, pens, and paper, and I was thus enabled to
write at my ease.

He told me also the history of the prisoners who were under the Leads,
and of those who had been there since his imprisonment. He said that the
guard who secretly brought him whatever he wanted was called Nicolas, he
also told me the names of the prisoners, and what he knew about them, and
to convince me he gave me the history of the hole I had made. It seems I
had been taken from my cell to make room for the patrician Priuli, and
that Lawrence had taken two hours to repair the damage I had done, and
that he had imparted the secret to the carpenter, the blacksmith, and all
the guards under pain of death if they revealed it. "In another day," the
guard had said, "Casanova would have escaped, and Lawrence would have
swung, for though he pretended great astonishment when he saw the hole,
there can be no doubt that he and no other provided the tools." "Nicolas
has told me," added my correspondent, "that M. de Bragadin has promised
him a thousand sequins if he will aid you to make your escape but that
Lawrence, who knows of it, hopes to get the money without risking his
neck, his plan being to obtain your liberty by means of the influence of
his wife with M. Diedo. None of the guards dare to speak of what happened
for fear Lawrence might get himself out of the difficulty, and take his
revenge by having them dismissed." He begged me to tell him all the
details, and how I got the tools, and to count upon his keeping the
secret.

I had no doubts as to his curiosity, but many as to his discretion, and
this very request shewed him to be the most indiscreet of men.
Nevertheless, I concluded that I must make use of him, for he seemed to
me the kind of man to assist me in my escape. I began to write an answer
to him, but a sudden suspicion made me keep back what I had written. I
fancied that the correspondence might be a mere artifice of Lawrence's to
find out who had given me the tools, and what I had done with them. To
satisfy him without compromising myself I told him that I had made the
hole with a strong knife in my possession, which I had placed on the
window-ledge in the passage. In less than three days this false
confidence of mine made me feel secure, as Lawrence did not go to the
window, as he would certainly have done if the letter had been
intercepted. Furthermore, Father Balbi told me that he could understand
how I might have a knife, as Lawrence had told