Produced by David Widger
THE MEMOIRS OF JACQUES CASANOVA DE SEINGALT
THE RARE UNABRIDGED LONDON EDITION OF 1894 TRANSLATED BY ARTHUR MACHEN TOWHICH HAS BEEN ADDED THE CHAPTERS DISCOVERED BY ARTHUR SYMONS.
MEMOIRS OF JACQUES CASANOVA de SEINGALT 1725-1798 IN LONDON AND MOSCOW,
Volume 5e—RUSSIA AND POLAND
RUSSIA AND POLAND
CHAPTER XIX
My Stay at Riga—Campioni St. Heleine—D'Asagon—Arrival of the
Empress—I Leave Riga and Go to St. Petersburg—I See Society—I Buy
Zaira
Prince Charles de Biron, the younger son of the Duke of Courland,Major-General in the Russian service, Knight of the Order of St.Alexander Newski, gave me a distinguished reception after reading hisfather's letter. He was thirty-six years of age, pleasant-looking withoutbeing handsome, and polite and well-mannered, and he spoke Frenchextremely well. In a few sentences he let me know what he could do for meif I intended to spend some time at Riga. His table, his friends, hispleasures, his horses, his advice, and his purse, all these were at myservice, and he offered them with the frankness of the soldier and thegeniality of the prince.
"I cannot offer you a lodging," he said, "because I have hardly enoughroom for myself, but I will see that you get a comfortable apartmentsomewhere."
The apartment was soon found, and I was taken to it by one of theprince's aides-de-camp. I was scarcely established when the prince cameto see me, and made me dine with him just as I was. It was anunceremonious dinner, and I was pleased to meet Campioni, of whom I havespoken several times in these Memoirs. He was a dancer, but very superiorto his fellows, and fit for the best company polite, witty, intelligent,and a libertine in a gentlemanly way. He was devoid of prejudices, andfond of women, good cheer, and heavy play, and knew how to keep an evenmind both in good and evil fortune. We were mutually pleased to see eachother again.
Another guest, a certain Baron de St. Heleine from Savoy, had a prettybut very insignificant wife. The baron, a fat man, was a gamester, agourmand, and a lover of wine; add that he was a past master in the artof getting into debt and lulling his creditors into a state of falsesecurity, and you have all his capacities, for in all other respects hewas a fool in the fullest sense of the word. An aide-decamp and theprince's mistress also dined with us. This mistress, who was pale, thin,and dreamy-looking, but also pretty, might be twenty years old. Shehardly ate anything, saying that she was ill and did not like anything onthe table. Discontent shewed itself on her every feature. The princeendeavoured, but all in vain, to make her eat and drink, she refusedeverything disdainfully. The prince laughed good-humouredly at her insuch a manner as not to wound her feelings.
We spent two hours pleasantly enough at table, and after coffee had beenserved, the prince, who had business, shook me by the hand and left mewith Campioni, telling me always to regard his table as my last resource.
This old friend and fellow-countryman took me to his house to introduceme to his wife and family. I did not know that he had married a secondtime. I found the so-called wife to be an Englishwoman, thin, but full ofintelligence. She had a daughter of eleven, who might easily have beentaken for fifteen; she, too, was marvellously intelligent, and danced,sang, and played on the piano and gave such glances that shewed thatnature had been swifter than her years. She made a conquest of me, andher father congratulated m