that
I had no doubts as to his honour, but that I acted from principle, and
that as I did not understand what he had written I refused to sign it. I
left him, and was accompanied by the officer to my own counsel, who said
I had done quite right, and promised to call on me the next day to
receive my power of attorney.

"And when I have done that," he said, "your business will be mine."

I was comforted by this man, who inspired me with confidence, and went
back to the hotel, where I made a good supper and went tranquilly to
sleep. Next morning, however, when I awoke, my Spaniard announced an
officer who had followed him, and told me in good French that I must not
be astonished to find myself a prisoner in my room, for being a stranger
and engaged in a suit at law it was only right that the opposite party
should be assured that I would not escape before judgment was given. He
asked very politely for my sword, and to my great regret I was compelled
to give it him. The hilt was of steel, exquisitely chased; it was a
present from Madame d'Urfe, and was worth at least fifty louis.

I wrote a note to my counsel to tell him what had happened; he came to
see me and assured me that I should only be under arrest for a few days.

As I was obliged to keep my room, I let my friends know of my
confinement, and I received visits from dancers and ballet-girls, who
were the only decent people I was acquainted with in that wretched
Stuttgart, where I had better never have set foot. My situation was not
pleasant to contemplate: I had been drugged, cheated, robbed, abused,
imprisoned, threatened with a mulct of a hundred thousand francs, which
would have stripped me to my shirt, as nobody knew the contents of my
pocket-book. I could think of nothing else. I had written to Madame the
Gardella, but to no purpose, as I got no answer. All the consolation I
got was from Binetti, Toscani, and Baletti, who dined or supped with me
every day. The three rascals came to see me one by one, and each tried to
get me to give him money unknown to the other two, and each promised that
if I would do that, he would get me out of the difficulty. Each would
have been content with three or four hundred louis, but even if I had
given that sum to one of them I had no guarantee that the others would
desist from their persecution. Indeed, if I had done so I should have
given some ground to their pretensions, and bad would have been made
worse. My answer was that