登陆注册
4606300000692

第692章

He talked to me a great deal, without saying anything worth listening to. As soon as he heard that I was the Casanova who had escaped from The Leads, he said in a somewhat rude tone that he wondered I had the hardihood to come to Rome, where on the slightest hint from the State Inquisitors at Venice an 'ordine sanctissimo' would re-consign me to my prison. I was annoyed by this unseemly remark, and replied in a dignified voice,--

"It is not my hardihood in coming to Rome that your eminence should wonder at, but a man of any sense would wonder at the Inquisitors if they had the hardihood to issue an 'ordine sanctissimo' against me; for they would be perplexed to allege any crime in me as a pretext for thus infamously depriving me of my liberty."

This reply silenced his eminence. He was ashamed at having taken me for a fool, and to see that I thought him one. Shortly after I

left and never set foot in that house again.

The Abbe Winckelmann went out with my brother and myself, and as he came with me to my hotel he did me the honour of staying to supper. Winckelmann was the second volume of the celebrated Abbe de Voisenon. He called for me next day, and we went to Villa Albani to see the Chevalier Mengs, who was then living there and painting a ceiling.

My landlord Roland (who knew my brother) paid me a visit at supper. Roland came from Avignon and was fond of good living. I

told him I was sorry to be leaving him to stay with my brother, because I had fallen in love with his daughter Therese, although I

had only spoken to her for a few minutes, and had only seen her head.

"You saw her in bed, I will bet"

"Exactly, and I should very much like to see the rest of her.

Would you be so kind as to ask her to step up for a few minutes?"

"With all my heart."

She came upstairs, seeming only too glad to obey her father's summons. She had a lithe, graceful figure, her eyes were of surpassing brilliancy, her features exquisite, her mouth charming;

but taken altogether I did not like her so well as before. In return, my poor brother became enamoured of her to such an extent that he ended by becoming her slave. He married her next year, and two years afterwards he took her to Dresden. I saw her five years later with a pretty baby; but after ten years of married life she died of consumption.

I found Mengs at the Villa Albani; he was an indefatigable worker, and extremely original in his conceptions. He welcomed me, and said he was glad to be able to lodge me at his house in Rome, and that he hoped to return home himself in a few days, with his whole family.

I was astonished with the Villa Albani. It had been built by Cardinal Alexander, and had been wholly constructed from antique materials to satisfy the cardinal's love for classic art; not only the statues and the vases, but the columns, the pedestals--in fact, everything was Greek. He was a Greek himself, and had a perfect knowledge of antique work, and had contrived to spend comparatively little money compared with the masterpiece he had produced. If a sovereign monarch had had a villa like the cardinal's built, it would have cost him fifty million francs, but the cardinal made a much cheaper bargain.

As he could not get any ancient ceilings, he was obliged to have them painted, and Mengs was undoubtedly the greatest and the most laborious painter of his age. It is a great pity that death carried him off in the midst of his career, as otherwise he would have enriched the stores of art with numerous masterpieces. My brother never did anything to justify his title of pupil of this great artist. When I come to my visit to Spain in 1767, I shall have some more to say about Mengs.

As soon as I was settled with my brother I hired a carriage, a coachman, and a footman, whom I put into fancy livery, and I

called on Monsignor Cornaro, auditor of the 'rota', with the intention of making my way into good society, but fearing lest he as a Venetian might get compromised, he introduced me to Cardinal Passionei, who spoke of me to the sovereign pontiff.

Before I pass on to anything else, I will inform my readers of what took place on the occasion of my second visit to this old cardinal, a great enemy of the Jesuits, a wit, and man of letters.

End MEMOIRS OF JACQUES CASANOVA de SEINGALT 1725-1798

同类推荐
  • Charlotte Temple

    Charlotte Temple

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 古玩指南

    古玩指南

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 兵法心要

    兵法心要

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 明伦汇编皇极典君道部

    明伦汇编皇极典君道部

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 包公案之百家公案

    包公案之百家公案

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 诸天我为王

    诸天我为王

    战神江河,崛起于微末之间,修神功,炼仙丹,闯遗迹,一路碾压万族天才,横扫九天十地。这一世,执掌星河,称霸诸天。若有不服者,杀无赦!
  • 没带系统的文娱大佬

    没带系统的文娱大佬

    网文作者陈枫穿越平行世界,没有系统相助,没有超凡记忆,仅凭借自己的努力慢慢崛起。ps1,本书不种马。ps2,本书倾向于写实。ps3,这是一本都市文娱类型的书。ps4,这是一个小宅写手重生后的精彩人生。本书求上各种书单,奉献小妹妹之吻一个(mua)。 书友群:433299903
  • 情缘封尘歌未断(长篇选载)

