When I told the governor of this remark he replied gravely that he should
not have allowed the ship to leave the harbour.

I saw the procurator Erizzo the same evening, and he congratulated me on
my discretion, telling me he would take care to let the Tribunal know how
I respected its decisions.

About this time I had the pleasure of seeing a beautiful Venetian, who
visited Trieste with several of her admirers. She was of the noble family
of Bon, and had married Count Romili de Bergamo, who left her free to do
whatever she liked. She drew behind her triumphal chariot an old general,
Count Bourghausen, a famous rake who had deserted Mars for the past ten
years in order to devote his remaining days to the service of Venus. He
was a delightful man, and we became friends. Ten years later he was of
service to me, as my readers will find in the next volume, which may
perhaps be the last.

CHAPTER XXII

Some Adventures at Trieste--I Am of Service to the Venetian
Government--My Expedition to Gorice and My Return to
Trieste--I Find Irene as an Actress and Expert Gamester

Some of the ladies of Trieste thought they would like to act a French
play, and I was made stage manager. I had not only to choose the pieces,
but to distribute the parts, the latter being a duty of infinite
irksomeness.

All the actresses were new to the boards, and I had immense trouble in
hearing them repeat their parts, which they seemed unable to learn by
heart. It is a well-known fact that the revolution which is really wanted
in Italy is in female education. The very best families with few
exceptions are satisfied with shutting up their daughters in a convent
for several years till the time comes for them to marry some man whom
they never see till the eve or the day of their marriage. As a
consequence we have the 'cicisbeo', and in Italy as in France the idea
that our nobles are the sons of their nominal fathers is a purely
conventional one.

What do girls learn in convents, especially in Italian convents? A few
mechanical acts of devotion and outward forms, very little real religion,
a good deal of deceit, often profligate habits, a little reading and
writing, many useless accomplishments, small music and less drawing, no
history, no geography or mythology, hardly any mathematics, and nothing
to make a girl a good wife and a good mother.

As for foreign languages, they are unheard of; our own Italian is so soft
that any ot