onk went first, being the thinner; he pulled Casanova after
him--dusty, torn, and bleeding, for he had worked harder than Father
Balbi, who still looked respectable.

They were now in a part of the palace guarded by doors against which no
possible effort of theirs could have availed. The only way was to wait
till they were opened, and then take flight. Casanova tranquilly changed
his tattered garments for a suit which he had brought with him, arranged
his hair, and made himself look--except for the bandages he had tied
round his wounds--much more like a strayed reveller than an escaped
prisoner. All this time the monk was upbraiding him bitterly, and at
last, tired of listening, Casanova opened a window, and put out his
head, adorned with a gay plumed hat. The window looked out upon the
palace court, and Casanova was seen at once by people walking there. He
drew back his head, thinking that he had brought destruction upon
himself; but after all the accident proved fortunate. Those who had seen
him went immediately to tell the authority who kept the key of the hall
at the top of the grand staircase, at whose window Casanova's head had
appeared, that he must unwittingly have shut someone in the night
before. Such a thing might easily have happened, and the keeper of the
keys came immediately to see if the news were true.

Presently the door opened, and quite at his ease, the keeper appeared,
key in hand. He looked startled at Casanova's strange figure, but the
latter, without stopping or uttering a word, passed him, and descended
the stairs, followed by the frightened monk. They did not run, nor did
they loiter; Casanova was already, in spirit, beyond the confines of the
Venetian Republic. Still followed by the monk, he reached the
water-side, stepped into a gondola, and flinging himself down
carelessly, promised the rowers more than their fare if they would reach
Fusina quickly. Soon they had left Venice behind them; and a few days
after his wonderful escape Casanova was in perfect safety beyond Italy.

_ADVENTURES ON THE FINDHORN_

THE following adventures in crossing the Findhorn are extracted from
'Lays of the Deer Forest,' by John Sobieski and Charles Edward Stuart
(London, 1848).

* * * * *

I had lost my boat in the last speat; it was the third which had been
taken away in that year, and, until I obtained another, I was obliged to
ford the river. I went one day as usual;