    情缘封尘歌未断(长篇选载)

    教育局来了调令,要调韩娟玲到县城二中教书。第一是因为韩娟玲教书教得好全县出了名,第二是因为韩娟玲进修本科大学毕业了,所以教育局要调她到县重点中学去教书。到县重点中学教书本是件好事情,但是对于刘长幸来说却不咋的,夫妻二人要两地分居,他在家里守着新房打光棍。你想想,家里没有女人行吗?老的少的都离不开韩娟玲,她一走全家都乱套了。还有,一个女人出远门,当男人的能放心吗?更何况韩娟玲是一个漂亮女人,刘长幸越是放心不下了。一家人坐在一起商议,但是谁也没个两全齐美的办法,吃公家饭就得听公家的话,这是天经地义的事情,韩娟玲只能去县城教书,再别无选择。
  • 权谋天下之乱世之争

    权谋天下之乱世之争

    百宸大陆历306年,天下共主西冷衰败,西冷皇统治渐弱群雄崛起,纷纷自立为王,群雄角逐。紫灵慕容七,西冷林锦之,雪烊雪漠然,东陵陵昭雪。到底谁才是这天下之主。片段:“你能不能,不要再跟着我了阿。”“不能,嘻嘻。”慕容七无奈看着眼前笑嘻嘻的傻子,都不知道该说什么了。说好的高冷呢,说好的不与人亲近呢都他妈是放屁,比她还能装。眼见着慕容七的脸越来越黑,林锦之忍不住委屈,“小阿七,这里廖无人烟,荒无人际,你忍心将我一个人丢在这吗?”“……”慕容七白眼,变成这样到底是谁搞的阿。罢了罢了,谁让自己的人设是善良大方的呢,姑且带着他吧。……咳咳,嗯……这是一本很正经权谋文
  • 萌宝来袭:娇妻快落网

    萌宝来袭:娇妻快落网

    渣男的劈腿,君倾月毫不犹豫的放弃……心情不好喝点小酒,居然喝没了清白……再次归来,居然被一个自来熟的小朋友闹着要负责……额!君倾月一脸懵逼的看着眼前的小豆丁:“你谁呀?”小豆丁:“你以前睡了我爸爸,现在我要睡你……” PS:本文内容情节全属虚构,请勿较真!喜欢入坑,不喜勿喷。
  • 北京户口

    北京户口

    本书选入了作家王昕朋2011—2012年在《星火》发表的中篇小说《北京户口》、《红豆》发表的中篇小说《胡老板进京》、《刘大胖进京》。《北京户口》先后被《中华文学选刊》、《红旗文摘》转载。《胡老板进京》被《北京作家》转载。《北京户口》关注生活在北京的农民工后代的生存身份认同问题,因为没有户口,学习成绩再好也不能在北京参加高考。小说发表后曾产生较大反响。《胡老板进京》写的是外地老板进京跑项目、拉关系,从一个侧面揭示了腐败问题,符合中央正在整治的“四风”问题的主题。
  • 夫人的权威

    夫人的权威

    我站在楼梯口,心里怦怦地跳。刘青青去供养室取注射器具去了,马上就要转来,今天一定要她接受我的邀请,去舞厅或咖啡馆,度过这个对我来说具有重要意义的夜晚。为此,昨夜我通宵都未曾合眼,仔细考虑选择在什么时间什么地点提出为好。于是我选择了在楼梯口等候她。刘青青很美,却不苟言笑,待人又很善良厚道,象外凉内热的热水瓶。
  • 傲世狂妃

    傲世狂妃

    雷声阵阵,一道紫色的闪电自天际划过。满目疮痍的魔界上空,忽然光芒大盛。虚空之中,好似有一双无形的手,从漫天的乌云之间撕开一条裂缝。数以万计的白衣灵者自这道空间裂缝中泉涌而出。白色的衣袂翩然若仙,凛冽如刀。肃然的杀意霎时弥漫于魔界上空。
  • 篮球心

    篮球心

    曾经的天才高中少年因为意外伤病暂退篮坛,步入大学时代,养好伤病的他重新归来,他是否能重新证明自己?
  • 万人迷之风花雪月

    万人迷之风花雪月

    你拥有无上容颜,受万人追捧。你是那笼中的娇人,亦是那绸上的佳人。