been used. I followed
the instructions given in the letter, and I first saw my mistress in the
costume of a nun, standing and in half profile. The second secret spring
brought her before my eyes, entirely naked, lying on a mattress of black
satin, in the position of the Madeleine of Coreggio. She was looking at
Love, who had the quiver at his feet, and was gracefully sitting on the
nun's robes. It was such a beautiful present that I did not think myself
worthy of it. I wrote to M---- M---- a letter in which the deepest
gratitude was blended with the most exalted love. The drawers of the
bureau contained all her diamonds and four purses full of sequins. I
admired her noble confidence in me. I locked the bureau, leaving
everything undisturbed, and returned to Venice. If I had been able to
escape out of the capricious clutches of fortune by giving up gambling,
my happiness would have been complete.

My own portrait was set with rare perfection, and as it was arranged to
be worn round the neck I attached it to six yards of Venetian chain,
which made it a very handsome present. The secret was in the ring to
which it was suspended, and it was very difficult to discover it. To make
the spring work and expose my likeness it was necessary to pull the ring
with some force and in a peculiar manner. Otherwise, nothing could be
seen but the Annunciation; and it was then a beautiful ornament for a
nun.

On Twelfth Night, having the locket and chain in my pocket, I went early
in the evening to watch near the fine statue erected to the hero Colleoni
after he had been poisoned, if history does not deceive us. 'Sit divus,
modo non vivus', is a sentence from the enlightened monarch, which will
last as long as there are monarchs on earth.

At six o'clock precisely my mistress alighted from the gondola, well
dressed and well masked, but this time in the garb of a woman. We went to
the Saint Samuel opera, and after the second ballet we repaired to the
'ridotto', where she amused herself by looking at all the ladies of the
nobility who alone had the right to walk about without masks. After
rambling about for half an hour, we entered the hall where the bank was
held. She stopped before the table of M. Mocenigo, who at that time was
the best amongst all the noble gamblers. As nobody was playing, he was
carelessly whispering to a masked lady, whom I recognized as Madame
Marina Pitani, whose adorer he was.

M---- M---- enquired whether I wan