om
him called out with the utmost _sangfroid: E il mio! dammelo: l'ho lasciato
cadere._ You may conceive what a laugh there was against him, for he had
related the circumstances of his finding it to several of the company
before they sat down to supper. This reminded me of an anecdote mentioned
by Brantome as having occurred at Milan in his time, a glove being in this
case also the cause of the _desagrement_. A married lady had been much
courted by a Spanish Cavalier of the name of Leon: one day, thinking he had
made sure of her, he followed her into her bedroom, but met with a severe
and decided repulse and was compelled to leave her _re infecta_. In his
confusion he left one of his gloves on the bed which remained there
unperceived by the lady. The husband of the lady arrived shortly afterwards
and as he was aware of the attentions of the Spaniard to his wife and had
noticed his going into the house, he went directly to his wife's chamber,
where the first thing that captivated his attention was a man's military
glove on the bed. He, however, said nothing, but from that moment abstained
from all conjugal duty. The lady finding herself thus neglected by a
husband who had been formerly tender and attentive, was at a loss to know
the reason, and determined to come to an _eclaircissement_ with him in as
delicate a manner as she could. She therefore took a slip of paper, wrote
the following lines thereon and placed it on his table:

_Vigna era, vigna son;
Era podada, or piu non son;
E non so per qual cagion
Non mi poda il mio patron._[103]

The husband, on reading these lines, wrote the following in answer:

_Vigna eri, vigna sei;
Eri podada, e piu non sei;
Per la gran fa del Leon
Non ti poda il tuo patron._

The lady on reading these lines perceived at once the cause of her
husband's estrangement and succeeded in explaining the matter
satisfactorily to him, which was facilitated by the ingenuous declaration
of Leon himself that he had tried to succeed but had been repulsed. The
husband and wife being perfectly reconciled lived happily and no doubt the
vine was cultivated as usual.

I left Florence the 27th November, and arrived at Turin 5th December. In an
evil hour I engaged myself to accompany an old Swiss Baroness with whom I
became acquainted at the Hotel of Mine Hembert to accompany her to Turin.
She had with her her son, a fine boy of thirteen years of age but very much
spoiled. We engaged a _