He shewed me the letters of exchange, endorsed by a name which I did not know, but which he said was a very good one, and he continued,

“I intend to buy six thousand florins worth of silk goods from the looms of Vicenza, and to give in payment to the merchants these letters of exchange.  I am certain of selling those goods rapidly with a profit of ten per cent.  Come with us to Vicenza; I will give you some of my goods to the amount of two hundred sequins, and thus you will find yourself covered for the guarantee which you have been kind enough to give to the jeweller for the ring.  We shall complete the transaction within twenty-four hours.”

I did not feel much inclination for the trip, but I allowed myself to be blinded by the wish to cover the amount which I had guaranteed, and which I had no doubt I would be called upon to pay some day or other.

“If I do not go with him,” I said to myself “he will sell the goods at a loss of twenty-five per cent., and I shall get nothing.”

I promised to accompany him.  He shewed me several letters of recommendation for the best houses in Vicenza, and our departure was fixed for early the next morning.  I was at the “Star Hotel” by daybreak.  A carriage and four was ready; the hotel-keeper came up with his bill, and P——­ C——­ begged me to pay it.  The bill amounted to five sequins; four of which had been advanced in cash by the landlord to pay the driver who had brought them from Fusina.  I saw that it was a put-up thing, yet I paid with pretty good grace, for I guessed that the scoundrel had left Venice without a penny.  We reached Vicenza in three hours, and we put up at the “Cappello,” where P——­ C——­ ordered a good dinner before leaving me with the lady to call upon the manufacturers.

When the beauty found herself alone with me, she began by addressing friendly reproaches to me.

“I have loved you,” she said, “for eighteen years; the first time that I saw you we were in Padua, and we were then only nine years old.”

I certainly had no recollection of it.  She was the daughter of the antiquarian friend of M. Grimani, who had placed me as a boarder with the accursed Sclavonian woman.  I could not help smiling, for I recollected that her mother had loved me.

Shop-boys soon began to make their appearance, bringing pieces of goods, and the face of Madame C——­ brightened up.  In less than two hours the room was filled with them, and P——­ C——­ came back with two merchants, whom he had invited to dinner.  Madame allured them by her pretty manners; we dined, and exquisite wines were drunk in profusion.  In the afternoon fresh goods were brought in; P——­ C——­ made a list of them with the prices; but he wanted more, and the merchants promised to send them the next day, although it was Sunday.  Towards the evening several counts arrived, for in Vicenza every nobleman is a count.  P——­ C——­ had left his letters of recommendation