn; after a short rest, Salimberi left me to call upon the teacher of music, and to make all necessary arrangements respecting me with him; but he soon returned, looking sad and unhappy; Bellino had died the day before.

“As he was thinking of the grief which the loss of the young man would cause his mother, he was struck with the idea of bringing me back to Bologna under the name of Bellino, where he could arrange for my board with the mother of the deceased Bellino, who, being very poor, would find it to her advantage to keep the secret.  ‘I will give her,’ he said, ’everything necessary for the completion of your musical education, and in four years, I will take you to Dresden (he was in the service of the Elector of Saxony, King of Poland), not as a girl, but as a castrato.  There we will live together without giving anyone cause for scandal, and you will remain with me and minister to my happiness until I die.  All we have to do is to represent you as Bellino, and it is very easy, as nobody knows you in Bologna.  Bellino’s mother will alone know the secret; her other children have seen their brother only when he was very young, and can have no suspicion.  But if you love me you must renounce your sex, lose even the remembrance of it, and leave immediately for Bologna, dressed as a boy, and under the name of Bellino.  You must be very careful lest anyone should find out that you are a girl; you must sleep alone, dress yourself in private, and when your bosom is formed, as it will be in a year or two, it will only be thought a deformity not uncommon amongst ‘castrati’.  Besides, before leaving you, I will give you a small instrument, and teach how to fix it in such manner that, if you had at any time to submit to an examination, you would easily be mistaken for a man.  If you accept my plan, I feel certain that we can live together in Dresden without losing the good graces of the queen, who is very religious.  Tell me, now, whether you will accept my proposal?

“He could not entertain any doubt of my consent, for I adored him.  As soon as he had made a boy of me we left Rimini for Bologna, where we arrived late in the evening.  A little gold made everything right with Bellino’s mother; I gave her the name of mother, and she kissed me, calling me her dear son.  Salimberi left us, and returned a short time afterwards with the instrument which would complete my transformation.  He taught me, in the presence of my new mother, how to fix it with some tragacanth gum, and I found myself exactly like my friend.  I would have laughed at it, had not my heart been deeply grieved at the departure of my beloved Salimberi, for he bade me farewell as soon as the curious operation was completed.  People laugh at forebodings; I