Necessity, that imperious law and my only excuse, having made me almost the partner of a cheat, there was still the difficulty of finding the three hundred sequins required; but I postponed the task of finding them until after I should have made the acquaintance of the dupes of the goddess to whom they addressed their worship.  Croce took me to the Prato delta Valle, where we found madame surrounded with foreigners.  She was pretty; and as a secretary of the imperial ambassador, Count Rosemberg, had attached himself to her, not one of the Venetian nobles dared court her.  Those who interested me among the satellites gravitating around that star were the Swede Gilenspetz, a Hamburger, the Englishman Mendez, who has already been mentioned, and three or four others to whore Croce called my attention.

We dined all together, and after dinner there was a general call for a faro bank; but Croce did not accept.  His refusal surprised me, because with three hundred sequins, being a very skilful player, he had enough to try his fortune.  He did not, however, allow my suspicions to last long, for he took me to his own room and shewed me fifty pieces of eight, which were equal to three hundred sequins.  When I saw that the professional gambler had not chosen me as his partner with the intention of making a dupe of me, I told him that I would certainly procure the amount, and upon that promise he invited everybody to supper for the following day.  We agreed that we would divide the spoils before parting in the evening, and that no one should be allowed to play on trust.

I had to procure the amount, but to whom could I apply?  I could ask no one but M. de Bragadin.  The excellent man had not that sum in his possession, for his purse was generally empty; but he found a usurer—­a species of animal too numerous unfortunately for young men—­who, upon a note of hand endorsed by him, gave me a thousand ducats, at five per cent. for one month, the said interest being deducted by anticipation from the capital.  It was exactly the amount I required.  I went to the supper; Croce held the bank until daylight, and we divided sixteen hundred sequins between us.  The game continued the next evening, and Gilenspetz alone lost two thousand sequins; the Jew Mendez lost about one thousand.  Sunday was sanctified by rest, but on Monday the bank won four thousand sequins.  On the Tuesday we all dined together, and the play was resumed; but we had scarcely begun when an officer of the podesta made his appearance and informed Croce that he wanted a little private conversation with him.  They left the room together, and after a short absence Croce came back rather crestfallen; he announced that by superior orders he was forbidden to hold a bank at his house.  Madame fainted away, the punters hurried out, and I followed their example, as soon as I had secured one-half of the gold which was on the table.  I was glad enough it was not worse.  As I left, Croce told me that we would meet again in Venice, for he had been ordered to quit Padua within twenty-four hours.  I expected it would be so, because he was to well known; but his greatest crime, in the opinion of the podesta, was that he attracted the players to his own house, whilst the authorities wanted all the lovers of play to lose their money at the opera, where the bankers were mostly noblemen from Venice.