soon as Madame F---- had seen her maid, she desired me to be shewn in.
The curtains were drawn aside, and I thought I saw Aurora surrounded with
the roses and the pearls of morning. I told her that, if it had not been
for the order I received from M. D---- R---- I would not have presumed to
present myself before her in my travelling costume; and in the most
friendly tone she answered that M. D---- R-----, knowing all the interest
she felt in me, had been quite right to tell me to come, and she assured
me that M. D---- R----- had the greatest esteem for me.

"I do not know, madam, how I have deserved such great happiness, for all
I dared aim at was toleration."

"We all admired the control you kept over your feelings when you
refrained from killing that insolent madman on the spot; he would have
been thrown out of the window if he had not beat a hurried retreat."

"I should certainly have killed him, madam, if you had not been present."

"A very pretty compliment, but I can hardly believe that you thought of
me in such a moment."

I did not answer, but cast my eyes down, and gave a deep sigh. She
observed my new ring, and in order to change the subject of conversation
she praised M. D---- R----- very highly, as soon as I had told her how he
had offered it to me. She desired me to give her an account of my life on
the island, and I did so, but allowed my pretty needlewomen to remain
under a veil, for I had already learnt that in this world the truth must
often remain untold.

All my adventures amused her much, and she greatly admired my conduct.

"Would you have the courage," she said, "to repeat all you have just told
me, and exactly in the same terms, before the proveditore-generale?"

"Most certainly, madam, provided he asked me himself."

"Well, then, prepare to redeem your promise. I want our excellent general
to love you and to become your warmest protector, so as to shield you
against every injustice and to promote your advancement. Leave it all to
me."

Her reception fairly overwhelmed me with happiness, and on leaving her
house I went to Major Maroli to find out the state of my finances. I was
glad to hear that after my escape he had no longer considered me a
partner in the faro bank. I took four hundred sequins from the cashier,
reserving the right to become again a partner, should circumstances prove
at any time favourable.

In the evening I made a careful toilet, and called for the Adjutant
Minolto